The Adventures of Jordan and Aaron

2012-01-26T20:52:00.001-05:00

It has been so warm in North Carolina this winter, so we took advantage of it before Aaron headed out and spent the afternoon at the beach.....sunshine and warm weather makes everything better!

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Location:Warm Winter

Family Vacation

2012-01-11T21:10:00.001-05:00

This Christmas was different in many ways, but the biggest was it was the first without Cynthia. So my dad decided early this fall he wanted to skip Christmas and go on vacation, so everyone flew to Fl on Christmas day (except Aaron and I ) Aaron had to stay in North Carolina, so I flew to Fl on the 26th and had a great time hanging out with the family! We did a lot of reading, walking the beach, playing with the niece and nephew and cooking great food! We had a great time being together and remembering Cynthia! Here is a photo diary of the week in paradise !

Matthew with his favorite person "papa Joe"

Celebrating Papas birthday !

Dave (BIL) and I are my dads birthday lunch

Jennifer and Dad!

Enjoying lunch by the pool

Holly, Emily and I

Dad, Jen and Jill

Papa joe

Seriously ? Cutest niece and nephews !

We have multiplied ;) Christmas card 2011 we will have to photo shop Aaron in!

Forgeys

Forgey/ Jarrett Clan

Breakfast with my cuties

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Location:Naples, Fl

Christmas Eve

2012-01-11T20:52:00.001-05:00

We spent Christmas in North Carolina this year, due to Aarons deployment schedule. Although, we were very sad to not be with our family, we made the best of it ! We had a few of Aaron's fellow Blue Knights over for Christmas eve dinner! We had a lot of fun cooking, finally using our Christmas china, and drinking wine! Here are some pictures of our evening!

Aaron or rudolph?

Family photo

The boys

Aaron and his best buddy

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Location:Sneads Ferry , NC

St. Lucia

2011-12-16T09:23:00.005-05:00

Aaron and I just returned from an amazing trip in St. Lucia! Aaron had pre-deployment leave since he will be heading out again just after the New Year, so we decided to go big and head to St. Lucia for a week! We enjoyed lounging on the beach, drinking pina coladas, and spending time together! Here are a few pictures from our trip! We are sad to be back to reality (work) but looking forward to having the holidays together before another 7 month deployment.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-28T20:58:00.001-05:00

We spent the weekend in GA at The Huffman's new house! It was our first visit and we had so much fun exploring the planation and pecan orchard! We even came home with 10lbs of pecans that we collected in the yard! Here are some pictures of our thanksgiving!

-

Dining room set for thanksgiving

My boys

Playing in the orchard

Jack and his turkey dinner

Aarons tired of pictures face

Post turkey nap

Booger bottoms

Dinner in Cordele

Swinging on the porch

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Location:Cordele, GA

The Arnolds

2011-11-28T20:36:00.001-05:00

Our good friends Nick and Mel were married a few weeks ago on Bald Head Island, it was such a great weekend! The island is only accessible by ferry and once on the island the only transportation is golf carts and bikes!

We stayed in a beautiful beach house with all the other pilots in Aaron's squadron! Here are some pictures of the fun weekend!

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Location:Bald Head Island, NC

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T21:38:00.001-04:00

From the zoo keeper and her penguin!

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Oktoberfest at the Huffman Haus

2011-10-26T18:25:00.013-04:00

Aaron and I hosted the 1st Annual Huffman Haus Oktoberfest party this weekend! We had a blast planning, shopping, decorating and hosting the party! We decided we wanted to have a "fall" themed party but didnt want to do the typical Halloween party so we settled on Oktoberfest! It was a hit, we sent out cute invitations stating that lederhosen or german costumes and steins were required, so we had lots of fun festive costumes! We even held a costume contest, pictures below of the winners and the rest of the party!

The party consisted of kegs of Oktoberfest Beer, a Brat bar, a pretzel bar and lots of german desserts! Here are some pictures of the party! I am already looking forward to next year and how we can make it an even better party!

Costume Contest Voting Station

Bier Garten

Drink Station

Homemade soft pretzel bar

Part of the brat bar (FYI) the brats were grilled before being put on the hot dog roller :)

The hosts and our pup herr Jack

This was the most popular costume!

Anna enjoying a cold brew at the Huffman Haus Bier Garten

The female Costume Contest winner!!! Stacy

Little Germans!

VMM 365 Squadron Bus!

Go Navy!

2011-10-10T10:21:00.001-04:00

We finally made it back to the Naval Academy for a football game! When we moved to the east coast we added a Navy game to our to-do list and after 2 and half years we made it!

We drove up Friday night and spent the weekend enjoying the beautiful weather and scenery! Annapolis is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been!! Of course I only had my phone for pictures, but here some from the weekend! Aaron ran into lots of classmates that are now spread around the country at different duty stations. It was fun for them all to catch up and talk about deployments, life etc!

Sunday we spent the day wondering around the academy with Aarons cousin Catherine, her husband Justin and their sweet little girl Harper! We made a stop at the museum where our good friend Brandon "bull" Barretts class ring is now on display. He was the first midshipman from Aarons class to be killed in action, it was neat to see such a great tribute to him.

Go navy!

-Anna, Brittany and I in our matching stripes

Blue skies!

The brigade of midshipman watching the game

The boys

Anna and I enjoying Annapolis nightlife

Brandon Barrett Class of 06

Aaron and Harper checking out a battle flag in memorial hall

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Location:Annapolis, Maryland

Heaven Received an Angel

2011-09-30T15:05:00.001-04:00

I know it's been awhile since I have posted, it's been a tough few months for the Forgey/Jarrett family, as most of you know Cynthia passed away after a battle with Ovarian Cancer. September is Ovarian Cancer awareness month aka the "silent killer" because of the almost nonexistent symptoms until late stages. Please remember to make sure your moms, sisters, girlfriends etc are aware of this awful disease.

It has now been a month and we are all hanging in there, it's hard to be away from family during a time like this! Thankfully technology is amazing and we spend every evening skyping to check in on everyone.

Thank you for your prayers and positive thoughts over the past 2 years!

In case you missed it here is the obituary and great tribute to Cynthia!

Heaven Received an Angel Yesterday
Cynthia Long Forgey was born on November 4, 1950 in Marion, Indiana, the sixth of nine children, to John William and Eleanor Ann Long. She always treasured the fact that her dad named her, deciding that Cynthia was a strong enough first name that she didn’t need a middle name: she spent her entire life effortlessly proving this to be true. She grew up in Marion and, beginning at a very young age, spent most of her summers at Lake Wawasee, continuing this tradition all the way through this summer. Wawasee was Cynthia’s “favorite place in the whole world.”

After a first date that was sealed with a legendary pat on the back, Cynthia and Joe Forgey fell completely in love, and on July 23, 1988 took a humongous leap of faith by marrying and joining five children, ages 13-4, together under the same roof. It didn’t take long at all for the crew to happily identify themselves as the Forgey Jarrett Family, with Joe and Cynth at the helm. Life evolved into a steady, albeit crazy, rhythm of driving thousands of miles to take the kids to their respective practices, making a zillion perfectly-packed school lunches, faithfully squeezing frenetic family dinners in between after school events and homework, road-tripping in the mini-van to soccer tournaments with the five kids in back and Joe & Cynth holding hands in the front, and taking National Geographic-inspired family vacations.

To Cynthia, nothing mattered more than family. Her family was everything to her. But, more than that, she was everything to her family. Every morning she prepared breakfast for her husband and kids, and always greeted each one with “Hi, honey” when they returned home from work and school. She was a consistently fair and impartial Judge who managed to keep everyone in line and maintain the peace between growing children, using her pointer finger as her gavel. She knew the secret to putting the fitted sheet on the bed with ease and was the in-house relationship counselor, teaching the boys to be kind, thoughtful and respectful, and the girls to “keep your pride” and “never be too available.” Filled with common sense to her core, she always knew what to do in every situation and was unwavering in her principles and sense of right and wrong. Cynthia loved to dance.

Always an advocate for children, Cynthia served on the Noblesville School Board for eight years. Not only was she the incredibly successful CEO of the family, she was also the CFO to her husband’s dental practice, Pediatric Dentistry of Noblesville.

On May 1, 2009, Cynthia was diagnosed with late stage ovarian cancer after exhibiting frighteningly few symptoms. She and her family spent the following two plus years squeezing the nectar out of every moment and enjoying every day that they had together. They spent numerous weekends at Wawasee, took two separate vacations to North Carolina and Key West, and celebrated the birth of their third grandchild and the marriage of their youngest son. She and Joe “had a ball” following the Butler Bulldogs on their road to the Final Four in 2010, traveling to San Jose, Salt Lake City and, of course, watching them in the final game here in Indianapolis. In the spirit of the Bulldogs, small but mighty Cynthia remained a courageous warrior throughout her battle, surprising all doctors and nurses with her tenacity, strength, resilience, will to live, and consistent gratitude for the many blessings in her life.

Throughout her battle with cancer, she remained full of hope, faith, and her ever-positive attitude, inspiring her family and friends with her grace and goodness. She never pitied herself and was moved to tears far more by the kindness and generosity she received from her family, friends and community than by the struggles she encountered. She and her family remain forever grateful to all of the nurses and doctors at St. Vincent’s Hospital who provided her with the most loving care. Their gratitude also extends to their friends, family and extended community who have lifted them up with their kindness, love, support, prayers and generosity.

Cynthia passed away at 1:45pm on Thursday, September 2, 2011. She was at home and was surrounded by her family.

Cynthia’s legacy will live on through her enormous family that will continue to love her like crazy, will miss her every day, and will enjoy telling stories about her for many, many years to come, because as they all well know, there is no one in the world quite like Cynthia. She is survived by her loving husband, Joe Forgey of Noblesville, her five children: Jennifer Jarrett & Dave Van Horne of San Francisco, Jill & Pat Moor of Zionsville, Jay Jarrett of Chicago, Jordan & Aaron Huffman of Sneads Ferry, North Carolina, and Casey & Holly Jarrett of Indianapolis. She is also survived by her three grandchildren, her 97-year-old mother, Eleanor Organ, five sisters and three brothers, and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and dear friends.

Services will be held at 7:00 PM Wednesday, September 7, 2011, at First Christian Church, 16377 Herriman Blvd, Noblesvile, with Rev. John Davis officiating. Visitation will be Tuesday from 3:00-8:00 PM at the church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made in Cynthia’s memory to: Boys & Girls Club of Noblesville, 1448 Conner Street, Noblesville, IN 46060, on online at: www.bgcni.org

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Chalk Board Paint

2011-08-20T10:30:00.001-04:00

I finally bought my first can of chalk board paint and have found lots of things to label with paint !

I had these little buckets in my guest bath room and decided to dress them up ! I also needed a fix for my pen mess in my kitchen so I found these little paint cans at lowes and they did the trick !

I was having so much fun with the paint I even added a label to this glass jar!

No telling what will have chalk board paint on it when Aaron returns from his fishing trip this afternoon!

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4

2011-08-03T20:49:00.001-04:00

My baby, ok fur baby, will be 4 on Friday !!!! I know this may sound crazy, but people with dogs surely understand how much I love this guy! Aaron is gone so much and Jack is the best company, we spend lots of time together! Running, taking walks, going to the beach, doing yard work, and of course snuggling!!! I don't know what I would do without him!!! Here is my sweet guy..... happy early birthday Jack-man

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Dill pickles

2011-08-03T20:43:00.001-04:00

So we had some huge cucumbers in our garden, not sure why we planted them because we both HATE cucumbers. So I decided to try my first batch of pickles. I have not tasted them yet, but they sure do look cute!

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Mr and Mrs. Casey Jarrett

2011-07-24T23:04:00.001-04:00

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?desktop_uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DQ-azoun3n9Y%26feature%3Dplayer_embedded&feature=player_embedded&v=Q-azoun3n9Y&gl=US

A great video of Casey and Cynthia's mother/son dance !!!

Incredible :)

I will post pictures from the awesome weekend soon !

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New toy!

2011-07-05T21:38:00.001-04:00

Aaron bought me this guy .......

Last week and I am obsessed !!! Just added a new app for blogging and it makes it so easy !!!!

If anyone has any fun tips let me know !

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S A L S A

2011-07-05T21:17:00.001-04:00

I have been slacking on my garden posts this year ! Our tomato plants are going crazy, I harvested around 50 last week ! A combination of Roma, heirloom, and cherry. We had no choice but to whip up a batch of salsa! We canned 12 jars !!! We will be having fresh salsa all winter ! Here are a few photos!

Mmmmmm!

Fleet Week, Memorial Day Weekend

2011-06-07T21:19:00.007-04:00

Aaron's squadron was part of Fleet Week this year in New York City, so I took the opportunity to fly up and meet him! It was amazing and I am so happy we made the decision for me to go (we went back and forth because he was going to have to work a lot) Luckily a few other wives went so we had each other to hang out with incase the boys were busy! Well it was my lucky weekend because I arrived Friday at 3pm and as of 4pm that day Aaron was finished for the weekend! We had a blast and felt like celebrities around the city! Being apart of Fleet Week means you have to wear your uniform all week in the city! People were so kind, we had free drinks, free meals, (Aaron had free Yankees tickets) and lots of people stopped us on the street to thank Aaron for his service!

Fleet week is basically a week for the Navy and Marine Corps to do some serious marketing and in return the Sailors and Marines get to have a fun week in the city! Aaron flew up and stayed just over the Hudson in NJ because he was flying in and out of an airport there. He flew around the city and landed at parks, schools and Wall Street. Although we were staying out of the city it was super easy to get there, we just hopped on a bus right outside and it took us over (plus it was free so I cant complain)!

Here are some picture from the weekend! Also here is a video of Aaron landing at the Wall Street Helo Pad....pretty neat!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4Z1U0ic0aA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Out in the city!

At 230th and 5th roof top bar looking at the Empire State Building

Dinner at The Strip House

My cute Marine

Hanging out at McSorleys, the oldest pub in NYC

Enjoying a beer at a beer garden in the meat packing district

Always Remember

2011-05-30T12:19:00.002-04:00

while cooking out with family and friends this memorial day always remember those who have lost their lives for this great nation. Thank you to all our service men and women past and present.

First Annual Bull Fest

2011-05-17T15:28:00.008-04:00

This past weekend my friend Danielle and I put on the first ever Bull Fest, in honor of our good friend Capt. Brandon "Bull" Barrett, who was KIA on 5.5.2010. We were raising money for his Naval Academy Foundation Scholarship. The event was a HUGE success (besides Aaron being stuck in Yuma, Az for work) but other than that it was great! We raised over $3500! We hosted the event at Bull's favorite bar, The Brass Pelican. We sold hotdogs, hamburgers and pulled pork plates, as well as, coozies and T-shirts! You know you had a good turnout when everything sells out! It was a great way to remember such an awesome person and true hero! I was lucky enough to have known such a great guy! There were friends of his from combat, from school, friends of friends and people who just came to celebrate!

Hopefully we will be able to continue Bull Fest for many years to come!

Bull we missed you, but we know you were watching over us :) Thanks for holding off the rain! You truly were an amazing friend and that was very evident by the amount of people who came to celebrate your life from near and far! Did I mention there was also a Bull fest in California and Indiana ? Yeah he was that great!

Our Hero!

Working on the pig !

my counter part

Cheers to Bull

The girls with Chris "the official pig smoker"

Group shot at the end of the day!

EASTER

2011-04-25T16:26:00.006-04:00

We had a great Easter! I realized yesterday Easter is the one holiday that Aaron and I have had together for the last 4 years! That is almost unheard of in the Marine Corps, the same holiday 4 years in a row!!!! Whoa! We have to celebrate the small victories in this life!

We had a great day! We slept in, went to church and then took the boat to Wilmington for brunch! Here are a few pictures of our great day! note** the Easter bunny did not come to our house, we decided that we would buy new running shoes instead of having a bunch of candy sitting around...how motivating of us :)

us :)

Lunch at Bluewater

Our sweet ride :)

Our cute easter bunny

Way over due!

2011-04-21T18:03:00.009-04:00

Back in November my dad took our whole family (even flat Ron) to Key West to celebrate Cynthia's 60th birthday! Some how I missed posting about our awesome trip! I just uploaded the pictures and had to share!

We had the best time, we rented a HUGE house in the Truman Annex and spent most of our time relaxing around the pool or chatting on the amazing front porch! We were lucky enough to be there for an entire week!

Although Aaron was deployed I still managed to have a great time! Here are some pictures of our awesome trip! Thanks dad for taking us and thank you Cynthia for turning 60 and giving him a reason to take us :)

Camp Forgey/Jarrett

The girls, minus Jill who was home with the baby!

Flat Ron and I were iced..yuck!

What a pretty corona ad

My dad!

Jill and I watching the sunset at Mallory square

Family jello shot....yes please!

THe benefactor and the birthday girl!

Rocking baby Matthew to sleep!

After a day of boating

Casey and I before we went lobster diving!

Another Project

2011-03-30T08:29:00.007-04:00

Ok, I know I have been a little obsessed with projects....but they have just been turning out so cute I cant stop! So here is my latest! I have seen this in pottery barn and then came across a blog with a tutorial so I gave it a shot! Here is my mossy H!

First I traced an H on a piece of Styrofoam that I bought at Michael's

Then I cut the H out with an exacto knife- Not as easy as I thought it would be!

Then I took moss that I also bought at Michael's and hot glue gunned it to the H and this was the outcome!

And this is its home for now, in my dining room! It may change, my MIL is coming this week and she is a much better decorator so it may be moved!

Hope you enjoy, you should all make one it was so easy and the supplies only cost $15 therefore saving you around $60 if you were to buy the one from Pottery Barn!

Bleeding Blue

2011-03-28T13:09:00.003-04:00

What a great few weeks to be a Butler Bulldog fan! Although I did not go to school there, my dad, sister, brother in law and my mom (for her masters) did! My dad is the all time biggest Butler fan in the world! He has had season tickets for 30 years and I have attended more Bulldog games than all other basketball games combined!

I am so happy for my dad and family! Half of the Forgey/Jarrett family leave for Houston on Friday to cheer the dawgs on to victory!!!!

I will be cheering them on from here with Aaron and his family who is coming to visit this week! We cant wait!

GO DAWGS!!!!!

Ballard Designs

2011-03-22T07:12:00.005-04:00

I love the catalog Ballard Designs, its one of my favorite decorating magazines and I always get ideas out of it! Last month I found this .....

I had the most perfect place for it in my living room, I have a very nautical/coastal themed house and this would fill the space perfectly! Well then I saw the price...over $100! Not really worth it in my mind!

So I found this wheel on ebay for a whopping $23.00 and ordered it! (sorry it wont let me copy and paste the photo)

http://cgi.ebay.com/SHIP-WHEEL-WOODEN-18-NAUTICAL-DECOR-MARITIME-BitOATS_W0QQitemZ280645309100QQcategoryZ37973QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%252BC%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D10%26pmod%3D290541221654%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D7914012350199077902#ht_500wt_922

Then I spent the weekend sanding it, painting it, sanding it again and adding some stain and here is the final result!

I love it and think it fits in perfectly in my living room!

spring

2011-03-18T20:32:00.001-04:00

picked these little pretties in my yard today :)

Corn Beef

2011-03-18T19:59:00.004-04:00

I was lucky enough to marry someone that loves to cook, and not just easy things, the bigger the challenge the better! Well this year he decided to pickle his own corn beef for St. Patricks Day! He did all the research and 10 days ago began the process! Well last night we pulled that puppy out of the fridge and slow cooked it for a few hours and MMMMM had the most delicious corn beef and sour kraut sandwiches I have ever tasted!!!

Well, I was too busy eating to remember to snap a picture of the sandwich, but I did snap one while the corn beef was simmering!

Now I realize this doesn't look all that appetizing, but trust me when it was finished and placed between 2 slices of rye bread, Swiss cheese and sour kraut......it melted in your mouth!

I am already counting down the days until next St. Pats day!

Cheers!

Before and After

2011-03-15T08:43:00.006-04:00

So I found this little guy on one of my favorite new websites, camplejeuneyardsales.com, basically like craigslist but just for the camp lejeune area. The guy was selling it for fifty, I offered thirty and he accepted!

Before

I have become obsessed with a new blog before and after... you can see the link on the side of my page so I thought I would do my own little before and after.

Then a little sanding, a few coats of white paint, a little more sanding, a coat of stain and here it is!

After

another view

It found a nice little home in my guest bathroom! I love the way it turned out!

Jealous

2011-03-01T19:36:00.003-05:00

of this guys life.......

F* Cancer

2011-02-25T08:14:00.002-05:00

You all know my step mom Cynthia has been battling Ovarian Cancer, I wanted to dedicate this post to her. I am not nearly as good as a writer as my sister Jennifer so I am going to just attach her caringbridge site! We have had a rough couple of weeks but thanks to the power of prayer and positive thoughts we are on the up swing!

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/cynthiaforgey

What NOT to say to a Military Spouse

2011-02-23T17:37:00.002-05:00

What NOT to Say to a Military Wife
I found this list posted on a friend's blog. Don't worry if you have already said any of these to any military spouse you know, we will forgive you! It's all done in good humor. Here you go...14 things not to say to a military wife!

1. "Aren't you afraid that he'll be killed?"
This one ranks in at number one on the "duh" list. Of course we're afraid. We're terrified. The thought always lingers at the backs of our minds —but thanks brilliant, you just brought it back to the front.

2. "I don't know how you manage. I don't think I could do it."
This is intended to be a compliment. Though, its just a little annoying. Here's why: it's not like all of us military wives have been dreaming since childhood of the day we'd get to be anxious single moms who carry cell phones with us to the bathroom and in the shower. We're not made of some mysterious matter that makes us more capable, we just got asked to take on a challenging job. So we rose to the challenge and found the strength to make sacrifices.

3. "At least he's not in Iraq."
This is the number one most annoying comment for those whose husbands are in Afghanistan. What do they think is happening in Afghanistan? An international game of golf?

4. "Do you think he'll get to come home for Christmas/anniversary/birthday/birth of a child/wedding/family reunion, etc?"
Don't you watch the news? No! They don't get to come home for any of these things. Please don't ask again.

5. "What are you going to do to keep yourself busy while he's gone?"
Short answer: Try to keep my sanity. Maybe there's a military wife out there who gets bored when her husband leaves. For the rest of us, those with and without children, we find ourselves having to be two people. That keeps us plenty busy.

6. "How much longer does he have until he can get out?"
This one is annoying to many of us whether our husbands are deployed or not. Many of our husbands aren't counting down the days until they "can" get out. Many of them keep signing back up again and again because they actually love what they do or they VOLUNTEER AGAIN and AGAIN to go back to Iraq b/c there is work that needs to be done.

7. "This deployment shouldn't be so bad, now that you're used to it."
We do learn coping skills. We figure out ways to make life go smoother while the guys are gone. But it never gets "easy" and the bullets and bombs don't skip over our guys just because they've been there before. The worry never goes away.

8. "My husband had to go to Europe for business once for three weeks. I totally know what you're going through." (This is my favorite!)
This one is similar to number two. Do not equate your husband's three week trip to London/Omaha/Tokyo/etc. with a 6-15 month or more deployment to a war zone. Aside from the obvious time difference, nobody shot at your husband or tried to blow him up with an I.E.D., your husband could call home pretty much any time he wanted to, and he flew comfortably on a commercial plane. We do not feel bonded to you in the slightest because of this comment and, if anything, we probably resent you a bit for it. Comparing a 12 month combat deployment to a few weeks business trip is like comparing a crappy Hyundai Excel with a Mercedes convertible.

9. "Wow you must miss him?"
This one also gets another big "duh". Of course we miss our men. There are some wives who do not and they're now divorced.

10. "Well, he signed up for it, so it's his own fault whatever happens over there.
Yes, ignorant, he did sign up. Each and every day he protects your right to make stupid comments like that. He didn't sign up and ask to be hit by anything, he signed up to protect his country. Oh, and by the way, he asked me to tell you that "You're welcome." He's still fighting for your freedom.

11. "Don't you miss intimacy? I couldn't do it!"
Military spouses learn quickly that our relationships must be founded on something greater than sex. We learn to appreciate the important things, like simply hearing their voices, seeing their faces, being able to have dinner together every night.

12. "Well in my opinion….."
Stop right there. I didn't ask for you your personal political opinions. Hey, I love a heated political debate, but not in the grocery store, not in Jamba Juice, not at Nordstrom, not in a bar when I'm out with my girls trying to forget the war, and CERTAINLY NOT AT WORK. We tell co-workers about deployments so when we have to spend lunch hours running our butts off doing errands and taking care of the house, dog, and kids, they have an understanding. We do not tell co-workers and colleagues because we are giving an invitation to ramble about politics or because we so eagerly want to hear how much they hate the President.

13. "WOW....is it time already for him to come home? This deployment just FLEW by!!"
So glad it was a quick ride for them....

This happens to be my personal fav, lets put it this way....think if you had been alone the last 32-40 Friday nights! Trust me it does not go fast :) * If anything a deployment has taught me not to say or judge ANYTHING until you have walked a mile in their shoes!

14. "OH, that's horrible…I'm so sorry!"
He's doing his job and he's a badass. Don't be sorry. Be appreciative and please take a moment out of your comfortable American lives to realize that our MARINES/soldiers/airmen/sailors fight the wars abroad so those wars stay abroad. If you want to say anything, say thank you.

The weekend

2011-02-21T19:19:00.003-05:00

We had the most perfect weekend! No we didn't do anything fancy, no we didn't dress up and go out on the town, we just enjoyed being together, the beautiful weather and the simple things. Saturday morning we woke up and had breakfast together at our favorite breakfast spot in Sneads Ferry, and then took a drive (with the windows down, sunroof open and great tunes) along the water and looked at houses.

Then we came home and cleaned the cars (once again, not fancy) but while we were doing it I kept thinking these are the things I missed most about Aaron being deployed. Crazy, I know (cleaning cars) Not just cleaning cars, but simple chores that are so much more enjoyable when you are with your favorite person!

* The positive things about being married to a Marine are enjoying Saturday afternoon chores and other silly things that some people don't think twice about. Yes, Aaron is gone a lot and will continue to be over the next year until he deploys again and then again the next year, but I know that when he is home we will embrace every moment and make the time we do have together that much better.

The rest of the afternoon was spent playing with the dog in the front yard, chatting with neighbors, and ended with Aaron mowing the yard and me enjoying my new Country Living Magazine on our porch swing. Sounds sort of corny, but in my mind it was a perfect day!

So for now I will continue to (try) to embrace the positive things that the Marine Corps bring to our lives! (Like enjoying boring chores!) And not taking my time with Aaron for granted.

Christmas With Colin and The Bowring's

2011-02-15T12:51:00.007-05:00

Every year we celebrate Christmas with Colin and the Bowring's, since we live far away from family we have adopted some family traditions with them! One of them being Christmas! Every year we cook a huge feast and exchange gifts! Well Christmas was a little late this year because we had to wait on our cook to get home!

Here are some pictures of our first weekend back together celebrating Christmas with our "family" !

The Girls

Colin thought it would be funny to get us a set of bibs (note the glass of wine in my hand) no babies for us, yet!

The boys are back together!

Dan and Danielle!

Feeling right back at home in his kitchen!

Working on the prime rib

We Meet Again!

2011-02-14T19:20:00.016-05:00

Well, a lot has happened since I ran the big 26.2, one being I am already out of shape :) But the MOST important is AARON IS HOME!!!! I know I skipped a lot, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years....well Aaron's homecoming was more exciting then all of them combined! He returned to the states on Jan 16 at 530pm and I have not stopped smiling or having fun yet!

When he returned he had to go to work for a few days and then was able to take 2 weeks leave! So we had a great week long trip to Fl with just us and Jack the dog! Then we came back and Aaron did some projects around the house while I worked for the week and then we went home to Indiana for a long weekend to see the family!

Life is good and I look forward to enjoying the next year having him home and trying to pack in as much as possible before he heads out again! Here are some pictures of Jan 16th, the best day of my life!

Aaron's Christmas Gifts!

Some of Aaron's friends waiting on him :)

Welcome Home Capt. Huffman

WELCOME HOME VMM 365

V-22 Ospreys

Looking in at the party

Waiting with my deployment buddy Courtney and Ms. Kendall!

The buses

ahh they are off the bus!

so close!

FINALLY

smooch!

Is it really YOU?

L.O.V.E

The family is back together!

First home cooked meal (pizza) and first drink (whiskey and coke) in 7 months!

I hope to be a better blogger in the coming months!

xoxox

I survived!!!

2010-11-02T21:23:00.002-04:00

Here I am at the finish line! A VERY HAPPY CAMPER!!!

I survived 26.2 miles and actually had a great time doing it!! I felt great up until about 20 miles, but I was able to push thru the last six (with a lot of pep talks to myself) and finish it out in just over 5 hours!

It was a great weekend, my dad and I had a blast in DC! I cant believe its over! I think I will sort of miss training, but I will LOVE sleeping in Saturday morning :) Thank you to everyone for all the support! I must say I am very proud of myself, it was a huge accomplishment!!

26.2

2010-10-25T08:30:00.004-04:00

One week from today I will be waking up VERY sore! After four months of training I am ready for the Marine Corps Marathon (well I think I am ready)! One thing is for sure, I am VERY nervous! Training for the marathon has been both mentally and physically challenging but it has been a great distraction to help get through this deployment! I am not sure when I signed up back in May that many people, including myself, thought I would actually follow through with the training, but here I am and I am very proud to say that I have finished the training!

My dad is flying in on Friday and we are heading to DC on Saturday and the big race is Sunday! Wish me luck!

I will be running for my Marine, Aaron, who is serving in Afghanistan, and for our dear friend Brandon "Bull" Barrett who lost his life fighting for our freedom on May 5, 2010. I know in comparison to serving our country a marathon is nothing, but I felt like it was a small way I could honor those who do! So here goes nothing! I hope next Sunday afternoon, I will be standing proud in front of this monument with my finishers medal on!

Aaron's mom!

2010-10-19T19:20:00.004-04:00

This past weekend Aaron's mom came to visit! We always get some much accomplished when she is here, this trip we re-did a dresser for my entry way, re-finished a couch table, hung a few things including a shelf, a flag on the shed and a few pictures! I have pictures on my phone of our projects so I will have to figure out how to post those later!

Aaron will be very happy to come home to most of our house projects finished.... I personally think he is very lucky to have me (and his mom) he owes us big big time! I have one LARGE project I am working on to surprise him! I will reveal it once its complete!

While she was here we also had some fun! We spent the day in Wilmington Saturday antiquing, shopping and eating! Here is a picture of us along the river before dinner at Circa 1922!

100 DAYS!

2010-10-19T19:13:00.004-04:00

Last week was a big milestone, 100 days down! I had a few girls over to celebrate! I was to busy having fun to remember to take a lot of pictures but here are a few! We are coming up on the 4th month and have a pretty good idea at this point that Aaron will be home a few weeks into the new year!! I am so ready for 2011 to be here, 2010 has been a LONG year! Here are a few pictures of the night!

Courtney, baby Kendall, Charlotte and Mel

Mel and Emily

Decorations!

The food table!

Pictures from the Stan!

2010-10-01T09:38:00.006-04:00

Here are a few pictures from Aaron from the 'Stan! Looks like they try to have a little fun when they can! We are just about to the half way mark, I am looking forward to being on the downward slope! I forgot to do a post for Aaron when he was promoted to Captain in August! He is now Capt. Aaron Huffman! Congrats Aaron I am so proud of you!

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Thankfully Aaron was promoted to Capt and no longer has to sport the stache :) But he is even cute with it!

Aaron or Elton John ?

serious business !

Having a little bit of fun!

Aaron and Nick in Country

Aaron and Ryan

Jalapeno Jelly

2010-09-20T17:35:00.004-04:00

Well my tomatoes have reached their peek in the garden but my peppers are going crazy! What is one to do with so many peppers? Well I decided to jar jelly! I found the recipe here http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/red-and-green-christmas-jalapeno-jelly/Detail.aspx.

It turned out really well and is super cute in its little jars! I plan on giving it as Christmas gifts to neighbors and hostess gifts for around the holidays! Here are some pictures of the process.

WARNING- DO NOT LET JELLY BOIL OVER!!!! It makes for a very STICKY mess, trust me, speaking from experience!

Getting everything ready!

Watch for the BOIL

Finished Product! Wont they be cute with Christmas ribbon and a little recipe tag ?

no excuses

2010-09-15T21:02:00.013-04:00

i have been an awful blogger, i hate people that dont update and i have been one of those people! i wish i had a good excuse, like oh i am so busy working and spending time with my husband...but nope cant use those! so i have no excuse! so here is what i have been up too, my dad and cynthia came for Labor Day Weekend and we had a great time! eating lots, running (did i mention thats all i feel like i do these days, i will be very happy when this marathon is over) shopping and doing yard work! it was great to have a man around the house for a few days to do all the man chores that i hate doing! like mowing, weed whacking, planting grass, changing air filters, etc! A big shout out to my dad for doing all of that! i wish i had some pictures but i dont bc my dad took all of them on his camera!

then last weekend i went home to indiana for my cousin/friend sarah finchs amazing wedding at lake wawasee. it was so much fun and was an absolutely lovely wedding, i do have a few pictures of that.

so now i am back in NC and having been substitute teaching at Camp Lejeune Schools which is fun and working part time for Dynasplint doing fittings. other than that and running thats all i do! this weekend i will be running 15 miles.....eccck and next weekend i will be running my first half marathon at camp lejeune, so i am logging some serious miles this week.

well thats about it from this front..here are some random pictures from the last few weeks!!

PS Aaron still is doing well and staying very very busy! We will have 3 months under our belts next Thursday (not that i am counting) it will be nice to get over the 4 month hump bc once i have hit that its a downhill slope! i have been able to talk to him a lot recently and the email connection has been good too! As always thanks for the continued prayers for him and the blue knight family, keep it up! I cant wait for him to get home and go back to a normal life! AHHH!!

ok here are some pictures

sideways pic of sarah the bride!!

at the wedding!

beautiful setting

unreal cake!

Holy Crab claws!

Jennifer and I are Finchs rehearsal dinner party!

With the Bride!

Rehearsal Dinner at Oliver Winery

Back in Btown for Kristen and Wills big weekend!

Kristens Bachelorette Party!

Kristen, Ellie and I are Kristen's bachelorette party in Ft Myers earlier this summer!

a package to Aaron (this is a weekly scene at my house)

A picture from earlier this summer at Lake Wawasee

I am BACK!

2010-08-23T11:05:00.002-04:00

After a very nice and looooong trip home to Indiana I am back in North Carolina and back to my blog!

I had a great time in Indiana and it helped time tick away a little faster :) While I was home I celebrated my Grandpas 90th birthday, went to lake Wawasee TWICE, had dinner with friends, hung out with my family, and went to one of my best friends wedding in Bloomington! The highlight of the trip had to be my weekend back in Btown! It has been a loooog three years since I had been back and so much had changed! I got to stay in the union, walk campus, eat pizza express, go to Nicks and so much! Not to mention be a part of Kristen and Will Dyar BIG DAY! Congrats Dyars!

As for being back in North Carolina..... its nice to be home and have my own space and stuff! Its pretty quiet around here but I am finding ways to keep busy! Today marks 2 months since Aaron has been gone, its has been a looooong two months but I have survived! I actually got to have a video chat with Aaron this morning for 10 mins! The squadron set it up and it was so nice to see his face while I talked to him! He looked great and seems to be in good spirits!

Alright, I promise pictures to come soon and I will be better about updating!

Red, White and BOOM !

2010-07-21T22:20:00.009-04:00

The Fourth of July is one of my very favorite holidays to celebrate, this year it had a new meaning. I have always known what the fourth of July meant and have always been a very patriotic person, but this year I personally felt the sacrifice that people make to keep our country free.

The statement "freedom does not come free" really hits home for me. We are so lucky to live in such a great country, and I thank god everyday for all the men and women who have given us this opportunity.

My mom and my sister's family came for the fourth, we had a great time and the kids were a great distraction from Aaron leaving. We did lots of fun stuff including, a trip to base to see the aircraft, trips to the beach, trips to the pool, dinners, fourth of july cookie baking, fireworks at Camp Lejeune (doesn't get more patriotic than that) and much more. Here are some pictures to share from our fun weekend!

Happy Birthday AMERICA!

Yum!

cookies!

cookie decorating

Jill and her family!

Family pic before dinner!

Amelia at the beach!

Alec at the beach!

The kids flying the Cobra (dont tell Aaron we didnt get to see an Osprey)

my niece and nephew getting an up close look at the Cobra from Aaron's best friend Colin.

Growing Garden!

2010-07-21T22:02:00.005-04:00

Wow my garden has been growing out of control! I have tomatoes coming out of my ears, so I decided to can salsa, tomato sauce, etc so when Aaron gets home this winter he too can have a taste of our garden! Here are some pictures of my first experience with canning salsa!

homegrown produce!

Getting the jars ready!

Simmering all the ingredients

Boiling the jars

Hope its tasty enough to give as gifts!

Finished product with my homemade label

Its not goodbye its see ya later

2010-07-21T21:54:00.002-04:00

Here are a few pictures from the night Aaron took off! Right as we pulled in a HUGE rainstorm came, it was almost like god was crying for us and we both agreed it helped make the goodbye a little easier because there was no time for it to drag on!

Of course we took Jack with us, and it was nice to have him in the car with me on the way home!

So far things are going pretty well and time is starting to go a little faster! Aaron is doing well, he is very busy working around 14-15 hour days 7 days a week. He has been flying a lot! Keep the prayers and positive thoughts coming for his continued safety!

My cute Lt.

Jack and Aaron

The last fling before the ring!!!!

2010-07-13T22:00:00.003-04:00

KRISTEN IS GETTING MARRIED!!!!!!!!

And this weekend I am meeting 11 girls in Ft. Myers, Fl to celebrate her bachelorette party! To say I am very excited is an under statement! We are going to have a blast, drinking, boating, chatting and of course dancing!

It is the perfect get away, that I could really use. The last couple of weeks adjusting to my "new" normal around here without Aaron and having him in a war zone have been rough!

I am looking forward to seeing everyone and celebrating KO's last days as a single lady!

The big day is August 14th in Bloomington, In!

* ps sorry I cant get the picture to rotate!

Aaron's "summer" + fall and winter vacation

2010-06-28T20:52:00.003-04:00

Well, if actually happened! For the last few months I have been living in denial about Aaron being deployed. As much as I tried to slow time down, it seemed to just go faster and June 23rd still came. The week before he left was filled with packing, tears, more packing, tears (by me of course, he is a big bad Marine) and a little fun too! The day he left was pretty awful, but I am surviving and am almost a week into my countdown.

I have had lots of help staying busy, thankfully my wonderful sister in law has been staying with me! If I cant have Aaron at least I have another Huffman!

My Mom, Sister, Brother in law, and niece and nephew are coming later this week so that is sure to keep me busy! I am looking forward to staying as busy as possible the next few months to help make the time fly by!

As for Aaron, he is doing well, I spoke to him today and he is in country and getting settled and should start flying in a few weeks. His spirits were high and he is lucky to have some good friends with him!

Thoughts and prayers for a safe deployment are greatly appreciated, for Aaron and all the VMM 365 Blue Knight Family!

Above is a picture of Aaron and another pilot from his squadron getting ready to load the buses to head in country!

Pre Deployment Vacation Pictures

2010-06-13T19:32:00.003-04:00

Aaron and I are back from our predeployment getaway!! We had the best time and even managed not to think about the up coming deployment the whole time!

We started our trip in Ft. Myers and were lucky enough to overlap with Aaron's parents vacation for a night, then we took off for Key West where we spent three days eating, drinking, and soaking up the rays! After Key West we headed to Islamorda to enjoy a few quiet days in the sun at an amazing resort. We stayed at the Cheeca Lodge (favorite vacation place of Bush 41) it was perfect and not busy at all so we felt as if we had the place to ourselves! After a few days of laying by the pool, bike riding, kayaking and eating we headed back to Ft. Myers for memorial day weekend. A bunch of our friends flew down to meet us at Aaron's parents house for the weekend! We had so much fun going on the boat and drinking too many margaritas (if there is such a thing!!).

Here are some pictures from the trip!

Enjoy :)

Aaron and his parents!

Southern Most Point

@ Captain Tony's in Key West

NAS Key West

amazing view

Out for Sushi @ Cheeca Lodge

Cheeca Lodge

Boat Cruise

The Ft. Myers crew drinking Margaritas

Here are some pictures of our great trip!

On Vacation

2010-05-20T23:18:00.002-04:00

If you need us, we will be here ..........

drinking margaritas, eating yummy seafood and digging our toes in the sand.

We are headed to Ft. Myers and The Keys for a 12 day vacation, pictures as soon as we return.....

Captain Brandon "Bull" Barrett

2010-05-20T22:14:00.004-04:00

Captain Bull Barrett

Returning home to Dover Airforce base

The streets of Marion were lined with signs like this, as well as every fast food place, drug store etc, it was truly breathtaking.

As many of you probably know now from Facebook or the news Aaron and I lost a great friend on May 5th to sniper fire in Afghanistan. Aaron and Brandon went to the Naval Academy together. I actually introduced the two of them because Brandon was from Marion, In where my step-moms family is from and we had met at Lake Wawasee before their first year at the academy. Aaron and him became fast friends and then when they went to The Basic School (TBS) after graduation they became even closer. Brandon was stationed at Camp Lejeune and lived right up the road from us, when we moved here it was great because we were finally close again!

He deployed for the 2nd time in December as a platoon commander, Brandon's number one focus was always his Marines. He always said as long as all his marines came home safe he would be happy. I used to ask him what sort of packages he liked getting and his answer was always, well my marines like this or my marines like that. He never answered what he liked, it was always about his marines. He was a true leader and a true American hero. He loved being a Marine and died doing what he loved, and we have found comfort in that.

Aaron and I flew home to Indiana last weekend for his funeral, it was amazing. I have never in my life been so proud to be a Hoosier.... there is something to be said about Hoosier hospitality. We brought about 10 people with us that stayed with our families, but each stop of the trip we seemed to run into more people from the naval academy, TBS, and flight school. We knew it would be a huge turn out, because Bull never met a stranger and his character showed by the amount of people that flew into celebrate his life. We estimated around 40 people from his graduating class at the academy, they flew in from North Carolina, Fl, San Diego, and Hawaii. On top of his classmates, almost all of the Marines that served underneath him during his first deployment drove and flew in. Marion, In has a new special place in my heart. Aaron and Brandon used to joke about Noblesville and Marion and which was better, it was a joke they talked about every time they got together. We always laughed because he could not wait to get back to Marion someday, well he is home now and he has a great community looking after him for eternity. On Saturday the town of Marion shut down and lined the streets with American flags and their hands on their hearts as they welcomed their hero home. It was an incredibly hard weekend, but we all know that Brandon is happy to be "home." The whole weekend people kept saying Brandon is up there laughing, and saying I finally got everyone to come to Marion! Well Brandon, I think if you and Aaron were to fight over Noblesville and Marion again, Marion would win. I will forever be a Marion Giants fan.

Thank you Brandon for your service and sacrifice, we will be forever grateful.

I feel confident knowing that he is up there guarding the gates of heaven, he will will be forever missed and never forgotten.

Taylor Swift

2010-04-29T22:22:00.001-04:00

We are going to see Taylor Swift this weekend! I cant wait!!!!

2010 Marine Corps Marathon

2010-04-14T19:30:00.003-04:00

I registered for the 2010 Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC in October! I know I am crazy, I mean running 26.1 miles....no way that is normal! But I thought it would be a great goal for me to accomplish while Aaron is deployed! The Marine Corps Marathon was the perfect choice and a great way to honor the Marines and all they do for our country! I am excited to start training!! Wish me luck!

Easter

2010-04-14T19:16:00.007-04:00

We had a great Easter! Aaron's parents drove down for the weekend, we had fun working around the house, eating amazing food, and relaxing! The weather was perfect, high 80s all weekend! Aaron's good friend Paul also drove down to spend Easter with us, we have spent Easter with Paul the last 3 years, and every year I make the boys die easter eggs with me! In return I of course make them great Easter baskets! Here are some pictures

Aaron and I

Paul, Jordan, Aaron and Jack after church!

Jack and his new Easter duck!

Maryann and Jack sleeping on the couch after a tough day in the yard!

Aaron and Paul playing ball at half time of the butler game!

GO DAWGS

The boys watching the Butler game

Jordan and Aaron

Taking a break after working in the yard

Fresh Produce

2010-04-08T20:32:00.009-04:00

Aaron's parents came for the Easter weekend and while they were here we were lucky enough to have them help us build a box garden! Aaron and I had a pepper garden when we lived in Corpus and loved it, we always said when we bought a house we would have a garden. Well, here we are! I am so excited about this, we started with just a small crop this year since it will just be Jack and I this summer, next year we will def. expand!

Things planted in the garden

Japanese tomatoes
cherry tomatoes
roma tomatoes
2 different types of peppers
mint
cilantro
rosemary
chives
basil

I cant wait for the plants to start producing! and I especially cant wait to make our famous salsa with our home grown ingredients!

taking a break

Planting the herbs and veggies!

Complete!

Fresh Mint

Egg Hunt Party

2010-04-08T17:26:00.004-04:00

A couple of weeks ago one of the guys in Aaron's squadron threw an egg hunt party! Well he did not hide eggs, but he hide mini liquor bottles! It was such a fun party, they had yummy ribs, mac and cheese, and lots of great sweet treats! Nick's girlfriend Mel is moving here this summer to start her OBGYN residency and I cant wait, she is so fun and I love having her as a friend! Here are a few pictures!

The head bunny and his hostess!!

Jordan "the moose" and Aaron

Aaron and Ben

Dr. Mel and Jordan

John Deer

2010-04-08T17:19:00.003-04:00

We are slowly preparing for this deployment that is hanging over our heads and one of the things on Aaron's to do list before his departure was to buy a riding law mower!! He knew (smart man) that I would not like to push mow our rather large yard, so he decided it would be easier for me to have a riding mower. (Really I think this is just an excuse because he really wanted one, cause we all know I would have just paid the kid down the street to do it every week.)

But for now picture me on the tracker with a beer and a bikini, ha ya right, but it is funny to picture!!!

We even got the yard cart to pull around behind it!

Looking good in my matching outfit

They even threw in a bucket for the back for my empty beers ;)

Back to normal

2010-04-08T17:15:00.003-04:00

Aaron is home...... and things feel back into normal very quickly! I love having him home, mustache and all (while on det all the Lts had to grow a mustache) thankfully it was came off pretty quick once he got home!

Fl Trip

2010-04-08T17:08:00.005-04:00

Better late then never! Here are some pictures of my trip to Fl with my mom! When I got home Aaron returned from his two month det, so we have been busy catching up on life!

We had a great time in Fl, lunch, shopping, dinner, pool, eating, all of the things my mom and I do best! Here are some pictures!

My mom and I outside of La Playa

href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8WhLz0fSiMU/S75Guj1enpI/AAAAAAAABc0/Cpsfv-tW2lc/s1600/P3130182.JPG">

My mom and I having lunch at La Playa (where Aaron and I got married)

Dinner at Bayfront

Headed South.... further south that is

2010-03-08T22:22:00.000-05:00

I am headed to Ft. Myers, Fl Thursday for a much needed weekend get away with my mom! I cant wait, in fact I am already packed! The bummer of the news is Aaron is getting home a week early and will be back sometime Sat or Sun, therefore I wont be here! AHH! Murphys Law, if I change my plans and cancel my trip he wont make it home! Oh the joys of life in the military, planning anything is near impossible!

While in Fl I plan on doing lots of reading, laying by the pool/beach, having multiple cocktails and even having dinner where we got married!

Only it wont be as fun since he wont be there with me.... someday I dream of going back and staying for a full week with the Mr. we may have to wait until the military is not apart of our lives! Until then........

And just for memories... hard to believe it will be three years in September!

My New Car

2010-02-25T21:40:00.000-05:00

I got a brand new Ford Fusion!! I am so excited to have a new car and one that is a lot nicer on the gas mileage!!! It arrives Sunday!!

Momma Jens Visit!!!

2010-02-22T20:19:00.000-05:00

My mom came this weekend to help break up the time that Aaron is gone! We had the BEST time, eating, drinking, shopping, watching movies and working out!!!

We spent Saturday shopping downtown New Bern (home of Nicholas Sparks and setting to his books) We found some cute stores and had a fun lunch with Aaron's best friend Paul. Sunday we had a nice long walk on the beach and then spent the day shopping in Wilmington! It was a great weekend, but of course went way to fast!!! Luckily I will be meeting her in Ft. Myers in 2 weeks to do the same thing all over again! Here are a few pictures!

Lunch at the Almond Tree Cafe!

What a view from Paul's balcony!

Jack !!!

2010-02-22T20:10:00.000-05:00

Jack is pretty much my best buddy these days, I honestly dont know what I would do without him! That sounds silly, but he is such a good buddy! He is always waiting for me at the end of the day and excited to see me, then loves to snuggle!! When my mom was in town we spent lots of time playing at the beach, here are some pictures!! Also, some pictures of his new toys he got when my mom and I visited a doggie boutique!!

We are BOTH more than ready for Aaron to get home!!! More than half way there!

mmmmmm !!

at the beach!

Snow in North Carolina!

2010-02-22T20:04:00.000-05:00

Well I thought I had moved to the south and away from snow, but last weekend we got 4 inches!!! Since Aaron was not here I wanted to document it for him, here are some pictures of Jack playing in it!

PS It melted in a day and then it was 60 this weekend, my type of snow!

what a cute puppy!!

New Hobbie

2010-02-03T20:54:00.000-05:00

I have always wanted learn to sew like my Grandma Forgey (and Grandma Jacob), I took sewing in 4-H in junior high and I have had many weekends growing up making things with my grandma at her house. So for Christmas I decided I wanted my very own sewing machine so I could take my sewing to "another" level. Well I have made a few projects, and am slowly getting better! I have made a few headbands, jazzed up some holiday dish towels, and made a cute valentines banner! Here are a few pictures.

I have a lot of projects in mind for the summer, fall and winter when Aaron is gone, so until then I will be doing small stuff to prefect my stitch :)

Chapel Hill

2010-01-25T22:33:00.000-05:00

Aaron and I spent the weekend in Chapel Hill this past weekend to celebrate an early birthday for him and Valentine's day for both of us!

We stayed at this amazing hotel owned by the University and right in the heart of campus, we had fun eating yummy meals and trying to blend in with the college kids.

I cant wait to wait to go back in the summer when everything is blooming!

Pizzeria Huffman

2010-01-25T21:43:00.000-05:00

As most of you know, Aaron loves to cook and I love to be his assistant! For Christmas I got Aaron a new pizza peel, so we decided to test it out a few Friday's ago! I made the homemade dough and we created 3 different types of pizza!

These are my favorite Friday nights, just Aaron, Jack and I hanging out eating pizza and drinking wine! Friday nights wont be the same for the next 2 months (Aaron left today for 2 months of training in Arizona and California) but I will survive and my friend Danielle and I have decided we will spend Friday nights together from now on (her husbands is deployed) and do things we cant get the boys to do with us! Go to movies, go to antique shops, and the list is growing!

Here are some pictures from our pizza kitchen! I cant wait for him to get back in March so we can come up with some different types of delicious pizza!

What a fun night!

Movie Time

Jack hoping to catch a little snack

My favorite, the Buffalo Chicken

My cook ;)

#3 Buffalo Chicken

Pizza # 2 BBQ chicken pizza

Pizza # 1 Riccota, garlic and sliced tomatoes

Aaron with pizza #1 and his new pizza peel

Christmas in Indiana

2010-01-12T18:39:00.000-05:00

WHOA, well it was a very busy 10 days! 7 family Christmas's, 1 shower, 1 wedding, 1 birthday, lots of eating, lots of drinking, lots of hunting and lots of family and friends. Needless to say we are very lucky to have such great families and friends! Here is a photo montage of the week! PS I did not do a good job of taking photos so I am missing a lot of people and a lot of things!

Aaron and his high school buddies at Jacks wedding, notice Aarons sweet mustache... NOT

Happy 2010

Casey, Holly and I on new years

My dad and I on his birthday!

Aaron and Amelia playing elf

Alec, very into his presents

Jill Pat and Amelia on Christmas

Aaron's cousin Catherine with her sweet baby Harper on Christmas Day

Christmas Morning at the Huffmans

Jack exhausted after opening presents Christmas morning

Chrissy and I

Christmas Eve dinner with the Groves

Christmas in the Ferry

2010-01-12T18:21:00.000-05:00

The week before we left to go home for Christmas we had the Bowrings and Colin Marty over for a Christmas dinner! We had fun eating delicious prime rib, made by our chief Aaron, drinking yummy drinks, and opening gifts! We are so lucky to have such great friends in NC. Dan leaves to deploy a week from Tuesday, Aaron leaves for a 2 month training at the end of the month and then deploys in July and Colin is doing training in California, this was the last time all the boys will be together for probably a year to a year and a half. So all the more reason to celebrate with good friends. Many thanks to all these boys and what they do! Make sure to say an extra pray for them in the coming months.

Here are some pictures to enjoy

The boys

Aaron and his best buddy

Daniella and I

Jack waiting for his gifts!

Danielle and Colin opening gifts

With Colin and my new snuggie and new apron!

Dan and Danielle getting ready for gifts

The Prime Rib...YUMMY

Aaron and I in front of our tree

Its the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

2009-12-14T18:07:00.001-05:00

I love love love Christmas, I love it so much I decorated Thanksgiving night! My favorite thing to do in December is to sit in front of the tree, wrap presents and watch Christmas movies! I could do all day everyday and be so happy! The one thing I do not like is how FAST December is going and what a short time period there was between Thanksgiving and Christmas! Between decorating, baking, working on Christmas cards, and shopping it just flies by!

This is the first year in the history of Aaron and Jordan, Aaron gets more time off for Christmas then me! The past two years I have not worked a "real" job so I have had lots of time to spend at home in Indiana with the family! Not this year! Aaron is finished with work this Friday and will head home on Saturday or Sunday with Jack and all the presents in the truck, and I will fly home on the evening of the 23rd! The good news is I do have until the week between Christmas and New Years to be home in Indiana! This is a very special Christmas for us, and I am going all out, because Aaron will be leaving for Afghanistan in the spring and will not be home next Christmas. So we will be basking in all the traditions and joys of the season!

He will be leave in Jan for training in California and Arizona and wont return until March :( ick! So we will be making the most of the next few weeks!

Remember to think, pray and remember all of our service men and women (& and their families) in harms way this holiday season. It is because of them we have the freedom to celebrate the season!

If you are looking for any good organizations to donate to this season Wounded Warriors and The Fisher House are great organizations that help wounded warriors and their families as they recover!

Ok on to the fun stuff! Here are some pictures of our house decorated for Christmas!

Kitchen stockings

The dining room

My favorite new decoration, an Advent Calendar made from a mirror that my mom had made for me! Its amazing, the picture does not do it justice!

My other favorite new christmas decoration, Marine Nutcracker! Cynthia bought it for me when they were here visiting! I love it

All our stocking are hung (includes Jack)

Jack and his tree

and again..

Gobble 'till you Wobble

2009-11-30T21:03:00.000-05:00

We had a great Thanksgiving this year, it was especially festive with a live turkey! Yes, a live turkey!! Our dear friend Paul showed up Wednesday evening with a "special surprise" a real turkey named Turk! Instead of bringing a pumpkin pie or rolls he stole the show with Turk! Turk spent the next few days gobbling around our back yard until he was pardoned to a nice new farm and was spared from a Thanksgiving feast!

We had a full house with Aaron's family and my mom, we spent most of the weekend preparing the food and then eating, and in between we had time to shop and decorate for Christmas! We have a lot to be thankful for this year and we cherished every moment of the holiday knowing that next year Aaron will not be home to celebrate. Here are some pictures of our great Thanksgiving!!!

Never a dull moment at the Huffman House!

The moms

The turkey (not to be confused with Turk)

Paul Aaron and me!

The Host and Hostess

The Huffman Clan

Evan, Elaine and Dan

Gary and Aaron working on the extra turkey

Jack meeting Turk

Turk!

Ready for Thanksgiving

My mom and Jack taking an after turkey nap

Pumpkin and Apple Pies

Elaine working on the pies

The Marine Corps looks pretty good for 234!

2009-11-21T11:33:00.000-05:00

Nov 10 was the 234th birthday of the Marine Corps and every year we celebrate with the Marine Corps birthday ball! Aaron happened to finish his last flight of the RAG this day so it was extra special, he is now officially a Osprey Pilot and checked into his new squadron this week!

This year the ball was in Atlantic Beach, NC about an hour north of our house at a really nice resort! We had a great time celebrating the birthday and Veterans Day! It makes you so proud and grateful seeing a room full of handsome Marines in their dress blues, god bless them for everything they do! Here are a few pictures to enjoy!

My Marine!

Dancing

Singing Karaoke after the ball

Handsome Marines

The girls before the ball

We are getting ready for a house full of guests to arrive this week for Thanksgiving, Aaron's whole family and my mom are coming down to celebrate with us!

We have a busy couple of months ahead of us. We will be here for Thanksgiving, home to Indiana for a week or so for Christmas and then Aaron will be gone most of Jan, Feb and part of March for training in California and New Mexico! Time is flying by!

FINALLY!!

2009-11-05T22:06:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posts, I am still adjusting to this working full-time thing, especially driving at least 4 hours a day :)!!! Below are some pictures from when my dad, Cynthia and all the kids came for a visit!

We had the best time, the weather was perfect! It was so warm we were able to fully enjoy the beach house they rented! We went to some great places to eat, we spent a lot of time going to base buying Marine Corps t-shirts, watching all the plans fly over and even were able to tour a few, which my dad loved! We had a great time and I cant wait for them to come back!

Our next round of visitors come for Thanksgiving! Aaron's whole family and my mom! Lots of fun things coming up in the next few months!!!

Here are some pictures to enjoy!

The Forgey/Jarrett Clan

Dan (Aaron's best friend) doing a special fly over in his Huey for my fam!!! I missed the really low pictures bc I was so excited I couldn't focus!!!

Not a bad view :)

Enjoying the deck on the beach house

Holly and I lunch on the island!

The whole gang!

Jills and I at dinner!

A New Life

2009-09-23T07:23:00.000-04:00

For the past two years while we have moved around it has been difficult for me to find a full-time job, in Corpus I worked at a school as an aide and at a cute boutique then in Pensacola I got a job the month before we moved at the daycare center on base. I was also working on my teaching license on-line. Well when we moved to North Carolina I never dreamed I would find a full time job. I figured I would continue school and try to find an aide job, shortly after we moved here I realized working at a school was going to be out of the question with all the budget cuts and the HUGE amount of military wives that are teachers! So I started to look else where and applied to everything and anything, well after months and months of interviewing at places I wasnt crazy about I finally got a job that I love!

I am working for a company called Dynasplint Systems, Inc. I am the new sales consultant for the Raleigh/Durham area (yes 2 hrs from our house). Dynasplint is a medical device company that sells splints for range of motion issues to Orthopaedics and Physical Therapists. I was in training last week in Annapolis, MD it was so much fun! It was very intense but it was nice to relax in the evening with dinner downtown Annapolis and walks around the Naval Academy!! Aaron was a little jealous that I was back in his old stomping grounds!

So this is my official first week and so far I love it, Raleigh is 2 hours from our house so I will be spending lots of time in my car, but the good thing is I make my own schedule so it wont be too bad!

Its so nice to finally have a "real" job after two years of job hopping! Wish us luck, its going to be an adjustment for both of us!

I will try to keep up with the blog as my life gets a lot more busy!

Labor Day Visitors!

2009-09-10T21:51:00.000-04:00

The Cordials and the Groves came to visit us for Labor day! We had an absolute blast! The weather was ok....but that didn't slow us down one bit! We had dinner in Wilmington, grilled out, had a shrimp boil, shopped, fished, checked out the osprey, and went on the boat! It was a great weekend and we hope they will come back and visit again and hopefully we can make it to Columbus someday to see their houses!!! Here are some pictures of the weekend!

11 lbs of shrimp!

Boys cooking the shrimp

Buddies!

Jordan and Ron

Chad grilling the clams we got at the beach!

Lunch on the beach!

Our spot on the beach for the day

Flounder Gigging

The boys before they headed out to flounder gig

Dinner in Wilmington

The Cordials and the Groves came to visit us for Labor day! We had an absolute blast! The weather was ok....but that didn't slow us down one bit! We had dinner in Wilmington, grilled out, had a shrimp boil, shopped, fished, and went on the boat! It was a great weekend and we hope they will come back and visit again and hopefully we can make it to Columbus some day to see their houses!!! Here are some pictures of the weekend!

1 Chemo left!

2009-09-10T21:43:00.000-04:00

I know I haven't posted anything lately about Cynthia and her cancer treatment, but she is doing really well and only has one chemo left!!! Here is a cute picture of her sporting her trendy scarf!

Amelia turns 6 !!!!

2009-09-10T18:32:00.000-04:00

While I was home in Indiana I was able to go to Amelia's sixth birthday party in the park!!! I cant believe how old she is and acts so grown up!!!! Here are some pictures!

Birthday Girl!!!

Alec being silly!

Amelia with her brother and his friend

Birthday Girl!

Mr and Mrs Templeton

2009-09-10T18:24:00.000-04:00

The Templetons!

My date for the evening! Mazur

All the Chio girls in the Haute for the wedding!

Bull Fest!

2009-08-21T12:58:00.000-04:00

Our friend Brandon aka bull, has a gorgeous house right on the beach, hosted a fun all day party last weekend! The weather was perfect, the beer was cold and the hog they roasted was delicious! Here are some pictures, we are settling in just fine to our new life in North Carolina!

Hoosiers!

Bowrings and Huffmans

Enjoying Bull fest!

Brandon working on the corn... you can tell he is an Indiana boy with those skills!

Hayden, Aaron and Dan

Our friend Brandon aka bull, has a gorgeous house right on the beach, hosted a fun all day party last weekend! The weather was perfect, the beer was cold and the hog they roasted was delicious! Here are some pictures, we are settling in just fine to our new life in North Carolina!

A motherly touch!

2009-08-10T21:42:00.000-04:00

* sorry for the bad organization of this post, there were so many pictures and by the end I was too tired to put them all in order! Just be happy I actually got them put up!

Once we finally got all moved in and somewhat organized both our moms came down to put the final touch on our new house! Moms know how to make a house a home!! They didn't get much of a vacation because they were working so hard decorating and painting furniture! I think they did get to see the beach from the car window on our way back and forth between Lowes, and Aaron and I did take them out to dinner one night for all their hard work! Next time they will be able to enjoy their work and hopefully make it to the beach! Here are some pictures of the house with pictures hung, new furniture, rugs, and all the accessories!

Master bedroom

Dresser in master bedroom

Bedroom floor/rug

Master bedroom

Front porch, with our new rocking chairs! My favorite part of the house :)

Aarons (very) unfinished office

Screened in porch and guest bedroom! We still have some work on the screened in porch, like hanging the swing and we are waiting on a new table and chairs! The outside and Aaron's office our still in the works, but should hopefully be finished by labor day for our visitors!!!

Kitchen (minus the new island because its still drying)

Breakfast area

Breakfast area in the kitchen (waiting on the 4th stool to come in)

My old white desk that we repainted yellow for the guest room!

on our cute new bench!

Entry way

The worker bees with their master piece

Dining room, two table stands that I stained and redid to fit in the dining room

Dining Room

living room

Looking into the living room from entry way

This bench was green but we painted it to make it work in the entryway!

Work shop

The antique table (now the island in our kitchen)

The table was originally a dark cherry walnut, but was painted a rusty red, distressed and stained again!

The garage.....aka paint shop for the weekend! The people that lived in our house before left this awesome antique table (so awesome Aaron and I were going to toss it) but when his mom got her she wouldnt have it and took on refurbishing it and the finish product is amazing! So glad we didnt get rid of it!

Jack and his new digs

2009-08-10T21:34:00.000-04:00

Celebrating Jacks 2nd birthday in his new house :)

Enjoying his birthday treat!

Jacks favorite birthday present!

Such a bum!

Jack and his new favorite toy! He loves taking rides and people crack up when they see us cruising down the road!

Helping out the handyman!

Move in!

2009-08-10T21:06:00.000-04:00

We closed on our house on July 21st and then promptly had painters start painting the kitchen and our bedroom! Then on on July 24th an eighteen wheeler showed up with our household goods! What a great feeling after not seeing them since May 29th!! Here are a few pictures of painting and the move in!

The bedroom went from sea green to antique white

The kitchen went from burnt orange to interesting aqua

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When the painters left Aaron and I tackled painting his office because he wanted to paint one room on his own... next time I will hire the painters to do it all! Painting is not in my blood, there are multiple gray spots on the ceiling! Opps!

Priming the purple room

From purple to gray

Then the madness began and the boxes took over the house!! I was home alone the day the movers arrived since Aaron was back at work, it was my first time doing it alone but I think it worked out ok! By the time we went to bed that night we had everything in the kitchen and our bedroom put away! Pretty good if I must say so!

The truck with all our stuff came straight from storage in the crates!

Boxes taking over the kitchen

Bedroom boxes

Garage

More boxes

Thankful this is the last move.....for at least 3 years!

Boxes Boxes Boxes

2009-07-31T16:35:00.000-04:00

We have finally come out from underneath all those boxes!!! The moving company finally came and picked them all up and got them out of my hair today!!! Now I can decorate, because I have some space to move! Things are going great and North Carolina is starting to feel like home, once my mom and MIL come next week and put the final touches on my house it will feel even more like home!

We have been busy unpacking, organizing and more importantly going to Lowes! Who knew my new favorite store would Lowes, bye bye Jcrew and Anthropologie my heart and credit card now goes to Lowes! I will miss you, but promise to visit once I get everything organized at my house!

I swear I will post pictures, the paint looks great, the furniture fits, I just need some pictures on the walls, as soon as that happens I will post a whole post of before and after shots of the new house! Looking forward to a relaxing weekend with a few margaritas and hopefully the beach!

We close tomorrow!!!

2009-07-20T20:36:00.000-04:00

We finally close on our new house tomorrow and we cant wait!!! We have a painter starting tomorrow and hopefully finishing up on Wednesday and then our household goods are set to arrive Thursday! I am going to be busy busy busy, unpacking, cleaning, organizing and of course decorating and probably some painting too! But I will post pictures as soon as it is somewhat presentable! We cant wait!! Wish me luck tomorrow as I sign all eight million papers since Aaron isnt going to beable to come!

Pictures to come soon!

Jordan

Last few weeks in NC and Indiana!

2009-07-09T18:47:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the lack of posts the last few weeks, I have been busy!. I ended up packing Jack up and driving home to Indiana for a few weeks. I had a blast at home with no huge plans I got to see all my family and friends and had a great time!! Then Jack and I drove back to North Carolina to spend the 4th of July with Aaron since he had a few days off! His friend Kenny drove back with me to help me since I brought a Uhaul trailer back full of furniture for the new house. We are still living with our friends Dan and Danielle until our house closes on the 22nd! We are so excited to finally get our stuff and stop living out of suit cases! It has been very challenging for me to wear only the clothes I have in my suit case for almost 2 months now!!!! We had a blast celebrating the fourth out on the boat, beach and putt putt course. Here are some pictures of the last few weeks.

Yum!

Ready to eat!

Our very first NC Shrimp Boil

Aaron was sad because he couldnt have a Mug A Rita!

More Putt Putt

A friendly game of putt putt

my driving buddy

Captain Ron

Danielle and the pups!

Roommate

Beached for the afternoon

Aaron, Kenny and Jack

The day after the 4th, taking the dogs on the boat!

Decorated for the 4th

Stopping for dinner on the boat

Swimming

We caught a shark

Being silly

Such a beautiful view

Kenny and Aaron working hard fishing!

Amelia is getting so big!

Alec being cute while I was home

Hanging out at the beach!

Danielle and I hanging out at the beach!

Wings of Gold

2009-06-22T17:01:00.000-04:00

Very Proud, pinning his wings of gold

The whole family with the guest speaker

Better late than never!
I finally was able to get some pictures from the winging ceremony! Aaron if officially a "winged Marine Aviator" and here are some pictures to prove it! He will now be training on MV-22 Osprey for 5-6 months and then will head to his permanent squadron! He starts classes tomorrrow and is getting excited to finally fly the Osprey!

We are home owners....well offically on July 16th

2009-06-21T10:16:00.000-04:00

We ended up finding a house we really loved and put an offer on it last week and after a few counters we found out Saturday that it is ours (the crazy thing is the current owners are moving to Indiana) and we will close on July 16th! We evened ended up with a golf cart, which will be great because the nieghborhood the house is in is a water access community so it will be great to use the golf cart to transport our Kayak, fishing poles etc! Plus the water access will make using our boat that much easier! Here are some pictures of the house, I cant wait to get into it in a few weeks, paint some rooms and get organized for our many visitors over the next few months! Here are a few before pictures!

The front

Kitchen

Deck

Screened in Porch

Living Room

Dining Room

Breakfast area in the kitchen

Kitchen... I will painting it a different color

Pictures from North Carolina

2009-06-09T20:54:00.001-04:00

Here are a few pictures of the last few days, mostly of property we have been looking at and a few from the beach! So far we love it here and as you can see from the pictures its absolutely beautiful!

The view from the Pier in the neighborhood we are interested in buying a lot in!

Kayak Launch in the neighborhood

The pier in the neighborhood

A 53 flying over head! Pretty neat to look up and see! The sign when you go on to base says Excuse our noise, thats the sound of freedom! There is forsure a lot of noise around here, but its worth it!

Aaron and Jack checking out the area on our walk

Danielle and Sam and Aaron and Jack on a walk on Topsail Island Beach (about 5 minutes from where we want to live)

We are here!

2009-06-09T07:48:00.000-04:00

Well we arrived in North Carolina last Thursday and have been spending our days exploring our new town (Holly Ridge/Hampstead) and trying to find a house! So far no luck on the house, we are looking to buy but nothing has caught our eyes yet. A new possibility is buying a lot and building a house which would take between 90 and 120 days so we will see where that goes!

Aaron had to check into his new squadron today and I am going to start my job search, once Aaron gets checked in he will have 10 days of house hunting leave so hopefully during that time we will find something, until then we are staying at Dan and Danielle's house (Aaron's best friend from the academy)!! Thankfully our dogs are getting along well!

We love the area, the beaches are beautiful and there are lots of fun outdoor activities to do! Its also pretty need seeing ospreys and other big helicopters flying over, I am like a kid and have to stop what I am doing just to watch them!!!

More Updates soon!

Going to Carolina in my Mind!

2009-05-29T11:46:00.000-04:00

The packers got to our house this morning around 9am and are busy upstairs packing my life away! I have decided to just sit downstairs and not think about all my nice, new stuff being packed away by strangers! I am sure they are doing a great job and everything will end up in North Carolina in Mint Condition! ;)

Once the packers are out of here we will have the whole weekend to live in our house with all the boxes until the moving truck gets here on Monday! Then we are going spend the day cleaning the house on Tuesday and head for North Carolina on Wednesday morning!

We still do not have a place to live but will be staying with our good friends the Bowring's until we either find a house to buy or give up and rent for a few months until we find the perfect house. So stay tuned!

Aaron's winging was a blast and I have tons of pictures from the weekend but my camera is packed away somewhere and once I find it I will upload them! It was a pretty neat experience pinning those wings of gold on him as he became and official Marine Aviator! I am so proud of him and we had a great time celebrating with his whole family and my mom!!!

Amie's Visit (overdue)

2009-05-20T11:39:00.001-04:00

Things have been a bit crazy the last few weeks, thanks for all the prayers and positive thoughts for Cynthia, she is doing really well and recovering from surgery at home! I went home to Noblesville last weekend to see her and spend time with the family. It was really nice, and crazy how it takes a situation like this to get us all under the same roof with no plans! Typically when we are all home, we are all going different ways and rarely get to spend time together. So it was nice to lay around watch movies and just be together!

Also, Aaron finished his last flight of flight school last night! I am so proud of him and cant wait to celebrate his winging this weekend!! I will try to get pictures up asap, but we will be packing up to move next week and then off to NC in about 10 days so it might take me a little while!!

A few weeks ago my best buddie, Amie came to visit for a long weekend! We had a blast going to the beach, shopping, out to dinner and on the boat! here are some pictures of her visit!!! So far she has visited every place we have moved and I hope she keeps it up :) North Carolina next spring!

The must have "Irish Wake"

Eating Ice cream before we beat Aaron in Cranium!

Happiest Pup in town !!

On the boat before we witnessed an awful boat accident! (Luckily everyone was ok)

Aaron and Amie!

At the Oar house for dinner!

Amie and I at Pensacola Beach!

Good News!

2009-05-06T16:09:00.000-04:00

The surgery went better than expected and Cynthia is recovering at the hospital!! We are all very thankful for the prayers and positive thoughts the last few days! Please continue to send them over the coming months as she works on recovering!

You can continue to follow her progress

www.caringbridge.org/visit/cynthiaforgey

Again, thank you very very much!!!

Prayers Prayers and lots of Prayers!!!!

2009-05-04T12:21:00.000-04:00

We need them!!!

On Friday our family found out that Cynthia has Ovarian cancer and as to be expected we have all had a tough weekend coping with the news. On Wednesday Cynthia will be having an hysterectomy at St. Vincent's and once she has the surgery and recovers we can fight hard and beat the cancer and go back to a normal life! But.... until then we will take all the prayers and positive thoughts we can get! Jennifer has set up a Caring Bridge Website so everyone can keep up with the latest happenings, please feel free to leave comments with lots of encouragement! Its going to be a tough fight but if you all know Cynthia she is a tough cookie and should have no problem!!!

I wish I could be home with my family this week, luckily I am going to be able to go home next weekend after she is out of the hospital and we can enjoy resting and watching movies on the couch together! :)

I have attached the Caring Bridge website for everyone to check out!

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/cynthiaforgey

Aaron landing on the boat!

2009-04-28T22:16:00.000-04:00

Aaron landing the mighty TH-57 on the boat

One of Aaron's last flights before he finishes flight school! So cool!!!

Osprey Cook-out

2009-04-27T17:05:00.000-04:00

Last weekend one of the other wives who's husband is going to fly the Osprey hosted an Osprey cookout at the MWR Park! The park is part of base and right on the river so it was a perfect place for a cookout and perfect weather It was so nice to finally meet everyone and talk about North Carolina and where everyone wants to live when we get there, plus now there will be lots of familiar faces when we move! I cant wait to get to North Carolina and find a house and finally start settling! Here are some pictures from the weekend!

Mike our friend from Kingsville who is the Navy's newest F-16 pilot!

Ben's older brother taking after all the Marines

Me holding the newest addition to the osprey family Baby Ben

Ryan manning the grill

Aaron and I

Ryan (Aaron's flight partner) and his girlfriend

Scott and Anna Pope, The hosts

Easter Weekend!

2009-04-14T14:10:00.000-04:00

A few of our lovely eggs :)

Three Marines doing easter eggs = interesting :)

Paul and I working on our eggs :)

Jack is a really good basketball player

Aaron and Paul eating pizza at Lillian's on the Key

Aaron, Doug and I

Getting ready to catch some fish!

and Paul.....

My two dates for the night ....... Doug

My favorite new easter decoration from my mom :)

My lovely Easter Cookies

Instead of making everyone a basket, I made one big one for everyone to enjoy

We had a great Easter and the weather finally cleared up so we could enjoy the weekend! Aaron's two buddies who are in Jet training came down from Miss for the weekend! We had a blast, on Friday Paul and Doug took me to dinner because Aaron had to work late and then Aaron picked us up and we went downtown for a winging party! Then Saturday we spent the entire day on the water, it was so nice! Easter we all went to church, dyed easter eggs and ate lots of candy! I gave soda up for lent so I was very excited to have a big one on Easter, after Church I made Aaron take me straight to the gas station for a huge fountain Dr. Pepper! It was fabulous! :) Here are some pictures of the weekend!

Random Updates!

2009-04-07T20:10:00.000-04:00

Nothing new to report here, the weather has been awful the last 3 weeks! Rain, tornados, flooding etc and now its finally sunny but not warm! I am ready for that Fl weather to come back! We have just been busy doing a lot of nothing, well Aaron does a lot of flying and studying and I do a lot of going to workout clases at the gym, looking for jobs in NC and working on my classes!

I was lucky enough to find a part time job to fill the rest of my time here. I am going to be a subbing at the child development center on base! This doesnt sound like much and its really not but you would never guess with the process I have had to go thru to get the job! I have had a full FBI background check, finger prints and a physical. So hopefully in the next few weeks I will actually get to start, as long as I pass all my background checks :)! If I do make it through the whole process its a great thing because when we move to the next base it will be easier to find a job on base until I am able to find a full time job!

Aaron is getting closer and closer to being finished, his tentative winging date is May 22 so keep your fingers crossed he doesnt get held back! We are getting really excited about moving to NC, we have been looking at houses in Topsail Beach and Hampstead Beach, its about 30 mins south of Jacksonville, NC (where the New River base is).

No new pictures for the past few weeks so here is a picture of the Osprey (the plane Aaron is going to fly) for you all to enjoy !!!

Happy Holy Week, have a great Easter!

Empty House

2009-03-30T12:46:00.000-04:00

This past weekend was the first time probably since we have been back from Christmas that we had no one staying at our house! It was a much needed weekend to ourselves! Dont get me wrong we love having guests but everyone needs a break sometimes! Most of the time our guests are Aaron's buddies that come in from Mississippi and we love having them beacause most of our friends here have moved on so its always nice to have people to hang out with! I am sure they will be back next weekend, and hopefully the weather will be nice enough to spend the weekend on the boat!

So I although I have no pictures from our weekend, we did have a great time! We went out for wings and beer on Friday night and to a fun country bar, then Satuday we spent the day running errands and shopping for Aaron. Saturday night we went out to dinner with Aaron's flight partner and his new girlfriend at the Pensacola Ale House! Sunday we drove up to the Black Water Forest (about 30 mins from Milton) and went hiking around Bear Lake! It was about a 4 mile hike and beautiful, Jack really enjoyed it because he was able to run free, explore and swim :)

Hope everyone has a good week, hopefully I will have good pictures next week!!!

Spring Breakers Round 2

2009-03-26T13:50:00.001-04:00

Elaine and I in our boat shirts ;)

Aaron and Jack swimming in the river

My other buddie, Jack!

Aaron and I at Mcquires... A little late for St. Pats day!

The girls

Aaron and his Dad at the Fish House

Antique Helicopter that Aaron's mom found us

Maryann, Elaine and Gary In front of the 46, This is the Helo that the Osprey (what Aaron will be flying) is taking over for!

Watching the training helos take off and land

My buddie Jack the day they moved to California, it hasnt even been a week and I already miss them!!

Dinner at the Blackwater Bistro in Milton

Lunch at Vallirtas

Its been busy here at the Huffman Hotel the last few weeks with visitors! My mom was here for a week and then last week Aaron's Mom, Dad and Sister came for the week! Elaine was on her Spring Break and it worked out perfectly for them to head down and stay with us a few days! We of course had a full agenda of things to do! Maryann and Elaine had both been here, but when it was cold, and Gary had not so we had lots to see! Aaron had to work all day so I did the entertaining during the day and then we would all eat dinner together in the evening! We spent a day at Perdido Beach soaking up sun and had lunch at our favorite Mexican place! Also, being that it was the first week of March Madness we a spend a day downtown PCola in a Sports bar catching all the games...well more importantly in Aaron's family, Purdue! We also did base one day, we had lunch at the Officers Club and watched the Helos take off and land... I think we saw Aaron a few times but not sure :)

The weather was perfect for Spring Breakers so we were even lucky enough to get Aaron to take us on the boat Saturday! Its a good thing they were here last week and not this week because we have had rain everyday!

The Huffman Hotel has some vacancies for the next few weeks and then my best buddy, Amie will be here for a weekend, and then my mom again, and Kim and Matt (Hopefully we will still be here) and all of our families for Aaron's big winging, then we will be on to North Carolina in June! We are getting really excited about our next move... especially because we know it will be out last for at least 3 years!!! Man, that sounds so nice to say... 3 Years, since will have moved 3 times in not even 2 years! :)

Here are lots of pictures from the week with the Huffman's!

Our tour of the Fl panhandle!

2009-03-12T09:14:00.000-04:00

TH-57 the Helo that Aaron is training on right now!

Museum

In front of the airplanes at the Air Museum!

In front of the Pensacola Pelican !

Sorry I cant flip it :)

Drinks at Fish House

Pictures with our newly planted flowers!

Dinner

Mojitos at Tommy Bahama

My mom came to visit for a long weekend last week! As always we hit all the hot spots in the Fl panhandle! Its great when my mom comes to visit because she is good at finding out where all the good shopping, etc is...she just asks, which I get totally embarrassed and then enjoy the benefits! It was my mom that found The Market and all the cute stores in Corpus that I later worked at, so its always good when she is in town because she can scout everything out! We did a lot of good eating, a lot of good shopping and even managed to work out a lot! I took her to muscle max at the gym on base, which she enjoyed and every morning we took Jack on long walks!

Friday afternoon when Aaron finished his flight we headed over to Destin to shop and have dinner, we hit up our favorite shopping area (Jcrew at the beach) and then had dinner at Tommy Bahama! YUM! Saturday we stuck around Milton and worked on my yard, planted some flowers and then Saturday evening we went downtown Pcola for some shopping :) and then drinks at the Fish House and then dinner at Darma Blu! Yum! Sunday my mom and I left Aaron at home and headed back to Destin and the resort town of Seaside for lunch and you guessed it, more shopping ;) Finally, Monday we decided to do something educational, we hit the NAS Pensacola National Air Museum and then lunch at the Officers club! We had such a blast and I can't wait for her next trip! She better hurry though because we are running out of time here, looks like we will be out of here and on to North Caroline early June!

Enjoy the pictures!

MIA

2009-03-06T17:37:00.000-05:00

My mom is here on vacation for a week... I promise good pictures and stories on my next post! Until then we are of to Destin for dinner on the beach.....
XOXOXO

Memories

2009-02-26T20:30:00.000-05:00

The things I miss most about Corpus.........

Dinner at Island Sushi

The Boat

Crazy rides home on the boat after long days at the beach

Grilling out at the beach

Aaron fishing

Dusk at the beach

Aaron and I at the beach in TX

I was going thru pictures today to add some new ones in frames around the house and started looking at all our pictures from Corpus Christi! Man, I miss that place! We had the best time living there, all of our friends were there, the weather was great and the beach was close! I am sure I will like Pensacola a lot too, its just different because most of our friends have left and are now headed to the fleet. I just wish we could go back in time and re-live that fun time over! So since thats not possible I decided to add some pictures of my favorite things from a Corpus Christi weekend!

I have been very bored this week if you cant tell :) I have been searching for a job to keep me busy since Aaron is gone all day, but have had no luck so I have been busy going to lots of work out classes, working on school, hanging out with my friend Kris and her little guy Jack and re-organizing closets! Thankfully my mom gets here a week from today to entertain me and be my buddy for a long weekend! If anyone is looking for a weekend get away to Fl, keep me posted I am now taking visitors :)