Posts

Our Daring Adventure, Take 3

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It’s been YEARS, but I’ve decided to resurrect this blog. Originally, it began as a way to share our experiences as a military family, but quite a bit has changed in the past 10 years. The biggest change, in relation to the original purpose of this blog, is that Joe is no longer a full-time active duty Air Force JAG. Back in 2014, the USAF decided to RIF (Reduction in Force) approximately 60% of Joe’s year group in the JAG Corp. Unfortunately he was one of those cut, but God provided and he was able to immediately transition to a civilian job at the Wright Patterson AFB legal office.  He also still serves his country as an AF JAG reservist. Fast forward 6 years since the RIF, and we’ve got two active kiddos who are 9 & 5, a big white dog, and we recently moved to Colorado Springs (during a pandemic) for Joe’s new civilian job at Peterson Air Force base.  This blog will now primarily focus on our adventures as a family, exploring the wonder and natural beauty of Colorado and the

Almost 2 years later.....

Well, I'm back. (For real this time!). It's been almost 2 years since I last posted. I'm not going to rehash everything, because the few people who follow this blog currently are probably all family and friends. Needless to say, a LOT has happened. Joe got back from deployment, we moved to a condo on the water (while still stationed at Hurlburt), a year later we moved to Dayton, OH because Joe got stationed at Wright Patterson AFB, and we bought a house!  That pretty much takes you up to the current place in our lives. We are really enjoying living in Ohio and the much lower stress-level at WPAFB.  The first two months here have been great so far, and we are glad to be closer to family and friends.  Because I have this overwhelming need to share my life with others (even if they don't really care), I'm going to refocus this blog to our daily activities - recipes, crafts, projects, play dates, and every-day adventures. I may even throw in some of my own political ran

We are back!!

So, having a baby really made it difficult to find time to blog (or do much of anything extra). But, I'm really going to try to jump back on the blogging bandwagon and update everyone with what's going on with our lives. Big news is that Joe is currently deployed to the middle east, so Connor and I are enjoying some quality time with family in Kentucky. Hope to get on the computer and give a bigger update in the coming weeks. :)

It's Been Awhile, But Baby D is Almost Here!!

So, quite a bit has happened since my last post back in August (oops!). Since I don't think anyone wants to read 4 pages of details, I'll just hit the highlights. Big news is that we found out Baby D is BOY!! We can't wait for our little man to get here in a few weeks. When the nursery is done, I'll make sure to post pics. Joe has had a lot happen in the few months as well. Big news is that he is now a Captain in the Air Force! We had his promotion party at the Crab Trap here in Florida not too long ago. He also graduated from JASOC and was immediately thrown into the busyness of the Hurlburt Legal office. He's already been a part of 6 court martials, and has 6 more coming up in the next few months. He still loves what he does, which is what's most important. I have had a lot going on as well. I'm still the Bookkeeper at the Hurlburt Thrift Shop, and I love finding all kinds of great deals there. I'm now one of the key spouses for the Wing Staff Agencies

It's Baby Time - 1st Trimester is Complete

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Well, as many of you know already, Joe and I have a little side project we've got in the works, making it's debut on or about February 26th next year. We are super-excited, scared, anxious, etc. about this, and can't wait to meet our little one! We found out on Father's Day weekend. Thankfully, I had a fairly easy first trimester - no morning sickness (hallelujah!), just some serious fatigue and a little nauseousness. I had an ultrasound a couple weeks ago, and there is definitely a baby with a heartbeat (162 bpm) in there. Here is a picture of our little bambino at about 10 weeks (I'm currently 14 weeks - baby is about the size of a navel orange). In the picture, it's face-up, with it's head near the bottom right, and feet near the top left. I'm pretty sure he or she was asleep during the ultrasound - fingers crossed that Baby D is a good sleeper on the outside of the womb. Update on Joe - he is almost done with JASOC!!!! I am SO done with the "sin

Back in Sweet (Temporary) Home Alabama

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Just thought I'd give a brief update on what's going on with us. Joe is back in Alabama at Maxwell AFB for JASOC ("Jay-sock"), which stands for Judge Advocate Staff Officer Course. Unlike Officer Training School, he has a lot more freedom. Essentially, he's in classes all day learning military lawyer "stuff." ;) Also, since he is staying in a hotel room on base (and not some cramped dorm room with a roomie), I can go visit him, which we are both excited about! He started the course on July 12, and will graduate (hopefully) September 10. In order to broaden their knowledge of other types of bases in the air force, as well as other JAG offices, his JAG class took a bus down to the exotic Florida panhandle to spend time with operational units at Eglin and Hurlburt. This was nice, as he was able to stay at home with me for the few days they were here. Before he left, we had a fairly constant flow of visitors staying with us (which we don't mind). It'

Feeling a Little Oily

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So, the oil spill has arrived on Navarre Beach in the form of tar balls. Thankfully, the beaches are still open and people are still allowed in the water. The tar balls haven't been that big so far - anywhere from the size of a pencil eraser to about the size of a golf ball. They seem to come in with the tide some mornings, but not others. To the right is a pretty ironic picture from a BP gas station that I "borrowed" from someone else. Joe and I had a very nice weekend. On Saturday we went kayaking with our friend John in the Santa Rosa Sound. We will probably be spending more time in the Sound in the coming months since it will be more difficult for the oil to get in those waters. The sound only connects with the gulf in 2 places, Pensacola and Destin, and those passes have been boomed off. On Saturday the 3 of us also decided to run the Billy Bowlegs "Midnight" 5K. The race actually started at 10:30 pm, and it was extremely humid. That was my first, and pro