New Home!

Colin and I closed on our condo Friday, May 29th... and we couldn't be more pleased!  It was a gamble because Colin wasn't even sure, yet, if he'd have orders to stay in Virginia Beach... I would have to stay here regardless because of nursing school, so we just went ahead and took the chance.  And, just last Friday, Colin and I were blessed to find out that he will be stationed here in Virginia Beach with VFA-11, the Red Rippers!!! We have both since been able to take a deep breath and start to truly enjoy where we are living.  It is a condo/townhome off of Shore Dr.  in Virginia Beach surrounded by fabulous restaurants and right across the street from Chesapeake Beach... we are in a constant state of "staycation"... except when it storms, of course :-)... Hope to get some visitors in the coming months!  My parents are coming for the 4th, and I can't wait to see them... and find out what my mama thinks of my bright "appletini" walls... haha! Here are some pics of the new house, and some of Colin's "patching" for VFA-11.  

With my "kids" and the "appletini" wall 

Living room pre-going green

Mr. and Mrs. Bernard 

At the patching... love the red, baby! 

Ah, the excitement and anticipation :-) 

A Brand New "Day"

On January 13th, my good friends Brie and Joe welcomed their first baby--Jackson William Day.  I got the chance to take a day trip to Iowa to spend some time with the little guy.  It amazes me how grown up my friends and I are--yet, it feels just like old times when we're all together.  We're so happy for you guys!  You are amazing parents:-) love and miss! 

Shawna, Brie, Christina, Jackson, Tara, and Alex 

Jackson William Day 

I'm a Lazy Blogger

My nieces :-) 

Colin and I with Thomas, William, and Veronica 

Colin and I outside of Cheers in Boston

Vic, Frankie, and Colin on New Year's 

The girls in NYC Times Square 

So, I admit it... I check my facebook and email a tons of times in the day, but I am terrible at updating my blog.  Lots of stuff has happened in the last months.  I had a chance to go home to the midwest for a little bit to visit my family before Christmas.  I can't believe how big my nieces are getting!!! 

We celebrated Christmas in Massachusetts with Colin's Aunt and Uncle (Tom and Colleen) and cousins (Thomas, Veronica, and William).  Blue and Moon enjoyed all the attention that they got from the kids.  They were truly spoiled.  Massachusetts is absolutely gorge

ous as you can tell from the pics.   

We also got the chance to spend some time in Boston so that I could see where Colin grew up. We went on a city tour trolley so that we wouldn't miss any of the important spots.  The trip included a stop at the famous Cheers bar.  

For New Year's, we went to Frank's house in NYC where I finally got to meet his sisters Janine and Viv.   We spent New Year's Eve in Times Square where we were escorted by the Fire Chief right into the middle of the crowd.  The temperature was not a degree over 15, but it was a once in a lifetime experience--a definite check off the bucket list for me.  

Above are some pictures of our winter travels, and I promise to be better at updating in the upcoming months.  Colin is still in training awaiting orders (hopefully to Virginia Beach), and I started nursing school on January 5th.  

 

Dogs Laugh with Their Tails

 Our puppies pretty much consume our lives, but in an effort to prevent them from consuming the furniture and other objects around the house... we decided to take Blue to obedience class.  She started today and did really well.... we can't wait to see how far she will come! 

Thanksgiving!

Colin and I have a ton of things to be thankful for this year.  We celebrated Thanksgiving with just the two of us.  In the morning I decided to "earn my turkey" by running the annual Thanksgiving Turkey Trot at the YMCA.   Colin and Blue came to cheer me on, Moon hung out at home because Colin didn't wish to be seen alone with her--ha!  After the trot, we headed to a buffet Thanksgiving dinner on the waterfront.  It was a beautiful display, but nothing compares to home cooking.  Next year, we are definitely headed home to celebrate with the family!  

Puppy Love

Colin with baby Blue

Colin and I are loving the "simple" life.  Although, Colin would say that our life is far from simple, I disagree.  We spend the majority of our time with our puppies Blue and Moon.  Which I must say is a total coincidence the way their names worked out.  

A little (ok, a lot of) background:

Blue was named "Punky Brewster" when we first got her because Colin used to call me that with the way I dress... I think I have style... he thinks I dress like Phoebe from Friends.  After two days with that name, Colin decided he hated it as well as the pink collar we bought her (she is a girl dog, so I thought pink made sense).  Then he convinced me that we should name her "Kelty" as it's Gaelic for beautiful... actually it was the name of a back pack that he had issued to him from a group of Navy Seals for training--he and Frank (Colin's best friend, old roommate, and best man) thought this was hilarious.  So needless to say, I didn't want her named after a back pack.  So, one day I had duty and the dog by myself... and our good friends Kitty and Jeff helped us out by watching her for the night.  I told them that I wasn't picking her up until they named her.  And their suggestions were either "Harper" after themselves or "Blue".  We chose Blue... and that is what stuck.  When I bought "Moon" from the breeder, she was already given that name from the breeder... it was between her or her sister "Hannah"... I thought that "Blue and Moon" sounded perfect together, and little Moonie was definitely the calmer of the pair.  So that's a little background on our babies... Here are some pics to help you all get acquainted.

 

Colin and Blue 

Helping me with the dishes

Blue and Moon Playing, don't worry Moon holds her own

Moon and I

  

Putting Our Wedding Gifts to Work

"Happy First Flight in an F/A 18" meal 

Colin had his first flight today, so I channelled my inner Rachael Ray and made him a Greek salad and lemon cake.  The salad turned out delicious, and the cake was good (just a little trouble with the frosting).  I put some more of our wedding gifts to work (the cake pans--thank you, Sheryl) and mixing bowls (from the Porepps--thank you Matt and TyRAN).  

After the new paint job

New drill--New shelf 

Kitchen-Before

Colin and I are currently renting a townhome from my friend Whitney while she is deployed on an IA to Djibouiti.  Since, I have a ton of free time before I start school, I decided to see if I could do some "home improvement".  The house had wallpaper with a sailboat border in the kitchen, and I wanted to bring it up to date with a fresh coat of paint. These are some pics of our handywork, and some of Colin using our new drill (from the Snakenbergs--thank you Shane and Katie) to build our new shelf (from the Parkers--thank you Betsy and Eric).