Just Some Pictures

Ryan and I had these pictures taken when I was on leave before coming to Korea. It was such a beautiful time of year in Kentucky! Of course, we took the puppy girls with us (Allie - little grey dog; Mia - little black dog). Just thought I'd share!

Number 26

Thank you to everyone who made me feel so special on my 26th birthday! I received so many calls and cards from family and friends, and I can't begin to thank everyone enough! Crystal, my friend from Hawai'i that is here, also threw me a party at work (yes, I had to work on my Birthday - sigh). She brought cake, presents, and even sang to me! She is so sweet! One thing I did miss....a call from my 97 year-old Granny. I didn't get to hear her sing this year :( I guess I will have to call her and make her sing to me! She ALWAYS calls on birthdays, but I guess that me being halfway across the world threw her off a little.

I received these pictures from my sister-in-law, Amanda. They are of my niece, Chloe, and are sooooo adorable!

Here's one of me attacking my birthday cake - do I look like a Cullen (for the Twilight fans out there)????

Congratulations are in Order

After a very stressful week assessing for an aviation special forces unit (the 160th out of Fort Campbell, KY), Ryan has been accepted to the unit. Congratulations to my Saaaweetie.

There were 45 applications for the unit, and only 17 were invited to assess for the open positions. Five of the 17 happened to be Captains, and Ryan got the one and only Captain position the unit had open. I am so proud that I can't even put it into words.

Having a husband that is in special forces is scary - I won't lie. I know he will be doing things that he won't be able to talk about (and we talk about EVERYTHING), and there are deployments that I am going to have to accept not knowing where he is or when he will come home. I worry less knowing that Ryan has been trained by the best and worked/trained hard. He is the most dedicated person I know to the United States Army.

I once met some wives in Fort Rucker, Alabama, where Ryan and his buddies were going through flight school. They all complained about how much time the guys had to spend training, flying, and being away from home and families. I'll admit, I like to have Ryan home, but I also know that the more he trains and learns, the safer he can be at work. I need him to be safe at work. Flying a helicopter is a dangerous job (his life insurance premium is proof !), and I need his full concentration on his job, not worrying about trivial things at home.

So here's to my brave, intelligent, and wonderful husband - CONGRATULATIONS!!!

I love you!!!

A Death...and Rebirth

I'm just now getting the guts to tell everyone this. It has taken me 4 months to gain the strength, and even now I'm not sure I want to admit it.

My wonderful, awesome, expensive, beautiful-picture-taking Nikon D40x 10.2 MP digital camera followed me into the ocean on a beach in Maui this past September. I wish it would have been a child to scold or a husband to roll my eyes at, but it wasn't. I was left standing wet on a gorgeous black sand beach with a broken (and wet) camera and a heart that had dropped to my feet.


For those that don't know, I hate water with wildlife. Well, I don't mind it from afar, but me getting IN the water is a phobia of mine. I was scarred one summer while in the Ohio River when a floating dead fish touched me. I haven't been the same since.

It happened in an instant. I went to the water's edge to wait for the next wave to roll ashore. I could see it coming. I waited, anxious to get my feet wet. But the wave didn't slow down, and I knew that this fish-infested water was going to come farther up my legs than I wanted. I tried to back up, but the flip flops I had on were suctioned to the wet saturated sand. I lost my balance, and as soon as the wave came in, so did I (and my camera that was around my neck). I got a little more wet than I bargained for, and my camera only read an error message. I was so mad at myself. I still had 2 days left in Maui to photograph!

Since the sad death of my camera, I have been using a Canon PowerShot (a great point-and-shoot camera, but not even close to the picture quality of my Nikon). I mailed my Nikon to have it repaired, and I finally have it up and running again. My apologies for the mediocre picture quality on the blog. It will be better from here on out! I'm so thankful to have my camera back!

*In case you were wondering, I did go in the ocean quite a bit in Hawai'i. I snorkeled and swam every chance I got! Having such clear water made a huge difference!

Where the tragedy took place: Honokalani Black Sand Beach along the Road to Hana