Catching the Sea Breeze

While back in the States my mom and I decided to be tourists in our own town. We walked along the battery and toured the Edmonston-Alston House & the Russell House. My only regret from the day was that there was no photography inside these historic homes. Highlight from the day? The fat orange cat we found basking in the warm Charleston sun. 

Friday Night Lights

One of the main reasons I went back to the States was so I could see my littlest (only not so little) brother play in his senior year of football. He'd previously attended the same private high school I graduated from, but decided to transfer to the local public school where both his athletic and academic talents would flourish. The coaches at SHS were so excited to have him transfer and I think they'd agree he's fit in perfectly on defense. 

I should also add that there were two stars that friday night. Obviously #88 was on the field. 

And the other... a cute little boy in the stands attending his first football game. 

How handsome are these two? I love being a big sister and an aunt. :)

Block Leave Trip 2013

Well block leave is officially over and I've finally gotten around to uploading pictures and recapping our trip. The stars perfectly aligned when my brother's wedding date and the start of RC's block leave happened to fall within 2 days of each other. We were able to fly back in time to be there for the rehearsal dinner and wedding. It was a beautiful weekend. These two are surrounded by a lot of love! I'm so glad to have Brittany as part of the family and I love how happy she makes my brother. Aren't they a beautiful couple? :) 

Since we were coming back to the States for my brother's wedding we decided to extended our stay. When you're going to battle with jet lag you might as well stay a couple weeks. We decided to go on a 7 day cruise with Royal Caribbean. It was sort of like a second honeymoon for us. :) Our ship was the Freedom of the Seas and our ports were Labadee, Haiti; Falmouth, Jamaica; Georgetown, Grand Cayman; and Cozumel, Mexico. 

Labadee, Haiti

Labadee is a private island off the coast of Haiti that Royal Caribbean owns. Do you get to truly experience Haiti? Definitely not, but it is tailored to absolutely be the most relaxing day. Beach chairs in the shade of palm trees, floating mats for the crystal clear waters, food catered on-site, and drinks galore. 

That night on the ship was also formal night. We didn't originally plan on going to the formal night (lack of room in suitcases for formal wear), but we managed to scrounge up some clothes that look appropriate enough and off we went. :) Handsome hubby + Amazing food = Great night.  

Falmouth, Jamaica
Our excursion in Jamaica was a private beach party about 40 minutes from port. Usually when you first get off the ship there's about a mile or two of just stores & shopping. Most ports do not have direct access to the beach. Hence our reason for purchasing a private beach party instead of taking a cab to try and find a local beach. We had a great time at the private beach. We got off the bus early enough to have the perfect set up- two chairs & an umbrella just a couple feet from the water. No one in front of us, just crystal clear water. We lounged. We read. We ate. We drank. We goofed off & did some handstands. All in all another great day.

Georgetown, Grand Cayman

This was our last port where we got off the ship. We decided to be a little more adventurous and chose Royal Caribbean's Cheeseburger Reef Kayak & Snorkel excursion. It was a blast! We were the perfect kayaking team and won the spontaneous race that broke out with the other kayakers. The snorkeling part was made even better by the power snorkels that we were given. The self-propelled snorkels pulled us along and made it much easier to cover more ground. Around Cheeseburger Reef there were tons of fish. Since they were so used to people feeding them over the years the fish were never scared away. Not far from Cheeseburger Reef was the Wreck of the Cali. The legend goes that the Cali was taken closer to shore because it was starting to collect water. Apparently it was full of rice and as the ship collected water the rice expanded and the eventually exploded & sunk the ship. Who knows if the story is true, but the wreckage is located in fairly shadow waters so it was pretty easy to see. 

Can you blame me?

Can you blame me for being home seeing these cuties on the regular rather than living alone in Germany?

Not to mention that the temperature has never dropped below 40, there's no show on the ground, and South Carolina's even had a couple days where the temperature reached the 80s! Home sweet home.

March Update

A lot happened in the month of March and I just wanted to post a quick recap!

First of all this stud graduated from ARC: Army Reconnaissance Course! So proud. It was a much smaller ceremony and maybe 5 family members were there for a class of 40-50. It was sad to see such a small turnout, but I understand because (one) it's a long commute for a lot of family members and (two) most LTs, at least the ones around here, aren't married.

After RC's graduation he was able to put in a pass so we took a 4 day trip to Charleston with a pit stop in Savannah. If you didn't know Savannah is #2 behind Boston, of course, for the best St. Patty's day parade. We had to stop by! Even though it was the day before St. Patrick's day the party was still in full force! Marching bands, drink specials, and of course a lot of green!

While in Charleston we had Sunday brunch with RC's family at Heirloom Eats. The food was delicious, but the highlight was definitely meeting Catherine Bell (Denise from Army Wives)! She permanently moved to Charleston after filming started with Army Wives and I mean, come on, who can blame her! I've had friends be extras on the show and driven by a filming session on the way to work (otherwise I would have stopped), but never had the chance to meet someone from the show! Catherine was so gracious, introduced herself to every one of RC's family members, and was absolutely gorgeous in person! 

Last update! Earlier this month I had to say goodbye to one of my first "Army friends". Maryann and I met at this awful Icebreaker and were awkwardly forced to met by an NCO. After nudging by our sweet boys, we exchanged numbers and grabbed coffee a couple days later. Our friendship grew and eventually she and her man ended up moving into the same apartment complex as us after a horrible experience with their previous place! I am so glad we had each other during the long weeks when our boys were in the field. We would cope with walks at Flat Rock Park and trashy tv nights with wine. Hello, Real Housewives!

I'd always heard that you form close friendships very quickly while in the military. I would definitely agree! You almost have to. You learn how to appreciate each other because they are the company you desperately need when you've been thrown into a new town, and ultimately they're going through the same thing as you. You need each other! I've also found that it's a different kind of friendship. I don't know how to explain it... I've never gone into a friendship knowing that there's a certain time frame involved. It still cracks me up that by this summer we will be spread all over the world. We'll be going to Texas, Kansas, and Germany for our first duty stations! I just hope that somewhere down the line we'll end up at the same post again! I have been so blessed by these girls and their friendships! 

Bridal Portraits

Location: Lowndes Grove Plantation
Photographer: Amy Prikazsky
Dress: Mori Lee

Let the Party Begin!