It's been a while since my last post

Mainly, to be honest because there's not much to post about. Andrew and I have gotten into a routine that we're really enjoying. Unfortunately, that will probably be changing in the next couple of weeks. He's been hearing that he will be dropping into a class and his orientation (aka training) will start. That will be around 2-3 weeks of intense work for him, from what he has been told. After that he will start his schedule of two weeks on, two weeks off. He'll be standing watch for two weeks straight with the rest of his company. He'll eat, sleep, etc. there for two weeks and probably will have little to no contact with me or anyone else. Then he'll be home for two weeks to relax. He might have to muster occasionally or PT, but for the most part he'll just be home! So it's definitely a bittersweet situation for us. The two weeks where he is away will be hard for us. It will be weird for me to adjust to him being gone and find things to keep me busy for that time. However, once he gets home we'll basically have two weeks of vacation to just and relax and enjoy our time together. Like anything else, it'll take some adjusting, but I'm sure in time it'll start to feel normal.

Anyway, until then it's pretty much life as usual around here. I'm still working on getting things done around the house while Andrew's at work everyday. We recently got a washer and dryer (hooyah!), so we had plenty of laundry to do. I've also been enjoying trying out some new recipes for dinners and Andrew has graciously tried and liked them all, according to him. :) Tonight we're off to see Paranormal Activity 2, which will undoubtedly be followed by cartoons and Oreos. I wouldn't be surprised if we slept with our lights on tonight.

Here are a few pictures I've taken of the house, the cat, etc. Just a little taste of our lives, I guess.

This doesn't capture it at all, but I just thought the trees looked so pretty when we were out driving today. They're all really changing!

Until next time!

Philly

Here's a couple pics of our new kitty, Philly!

Couches and Kitties

Andrew's first week at work went well, for the most part. He spends most of his mornings and afternoons just sitting outside with the rest of Alpha Company studying for tests and talking. He almost always gets a two-hour lunch break, though, which means he gets to come home and be with me halfway through the day! Always a nice way to split up the day. He also does about an hour of PT every afternoon and is usually home for good anywhere from 1530 to 1630.

I spent this past week getting our apartment organized. It's definitely not completely finished, but everything is at least put away in closets and neatly organized piles in our spare bedroom. I still have plenty of things waiting for me to do this coming week, but pretty soon it will be time for me to start job searching! That will be interesting for me to try and find hours that will match up with Andrew's, but as I like to say, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. :)

We did get our couch delivered today! Andrew and I are extremely excited to have somewhere comfy to sit while we watch TV in our livingroom. I also was finally able to put together our bed at the end of last week, so we have no need for our air mattress anymore! Getting our furniture into our apartment really helps the place start to feel like home. I'm also beginning to hang our posters and pictures around the house. Tonight Andrew and I had our first home-cooked meal! I cooked meaty calzones with mozzarella cheese and pasta sauce. Mmm. Very yummy - if I do say so myself. I also made a chocolate cake the other night. Once I got all of my cooking supplies I just couldn't wait to start cooking and baking.

I took my first major shopping trip for the week at the Commissary this past weekend. It went well except when a female employee in her 60's insisted on helping me out to my car and then expected a tip. I'm pretty sure I can manage my own grocery bags much better than the elderly and I can't afford to be generous these days. Next time I'm putting my foot down.

Andrew and I spent most of Saturday afternoon at the Humane Society adopting a kitten! Yes, I completely talked Andrew into this decision. However, he'll even admit that he's kind of excited to have a cute little pet around here. I'm picking her up tomorrow afternoon while Andrew's at work. Her litter box and food and water bowls are all set up and ready to go! We decided to name her Philly (for obvious reasons). I got to hold her for over an hour on Saturday and she is the sweetest thing. She fell asleep on my lap for most of the time. She seems like a good mix of playful and cuddly. Pictures of her will most likely be coming tomorrow.

Andrew had off today for Columbus Day, so we got up and made pancakes and had a very relaxing day. We're going to start a movie before we go to bed, so I'll leave you with some pictures of our new couch.

Then with the framed print that Cindy and Dave gave to us:

Video of our apartment!

I promise I'll actually write an update on our lives soon. But for now, enjoy the video!!

I'm trying to upload the video of the tour of our apartment

But it's being difficult. So until then, here's a video of a cat talking.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCbI-j7FnkQ

Taking a break from unpacking to post a few pics

To be honest with you Diane, I'm surprised.

Today was, in some ways, back to the real world for Andrew and I. He mustered at 0730 and spent most of his day studying outside with the rest of his company, getting his haircut and doing a little PT. He was home around 1645. I spent the day cleaning things up around the apartment and getting ready for the movers to bring our things tomorrow. I also walked to the NEX and started chipping away at the long list of things we still need to buy.

We just received a call from the driver of the truck with all of our things who said that he should be here around noon tomorrow! I can't wait to get everything set up and make this place feel like home.

Andrew and I are loving and adjusting to married life. Sleeping in the same bed has resulted in quite a few elbows in the ribs. There is also a constant battle as to what the temperature should be in the apartment and car. :) You can guess who's constantly cranking the heat up and who's turning it down. But I make sure there is always a hoodie and warm socks handy and we both survive. There's also a current debate over whether we should get a kitten eventually or not. We're both dog people, but our upstairs apartment does not allow dogs. Andrew's compromise was that if we got a cat he wanted to either go sky diving or buy a wave runner or motorcycle. Hmm...

We both took a trip to Mount Rainier on Saturday and it was absolutely beautiful. Mt Rainier National Park is almost 100 miles wide and since we didn't know exactly where we were going, we just ended up taking the closest road into the park and following it until it stopped at a lake. The road was very narrow at some parts and there were complete drop offs with no fence. That's when Andrew took over the driving. The lake at the end of the road was completely clear with a perfect view of the 14,000 foot snow-covered mountain. We walked around on the trails around there for a while and kept our eyes peeled for bears and elk. No luck this time, although there was a bird that flew out of a tree and got our hearts going for a second.

So my camera cord is currently on its way with the moving truck, which means I should be able to post pictures from our trip either tomorrow or the next day. Finally! Stay tuned.

You know you're living with a boy when he uses your expensive perfume as air freshener for the bathroom

So we bought some Febreeze.

Well we are officially in our apartment! Furniture comes on Tuesday morning, so the place is quite empty at the moment. We did buy an air mattress last night and a new sofa bed from American Furniture that should arrive in 2-4 weeks. We also got our cable and internet set up yesterday, which is why I'm finally able to post on here!

This week has been filled with lots of sitting in offices. Military = hurry up and wait. But we've made good progress. Our Washington driver's licenses are on their way and we'll be reimbursed for our hotel expenses and the long drive from Philly to Silverdale. We're still learning our way around the base, however. We've taken many wrong turns and made good use of our new GPS (gift from my parents!). We've come close to entering quite a few restricted areas on accident.

Like I said before, we'll be receiving the rest of our things from the moving company on Tuesday morning. Andrew will be at work, but that will give me plenty to do that day to keep me busy. We received brownies this evening from our neighbor downstairs, which was incredibly sweet. It made me really want to start getting involved in the programs they have for military wives around here and Andrew and I are really praying that we find a good church in the area soon.

We both miss home a lot from time to time. We're expecting to feel more at home here once the rest of our things get here on Tuesday and we can start settling in a little more. Familiar things can really do wonders for home sickness. Until then, it's a little bit difficult to come back to an empty apartment and not know anyone's names around here quite yet. However, we're constantly grateful for God's faithfulness through everything we've been through and are so happy to have each other.

If anyone would like to see some of our wedding pictures that our amazing photographer posted recently just go here.


Hooyah :)