Vacation Time for Britt!

I completely forgot I didn't do a blog on my trip home!  I was fortunate enough to fly home to Oregon on July 16th and stay there (and make a little trip to Hawaii in between) through the 30th. Two whole weeks I was able to spend with family :)

I had a jammed packed two weeks.  The day I arrived, my mom picked me up at the airport and Megan met us at a nail salon to get pedicures!  This was my first pedi EVER so I was very excited! Then we spent a long, late evening baking cupcakes for the baby shower for Tyler and Katrina we were having the very next day.  They had a wonderful showing of support from family and friends.  They received many wonderful items for baby Macie.  I am so thankful we were able to have the shower when I was home to be able to partake in this experience.  Living across the country is an adventure and we are loving our lives right now, but it sure makes times like these difficult.  Here are some pictures from the shower:

Tyler and Katrina by the diaper cake us girls (mainly Meg made) :)

A family picture (minus Kyle)

The adorable banner Megan made!

It's blurry, but we are holding some of the wonderful cupcakes we baked!

After the baby shower I wanted to squeeze in some time to see Kyle's family and thankfully I was able too! I drove over to the Durant's and got to visit with Larry, Rhonda, Darcy, and Josh.  It was wonderful to see them, but we all knew it wasn't the same without Kyle.  We wish he could have made the visit, but  I am at least glad I was able to! 

My sister-in-law, Darcy and my mother-in-law Rhonda :)

The Durnat's and Nyone's with Nala (the cat) :)

The day after the baby shower our family (Dad, Mom, Meg, Greg, Ty, and me) took off to Paradise AKA Hawaii.  It was a wonderful vacation.  It is a familiar place to our family.  My parents have a time share, so we stay in the same area and it almost feels like a second home to us.  It was relaxing and very enjoyable to spend time with family in such a beautiful place.  We went to Waimanalo Beach which is one of our FAVORITES!  We went to our favorite little shrimp shack, climbed Diamond Head, went on a sunset cruise, and my phone was stolen at our hotel pool!  We also went to the Marine Corps Base to check out where Kyle and I "may" be stationed not too long from now.  It sure is beautiful and I don't think I could complain much about living in Hawaii...I don't think my parents would complain either ;)  We also went to a water park on the first day where we had some incidents :(  Dad hurt his head, Meg and I both hurt our necks and Mom got the worst of it :( It was Dad, her, then me on an tube. We were going into the pool at the very end.  Dad was falling off and then flew forward pushing mom when I was flying back...my head it her right cheek bone :( Her poor face was swollen and bruised which didn't make picture taking very fun.  But she sure was a champ about it! I'm proud of her and sorry I hit ya mom! I still blame dad ;)

Meg and I at the top of Diamond Head

Tyler catching a wave

Of course a beautiful rainbow in Hawaii. Right outside our hotel room.

Every time I come to Hawaii, seeing these majestic mountains are a highlight!

In front of China Hat rock. Oh the crystal clear water!

Captain America premiered when we were there. Dad made sure we saw his favorite comic book hero on opening night :)

Mom and Dad in front of Diamond Head on our sunset cruise.

I think this was our only group shot!!! Turned out great though :)

The Adams Kids

On Waikiki Beach in front of Diamond Head

When we arrived home from Hawaii I still had 4 whole days to spend at home.  The very next day was my birthday, so Mom and I took a trip to Monmouth to visit Meg when she had a break from her Masters classes.  We went to Monmouth's very own teriyaki place...Yang's!

YUM!!!

After visiting with Meg, Mom and I headed to the Woodburn Outlet Mall to do some birthday shopping! Then we headed home, but not before I could be reuinited with Dutch Bros...I had waited months to have it and no better time than my birthday!

FINALLY! The only coffee shop the east coast has is Starbucks! And no drive-thru shops anywhere!

When we arrived home, I had some lovely flowers waiting for me from no other than my wonderful husband! The most thoughtful part was not only was he in Virginia, but he was in the field.  He planned ahead...good job, Kyle ;)

One happy girl :)

Happy 24th Birthday!

Rhonda and Larry :)

Dad, Katrina, Tyler, Mom and me

After being back in Oregon I realize how much of a beauty it is.  Kyle and I miss the scenery, the fir trees, the mountains (especially Mt. Hood)...not the rain, but we do miss Oregon ;)

My parents beautiful backyard.

Oh the fir trees! 

As much as I loved to go on a little vacation away from Virginia...being able to go to Hawaii, visit with family...it wasn't the same without Kyle on vacation with me!  Lucky for me, I was reunited at the airport with my handsome Marine picking me up in his very handsome uniform :) 

AAV's

Well...the day finally came where we found out Kyle's long, awaited MOS (Military Operational Specialty) assignment.  He had been waiting to hear he would be an Infantry Officer, but God had other plans, which he normally always does :)  Kyle was told he would be an AAV (Amphibious Assault Vehicle) Officer AKA a "tracker.  At first he was bummed that he had no say in his fate whatsoever.  It all depended on his rank in the company and where he put infantry on his 1-24 list of top choice to last choice.  He did do well in the company...he was ranked in the 50's out of 300.  BUT, the way they give out top choices is by splitting the company into thirds and going across the thirds by giving choices.  So, technically Kyle was in the bottom :(

Ultimately, we know that we never "really" have a say in our fate...God knows exactly what he is doing.  We had prayed about it and we know now that God has a plan for us, even if Kyle did not get his dream job in the Marines.  Kyle put it in a great way.  He said, "It's like getting silver in the Olympics, it's second place, but it's still NOT gold."  Now that he has had time to think about his future as tracker, he is  very excited to get started.

Now, I will tell you a little bit about AAV's.  It is a fully tracked (they move like a tank or bulldozer) amphibious (can be used on land and water) vehicle that is only used by the Marine Corps.  They were used in the first part of the war in Iraq, but they realized they were very susceptible to IED's.  So, now they are NOT used in the middle east.  Kyle could still possibly get deployed though. The only plus in his eyes is that since AAV's are not used in Afghanistan, he gets to deploy as Infantry :)  We'll come across that bridge when we need to though ;)

Here are 2 AAV's coming from water to land.

As of now, we do not know our official plans.  The Corps should tell us within 2 weeks.  All we know as of now is that we will be moving to Camp Pendleton, which is in Oceanside, California.  We are VERY excited about that! I most excited to be close to family (Janell, Karen, Jared, Naomi, and Elijah) and we could actually drive home in less than a day! :)

We found out Kyle's training starts the beginning of January through March.  We are not sure if we move out there and wait till he starts or if we stay here and then move out.  We are hoping we get to move to sunny California.  For Kyle's training we're not sure exactly what it entails, but all he knows is he is required to have the highest swim qualifications.  I don't know what it entails...I'm sure it is tough, but I'm sure he will do great!

When we find out more information we will be sure to let you know!  We have a crazy 2 months coming up.  Kyle has his last FEX next week!  Then Labor Day weekend (Kyle has 4 days off) we are going to New York City! I have never been and am SOOOOO excited! :)  Kyle's first day back after Labor Day (September 7th) he will have the 9 day "War".  They split the company in half and they "play" war...every little boys dream ;)  Then at the end of the month my parents and Kyle's parents come in for a week to celebrate Kyle's graduation from TBS and to see where we have been living and sight see.  We are very excited to show them where we have been calling "home" these last 5 months :)