Halloween to New Years with the Gliwa's

My wonderful, best friend, Mandee and her two kids, Marcella and Maddox, are the three people I can depend on to spend time with me if I'm lonely or need someone to experience and have fun with during holidays.  Here's a little picture recap of this past holiday season from Halloween till New Years Eve (tonight!). 

 Waimanalo has a pumpkin patch that I had heard of, but had yet to go to.  I went with Stu, Mandee, Mar, and Maddox...we had a blast picking out pumpkins in shorts and tank tops.

Happy Halloween!  Our neighborhood on base is like the perfect little town, with cookie cutter houses, quiet streets, sidewalks, and kids can play outside and ride bikes safely.  I walked around with the Gliwa's and watched the little bumblebee and a miniature Tom Cruise from Risky Business trick-or-treat.  It'll be so much fun when we have kids of our own to experience this with.

Mandee and I both LOVE to read and we both LOVE The Hunger Games.  We went to see Catching Fire together and we thought it was fantastic!  "May the odds be ever in your favor."

Happy Thanksgiving! The Gliwa's invited me over and we had a delicious turkey dinner.  After dinner Mandee and I took the kids to see Frozen (the new Disney princess movie) and it was adorable!  I love Disney movies and this was like the classics with lots of singing. :) After the movie, we left the kids with Stu and we drove into Target for Black Friday shopping (they opened at 8pm).  We both didn't have a "must have" item, which made the line we had to stand in that was wrapped around the store a little easier and relaxing to stand in.

An early Christmas gift from Megan, Greg and Lexi!  I LOVED IT!

We had a Christmas tree lighting on base, so the Gliwa's and I went to see and hear the Marine Corps Band play.

Mom came to visit!  She helped me set up my Christmas tree and Netflix had a beautiful fireplace we could play on the TV.  So cozy!

Mom was here on her and Dad's 34th wedding anniversary, so we went to see Catching Fire (my second time and her first), then we drove to Waikiki for P.F. Changs happy hour, then to YOgurt Mama for dessert!

The five of us went on a tour mom and I have never done at the macademia nut farm which is only 30 minutes from our house.  If any of you visit again we will definitely go here!

Wrapping gifts to send to Kyle.  Some of his gifts included a bar of soap, See's chocolate, a Marine Corps T-Shirt, cinnamon and sugar macademia nuts, swedish fish (which he always gets for Christmas), and three $3 DVD's from the movie rental store on base which is closing so they had a mega sale. 

Marcella had her winter dance recital and mom was nice enough to come with me since I told Mar I would already go.  She danced wonderfully!

The week of Christmas, Mandee and I wanted to make it special for the kids since their Dad recently deployed (and also special for us!).  We made sugar cookies together!

Delicious!

They spent the week before Christmas at my house because unfortunately, the day after Stu deployed, Mandee's house flooded!  Her washing machine is on the second floor and when she got home there was water covering the ENTIRE downstairs.  It was so bad. :(  So I let them stay at my house in the guest bedroom.  It was a blast having them at my house for a few days and nights, especially Christmas Eve and Christmas morning (above). In the picture, Stu called on FaceTime when the kids opened their gifts.  

FaceTime with Kyle!!! 

The morning of Christmas we opened gifts, I made streudel (Kyle's family tradition and recipe), we put in a pot roast, red potatoes, and carrots into the crockpot, we watched Turbo (a movie the kids got for Christmas), then we went to the movie theater to see Walking with Dinosaurs, came home to eat our delicious dinner and watch Anastasia, and take one picture with the self time on the camera (above).

Kyle's Christmas was also fun!  As you can tell, he and a few of his friends ordered "ugly Christmas sweaters".  His is great! :)

New Years Eve!  I invited Mandee and the kids over.  We watched Aladdin, then we made dinner (delicious pork chops!), and then we watched The Little Mermaid and made hot cocoa with marshmallows (above).  Since of course, they are little ones, they went home around 8.  And I am finishing my 2013 and ringing in my new year by cuddling in a blanket on the couch and watching Netflix. :)

Kyle's BFF

In the Marine Corps, Kyle and I both make friends, but our friendships are a bit different.  My friends are wives who are always on island, never leave unless they go to visit family, and most of them are stay-at-home moms or in search of jobs, so we can usually hang out whenever we'd like.  I see the majority of my friends multiple times a week, which is very unusual for the civilian life.  I adore seeing my friends and being able to walk to their house on base at any given moment to say hello or just hang out for a bit or meet at Starbucks on base for a nice coffee and conversation.  I'm definitely going to miss that when we move and I start my teaching career.

Kyle on the other hand, the majority of his friends are Marines and they are all in different companies than he is so they are off training or deployed at different times as he is.  So needless to say, many of the times Kyle is home, his close friends aren't home.  Mike Gunther is one of those friends. 

Kyle and Mike met at OCS (Officer Candidate School) Juniors in the summer of 2007 and then we a part of the same platoon at OCS Seniors in 2008.  They became good friends and have remained close with one another since then. 

Look how young they are!

Both of Mike's parents are retired Colonels from the Marine Corps and they live in Arlington, VA.  Kyle got to meet his parents after OCS Seniors.  Here they are with "Colonel Gunther" as Kyle refers to him. 

Since OCS, Kyle has only seen Mike a few other times.  Kyle went down to California and met up with Mike to go to Catalina Island during Spring Break our senior year of college in 2009, then we ended up getting stationed in Hawaii where Mike was stationed.  The only problem was he was deployed to Afghanistan when we arrived.  When he finally got back from deployment, Kyle left a month later for 3 months of training and when Kyle got back to the island, Mike left a month later for United Arab Emirates for a year long deployment.  

 Here we are at his going away party before he left for UAE in June 2012.

Mike got back from UAE in mid July when Kyle was on the Big Island for training.  Luckily, Kyle returned on my birthday (the 26th) and Mike was here for a couple more weeks before he got completely checked out of the Marine Corps to start his next chapter in life.  Mike spent his last four nights on island at our house.  It was great to get to know him a little better and I know Kyle is going to miss him, event though they didn't spend that much time in person together anyway, but it'll still be different with him out of the Marine Corps and living in Virginia, until he begins to travel for a few months while he applies to government agencies.  

 Kyle was a bit jealous Mike picked up Captain before he got out...Kyle wants those two bars :)

I pray that Kyle and Mike can keep in touch and stay friends, even if we end back up on the west coast in Oregon and he ends up staying on the east coast in Virginia.  I'm gonna leave you with an excerpt from what Mike wrote in our guestbook, that I made him fill out and I'm glad he did!

"Some people are your friends because they're good for you at specific times in your life and some people are your friends because they're always good for you.  Thanks for being the latter guys."

- Mike Gunther

The Great Northwest

Kyle and I arrived back to the island a little over a week ago from our 10 day trip home to Oregon. Other than Kyle being home in February 2012 for a total of less than 36 hours, he hadn't been home since before we left for TBS in Virginia back in March 2011.  So, this vacation home was much needed for him.  We also took 3 days to fly down to Sacramento with Larry, Kyle's dad, who was also partaking in some business.  Kyle and I are looking for options in case we decide to get out of the Marine Corps.  Many things come into play...he doesn't really want to, I want him to, he needs to get selected to Captain or he can't stay in...so only time will tell and we're praying God clearly shows us the way.  In Sacramento, Kyle went on a ride along with Sacramento Police Department and we looked around Davis to get a feel for the neighborhood.  After our time there and in Oregon, Kyle said, "It really is nice being near friends and family" when referring to Oregon. :)

The night we flew in we stayed at Kyle's sister, Darcy, and her husband, Josh's new house.  Then the very next morning Kyle asked them to take him to the gun store.  So this was the VERY first thing Kyle did one our first full day in Oregon.  I believe our gun collection is complete now...well, I hope :)

After our first day in Oregon we flew down to Sacramento and look what plane we got to fly on.  Kyle was a tad bit excited!

We spent our day walking around downtown and historic Sacramento.  It was a BEAUTIFUL day!

When Kyle was on his ride along from 3pm to midnight, Larry and I went to a King's game with some people he knew from work.  

Reunited with my niece, Lexi! :)

When we got back from California, we went down to Springfield to spend the night with Megan, Greg, and Alexis.  This was Kyle's first time meeting Alexis! This night we went out to pizza with the Olaen's, my moms side of the family.   

I love being with them! I cannot get enough of Lexi :)

Seriously?! SO STINKING CUTE!

Here are Kyle's two little nieces, Macie (18 months) and Lexi (5 months), along with his brother-in-law, Greg.

Since the whole family was together, Mom set up family pictures, but this was a little photo shoot of our own.  Here are Tyler, Katrina, and Macie, who had a poor little tummy ache :(

Here's Grandma, Lexi, and Grandpa! :)

Uncle Kyle and his niece, Alexis! I'm glad he's getting more and more comfortable with babies :)

We also got to meet up with my best friend from college, Amanda, and her husband, Juan, and sweet kids, Sofia and Jakoby.  I lived with Amanda and Juan when we were finishing up college and they had recently gotten married.  We also lived together for the first 8 months of Sofi's life! Kyle would visit a lot since we were engaged and that was she was his first real experience with a baby and she had colic.  Poor thing! And when I say poor thing you can take that as Sof AND Kyle! :)  The last time I saw Amanda was 2 years ago when she was days away from giving birth to Koby! It was on our drive to Virginia we swung by her place in Hermiston to say one last goodbye.  We definitely need to see each other sooner next time!

 I also got to go on a nice little 4 mile walk with my mom and the dogs in Colton.  I really do miss the scenery! 

I got to see my great childhood friend, Jess! Kyle and I went to dinner with her and her fiancé, Joel, then we got frozen yogurt and indulged in the season finale of The Bachelor! Kyle was a real trooper to hang in there during the 3 hour show! Boy, I love him :)  

Jess, Stephanie (her roommate and friend from high school), and Joel made The Bachelor into a Fantasy game, like Fantasy Football.  It. Was. AWESOME!  I think I will have to do this in the future with friends and maybe that will get Kyle interested in the whole season ;)

Our last night at my parents, my mom and dad gave Kyle his birthday presents early.  He got an OSU pint glass and a Benny the Beaver pillow pet! Macie had a U of O pillow pet and Kyle was playing with her and trying to get her to play with the beaver one instead of the duck, but every time he got close she refused and would push it away! I think my dad trained her ;)

Kyle and his dad with the dogs, Stella and Hattie, in the Durant's newly landscaped yard!

Before getting dropped off at the airport, we went to breakfast with Rhonda and Darcy.  A great little send off :)

AMAZING view when we were landing back in Honolulu!

Finally, a little news from Hawaii:

A day before we flew to Oregon, Kyle's platoon was in the field for exercises.  Their last day there they invited a few spouses and girlfriends to DRIVE the tracs (aka Amphibious Assault Vehicles)!!!  So, I got to drive the 20 ton vehicle!  Of course, I was the first one to drive it, I was nervous as heck, and Kyle told me to put in "3rd" gear, but he never told me to change gears while driving.  I was so nervous I didn't want to break anything or crash, but then he told me after I could have switched gears to go faster.  Well, there better be a next time then! :)

A few days after we arrived back on island, the USO was putting on a free meet and greet with three actors from the TV show Sons of Anarchy.  It is about a motorcycle gang.  I didn't think it would be my cup of tea, but Kyle got me hooked on the show when we were dating and I've loved it ever since! Kyle had duty the day before, so he was exhausted and decided to pass, but my friend, Mandee, and I decided to go.  It was a blast!  We only got about three minutes with them to say hello, get a picture, and get their autographs, but I loved it!  I LOVE meeting celebrities and I am in love with pop culture (thanks to my father)!  I was star struck by them, I couldn't imagine meeting someone like Ryan Gosling.  Oh my! :)

P.S.  We didn't just hang out with my friends...Kyle hung out with his old college roommates, including Greg, and some other friends, BUT he is not a picture taker like I am.  I try and Try and TRY to encourage him and he really does try, but he "forgot" to get a roommate picture. ;)

February in Review

I'm back after a little "accidental" hiatus.  Long story short, I spilled an entire glass of water on top of my laptop.  I immediately stayed calm and cool sobbed my eyes out.  Kyle remained calm. I took my laptop to a computer repair guy.  They had to air it all out for five days.  I had to re-write my paper that was almost finished.  And in the end, my computer ended up being too damaged to save.  Fortunately, my hard drive was fine and they could save all my school work and more importantly, all my pictures!

 After my little incident I was too distraught to start re-writing my paper, so I got a Starbucks and I rented "Pitch Perfect".  A GREAT PICK ME UP!

Since I was having to use Kyle's computer and did not have pictures, I couldn't write any blog posts, but now now I have a computer and I'm back! Here is a little recap of the end of January and February.

Kyle had made it home from the Big Island a day earlier than he expected.  I had planned going to my good friend, Jenny's baby shower and then Mar and Maddox's birthday party, so...I wasn't there to pick up Kyle.  I felt horrible but he understood how important Jenny's shower was to me...he's great!

Here I am with Jenny (and baby Liam)!

Kyle was awake enough to come to Marcella's and Maddox's birthday! Love them!

Here is Marcella's outfit we I bought her on Etsy!  So stinkin' adorable!

Another magnificent sunset near our home. 

We went on a double-date with Kyle and Aimee to hike Koko Head! 

We hosted a Super Bowl party at our place! Here is Aimee with Rach and Derek, who are our neighbors.  They actually had the movers come today to start packing up :( They are PCSing to Wisconsin next week.  We are going to miss them!

This is Abe and his girlfriend, Courtney.  Check out his shirt! Yep, he's a fellow WOU graduate! 

The rest of the group! 

The FIRST time Kyle's tracs got stuck in the mud this month.  

Jenny had her baby boy, Liam!  Her husband was gone, but made it home the next day! Fortunately,  a good friend of ours has been in the room with a lot of friends labor and delivers, so she was a wonderful help to Jenny!

Happy Valentine's Day! For the day I went with this little girl, Madelyn's mother, Amy! We dropped off her other daughter at preschool, went to grab coffee with another friend, went to visit Jenny and Liam and help her clean up and then we shopped for paint! Yes, paint.  I am going to paint some furniture of Amy's, as well as some of our own.  I am also going to start tutoring Madelyn in reading and writing.

 For Valentine's day Kyle and I already settled on getting cards for one another and getting a couples massage! Well, he came home with a griddle (that he mentioned the night before that HE wanted) and two nerd ropes (one for me and one for him).  He called it a "couples griddle" like our "couples massage".  He cracks me up.  I had also accidently said my maiden name a few days prior so on my card it said, "To: Brittney Durant NOT Adams".  Prior to Kyle coming home from work he had a meeting and he said the Colonel was talking to a bunch of Marines and at the end he told them, "Now go buy your wife a card and flowers."  Kyle said almost all the Marines walked out of the building and headed towards the PX to get cards...including him :) He said there were about 20 Marines looking for cards when he got in there.  Oh, men.

The SECOND time tracs got stuck. This night Kyle and his Marines didn't get home till past 9 trying to get the tracs free.  Poor guys. 

Aunt Julie and Uncle Paul came to visit! After picking them up from the airport I drove them around base and then Kyle said we could visit him on the ramp.  Here we are inside an AAV.  Uncle Paul LOVED it! I'm so glad we could introduce them our lives here in Hawaii on a military base. 

Unfortunately, we had RAINY weather when they were here, but we were still able to go to Pearl Harbor, visit sea turtles, AND...

see Gary Sinise and the Lieutenant Dan Band!  They put on a free concert on base in one of the hangars.  They were very family friendly and a blast to watch!

  Saying goodbye to Aunt Julie and Uncle Paul!  They were off to the Big Island after this!

After dropping them off at the airport, we met some of Kyle's friends and we went to a University of Hawaii game which was a blast!

P.S. I finished my FINAL paper for my Master's Program tonight! I am COMPLETELY done! DONE! I had a huge sense of relief when I sent it in, but I am pretty sure tomorrow I will be thinking, "What homework do I have to do?"