Catching Up...

Wow! Life has been crazy this last month! Obviously, since I haven't posted anything since then!!! So sorry guys! I will try to catch you up on what we have been doing :)

Life in the past month summed up in bullets:

• Kyle and I enjoyed our first couples massage *sigh* I bought the massages for half off on Groupon (an amazing website you should all check out!)
• My car was backed into by an old man in the parking lot on base :( He was inching back, but there was still some paint damage. It was fixed pretty quickly though and not too much of a hassle with insurance thank goodness!
• The stock market dropped...A LOT. No fun for our money :(
• Kyle took me to the Marine Corps Museum which is right near the base. It was a huge museum full of USMC history and had a TON to look at and read!

In front of the Marine Corps Museum

Inside the Museum

• We found out we will be living in Paradise, aka Hawaii, for the next 3 years! Yippee! I know our family and friends are already looking forward to visiting :) And you are ALL welcome because we also purchased a queen mattress for our guest room!
• Kyle and I experienced our biggest earthquake EVER (5.8)! Kyle was sitting in the barracks and I was sitting on the couch watching Kathy Lee and Hoda. I never expected to feel that on the East Coast! And boy have we had our share of natural disasters over here! When we first moved out here there was a tornado and then we had hurricane Irene come through a couple weeks ago too!
• We made a trip to Great Falls Park where there were beautiful hiking trails and falls cascading over high rocks. 

In front of the Falls

Pretty.

• We are know called Uncle Kyle and Auntie Brittney :) My little brother, Tyler, and his girlfriend, Katrina, welcomed their baby girl Macie into this world on September 7th at 9:08am. Unfortunately, that day Kyle went out into the field to start his 8 day "WAR" (make-believe war where the company is split in half and they fight each other). A couple hours after her birth, while talking to my sister, Megan, I started crying. I was sad that being away makes me miss moments like that. I would have been better if Kyle could have been there to comfort me, but he didn't even get out of the field for 8 more days! So...I pulled at my parents heart strings and they flew me out to Oregon 1 day later! :) I was home for 6 days to be able to spend with my niece and family. Kyle had no idea I was gone until he got home! I knew he was going to be bummed that I wouldn't be there to welcome him home, but I couldn't resist going to meet my niece because I have no idea when I'll see her next. :( Kyle understood. :)

My first time holding Macie!

So adorable!

The parents.

The family minus Kyle and Greg

Love her!

• The War. I knew the war was going to take a toll on Kyle and all the guys because the weather was ridiculous! It rained non-stop for the first 3 days. Kyle said it's the most rain he has ever seen come down in that amount of time. Then the rest of the time it was hot and VERY humid. Kyle held a position during the war where he was platoon commander. He was in charge of his platoon during the offense. He had to come up with a plan to defeat the defense. Kyle led his Marines to a victory, but he lost 3 men, including himself :( But...his commander told him if it were real life he would have earned a silver star so he was proud of himself ;) Here is an article that was in the Quantico Sentry (a newspaper on base) that was written about Kyle and what happened while he was in command: http://www.quantico.usmc.mil/Sentry/storyview.aspx?SID=5523
• I have been spending almost every day with my good friend Mandee and her two little kiddos, Marcella (2) and Maddox (8 months). Unfortunately, Mandee and I just met back in July, so we haven't had too much time together. Her husband is in Kyle's company. They still don't know where they will be stationed, but her and I are hoping for Hawaii. :)

The Gliwa's and me!

It's a little dark, but a few wives out for Mandee's Birthday while the guys are gone for the war.

• PCS (Permanent Change of Station). We are PCSing for the first time and it is ridiculous! I have power of attorney, so I have to make all the phone calls, fill out paperwork, and pretty much plan our move by myself. I had to plan a lot of it while Kyle was at the war, so I had to make a lot of decisions without him. There were definitely tears, but I believe we are set to move our household goods, ship both our cars, our flight out to Hawaii on the 1st, and our lodging in Hawaii until we get on-base housing. I don't understand how people do this every 3 years! I'm sure after a couple moves, they get it down though. :) 
• Jacob is in Kyle's platoon and his fiance Kayla I have hung out with a couple times (she lives in Maryland). They got married this past weekend and Kyle and I were able to share in their special day. They had a "Marine Corps Wedding" with the sword arch and all! I was completely jealous! Kyle wasn't commissioned by our wedding, so he could not wear his uniform. :( Their wedding was beautiful and it was fun to be able to spend time with some other Marine couples.  

The Sword Arch

The reception was at a beautiful manor in Maryland

The groom, Jacob, is to the right of Kyle.

A few wives with the new wife, Kayla.

• Yesterday, I met Kyle on base to go to a PCS Mixer. There were Officers who were there to talk to people about being stationed at different places. We were able to talk with a Major who has been stationed in Hawaii for 3 times. Basically, he told us we are going to have a BLAST! :) When we were leaving the base, Kyle spotted some AAV's, so we went to have a look. It was a neat thing to be able to go inside and sit where Kyle will be sitting when he is navigating one of them. 

My handsome tracker in front of an AAV

Sitting where Kyle's feet would go. He would stand up there ready with guns in hand. 

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 :)