TGIF

Thank goodness it's friday.

I was thinking today, how much changes in a week.

Sunday of last week, our good friends who are a family of four

moved to Fort Bragg.

Tuesday of last week our friend Ashley, who was staying with us for almost 2 months,

finally got orders to join her husband in Germany.

Thursday she left for her home state.

Thursday we drive up to North Carolina to visit our friends.

Sunday we came home.

Tuesday, Ashley flew out to Germany, where she will be visiting with her husband until the big "D" comes.

Today, I'm grateful that I have these friends, I am also grateful that I've had some down time.

I wasn't supposed to have a ton of down time, I was supposed to do some FRG (Family Readiness Group, for the non-military readers)-realated training this week, but Stryker got sick again so I had to ditch those plans and take him into the doctor.  Again.

So today, Friday, I am thankful it's the weekend.

I am thankful I'm able to spend 2 whole days alone with my husband, it sure has been awhile!

I'm thankful that Stryker is feeling better,

and that Spuz is feeling normal (even though I just watched him cover his wet food with my sweatshirt...weirdo).

Today I have to take the dog out to play, go to the store, make some awesome looking amazing cupcakes (photo to follow)

attempt to go to the gym (preparation for awesome looking amazing cupcakes)

and make a class 6 stop (a convenience like store that sells liquor, wine, and beer...Again for the non-military readers).

All before we attend a BBQ with some friends of ours.

I'm not sure what the weekend will bring, but I'm looking forward to it.

I hope everyone has a fun-filled weekend.

If you're anywhere down south, you're probably having some beautiful weather...

We've been battling this 80 degree weather, it's been tough;)

Happy Friday!

♥

Well Hello There!

I know that I have neglected this blog, so again I will try and be better.

I haven't updated this bad boy since January, so let me play a little bit of catch-up for you all...

January

Jesse got rims for Big Black. 

Jesse & I celebrated my birthday at home.

We celebrated this little girl, Sophia's birthday.

We ate these super cute cupcakes.

We celebrated my birthday with friends.

We ate this chocolate & caramel cake. YUM.

We spent time with some of the best people ever.

February

We said goodbye to some friends... 

Well, sorta.

The guys watched the Superbowl...

And we socialized of course;)

We had French toast on the weekend for Valentine's Day.

We had a good Valentine's Day dinner.

We had a good ol' time for Stryker's birthday.

Jesse & I were farewelled from his unit.

March

We celebrated Ashley's birthday at home...

And out;)

We celebrated Renee's birthday...

Ashley & I traveled to Indiana...

And to Ohio.

We BBQ'd a LOT. 

We swam....a LOT.

We celebrated St. Patrick's day...

We celebrated Levi's birthday

We put bunny ears on pugs.

And they loved us for it.

We jumped around a lot.

We let little girls take pictures of us.

We ate blackberry cobbler & ice cream.

April

We went to North Carolina for Easter : )

We also said goodbye to some wonderful friends this month, our friend the Pippy's have moved on to the next chapter, and our friend Ashley finally made her way to Germany.

Hopefully in the upcoming months we will have a trip to Savannah, get a new car {more to come on that one}, see more friends, BBQ some more, my parents will come visit, we're going to Florida, and we {or myself} will be making a trip back up to the midwest again.

So basically, lots more stories and pictures to come!

Also, if you have a Droid or iPhone, download Instagram!  I am on there now, so you can follow me @marissamcadam : )

Have a great week all & happy hump day!

♥

Road Trippin': Day Six

Day Six: Last Day in Arizona

The last day in Arizona was eventful, Jesse & I got up early, visited Rhonda's {fabulous} shop in Phoenix.

We then went out to Cooperstown {the restaurant Alice Cooper owns in downtown Phoenix}, which is always interesting.

When we got back, my Aunt had driven down from the northeastern part of Arizona, and visited with us for a while.

Overall, it was a relaxing and fun trip, getting to catch up with everyone.

I really really love visiting Arizona.

♥

Road Trippin': Day Five

Day Five: Fun in Arizona

Our first full day in Arizona was a blast.

We slept in, relaxed, and called my parents on Skype so that they could talk to David, Myra, and Rhonda.

No one knew how to Skype except for my mom, so it was a treat for them.

They talked for two and a half hours.

Basically, the battery on my computer died.

Anyway, mom had a collection of gifts she had not sent to any of them, but had collected for about five years.

They chatted, opened gifts, and David showed off some of his prized possessions.

We had dinner {Mexican food, yum}

and enjoyed some more pool time.

I love visiting Arizona and it was a great time,

100+ degree weather & all:)

♥

Road Trippin': Day Four

Day Four: Arizona Bound

So we left California, got some Panera, and headed south.

It's really interesting how the terrain changes in southern California and then when you go into Arizona the terrain changes again.

I wonder sometimes how people thought of where to place the state lines because sometimes the terrain, trees, and landscape completely changes when you cross a state line.

Weird.

Anyway, it was a nice trip, we drove around Los Angeles {instead of through LA}

where a cop kindly reminded Jesse he should be going 55 {think hand gestures...and not the "number one" if you catch my drift}.

It was at least in the triple digits way before we got to LA, and we almost ran out of gas partway through Arizona.

Oops.

Let me tell you, that made for an interesting 20 minutes...A black vehicle with pets, virtually no gas, and, in trying to cut down on gas usage, no AC.

Did I mention it was like 110?

Good times.

All & all we got to AZ without a hitch...went swimming and then to bed.

Good times.

More on Arizona next time!

Thanks for reading:)

♥

Road Trippin': Day Two & Three

Days Two and Three: California

The beginning of our California visit began with Jesse doing some fishing with the guys {Jesse's brother, nephew, and some friends of his brothers} and going to the Oakland A's game while I had lunch with the ladies {Jesse's aunt, sister-in-law, and niece}.

The ladies went to Panera, did a little shopping, and then came back for a little nap.
{Well, technically the nap was for Alana, Jesse's niece, but I zonked out too}
12 hours on the road will do that to you.
We finished off the evening with visiting with Jesse's Aunt Donna.

We started the next day the same way we ended the previous day:
With Jesse's aunt Donna.
And coffee.
Then was a little bit of fishing, Chipotle for lunch, and visiting with one of Jesse's elementary school friends.

I love it out on the west coast...The cool, foggy weather was a great sendoff!
A great visit.

♥

Road Trippin': Day One

Day 1: Driving to California

So I will be doing a post a day {or at least trying to} about our road trip for approximately eight days, telling you all about our lovely "little" road trip across the United States.

We took a more southern route, heading first through Oregon and into California.  I always really enjoy driving through Portland, but after driving through Portland the state of Oregon gets boring for a while.
Once you get past the fields, livestock, and a few vineyards you get into mountains and the landscape starts to change.  By the time we had reached this part of Oregon it was 90 degrees (quite a bit warmer than the Washington we left) and we refueled with some Starbucks.

We got to California, drove by Mount Shasta, and through most of Northern California.  It seemed like a long drive into the bay area, the sun was setting as we got close.  By the time we got to where we needed to be it was nearly dark.  We still got to see lots of water, bridges, and a beautiful sunset into Casto Valley.

Jesse's brother was just wrapping up a BBQ, and we enjoyed some leftovers before settling in.

More to come on our California trip!  Stay tuned:)

♥