February

This month brought Adam's fourth work up for the upcoming deployment, and the longest so far. He left early in the month and returns tomorrow for 13 days before leaving again, this time for only 15 days. It has been the most challenging work up because of the length and lack of communication, but as I prepare for Adam to come home tomorrow I am realizing just how quickly the time flew by, and I am thankful. If only all of the deployment could feel this way. My heart is full right now, but there are too many emotions to choose from.

Looking on the bright side, I have kept myself busy and have much to look forward to all year long. Here is this month in pictures:

Daffodils around the mailbox. They are a welcome burst of spring. I've spent a lot of Ferbruary planning my garden, reading through seed and garden supply catalogs, re-planning my garden, and have even done some planting.

Surprise baby shower for Kat! We knew we would never get her to show up, so we brought the party to her. Needless to say we caught her early in the morning and in her sweats! Many friends contributed to making it a special day.

Two of my favorite friends! These kids make me laugh so much. I have a habit of adopting everyone else's kids instead of having my own.

March promises to be an interesting and full month too. I hope everyone has plenty to look forward to!

Snow Day! and BFF's

It seems I have gotten my wish. Tomorrow school has been cancelled in anticipation of ice and SNOW!!!! I am quite excited about the prospect of seeing and playing in snow on the ground for the first time since 2005. (So listen storm clouds, you better produce some snow!) Adam should even get to see snow too since his squadron is in Blackstone, VA on a training mission. Unfortunately for him, the Marine Corps does not usually call snow days so the playing in the snow will be at a minimum.

I am looking forward to some freed up time, especially since I start a new semester tomorrow and haven't quite finished my fall coursework yet. I'm also looking forward to sleeping in since I did not sleep much this weekend. I visited with the Foemans, and Alexi came down too! There was lots of girl talk, eating, shopping and Starbucks. It was fun and refreshing. A perk of being back on the east coast is that I get to see friends and family a lot more. I've seen everyone so much more in the nine months that we've lived here, than in the two years we were away. I've missed my girls so much!

I do not like living in Jacksonville, but I decided to find at least one good thing about this place. So,here it is: Jacksonville has also really made me appreciate my friends and family and all the other places I've lived even more.

Stay warm everyone!

Winter

Winter is here and not really in full swing. It was 60 degrees today in Jacksonville. I am not complaining. I would like to see some snow though, therefore I am wishing for some colder temperatures. It seems a shame to not be cold and snowy. It also seems a shame for Adam to have to miss it all. (Look at me pretending it's actually going to snow here.)He will be in Virginia and then out on the USS Bataan for the next two-ish weeks, then most of February and March. He'll be home in between though, and maybe it'll snow then!

Today was the first day back to work for me after a two week Christmas break. We traveled home to see family for a week and then relaxed here for the rest of our time. We saw both families, Uncle Garrie, and cousins Nancy, Tim, Katie, and David. We spent time everywhere and with everyone we could. Back here, it was nice to be home, relaxing, reading, and spending time together instead of writing lesson plans and studying. Being back at work today feels like I never even had a break, but I have a feeling the time might fly by just like in the fall. We have such a big year coming up with lots of new things.

Thursday marks the beginning of a series of pre-deployment work ups for Adam until about April. Then, he will actually deploy in May. The Marine Corps can't and won't ever give exact dates about when they'll be gone and when they'll really be back, but hopefully he will be back for Christmas. We also don't actually know where he's going either, but hopefully they'll be safe and enjoy some of their time whether it's at neat ports or in the sandbox.

Now it's time to plan girl weekends and summer vacations! Anyone want to visit?

Fall

Fall is undoubtedly our favorite season. The temperature finally breaking and becoming cooler, the leaves changing color, and the warm apple cider gets us very excited. Not to mention the holidays that fall in the autumn season giving way to Christmas. There is something wonderful about fall in every place we've lived and each year we've made new discoveries. Longwood was a wonderful place for fall, finally getting used to the class schedule, the calm before the midterm storm, and the leaves on the walkway in front of the Cunninghams dorm. It was also the season that Adam and I found our love for canoeing, which has given way to the kayaks that now inhabit our side porch. In Fredericksburg fall was beautiful. The trees that lined the road into downtown would be lit up with white lights as we grew nearer the holiday season. And the hill coming down 17 onto route 1 showed huddles of fall colors around houses and a beautiful church steeple. Fall was incredibly different in Florida. Temperatures remained in the 80's and 90's well through Thanksgiving. Even though we wore sweaters for the holiday, we had the air conditioning on. The trees took ages to finally change and fall off the trees. And though we complained endlessly about the lack of fall, it was nice just how long the season lasted. And though I do not speak for Adam in this case, I didn't mind not being cold. Last fall, as we made our trip to California, we headed farther away from colorful trees, through the desert, and to an area full of palm trees. We looked for apartments and of course, chose the one that had a purple leaved tree hanging right over the deck that made us feel like we weren't so far away from Fall after all. I often miss the gorgeous mountains, topped with snow, the streets lined with palm trees, and the endless view of the Pacific. Most of the time I wish I was still in California, longing for the beautiful views, the shopping, and the opportunities we had while we were there. But, Fall has made Jacksonville a bit more bearable at the present time. Our neighborhood here on base is full of trees that have all changed color and dropped layers of leaves all over the yards. It's a wonderful oasis of leaves that we can see out all our windows and the temperature is just right. We also had a wonderful Halloween with our first real trick or treaters, and are getting ready for a wonderful Thanksgiving. Though Adam is on the boat training this week, we are fortunate to have another holiday season together. He will return Friday and not be gone again until January, after New Year's.
We are also fortunate to be right where we wanted to be. Adam is detached to the MEU, which was exactly what he wanted. And I am teaching again, something I've looked forward to as I entered each new school over the last two years just to attach a Substitute Teacher sticker on my shirt. Though we feel we have plenty to complain about in both cases; rules, people, and workoad, we also must remember to be thankful. And what better season to be reminded of this than as we near the Thanksgiving holiday and look out at the colorful scenery, drinking warm drinks, and enjoying each other's company.

It's pronounced "Rich-lands", not "Richlonds".

Yes, people in North Carolina are particular about how you say the names of their towns. For example, Topsail beach is not pronounced, "top sail". No, it's "topsil". And even though in South Carolina the town of Beaufort is prounounce "BYU-fert", here in NC, it's "BO-fort". There are also many y'alls and ain'ts thrown around on a daily basis. At least in my third grade classroom there are.

I have 21 wonderful 8 year olds who keep me on my toes. Today I asked them to write in their journals. They got out their journals and started drawing pictures. I said, "No, I wanted you to write words". So one smart-alec little boy wrote words. His name, cat, dog, girl. Just words. Despite the cleverness and sarcasm my students possess, common sense and maturity seem to lack. They are a little younger and less mature than the third graders I am used to, but they are definitely smart. I really have to keep them busy. I'm pretty sure they're the smartest third grade class. That's what I tell them anyway.

In other news, Adam has already started some training and will "chop" to the MEU on October 3. Which means he will switch over to an Osprey squadron and begin excercises to prepare for deployment on the Marine Expeditionary Unit deployment which has already been moved back to April/May. He will be gone quite often for the next few months though and will have a busy schedule since he will be working in Operations. That's basically schedule writing and it just includes a lot of long hours. Adam is excited though because this is the deployment he wanted to get on and he is going to learn a lot. He will have to start studying a lot more since they are really hard on Cobra and Huey pilots, but will get a lot more flight time in. This deployment is also exciting because some close friends are also going on it, including an old friend from college assigned to a different unit.

This weekend we are venturing up to VA for cousin Kristen's wedding and we will get to see my brother and his girlfriend! Also looking forward to seeing my whole side of the family for the second time this year. (That never happens!)

I'll post pictures of fun, weddings, and our fixed up yard soon!

New Beginnings

I know I have not updated in a little while. So much to tell! Adam has officially switched squadrons and is with the Warriors, a group that is coming back from Iraq in about two weeks. His previous squadron left this past Monday for Iraq and Afghanistan and has arrived safely. We won't get too attached to the Warriors because soon enough Adam will transfer to an Osprey squadron to deploy with a Marine Expeditionary Unit which begins training in October. The role of the Cobras will be to escort and assist the Ospreys wherever they are sent. This is exactly what he wanted and is happy to deploy with this MEU.

In other news, I am officially a third grade teacher at Richlands Elementary School! School starts August 26th and I am working on setting up my classroom and pulling everything out of storage from the last two years of being dragged around the country. I can't wait to meet my students and get back into teaching!


Aside from our day jobs, recently Adam and I attended a Cowboy Action Shoot with our friend Ken. Here in rural North Carolina, this is where men and women dress up in traditional cowboy gear and participate in rounds of shooting targets with pistols, rifles, and shotguns. My favorite part was dressing up, but we also met some really nice people and learned a lot about the culture in our area. It was pretty neat to watch everyone shooting and they even let Adam have a turn. Here are some pictures and video from our day:

Adam and Ken:
















A sample of the targets:
















Adam shooting:


















Ken's shoot:

Adam's shoot:

Going Green

Towards the end of April my great friend Kat and I attempted a trip to the Onslow County Farmers Market, the closest one around here. We wanted to find fresh produce that has been grown without pesticides and that has not wasted fuel and energy coming to us from all over the world. As the market is only open Tuesdays and Saturdays April through October, we got up early on a Tuesday morning to see if we could beat everyone else to the fine selection. We found it easily around 9am and besides the vendors selling plants, some broccoli, and little else, we were the only ones there. We briefly surveyed the situation and left discouraged. I have done much complaining that in California it was so easy to find good food and that there is nothing here. I could just take a seven minute trek to the market down the street, open every day, and grab delicious looking vegetables, homemade granola, and tons of other organic goodies. We have not been back to the Onslow Farmers Market. We have however gotten our hopes back up and have been scouring the area for fresh, local produce. It's just not as obvious here as it was in California. There, the farmers were successful and their produce was greatly desired in high demand. And of course, in the San Diego area, the climate is perfect for growing great crops year round.

I'm still trying to learn about growing food in my own garden and have so far only had successful herbs and peppers. So, Kat and I searched the eastern part of our area the other day and found green peppers, corn, cherries, blackberries, and sprite. Not the soda, the melon. Which I found out I am not allergic to and ate with great delight. The following day another friend of mine came blueberry picking with me, a summer tradition I picked up in Florida with my dear friend Peggy Ann who could pick bucket loads all season long. We also found seedless watermelon at $4 a piece and trekked to a small Mennonite grocery store for some fresh baked goods. The more I look and the more people I talk to, the more great food I find! Hopefully, I am getting us another step closer to being healthy and helping the planet.