Red Rock Canyon

 

We are enjoying the hiking here in Colorado already, and we have only scratched the surface of all the amazing things to see.  The mountains are such a constant reminder of God's great handiwork.

We've Moved!

We got here on Thursday and tonight will be our 3rd night in the hotel while we continue our house search.  We turned in an application on one today and are hoping it will be our new home!  It is an old unique house in a quaint little neighborhood at the bottom of the front range of the Rockies!  Jake and I feel so blessed to be in Colorado.  We keep saying, "is this real life!?" It feels like a vacation.  Here are a few pictures of our move and our time here so far!

Eda in the empty apartment.  Our stuff was gone on Thursday and we didn't leave until Tuesday.

We were overjoyed to be able to stop at my Uncle Dan and Aunt Loxy's house in Joplin, Mo on our way out.  They spoiled us with their company and a wonderful dinner (complete with red velvet cupcakes for dessert!)  This is us with our cousins!

Eda loved our stop in Joplin too. Not only did she get to play with Hazel, my cousin's dog, she got to be chased and chase Evelyn!  We all felt so refreshed after this great little vacation from the car!

Eda is a great car rider. She fell asleep right on top of our fruit container.

A picture of the rockies as they came into view in the distance. (Please excuse the bugs on our windshield).

We got set up in the hotel then went to find some dinner.  We found Noodles!!

Love this bumper sticker.  I want to tell this to everyone who won't rent to us because of our dog.

Walking along Fountain Creek Trail.

Army Reconnaissance Course Graduation

Jake has graduated from his final course here at Fort Benning!  

(Please excuse my use of cell-phone pictures.  We will be investing in a new camera soon!)

There was a lot of music as part of the ceremony.  They showed this music video (which of course I cried at the end of...)

Then they played this song:

After all the names were announced, the graduating class sang (or more so shouted) this song:

The Armor Song

The Army is a team that tackles any job that's tough, but when the land is 

rugged and enemy is rough, Who do they call to make them say "I quit, I've had enough!"?

Nobody but the ever rolling, 

Hit them again and keep on rolling,

Nobody but the ever rolling ARMOR!

Finally, we all sang the Army Song together:

Savannah

We took a trip to Savannah over Easter weekend and had so much fun, I just had to share some pictures with you. 

We stayed in historic downtown, so the first day we spent walking around, shopping, eating and visiting historic landmarks there.

At The Distillery, across from our hotel

Never been in a shop that smelled this good.  We tried the praline they are so famous for.

At Fiddler's Crab House on the river. (note dripping butter on chin) ;)

The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

Guess we should have taken a picture of the sign instead of me because I don't remember what this monument is for...

I can't remember what exactly we 'learned' at this monument either, but we took a picture because we knew Ike (Jake's little bro) would appreciate it. :)

It was a little chilly walking along river at night, so we bought this awesome touristy sweatshirt which we used the next day on Tybee Island to identify what the fishermen were catching off the pier.

The second day we went to Tybee Island (only about a half hour from Savannah) to soak up some sun!

On the pier watching the fishermen

No shark fishing, people.

At Uncle Bubba's, Paula Dean's restaurant!

Mmmmm, sweet tea!

Jake got her famous fried chicken.  He claims it was the best he's EVER had.

Outside her restaurant, there was a cute little boardwalk.  It was romantic (despite the obnoxious Georgia bench). :)

If you ever get the opportunity to visit Savannah, do it! :)

Ice Ice Baby

Jake and I were longing to be in Minnesota when they were blanketed in snow, but the drive was a little too far to make, so we decided to hit up the ice rinks here to get a little dose of cold.  :)

Notice the lack of people in the background?  It is soo much nicer to go during the week when there is not a crowd.  We need all the room we can get to show off our skills ;)

Jake perfecting the backwards skate.  We were also working on our "crossovers" and "hockey stops."

At the Columbus Cottonmouths hockey game.  Our friends Joe, Emily, and Taylor also joined us to learn some fancy footwork from the skaters in the Southern Professional Hockey League. 

ABOLC Graduation

Jake graduated from Armor Basic Officer Leaders Course yesterday! This is such a great accomplishment as he is now ready to take on his own platoon at Fort Carson in CO.

I must brag on my hubby a little and say that he not only graduated, but made the Commandant's list (I didn't know this til I saw it in the program, and was so proud of him!) I keep telling him it's okay to brag to ME! I'm his wife. This means he graduated in the top 20% of the class. 

Jake had a few classmates who also had wives! YAY for me! This was a great/easy way to make friends.  This is me with Emily (brown hair) and Lizzy (blonde hair).

After graduation we stepped outside because Jake SOOO badly wanted more picture taken of him ;)

Then we drove to check out, and Jake was done for the day! Woohoo!  We went to the dog park as usual, and then celebrated with Mexican food, margaritas, and Jake's favorite, brownies smothered in frosting. 

Now Jake works around post for the next couple weeks, then starts Army Reconnaissance Course (ARC) in the middle of March.  That lasts about a month, then off to Colorado we go!

"Army Strong"

I am excited to tell you about this new bible study I am in that one of my friends here is leading.  Our first meeting was on Tuesday, and it was so honest, encouraging, and insightful.  I am excited to go back again next week!

We talked about how army wives tend to become a little hardened as we "roll with the punches."  I cannot tell you how many times I've heard the sayings: "yeah...welcome to the army," "soldier on," "you were given this life because you are strong enough to live it," and "army strong." We start to take pride in being able to handle everything on our own and don't ask for help from anyone, including the greatest Counselor and Savior.

Thinking about this got this old hymn stuck in my head.  I so enjoy this rendition by Bart Millard.

I am trying to remind myself that Jesus delights in being my friend and helping me.  He wants me to depend on Him, so I do not need to be prideful and say, "don't worry, God, I got this."  Ever notice that usually after someone says they "got this under control" something terrible happens?  In our house it usually means there is about to be a huge mess in the kitchen, haha! 
Just a little reminder, for you and me, that we don't have to do life alone. :)

Copycat

williams sonoma peppermint bark

I love finding foods Jake loves and trying to replicate them at home.  So far I have made Red Lobster's Bay Biscuits and those puffy frosting-buried sugar cookies you can buy at WalMart and Target.

Both my copycat recipes turned out well, so when Jake started raving about the peppermint bark that Williams Sonoma sells for $30 a tin around the holiday season, I knew I needed experiment with making a homemade version.

I googled it, and of course someone had already created a recipe, so I used theirs!

my homemade peppermint bark

I think it turned out very well.  Delicious and so pretty.  Now all I need is an adorable tin with a cute dalmatian on the side! :)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

After being in Minnesota for only a short teaser of a weekend for Thanksgiving, Jake and I have Christmas break on the mind. Then we will be in Minnesota for two whole weeks! 

Don't get me wrong, we love our life here in Alabama and it felt great to get back to our apartment and our pup, we are just always looking forward to the next time we get to see our friends and family back home. 

Without snow, we needed some Christmas decorations to help us get into the holiday spirit.  With lights and tinsel strung on the porch, the nativity scene displayed on a night stand, and Gumby-Santa hanging from a cabinet, we are ready for December!

colored lights and tinsel

please excuse the fallen king, eda evidently has a problem with him

gumby santa

Happy Veterans Day!

Sending out a huge thank you to all the servicemen and women.

Oh how I love you, soldier.
I couldn't be more proud.
Xoxo