Three Posts in One!!

Okay...I've been really bad about not blogging lately, and I'm kind of getting tired of looking at the same post each time I open my blog! So, in an attempt to catch up, I am going to post three different events all in one! Beginning from the most recent happenings...

We've had so much fun this past weekend, from family and friends visiting, to attending a beautiful wedding, and then ending it with a celebration of Blaine's birthday. This was our last weekend of a very long string of busy weekends filled with guests coming to us and us being out of town. Of course, we wouldn't trade any of that for the world!

To begin our fun-filled weekend, Blaine's Uncle Jim and Aunt Louise visited Thursday (Nov. 7th) and Friday (Nov. 8th). Blaine enjoyed a perfect-weather day of golfing with his uncle on Friday while his aunt and I strolled around downtown Charleston to take in some sights and shopping. Our dear friends, Aaron and Jessie, arrived late Friday night and stayed through Monday. We all attended the wedding of our friends, Will and Alisa, but not before Blaine and Aaron made time to tailgate The Citadel game while Jessie and I pampered ourselves with pedicures! The wedding took place at The Citadel, followed by a beautiful reception at Magnolia Gardens. We had such a great time!

We celebrated Blaine's birthday on November 11th (yes, Veteran's Day), but extended the celebration into the 12th since we spent most of his actual birthday repacking our storage unit. We did make time to have dinner at Tsunami's and dessert on Market Street, but I insisted on making a meal at home, complete with a birthday cake (cupcakes), the following night. Happy Birthday, Blaine!!

We spent Halloween weekend in Nashville for the Airlift/Tanker Association convention. The convention takes place over four days at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. The picture to the left is of just one of their atriums...the place is massive! I imagine this hotel has it's own zip code. The real reason we were invited to the convention for the second time is because Blaine was on the championship "Crud" team two years ago. If any of you don't know what this made up game is, let me just say that it involves a pool table, two pool balls, and lots of seriously dangerous person-to-person contact. Just ask Blaine about his injuries from this year's tournament! And some of these guys are serious about their crud!! Unfortunately, Team Charleston did not set the record and win for the third year in a row, but we all still had a blast!

And, of course, the Razorback Rumble must have face-time on our blog! This year was the third annual rumble, taking place the weekend of October 16th-18th. This rumble was special as we celebrated Will and Alisa's upcoming wedding (see first event within this post) with a wedding shower. They already had several showers, so we had quite a unique shower for them...an "Outer-Inner Space Shower". Guests showered them with gifts for their home, as well as for the outdoors. And the theme? Outer space, of course! We went all out with "outer space" foods, and I made a "moon cake with alien cupcakes"! We also had a darts tournament and a beer tasting event the same night. We had 14 different beers, brought by different people. The labels were covered and each beer was numbered. Contestants rated each beer on taste, texture, and smell. They also had to identify the type of beer. There was a tie for favorite beer between Mothership Wit and Tsingtao...and Blaine won the trophy for identifying 10 out of 14 beers correctly!

We tailgated the Clemson game on Saturday, although the weather was not very nice. It was so cold and rainy, but we made the best of it. You know the weather must have been bad if I didn't even bother to take out my camera to capture memories of this day! :) As always, there was a cornhole tournament that went so long we had to finish it at a friend's house later that night! We usually end the Razorback Rumble with an Oktoberfest celebration in downtown Walhalla, but decided against it this year due to the rain and mud. I think having homemade chicken noodle soup at Parker and Will's mom's house while the guys finished playing cornhole was a much better choice anyway! Thank you, Ellen, for the yummy food!!

Now you all know that we have been alive and well for the past several months! Stay tuned for more posts (I will do a better job of keeping up) throughout the holidays!!

After many visits to the farmer's market in Marion Square, I have been inspired to copy :) one of the photographer's work by taking some of my own shots of initials around Charleston. These are some initials I found hidden throughout the gorgeous iron work downtown!

You Mean We Have To Pack AGAIN???

I'm not sure of the best way to share news with all of our loved ones at the same time besides this blog...so, here we go. We are moving to Hawaii in January!! Yes, you read that right. Even though we have been expecting news on our next military move, we were not exactly expecting the news to come so soon..and we weren't sure of exactly where we were going. That said, we are very excited and are looking forward to this new adventure! Although our military friends understand, this has been bittersweet for us in having to tell them that we're leaving. We have met some incredible people in Charleston and hold those friendships very dear to our hearts. One of the great things about the military, though, is knowing we will run into each other again some day soon...and the existence of Space A flights so that we can see each other whenever they want!! :)

For the remainder of our time here, I have found the PERFECT job! Obviously, I cannot take a full-time teaching position as I would have liked to, knowing that I will only be here for half of a school year. Instead, I have taken a long-term substitute position...at Stratford High, where I did my student-teaching...for one of the science teachers who will be on maternity leave...and the job will last for about three months (exactly what I need with the timeframe we are working with)...AND I will be working under my cooperating teacher and mentor! I am so excited about going back to a school where I feel completely comfortable and know everyone already. Of course, it would be nice to still live five minutes from the school, but I guess I can't have everything! :)

We will certainly be busy over the next few months with making arrangements for the big move, but not too busy for our family and friends. The message you all should take from this...come visit Charleston while we're still here!! Or, start making arrangements for your vacation to Hawaii... :)

Honolulu Bay

Hickam Air Force Base housing (not sure yet where we'll actually live)

Our Life Downtown...

We're enjoying downtown Charleston...but STILL unpacking and getting settled. After a pretty tough move that we couldn't have done without some great friends, we are really enjoying our new place, although Blaine was only here a week before leaving for a trip. He'll have plenty of time to enjoy it, though. :)

Since being downtown, we have tried several new restaurants and have become a little too comfortable with the Charleston Beer Exchange. You can get "growlers" of draught beer at the Exchange, each holding enough beer to fill 5-6 pint glasses. We have already taken advantage of this several times, since it's just a short walk down the street! We decided we will have to lay some ground rules so that we don't get lazy and eat out every night. That's going to be very hard to do while being just blocks away from some of Charleston's best restaurants!

I have been to the Farmer's Market in Marion Square the past two Saturdays and I can't see it ever getting old. I met Rachel P and Andrea M, along with their kiddos, there this past weekend and we all took advantage of the awesome weather and had a great time! We even went by Three Dog Bakery, where I picked up some puppy "ice cream" for Blaze and Holly. I think they liked their new treat!!

I've also started a photography class so that I can get to know my new camera. So far, I'm liking the class and learning more than I ever would just by reading the manual. My friend, Michelle T, is also taking the class with me. Here are a few shots of a gate near our house...I was practicing with the light and dark settings on the camera.

Blaine will be home from his trip soon, so I hope to have some more interesting pictures to share with all of you! Stay tuned for more downtown happenings...

10 Years Ago...

10 years ago...I had little responsibility and a whole lot of questions as to what the future had in store for me. Yes, 10 years ago, I had just graduated from high school and was venturing out into an unknown world. If you look closely at the cake picture, you can see me laying across the bench in our class photo, front and center! Who...me? Center of attention?? :)

A few weeks ago, Blaine and I flew to Texas to partake in my 10 year reunion and my hometown's annual celebration...the one and only Elgin Western Days festival! For our reunion, I consulted several old friends and we came up with a plan and started contacting people. After so many years, it can be difficult to find everyone, but Facebook was a huge help! Now, you all know that I don't use Facebook, but that didn't stop me from hacking into my sister's and my friend, Whitney M's, Facebook pages to find the email addresses needed to spread the word! We held the reunion at a local venue, Krystal Falls, owned by the family of one of our classmates, Krystal S. We had our reunion catered by Southside Market and BBQ, also owned by the family of one of our classmates, Brittney W. In a small town like Elgin, everyone knows everyone! We had a good turnout of about 50 people (out of a class of 119) and had a great time catching up. The location was beautiful, the food was yummy (ahh, good ol' Texas BBQ), and flipping through the old yearbook was a blast!

The next morning, as tradition holds, we rode on a float in the Elgin Western Days parade! Whitney M's family lent us a trailer and we pulled it behind my dad's truck. We didn't have a driver, so Blaine graciously offered to drive for us. Little did I know that this was Blaine's first parade to ride in, let alone drive in!! He was great and did an awesome job following the horses in front of us. :) Since we had to wait for two hours in line before the parade started, we decided to decorate the float during that time. Now, we showed up with an empty trailer, some streamers, balloons, a couple of signs, and a bunch of lawn chairs! Would you believe we ACTUALLY WON 1ST PLACE in the local division!? I think the judges may have taken pity on us, although our float was pretty awesome! Notice Aleshia H holding our 1st place ribbon at the back of the float! Way to go EHS Class of 1999!!

Another fun fact about Elgin is that everyone has their class reunions on Western Days weekend. My mom also had her 35 year class reunion and she, too, rode in the parade! She's the one with the sunglasses next to the really enthusiastic guy!

We spent our last day in Texas doing one of the things I miss most about home...tubing the river! It was a beautiful day and the river was packed. We took our time on the river, enjoying the company of my sister, Andie; cousin, Jason; and friends, Tammy D and Danny D. We had a great, although too short, visit with family and friends!

Mrs. Baker...South Carolina's newest biology teacher!

What a week! After enjoying a few days of down time (or should I say days of running around like crazy trying to get things ready for the graduation weekend) with Blaine, we kicked off the weekend's festivities when my family arrived at the airport Friday (May 8th) afternoon for my graduation. Everyone was anxious to get to the beach house we rented on Isle of Palms to kick back, relax, and let the partying begin. The house was beautiful and just a short walk from the beach, which made for an awesome stay.

Friday night, we were lucky enough to have Cross Canadian Ragweed play just down the street from us at The Windjammer! The concert was great, and we were surrounded by family and lots of friends from our squadron. CCR is one of our favorite bands from the good 'ole Texas Country days...it's like they came here just for us!

Saturday was a day of relaxation, family, and friends...with a heart-felt toast led by Blaine, followed by an awesome pool/beach party! We are so blessed to have great family and friends..and even more grateful that many of them were able to join us on Saturday in celebration of my graduation. We enjoyed the pool and the beach...and later, the hot tub when Elijah figured out how to turn it on. :)

Sunday, the big day, was rainy and not so great for taking outdoor pictures. We managed to get a few indoors, though. The actual graduation ceremony was nice, and, although I won't admit it in person, I felt a great sense of pride as I walked across the stage. Another goal achieved! I was so thankful to have my family there with me on this important day. Thank you guys for being so supportive and loving!! I would not be where I am today without your influence on my life.

Degree in hand, and lots of goodbye hugs later, Blaine and I found ourselves enjoying the beach house...and the beach...and lots of mimosas with Jordan and Christina! Our "staycation" was great! We really felt like we had vacationed somewhere far away, while only being 30 minutes from home. I could get used to beach living...

Welcome Home Blaine!!

He's home!! Blaine came home today from his deployment to Southwest Asia. The past few days have been filled with excitement, nervousness, and just being anxious for today to come. I spent most of last night calling other spouses, updating them with the many time changes regarding today's homecoming. Not to mention the calls I made early this morning while getting ready, too. :) After all of the details were squared away, we all arrived at the passenger terminal on base about an hour before the plane's arrival. Some of the spouses brought food, but most of us were too anxious to eat, although the food was very yummy after the plane arrived and the butterflies were contained. I brought the makings for mimosas, which we discreetly poured so that the base personnel wouldn't spoil our fun! They were just what we needed while waiting!

It was so good to see Blaine walking toward me...one of my friends said she saw Blaine and turned around to look for me. She said I was jumping up and down and doing a little "dance"..,just full of excitement. It was fun to hear her account of our reunion. Maybe just as exciting as seeing your own husband, is seeing all of the other reunions. I really enjoy seeing those first hugs, especially from the children who haven't seen their parents in months.

It didn't take too long to get Blaine's bags before heading home. Blaze and Holly were SO excited to see him...they were jumping all over the place and couldn't get enough of him! It was so sweet. As predicted, I knew Blaine would want Wild Wings soon after coming home, so that's where we went for lunch. We are so happy to be back together...and we're looking forward to a couple of weeks of down time. Oh, what an awesome day!!

By the way, Blaine is sleeping right now. Otherwise, writing in our blog today would not be my first priority!

2009 Spouse Flight

One of the many perks of being married to Blaine, in addition to him just being awesome, is that I get to participate in spouse flights! I even got to dress up like Blaine, in a flightsuit with a name patch and all. I ordered two patches...one says "Mrs. Baker" and the other says "J-Bake". The base coordinates this flight and invites all of the spouses in the Ops Group to fly on a C-17, so that we can experience what our husbands do at work each day.

After being "briefed on our mission", we boarded the plane and took off over the Charleston coastline. But before that, we got to experience what it's like when our husbands' planes break and the mission doesn't go exactly as planned...we changed planes twice because of mechanical issues! We then flew over Georgia and North Carolina, where we were invited into the cockpit to experience air refueling at its best. Air refueling is just what it sounds like...another plane gets REALLY close to the C-17 and gives it fuel! I can't believe my husband actually knows how to do this..it looks so tricky! Way to go, sweetie! After what I believe was an amazing feat, we landed at the practice air field near Columbia, SC for lunch and a C-17 demonstration.

After enjoying lunch and the company of good friends...and finding a deeper appreciation for our husbands after wearing those flightsuits in the heat...we returned to the planes and headed back home to Charleston. What a fun day it was!!

Sweet Baby Rabbits

Mother Nature knows what she's doing! Many animals grow very quickly after they are born because it is essential to their survival, but just look at how big my baby rabbits are getting! It hasn't even been a week since I took the last picture!

I was worried after I found them (and after Blaze had stuck his nose in their nest) that the mother would not care for them anymore. Blaine assured me that she would come back...and he had to convince me numerous times to not check on them every five minutes. Well, she did come back, and being the good mommy she is, she reconstructed their nest and covered them with a "blanket" of her fur! Isn't that the sweetest? The fur has kept them warm and dry from all the rain we've had the past few days. They have been safe and sound...yet, I still check on them every day...sometimes twice a day.

Happy Easter!

The Easter bunny came to our house a few days early this year...and left these sweet little babies! Blaze was acting funny when I let him outside and wouldn't leave one of the trees in our yard. I finally decided to walk over to see what he was interested in and found these! I also snapped a picture of the mother rabbit this morning. Are they not the sweetest things ever?? I'm having a hard time sitting inside and not going to look at them..for the 2oth time.

Run, J-Bake, Run!!

Goal achieved! I can check off another box on my "things to do in Charleston before the Air Force moves us again" list! On April 4th, I participated in the 32nd Annual Cooper River Bridge Run. This 10K race begins in Mt. Pleasant and continues across the gorgeous Ravenel Bridge, and through downtown Charleston, coming to a finish in Marion Square Park.

After waking up at 4:00 a.m., I met some fellow runners and friends at Michelle H's house, and we were on our way to the race by 5:30 a.m.! We had quite a group of squadron members and spouses running in the race, although most of them were closer to the start because they were "runners". I, along with Michelle T and Rachel K, were further back because we were "jog/walkers". The race started at 8:00 a.m. and we were off! We did a great job keeping a good pace and only walked to take small "breaks". Of course, we stopped for pictures, too! We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day..about 70 degrees with clear, blue skies!! The run was great, but the views were even better. I am truly blessed to live in such a beautiful place, and I couldn't help but think of that while I was running. How grateful I am to be here...not just living in Charleston, but just where I am in my life in general. While I was running down King Street, I had an overwhelming and emotional feeling of being so thankful for all that I have been blessed with. Not only do we live in a vacation spot; I enjoy teaching my students, we have made such great friends here, and I have an amazing husband!

As we neared the finish line, there were so many people cheering us on and telling us how proud they were of us...which was awesome! That, too, made me emotional and proud of myself for getting out and doing the race. We finished the race at 1:33:35...not as great as the Ethiopian who won it in 28 minutes, but pretty good! We met up with our group in Marion Square and walked down to Mad River Bar and Grill, where we enjoyed a much-needed lunch and mimosas! What a great day...and oh, how I enjoyed my four-hour nap that afternoon!!