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!