Let the Halloween Weekend Begin!!

My family is really big about spending time together. Unlike many families in which you only ever spend major holidays together; my family spends almost every holiday together!! Not only that, but they MAKE the holidays, it just wouldn't be the same without them.

So this Halloween is no different. Although Kellie had to work, and Casey is "previously engaged" in military activities...we still were able to get everyone else together at my church's Trunk-or-Treat bash!

Every year multiple members of the church decorate their trunks festively and pass out candy to all the little kiddos. This year we got to the bash a little late (so the candy was almost all gone), but Cole still found ways to have fun. He went through the "crazy maze" twice!! Big thanks to the youth for putting it on!

And here are my little guys. My in-laws had a booth set up to take pictures of all the kids in their costumes! Really great idea!!!!!
If you can't tell, Cole is Iron Man (minus the mask at the moment) and little Maddox is a monkey. Isn't he the cutest little baby you ever saw....so stinkin' adorable!!!

And the Halloween weekend isn't even over yet! I'll be posting plenty of pictures in the next few days, along with some do-it-yourself crafts I tried out this year! Till then Happy Haunting everyone!

Day 3 of Casey's Graduation weekend

Saturday was somewhat hectic. That's to be expected when you have 12 people, all of which wanting to do something different. We somehow were able to get everyone together for lunch though. Most of the group would be leaving that day, and they all wanted to say goodbye to Casey.

The one regret I have is not being able to do the one thing Casey wanted to do: watch a college football game. It had been on the schedule from the get-go, but was pushed aside with everyone else's needs. He didn't seem to upset about it in the end, but still, I think he deserved it...and frankly, he had earned it!

After lunch, we had planned on taking the riverboat ride at the River walk. Everyone else had done it the previous day, and it sounded peaceful and fun. After buying the tickets though, we had a little change in plans. Some of the group wanted to go to the "Tower of America" instead. I'm no fan of heights (at least not the man-made kind), so Casey and I hung out in the surrounding area, while everyone else went up. Here are some pics from there:





We had planned on going back to the boat ride after wards, but ran out of time :(

Through out the whole week, Casey and I had made an effort to spend time alone together each day. After parting with everyone at the River walk, we headed back to base to have a quiet Subway dinner together...and watch a small bit of football on the TV's in the caffeteria area (YEAH!!).

I didn't get any pictures taken on Sunday. I was a bit of a mess, and didn't much feel like smiling. Casey only had base liberty, so we hunkered down in the back room of the bowling alley on base for most of the day.

When it came time to say good-bye, I had a hard time not breaking down in front of everyone. Since then I've wondered frequently if it will always be like that. Truth be told, I'd rather deal with the pain (and tears), then get comfortable saying goodbye.

That pretty much sums up Casey's graduation weekend. I'll try to update everyone on Casey as much as possible. This next 7 months to a year will be really hard for both of us, but at least now we can talk on the phone daily!

San Antonio River Walk and the Alamo

Our drive from the Base to Downtown San Antonio was no where near pleasant. The directions we were given were awful!!! And Downtown is psycho at best!! After many a wrong turn (and quite a few annoyed undertones!) we all finally made it to our destination!

Casey and his family had all been to the River walk before, but it was a first for my parents and I! Let me just say...WOW!! It was beautiful!! Amidst all the traffic and roadways, the River walk is tucked in safely below. Given all the trees and lush surroundings, it's actually quite peaceful. The River meanders it's way between tall buildings and is flanked on both sides by walkways, restaurants, and shops. I definitely recommend it to anyone in the area...I could have easily spent days there!!
So here is our whole group...all 12 of us. I don't know how we got so lucky, but the first restaurant (Mexican, of course!) we stopped at was able to seated us almost instantly! With the weather being so nice out, we were fortunate enough to eat outside...or so I thought....

Apparently the River walk is home to quite a large numbers of birds...pigeons for the most part. For those who know me, I hate birds. I know I'm crazy, but they just creep me out. The only ones I can actually stand are ducks (and that's only from a distance). Eating outside amid hungry little "flying rats" was NO BUENO in my book! But I did make it through, and even had a laugh with my Mom when one tried to get a drink out of a stray margarita glass...Awesome!!
Here are a few more views of the river, seriously didn't do the place justice though with these shots...



Once we left the River walk the main attraction for our day was the Alamo. I was expecting it to be teen-tiny. Everyone always told me it was minuscule. I have to disagree. The main building was pretty large in my opinion, and the surrounding grounds were amazing! I was able to get plenty of good pictures there, even with all the crowds.

Here are my parents in front of the Alamo. Aren't they the cutest couple!?! I love them so much, and am so glad that they were able to come down.

AWWWW...

Here are some other shots from our day...




We headed back through the River walk on our way to the car, so I was able to get one last picture.
The way back to base was so much smoother. After the bad directions, we decided to stick with the garmin....it took us through a much smoother (and shorter) trek to the Base!! Go figure!!

Graduation Day (Part 1)

I am SO SO SO PROUD of my husband. I can't believe all that he went through and endured, not only for us, but to better our country! Friday was an extremely special day for him. He told me the only day better, was the day we got married...AWWWWWWW!

I really wanted to get a good seat at graduation. So we headed out to the field around 6:45am. We really didn't need to. There were maybe 10 other people there before us. It was freezing out! Mom and I were smart though and brought jackets and blankets to bundle up in, but still BRRR!

We got to the stands so early that we got to watch the sun come up...

Once graduation started, I was able to spot Casey pretty quickly. Not an easy task even with binoculars. But he was standing on the end again...and I knew instantly that it was him!

I let everyone take a quick look before the ceremony started...then hogged the binoculars the whole rest of the time!

This was how far back we were from the actual flights.

And look how "cheesy-happy" he looks standing in front of the "mustang"...also the name of his flight!



This was also a pretty special day for Casey's Pappaw. 61 years ago, he too went into the Air Force. It was hard to pry them away from the field!

YES, those are Casey's skivvies! I had to have picture proof that he actually could fold his clothes!! You know, something to hang over his head if he comes back and decides to get lazy. Actually, Casey was very good at folding his clothes...his MTI's were constantly annoyed that they couldn't find a reason to yell at him!!

This picture might come as a shock to everyone. I think it was one of the first I took of him with out his hat on. He wasn't allowed outside with out it...it's just part of the uniform.

I'll try to post the rest of Friday's pictures in the next couple days. Casey was finally able to get off base, and we had a really fun time in Downtown San Antonio and the Riverwalk area. Needles to say, we took tons of pictures!!

Airmen's Run & Coin Ceremony

So like I said in my last post, I slept really well Wed. night. But when I woke up on Thur. morning, I was a total mess. My nerves were going hay-wire, and I couldn't concentrate on anything. I was going to see Casey for the first time in over 2 months...

We had to get to base SUPER early for a visitor's briefing. The sun hadn't even come up yet, and it was really hard to find our way around base in the dark, even with the map. The traffic was crazy too. Thankfully, they had trainees posted everywhere to direct traffic and parking.

After our briefing, we went and found a spot for the Airmen's Run. The run is pretty straight forward. All of the airmen line up in their flights and run the mile strip of road singing "jodies" as they go. Casey was in the 323 Squadron Flight B655 (the ones in tan shirts).

I know everyone says that the airmen all look alike, and they do...but it was so easy for me to pick him out. I had been worrying that I would totally miss him, but as luck had it, I found him from quite a ways away. So here's your challenge, can you find Casey?

After all the airmen run the whole strip, they turn around and run back. See if you can find him in this shot too! I'll give you a hint: he's kinda covered.
If you're in the Air Force, then you probably know all about the Coin Ceremony. It's a pretty big deal to all Airmen, because it symbolizes all of their commitments and accomplishments.

To say that the stands were packed would be an understatement. There were plenty of people who waited till the last minute to find seats, and were stuck in the nose bleed section. I was lucky to be one of the first people to grab a seat, and was right next to where Casey would be standing.
This was the first view I had of Casey in his uniform. I had my parent's binoculars out, and couldn't take my eyes off him. Again, it wasn't very hard for me to spot him. I might not have mentioned it before, but Casey made band flight. He was able to try out as soon as he made it to BMT. Of course he made it...because he's awesome!! (You know it's true!!)


Look how close I was to him!!! I could have seriously jumped out of the bleachers and tackled him. It was almost imposible to stay in my seat! I think it must have been hard for Casey to stay put too, 'cause he was having a really hard time keeping the smile off his face!
I don't have a good picture of Casey receiving his coin. With 500 people graduating, they try to make the ceremony very fast. His MTI (Military Training Instructor) made a quick bee-line down all the rows, and swiftly passed out all the coins.

Usually after the coin ceremony the families are allowed to find their airmen ASAP. But since Casey was in the band flight, we had to wait for him to put all of his equipment away in the Band Hall. You have no idea how long of a wait it felt like! I was ready to hug my husband and spend some quality time with him.

This was our first greeting! Thanks Mom for snapping this shot!
And look how good he looks! You might not be able to tell, but he did loose some weight...as well as gain some muscles!
And here is his Airmen's Coin, along with my spouse's pen. The dang pen kept spinning upside down on my shirt all week. Casey was "nice" enough to point that out every five minutes! I think he might be a little more OCD than I am now, 'cause that tilted pen seriously bugged him!!

Dr. Pepper Museum

Driving from Wichita to San Antonio can be a REALLY long drive. So it was nice to take a break and sight-see on the way down. Jacque and Lawrence wanted to hit up the famed Dr. Pepper Museum in Waco. And since we weren't in any hurry to get to our hotel room, my parents and I tagged along too.

Here's Mom and I in front of the Old Corner Drugstore. Although it might look like we're outside, we aren't...this was just part of the exhibit!


So like I said, an 11 hr. car ride can get pretty long. Thankfully my Mom came prepared. My parents have become pretty avid at crossword puzzles. So on the way down we challenged ourselves at a few. Not an easy task, when you aren't actually looking at the puzzle!

We totally got stumped at one of the hints: Cousin beverage to Sarsaparilla. It was 9 letters all together, starting with a "B"...and we had no clue. So when we spotted this poster at the museum, I had to take a pic!


AND here was a good contender for the answer (*SIDE NOTE* it wasn't the right answer...the real answer was Berg Beer or something):


Jacque, Dad, and Mom looking at the original water well for the factory.


And me hanging over the edge!

This was probably my favorite part of the museum. I'm not a pop drinker, so I didn't fail to see the ironic humor. Whoever was responsible for putting up this quote, Thank you. You made my day! HA!!


Had to get a picture of this...Boris Karloff root beer anyone?


One last pic of Jacque and Lawrence with their Dr. Pepper purchase in front of an old time delivery truck.


All in all it was a smooth trip down to San Antonio. We got to the hotel right before dinner, and ate at Texas Roadhouse (I know, how ironic). I ordered myself a yummy strawberry margarita with my dinner! That coupled with car-ride-exhaustion allowed me to get a pretty restful sleep. Otherwise I might have been up all night with anticipation!

Casey's Graduation

I haven't even been home an hour, but I really wanted to give you a teaser of Casey's graduation. This picture was taken on Thursday, right after his coin ceremony. Friday was his graduation day, so he doesn't have his stripes or ribbons yet on his "blues" (uniform).

For those of you who know Casey, I'm guessing he looks pretty crazy with his shaved head. It took me a while to get used to it too!

The whole weekend was an emotional roller-coaster ride for me. I was (and am) so proud of everything Casey has accomplished in the last 8 1/2 weeks. But it was still VERY hard to say good-bye again.

I'll post the rest of the pictures over the next few days.

SIDE NOTE: Congratulations to my amazing friend Ginny! Her and her husband, Chris, welcomed their little girl into the world on Wed. Emmalyn Grace...I can't wait to meet her!