So fun!

We had the best time on Drew's leave! I also took a week vacation so we were able to play the entire time. Last weekend I had a chance to meet wives of guys in Drew's company. We went over to watch the GA football game. Around here, GA football is basically a religion. It is really fun! We are definintely still Mizzou fans though! It was great to meet the wives and they were all cute and fun. I have a standing joke with many of my friends that I feel like I am dating again trying to pick up friends that are girls. I guess I've still got it because I got some digits before the night was over. :) They all live in our neighborhood too which is convenient.

Sunday we left for the GA mountains. The first two days it rained but the rest of the time was sunny and seventies. We didn't have a chance to fish because the river water was moving too fast with debris and was murky, but we had plenty of other things to do. Our cabin had a hot tub, ping pong table, and was set up for bonfires on the river. We took advantage of all the amenties. We also hiked, went horseback riding, checked out the small towns, and even found a pumpkin patch! We are really going to miss our annual pumpkin carving contest with our friends in St. Louis! The last day we even went kayaking on class 3 rapids. In retrospect it was pretty dangerous going over waterfalls as a beginner, but it was awesome!! The entire trip was amazing.

Here is a picture of our cabin. The backside opened up to two levels of decks that overlook the river. It was gorgeous.

This waterfall was well worth the hike up.

We started with these sit-on-top kayaks the first run. The second time we did sit-in kayaks which was even more nuts! It was awesome.

We found this lake the last day. Of course we saw huge fish swimming by from the banks and didn't have our rods in the car. That will be on the agenda for our next trip!

We caught the pumpkin patch on a Tuesday so we had the entire place to ourselves. That just meant we could choose our pumpkins in peace and quiet. Choosing the right pumpkin is a serious decision! And no, Drew's shirt is not wet from sweating over choosing the right pumpkin. He had just stuck is head under a nearby waterfall. :)

We ended our vacation with a fun visit from Drew's parents. We picked them up on Friday and it was nonstop laughter and good times until we dropped them back off at the airport. We had great beach days and they were able to see all the sights. So far both sets of parents approved of our new location. :) We even caught a flounder and a sting ray! As I said in the title... So fun!!

So now it is back to work for both of us. Drew starts his training tomorrow to get ready to go to Iraq. He is ready to get going on it. We could not have asked for a better vacation!

A Weekend to Remember

We had an amazing time with my family! It was non-stop action and fun from the moment they arrived until we dropped them off at the airport. We had a blast!! We were all so happy that the six of us could get together before Drew deploys. Friday night we went to downtown Savannah, Saturday we went to the beach at Jekyll Island and came back to our house and had a low country boil dinner, and Sunday we showed them the base and went to Tybee Island. It was non-stop laughs and good times. Thank you to our family for making the trip and for all of your love and support. We truly could not do it without you.

We are now switching gears and getting ready for Drew's leave. Starting tomorrow he doesn't have to be back to work until Monday the 28th. I am also taking vacation from work next week and we are headed to the GA mountains! We have a neat cabin in the mountains booked where we can fly fish in our back yard which we love. We are really looking forward to vacation together. So for the next 12 days it is vacation time for Drew! Then we are really excited too because Drew's parents will be here next weekend on the 25th. We are excited to show them around town and have a fun visit! It will be a great way to wrap up our vacation.

Here are a few pictures from last weekend:

Here are the brother-in-laws.

Everyone is laughing so hard in this picture because we (the girls) thought that we were being funny by doing the typical napkin in the shirt for our seafood dinner but Dad beat us by turning a trash bag into a shirt. He won! :)

Labor Day

Labor Day proved to be an easy-going, fun four day weekend. Drew and I spent time on the beach, around the house, riding bikes, fishing, and getting ready for my family to come. Sunday we caught the most fish we ever have off the beach. Almost every cast was a fish which is always fun. We are getting very excited for my family to come on Friday! I am also VERY excited because today I submitted my last paper for school. I officially have no more work to do for my MBA. The class ends next week but I am done!! So this weekend we can spend time relaxing and showing my family our new city. We are already in the works of planning Drew's family's trip down here too. With Drew leaving next month we only have so much time left.
I was watching the local news and they encourage family members to send in pictures of their soldiers along with a little note. Last week I saw a picture of a soldier and a wife's comment that she was so excited for her husband to come home in two months. This really hit home when I heard this. I am sad about Drew leaving but I am also happy that by Drew going, he is bringing home other soldiers to spend time with their family. It is an honor to serve our country and trade off time with other military families so they can spend time with their loved ones. It is easy to be selfish and only think about not seeing Drew for a year, but then I think about how excited the other families are to get their soldiers back home. It makes me feel good. I shared this story with Drew and he agreed this is a great way to think about it. Military families everywhere are making sacrifices and Drew and I are strong enough to make it through anything. But enough on that. :)
This week Drew is spending time at the range which he loves. He shot expert in basic and is hoping to shoot expert again in his unit. Besides that we are both working and getting ready for this weekend!

Two Year Anniversary

Yesterday Drew and I celebrated our official two year wedding anniversary! I say official because we spread our wedding over two days but August 31st is the date on our wedding certificate even though the party was September 1st. We had a fun dinner at home. We found a local seafood shack that has fresh catches so we decided to do our own shrimp boil. It was really good! We are now planning to have a shrimp boil when my parents, Sarah, and Wade come down next weekend. We are so excited for them to come!! We were going to go to the beach for the weekend last weekend but Drew had 24 hour CQ. CQ is basically where he mans the phones at the office headquarters all night long. He was up for over 30 hours so slept most of the day on Saturday. On Sunday we decided it was time to take the dogs to the beach. We were prepared to turn around and come home if they were too hot or not enjoying it but they loved it! Mack sat right down in the water and was a happy camper. Jake too! They didn't even pant which we thought was bizarre. We only put them on their leashes if people were nearby but luckily people were few and far between. We had a really nice time. Not every beach allows dogs but Jekyll Island does which has been our favorite place so far.

This past week Drew has been enjoying himself because the guys that were out in CA training are coming back home. He is getting to know more people and so far likes everyone. He also found out he was moved to a different company under the same battalion. He is happy with the move and is excited about the harder PT. This group is also smaller and more mobile which Drew really likes. So things are good! For now he will continue preparing to deploy with his new team. The entire batallion will be gone by Thanksgiving but guys could begin deploying as soon as October. We'll just have to see. For now we are enjoying all the time we have together. This weekend we plan to go to the beach to celebrate our anniversary. Drew has a four day weekend with the holiday. Enjoy your Labor Day!