A little Goodbye...

This week we said a little goodbye to our first friends here. Literally, first friends. First people who had us over for dinner on my first night visiting in Oak Harbor. First people we went to a squadron event with. First people who went through the first deployment with us. First people who welcomed us as newlyweds. First people who we had Thanksgiving with. The list goes on and on. The support of the Saxtons in our first two years of marriage has been priceless. We are ever so grateful for their friendship and the way the military brings you in contact with some pretty awesome people. Who would have thought that one of the people Kenny went to the second SERE school with would turn out to be some of our best friends! The Saxtons have moved onto the great state of Texas, specifically San Antonio. It was a little goodbye because Nate will come back to the O.H. for a little bit before he departs permanently in February, and we will see those Saxtons in Texas!

Before the Saxtons left, some of our friends and I threw Beth a Cowgirl baby shower. We had a great time putting together all of the fun pink, cowgirl decorations and showering Beth with our love.

We couldn't resist these cute little onesies that were SO wee!
I was so excited about these cupcakes, and Kenny even helped taped those hats to the toothpicks. He is a good helper!
The little outfit we got little, baby Saxton!
Beth's diaper cake and Jamie's super creative way of decorating the table with fabric!
The five dollar boots that Jamie found!
The precious onesies that said things like, "Can I get a Yeehaw!"

Then this Tuesday we all gathered at Esteban's (the local Mexican place) and said goodbye to the Saxtons. Beth will certainly be missed as a key component of our group. No one makes homemade cooking like that girl including chicken tenders, blackberry cobbler, enchiladas, and guacamole to name a few. More importantly we will miss her warmth, support, hugs, and love!

We hope that they get settled into San Antonio, and we cannot wait to meet the newest addition to the family! And thanks to Beth for going before me, I had asked that she move first since I wasn't sure if I could leave her. (Now I didn't ask that she leave 6 months before!) We look forward to eating a lot more Mexican food with you in the great Lonestar State!

ps. I "borrowed" all of these pictures, so thanks to Lara and Beth for the pics!

What we've been up to...

Just a little wine tasting and skiing...

On Veteran's Day, we rented a car from the local Enterprise. They only had two cars to choose from, and we went with the Corolla as opposed to the PT Cruiser. I was hoping for the PT Cruiser just because I thought it would be funny to watch Kenny drive around in a silver PT Cruiser, but alas his manly side came out and we went with the Corolla. Why did we need a rental, you might ask? Well for those of you that don't know, Kenny was rear-ended by a "speedy" car who decided that if two cars are stopped in front of you and the light is yellow, you can still go. Therefore, the Dodge truck is getting a little face lift, if you will. Hopefully we will get the Dodge back sometime after Thanksgiving break.

Our real fun started though when we decided to head down to Greenbank farms which is conveniently located in Greenbank on Whidbey Island (about 30 minutes South of us). They have a wine tasting room, cafe, and many art shops. We decided to do a little wine tasting of the local vineyards and then wandered over to the cheese shop to take a look. After looking at the art that I declared looked like something I did in art class in 3rd grade, we headed home. The best part of going was it was one of the few days this week that the wind has not nearly toppled you over and the rain hasn't been pelting you in the face.

The Barn...
I really liked the wooden cheese. It kind of reminded me of the movie "Ratatouille"

Then this weekend we decided to hit the slopes since our local mountain opened up on Thursday. We skied with our good friends the Smiths who snowboard which was awesome since that meant that Jamie and I could head to the lodge when our less experienced legs needed a break. I think I am finally getting the hang of this skiing thing! I have even said aloud that I would LIKE to go on a ski vacation!

Yeah, we skied that...

It is a definite winter wonderland!
It was pretty cold up there on the top, but pretty beautiful too!
We hope you all are gearing up for Thanksgiving! We are heading to Hawaii then, so we will be gratefully getting out of the wind and cold and heading to the (hopefully) sun and warmth!

Happy Veteran's Day!

Thank you to all who have served for our country including Papaw, Uncle Rick, Phil, and Kenny! May we thank those who put their lives on the line so that we may be free!

Papaw Vaughn

Uncle Rick and PhilKenny
Thank you!

Happy Halloween!

This year we once again carved pumpkins! Last year, we had seen these cool Obama carvings; however, we felt like we couldn't carve those. First of all, we didn't want to jinx Obama's win and secondly, both of our job environments are a little more right swinging. But THIS year, we are just supporting our President! I did an Obama pumpkin, and Kenny did a cute little face pumpkin.
My pumpkin!
Kenny's Pumpkin

Then on Halloween Day, it was so pretty during the day (which it hasn't been) that we decided to take a little plane out. I nearly had an anxiety attack as we were slightly jostled by the wind, but once we got to 2000 feet, I was breathing regularly. (and I had loosened my grip on both the door and seat). It was awesome to get to see what Kenny does (on a very small scale) and to see how much he enjoys seeing the world from above. It was super fun to see the little San Juan islands from above. I just couldn't believe how quickly our hour was over, and we were back on the ground. Next time we might make our way to landing on one of those islands and having a little lunch.

So here are some pictures of the pretty scenery from above!

Looking at Lopez Island.
The islands...
My personal pilot.
Look I am SMILING not puking!
Heading home...
Then we got ice cream from Dugualla Bay since they close today and won't open again before we leave. It was DELICIOUS! Kenny got peanut butter and chocolate ice cream and I had to go with the cookie dough.... That ice cream will be missed!
Hope you all had a beautiful Halloween as well!