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!

Happy Birthday Navy!

October 13th was the Navy's Birthday! VQ-1 decided to make the Navy Birthday Ball a mandatory fun event. So all gussied up we got!
Saturday, Kenny and I headed up to Anacortes to hang out and get our hair done (well, not Kenny). Jamie, her fun friend Lindsay, and I headed to an afternoon of getting dolled up! It was a bit of a process to get beautiful. I don't know that I have ever had such big hair, but I am just prepping for moving to Texas possibly. Big HAAIR!

The Big HAIR...

The finished product!
Then it was time to get the digs on and head to the pre-party. Since we like to hang out with the Saxtons so much, we stopped by their abode for a photo op. Thank goodness that Beth always has a camera!

The two lovely couples!
The girls! (Me, Carter, and Beth!)
At the pre-party at the XO's house, we enjoyed getting to see everyone all dressed up. I love the casual living of the Pacific Northwest, but it is always fun to get a little dressed up. :)

My ladies: Lindsay, Jamie, Amy, Me, Beth, Whitney, and Lara


My second main squeeze at the event and I. It's great to have a pregnant friend because you have an excuse to sit down!

My hot date :)
The actual ball was not exactly what I was expecting. Let's just say that as Momma B would say, "You can't buy class." I did luckily get to sit next to Beth and my handsome husband, and I got to do a little dancing with my main squeeze (that would be Kenny). Plus, I got to wear my prom dress again! It was nice to celebrate the Navy's birthday and have a classy date out on the town with some great friends. Thanks to Beth for taking pictures, being DD, and always being my buddy! And thanks to Jamie for doing my makeup and setting up a day of beautifying!

Happy Birthday Navy!

A few things off the checklist...

We have been making a to-do list of things needed to be done before we leave for the great state of Texas. This weekend we crossed off two!
I get that from my mother. So Kenny packed his pack and waited for his friends to pick him up because they were heading to a weekend of roughing it in the Olympic Mountains. Kenny has wanted to go camping in Washington since we moved here, however, getting a campsite in the summer is harder than finding a needle in a haystack. These Washingtonians are super outdoorsy. (Plus, with the Navy it is pretty hard to plan one's weekends.) However, Kenny decided that it might be fun to go to one of the campsites that you have to hike about 4 miles to and then camp. For this little adventure, I suggested that he find some friends who would like to go with him because I am a wimp. I like camping outside and hiking, but I don't like being cold! Mind you, none of the other boys were as prepared as my Eagle Scout, but somehow they survived the arduous hike and sleeping in 20 degree weather. (no thanks) The next morning, the boys hiked to the top of a ridge to see Hurricane Ridge and then made their way back down to the car. He came back pretty smelly, but so happy that he had gotten to experience camping in the wilderness of Washington!

The Camper is ready...
Stay warm!
Kenny and his crew.We have gotten our pumpkins every Halloween season at Dugualla Bay farm, so this year, we had to do the same! It is our last time to do that here in Washington which is so bittersweet. I did find my pumpkin right away, but we looked for a while before leaving our favorite pumpkin patch!

Someone is sad that Corpus might not have such a fun pumpkin patch....
We ran into some friends at the pumpkin patch who so kindly took our picture!
Our finds!
Just wait until we carve those pumpkins! They are going to be sweet!

Fall is HERE!!!

So fall has arrived! The windy days with no sun. The rain that mists at you. Welcome Whidbey Fall!

And with the arrival of fall comes the arrival of fall boots... the UGG boots have made their debut already as has the puffy vest. And because my husband is such a sweet man and knew that my boots were falling apart (and I had bought them my junior year of high school), I got a new pair of boots! They are "ugly as sin" according to him, but I LOVE them!

Here they are in all of their sassy-ness!Aren't they pretty??

Hope you all are loving fall, too!

Some Adventures in the Pacific Northwest

With only a few months left to enjoy the Pacific Northwest (especially before the weather goes bad), Kenny and I have been attempting to pack in as much Pacific Northwest as possible. The weekend before the wedding, Kenny and I hiked Sharpe Road. We might have gotten a wee bit lost along the way... but we eventually found our way back. Then it was off to dinner at the Skagit Brewery for a little dinner with my sorority sister/former roommate Megan Maupin.

Gorgeous scenery...
The little person down there is Kenny...
We are LOST! (but then we found our way)
Maupin (isn't she pretty!) and I!

This past weekend when the weather cleared up, Kenny and I decided to go over to San Juan Island to poke around. Kenny had yet to venture to San Juan, and I have been twice (woops). We thought about renting mopeds, but after hearing that they were $60 per hour, I said, "Let's BIKE the island!" Silly me! We biked 6.5 GORGEOUS, HILLY miles to the American Camp State Park on the island where we ate our lunch and rested our legs. Then we biked back to the ferry terminal where we enjoyed a much needed beer. As in, the beer is the only way I had enough motivation to make it back up those hills. Then we got back on the ferry (during which I my bike took a bite out of my shin), and we decided that we were pooped and our hinies hurt BADLY! However, the gorgeous day made up for any pain.

This is at the turn around point. We are happy we made it to our destination!
The last hill we walked before we made it to the turn around point.

The American Camp (There is a fox behind the 25 mph sign... too close for comfort!)
Our beers and our resting spot as we looked out at the ferry dock.
The pretty sight as we made our way into Anacortes.

To say the least, we have enjoyed the outdoors here greatly and will miss them whenever the Navy tells us to leave! (My bike will not be leaving the garage for a bit though. I think my hiny will refuse to get on it for a bit.)

Suprise for Kenny!

A few friends of ours and I decided it would be fun to surprise Kenny for his birthday with a little get-together in his honor. This was an especially important year since it was 09-09-09 which is a pretty cool date! Although I am NOT good at keeping a secret, I successfully kept this one for over a month! (This is a huge accomplishment for me.) Kenny's family graciously sent me some pictures, so I could effectively embarrass Kenny on his big day! And with some MAJOR help from Beth and Nate (THANK YOU THANK YOU!) who so kindly opened their home, cooked the food, and bated Kenny into coming over to their house, we successfully surprised the birthday boy!

Someone thinking that his "big celebration" was helium balloons. (He might have also been slightly annoyed I was taking FOREVER to get ready to drive down to the airport.)

Here is the birthday boy is with his clothesline of pictures! He definitely looks less annoyed with me :)
His personal poster (sorry for being fuzzy). He sure was a cutie as a kid!
Then it was oreo cake time with a little singing! (He couldn't believe I had time to make it - wonder why I wasn't packed for our trip east...)
The Birthday Boy and I (who could not get over that I had actually not spilled the beans!)

Thank you to all of our friends for helping celebrate my best friend's birthday and for being awesome at yelling, "SURPRISE!" And a huge thank you again to the Saxtons who have definitely been our family in the Pacific Northwest since day one! Can't wait to keep the fun going in Texas! And a huge thank you to my mom, Christine, and the Vaughns for all calling and insisting that Kenny actually chat with them to buy me some more time!

A trip to Charlottesville

Kenny and I got the chance to head to Charlottesville and enjoy a weekend away for his birthday, for our 2nd anniversary, and for my sorority sister, Molly's wedding! It was great to go back to the place where we met, fell in love, got engaged, and both graduated. It was great to see friends who supported us throughout our relationship and some of whom stood up with us on the day we got married. It was amazing to walk the lawn again and see the changes at the University. It was so special to get to eat lunch with both of our families and see how we have become one family of support and love. And for me, it was so special to see my niece and nephew get to be with Kenny - giggle together, read together, play together, and just fall in love with each other! Maeve could not get enough of her Uncle Kenny - kissing him at every chance she got whether it was his leg or his arm. She just needed him to know she loves him (I totally understand as how this is how I always feel right before he leaves). To see Will light up as Uncle Kenny handed him a toy or tickled him or kissed him, was just the sweetest thing. We are so blessed with beautiful friends and family! So thanks who made our trip so fabulous!

Maeve singing Happy Birthday to Uncle Kenny before he blows out his candle!
Maeve loving on "Puppy" that Uncle Kenny gave her. We did NOT know that Puppy would yip because Puppy came from Japan and all of the instructions were in Japanese.
Someone LOVES her Uncle Kenny!
William and Aunt Molly!
William and Uncle Kenny!
They like to play together. I can see many years of hanging out in their future :)
Kenny and I spent our day in Charlottesville eating on the lawn, going to the garden he proposed in (below), and visitng the Jefferson Vineyard.
That night we met up with the bride and some friends at a college hang out. Missing are Tiggie and Little!
The next day we HAD to visit the Chi Omega house!
Molly and Dan after their wedding! It was at a beautiful vineyard ...
X and a Horseshoe - CHI O! (Bride is an owl)
Molly and Molly! (We have so many of these pictures from college! ) Such a pretty bride and Surface Warfare Officer!
All of the Chi Omegas after singing Molly "Shades."
It was a great weekend away and then it was back to work and celebrating those two wonderful years of marriage!