2 Moves, 3 States, 1 Year

As this year comes to an end, I cannot help but look back and reflect on what a year it has been. In the year 2011, Jordan and I have moved twice, lived in 3 different states, and have met some amazing people. We have officially lived in Florida for 2 months now, and while everything here still feels very new and strange, Virginia somehow seems like a lifetime ago. Our military friends are now spread all across the world, from Kailua, Hawaii to Okinawa, Japan, and despite only being in each other's lives for such a short time, there is definitely a void where that support group and those friendships were. I am so thankful for technology, which allows us all to regularly stay in-touch, follow each other's journeys, and continue to support each other and share information as we all continue to learn the ropes of this, still very new, military life. Despite looking ahead to flight school and moving to Florida for so long, I had no idea how sad I would be to leave our Virginia chapter behind.

Moving to Florida has brought on a whole new set of "firsts" as we have begun to adjust to this new region. While Virginia is technically considered the South, we were in such close proximity to D.C.,  we didn't really have a clue what the SOUTH was until Florida. Despite the culture shock we initially experienced in Virginia (having to take the "highway" in order to get to the nearest grocery store, driving 25 miles to the nearest Trader Joes, missing all of our favorite stores and restaurant chains, especially good Mexican food), complaining about the limited dining and shopping options is now laughable in hindsight! While Pensacola is a neat little city, the little suburb of Milton we live in is, well, COUNTRY! This area of the south isn't just a region, it's a way of life! You quickly find that out when you go into a bar on a Friday night and every single person is decked out in red-from head to toe, yelling "ROLL-TIDE-ROLL" along to the Alabama fight song, which is blaring from the speakers in every corner of the restaurant while the Alabama college game plays on every single tv screen. We are so SOUTHERN now that I even tried FRIED OKRA! I guess I ate my words from my August blog, where I adamantly stated " I will not be trying fried okra anytime soon!!!" (I called my Texas girlfriend up and just had to tell her-she was so excited)

Southern BBQ has now become a regular part of our Jordan's diet. Red Barn BBQ, which is about 5 miles away, is the closest restaurant to us, and Jordan is officially obsessed with it. The reason? All you can eat spare-ribs for $11.99. A few weeks ago, Jordan wanted to head to the Barn AGAIN for lunch, and I just refused to go anymore. Well 2.5 hours later, my very happy and very full husband returned from lunch.  He ate 3 racks of spare ribs himself! I am just waiting for the day when they choose to enforce the "We Reserve the Right to Refuse Service to Anyone" sign!

Here are a few of our other favorite memories of adjusting to our new life in Florida:

* The Blue Angels are EVERYWHERE! From freeway overpasses to water towers, Pensacola, Florida is the home base for the Blue Angels. Most days Jordan drives on base with his sunroof open so he can watch the Blue Angels flying overhead. As him and his friends finish class for the day, they often find themselves sitting on the back of someone's truck bed, watching the planes practice over the beach.

*Although we have heard about the infamous white sand beaches for a long time, we were really shocked at how white the sand really was. When the water washes over the sand, it almost has a snow-like quality!

* Houses are built on stilts here! We thought it was the weirdest thing when we came across these houses online house-hunting, but after coming here and seeing how close to sea level most of the land is, houses on stilts don't even phase us anymore and have become another normal sight!

*Guthrie's sells GOLDEN FRIED chicken, not GLUTEN FREE food! We were driving around, exploring our new town and looking for a place to eat (especially one that would work for Jordan's Paleo diet) when I excitedly yelled at Jordan to make a U-turn! I was so shocked and so excited when I saw Guthrie's Gluten Free restaurant in our little country town of Milton, FL...we were quite perplexed when we got inside and started reading the menu. Whoops-guess I read that sign wrong!

* Not only were we excited at the novelty of chopping down our own tree this year, we couldn't believe that we were able to purchase a 9.5' tree for $18! How much did you pay again mom?????

*We have found that Florida has the absolute NICEST people! We absolutely LOVE our neighborhood. Every single person waves as they pass you, whether they are driving by or be it a kid riding his bicycle around the block! We even had a neighbor, drop his family off, and circle back around to offer his help as we were moving in!

Transitioning from a Marine Corps base to now being stationed at a Navy Base, has also been interesting. The base in general is a lot more laid back, and well, NICER! The gyms (there are at least 4 on NAS Pensacola alone) are state of the art. They even have new treadmills with digital screens and ipod docs, and all group exercise classes are free!  Instead of having one small exchange (military version of a small department store), the Navy has a whole "mall." We are also enjoying the added perk that the Navy issues all of Jordan's flight gear, which means we don't have to pay for all his uniforms and gear as we have had to in the past (military uniforms and equipment are quite pricey). However, after Jordan finishes flight school, we will be stationed back at a Marine Corps Air Station, so we are enjoying all these added perks of the Navy's big budget while we can!

This move has felt a bit like starting all over again from square one! We are in a new place, with another unique culture, on a new type of base, and starting over making new friends! However, the Marine Corps is a relatively small community, and 12 families we knew from Virginia also moved down to Florida. Some were here only temporarily for AMS (Aviation Maintenance School), but the majority are here for flight school. And although we are spread out over a 50 mile distance between Naval Air Station Pensacola and Naval Air Station Whiting Field, we all reunited for the Marine Corps Ball last month, and are able to support each other and our husbands as they take on their next adventure in flight school.

Jordan and I have learned and grown a lot this past year. Our journey so far has really shown us what a small world it is: that family and friends are only a plane ride away (and now just a short drive in Florida), which makes living on the other side of the country not as overwhelming as we had initially thought, and that wherever we are stationed, we will have a part of our Marine Corps family with us!

So here's to 2011-and all the amazing memories and friends we made along the way, and looking forward to 2012 and all the wonderful blessings and adventures it will bring!

Our First Birthday Ball

This past weekend Jordan and I attended our very first USMC Marine Corps Birthday Ball. The Birthday Ball celebrates the birth of the Marine Corps on November 10, 1776. The Officer's Ball for the Pensacola area was held at the National Naval Aviation Museum. It was so neat getting all dressed up for a ball in a museum with hundreds of planes surrounding us. Our ball was extra special because the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Amos (the first naval aviator to serve as Commandant in the history of the Marine Corps), was at our ball!!!!! Pensacola holds a special place in his heart because he met his wife here during his time at flight school. It was so great to be able to share the night with our good friends from Virginia, Amy and Branson. Here are some pictures from the ball....

 

Branson and Jordan, being silly as they get ready for the ball

Ready for the ball in my new dress!

The boys looking handsome in their dress blues at dinner

Dinner at the Fish House, overlooking beautiful Pensacola Bay and Seville Harbor

 

Jordan and I at dinner

At the National Naval Aviation Museum for the USMC Officer's Ball

Reuniting with other wives from Virginia

The boys "trying on" the Blue Angel

Looks good on him, don't ya think?!?!

An interesting tradition from the ball is the cake cutting ceremony. The cake is cut with the Mameluke Sword, and the first piece is given to the guest of honor. The next piece of cake is then given to the oldest Marine present, and then to the youngest Marine present. The oldest Marine at our ball was 95 years old. He served in WWII. The youngest Marine present was a 22 year-old 2nd Lt, who just completed The Basic School with Jordan in Virginia. The passing of the cake from the oldest to the youngest Marine symbolizes the experience and youthful spirit that are hallmarks of the Marine Corps, as well as the passing of history and traditions to the next generation.

It was an awesome night, filled with with some amazing people and great tradition.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARINES!

A Pilot's Life for Me

It was 11 o'clock on a beautiful afternoon, Jordan's "workday" had been over for nearly two hours, and we were relaxing at the pool, basking in the warm Florida sun.  As we sat there enjoying the luxury of  this new Pilot's life, we couldn't help but laugh as we thought about what a dramatic contrast life in Florida has been so far, from Jordan's long, excruciating days in Virginia. My, how life has changed in one month's time....

It wasn't an easy journey to Florida, but we made it. We have officially completed two military moves now, and the second was no less...interesting...than the first. Jordan and I are convinced we must have somehow angered the moving gods, because we have had more than our share of bad luck on these moves. Although we didn't get stuck in the mud or have to get bailed out by firemen, this second move was just as eventful, if not more so than the first...

Our bad luck started before we even hit the road this time around. We decided to have the military move the majority of our belongings; however, because the military can take 2-3 weeks to deliver your furniture to the new location, we decided to take a few small things to get us by until the truck arrived in FL (a small loveseat, mattress, a few essential kitchen supplies, and a few boxes of clothes).  We showed up bright and early on moving day to pick up our small Budget moving truck to transport these few remaining items, only to find out that they were somehow missing our small truck. If we wanted to leave that day, we would have to take the largest size truck instead, the 24' truck (plus trailer). This is the same size truck we used for our move from CA to VA, when we had our entire household to move. Driving this much larger truck would mean not only going  much slower, but dealing with all the challenges that we faced on our first move ... finding parking, changing lanes, making u-turns, backing up etc etc.  However, despite all the challenges of the larger truck, I think Jordan secretly enjoys driving The Beast (the name we gave the 24 footer after our first trip) and we headed back home with our old friend, The Beast, to finish packing.

 

The Beast

When returning The Beast in Florida, we parked alongside the smaller truck that we were supposed to be driving for the move! The size difference is hysterical!

After filling approximately 1/8 of the truck with our remaining belongings, we were finally ready to hit the road, only to discover our house keys were nowhere to be found. Having just been robbed blind by our landlord's mother, during our not-so fun, and very infuriating walk-through inspection (too stressful and long of a story to recount here), and having just sliced open the top of my foot on a broken vase the movers had left behind, our patience were definitely being tested at this point and this new situation with the keys did not help!We didn't discover until unpacking again in Florida, that the movers had actually packed up our keys in one of their boxes! Jordan and I blew off steam by laughing through all of our frustrations and recounting all the setbacks of the day, because hey, at least we were getting all of our bad luck out of the way now, paving the way for a smooth rest of the journey. Well, turns out, we laughed too soon...

It was nearly 8pm by the time we got the keys re-made and dropped off to the landlord. All we had left to do was drive Jordan's car up onto the the trailer, and we would finally be off! Only, we could not get Jordan's car onto the trailer. No matter how high Jordan jacked up the trailer, or which angle we tried to attempt the ramp at, it was just too steep to drive up without scratching the front of Jordan's car. So we headed to Walmart to pick up a few rhino ramps, the ramps people use to drive up on to get under their car to change their oil.  Staying with our positive mindset, Jordan justified that he had actually been wanting a set of these ramps for his own personal use for awhile now. So off to Walmart we went....or the truck went I should say.....the trailer decided not to follow. After hearing a very loud, strange noise coming from outside, Jordan looked in the side mirror of the truck to see the trailer spinning and ping ponging across the road behind him. Thank God, no one was driving that section of road when this occurred! After swinging the huge truck around (not an easy task), Jordan attempted to hook the trailer back on again as it sat in the middle of highway 1, at which point it started raining!

After finally making it to Walmart  (both truck AND trailer) to get the ramps, we attempted driving the car up on the trailer again, but the ramp was still too steep! So Jordan bought some wood planks and created his own smaller ramp, underneath the rhino ramps, which were underneath the trailer ramp, in attempt to make the drive up the ramps gradual enough to drive onto the trailer without scratching the front of the car. (Did I mention that it was still raining this whole time?!?!)  With all of Jordan's "Macgyvering" of the ramps, we almost were able to clear the front of the car up the ramp and onto the trailer. But as the saying goes, almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, and the car was still a half of an inch too low to make it up the ramp without scratching. It was now nearly 10pm, Jordan was soaking wet from working on the ramps out in the rain, and we still hadn't left town.We finally decided that this car was not going to get on this trailer. Perhaps it's a sign, because what if we did eventually get the car on the trailer, only to have the trailer fly off the back of the truck again?!?! This time with a car on it!!!! So we decided to call Budget's roadside assistance, to see if they could bring us a new trailer all together.

Roadside assistance quoted us 90 minutes before they could get someone out to us. So there we sat in the cab of our 24' truck, in the pouring rain, of the Walmart parking lot in Stafford, Virginia. The Budget repairman replaced a broken part on the trailer (which was what caused the trailer to detach), and informed Jordan what the first Budget employees did not...there was a second jack on the trailer to lower the ramps further, allowing the car to easily drive right on up! Despite finally getting the car up on the trailer, it was now 1130 pm, so we decided to call it a day. We spent the first night of our trip in a hotel.....exactly 5 miles from our old house.

We set off to hit the road in the morning, saying GOOD RIDDANCE to Virginia! From there it was smooth sailing, except of course for a flat tire in Alabama, because no moving road-trip of ours is complete without one! We made it to beautiful Pensacola, FL in just 2 days, and arrived just in time to be welcomed by a beautiful sunset on the water.

After dealing with all the stress of another crazy move, and 6 months of long days and hard training,  I would say Jordan's definitely earned a few of these relaxing days at the pool! Not sure how long these short days of work, and long days at the pool/beach will last, but for now he's singing Yo ho, Yo ho, It's a Pilot's life for Me, and is very happy to be done with The Basic School and out of the state of Virginia, FINALLY!

As promised, here are a few pictures from Jordan's TBS graduation and Family Warrior Day...

Jordan, Me, and Alex  getting to shoot live rounds of the M16 and SAW machine gun!

.

Jordan and the some of the guys from his Platoon (Jordan is in the middle)

So proud of him!

Jordan and Branson (also going to Pensacola) went to OCS together for the first time in the Summer of 2006

Marine Wives: One is going to Pensacola, FL with us, and the other is heading to North Carolina!

Florida, Here We Come!

Well, it's official, we got the house we wanted in Florida! Jordan and I couldn't be happier. It's located in Milton, FL, which is halfway between Pensacola and Whiting, the two bases where Jordan will be splitting his time at flight school for training. Until recently we thought we'd be living in Pensacola, but with the military, you learn something new everyday. Jordan, because he is a flight contract, will only be doing a small fraction of his training at Pensacola, and the majority at Whiting Field, which is approximately an hour away.  Others, who are NFO contracts, do all of their training at Pensacola. (NFO, Naval Flight Officer, is the officer who navigates and operates the weapon systems in a two-seat aircraft).

So after we got over the initial disappointment that we wouldn't be right in Pensacola, and talked to a few other families that are also flight contracts, we found a great area in Milton. The home is in a relatively new golf-course community, with access to a gym, pools, tennis, and hiking trails. We have heard that we are going to have access to some really great boating in our area too, since we are just on the opposite side of Pensacola on Escambia Bay. So although we are further away from the main area of Pensacola, and unfortunately one of our favorite couples that are also moving to FL but are NFO contracts, than we had hoped, we found a home in an area with so much to do! We are very much looking forward to enjoying all the outdoor activities this area has to offer.

Here's the place:

Front

Backyard

Kitchen

Great Room/Dining Room

We were a bit hesitant with going forward with the house because the garage was converted in to a bonus room, and we all know how much Jordan loves his cars. However, he also LOVES and has become accustomed to having his own home gym here in the basement of our VA house. So while we don't have a garage, Jordan will have his man-cave, workout room again!

So since we are gearing up for our next move, that means Jordan has nearly completed all his training here in VA. Jordan graduates TBS training in a week and half! I am so looking forward to Warrior Day, where they let the spouses ride around in 7-tons, shoot guns, and take helicopter rides. But most of all, I am SO EXCITED to see him get dressed in his dress blues for graduation! I will definitely post pictures. These next few weeks are going to FLY by between graduation, and packing up the house for the move. We should be in Florida by mid-October! We cannot believe how fast time has flown by here. So in an attempt to soak up as much as we possibly can here, we are going to spend one of our last weekends in DC, tomorrow. While we are so excited for Jordan to take the next step in his career and FINALLY start flight school, it will definitely be a bittersweet moment, as we say goodbye to some really amazing friends and to an area we have greatly enjoyed living in and exploring these last 6 months!

Update

The hurricane veered east of us, and luckily , all we experienced was a very rainy weekend, a few on-and-off power outages, and a little bit of wind, but nothing drastic. Apparently, the area we live in got hit pretty hard in 2003 by Hurricane Isabel, so there was a lot of hype for Hurricane Irene. Everyone was acting extra cautious this time around. Case in point, the bread aisle at target:

This is also what the bread aisle looked like at Giant, Shoppers and the Commissary (all of our local grocery stores). The water aisle looked very much the same as well. And trying to find flashlights or batteries.....impossible! Despite all the hype, we were very lucky when it came to the hurricane. However, that was obviously not the case for the rest of the East Coast. One of my best friends growing up in Mission Viejo, just recently built her very first home with her husband in Maryland. Unfortunately, their brand new home was located along the Chesapeake Bay coast and endured a lot of destruction. Not only was there structural damage to their home, but they also lost a lot of sentimental and irreplaceable items in the flooding.

So at the end of the day,  Jordan and I are very grateful to have been spared the furry of Hurricane Irene and are praying for all those that were seriously affected. Apparently, we still do not know how well we are prepared for Florida at all. However........................................

We have found a house!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am really, really, REALLY trying not to get too excited, although I am bursting at the seams! Eeeehhh! :) I do not want to say too much, just in case we do not get the place, but if and when we do, I will fill you all in! Just wish us luck :)

Shake, Rattle, and Roll....

If you recall my "lessons learned" from the very first blog...you can see that I have become accustomed to the the daily booms and rattling of our house due to the artillery training from the base.....

"I am now used to hearing loud booms and having my windows shake and rattle throughout the day. The first time I heard the artillery from base, I jumped up yelling "EARTHQUAKE"...Then I remembered we weren't in California anymore..."

Well... this week I learned that EARTHQUAKES ARE POSSIBLE! And when in doubt....DUCK AND COVER! 

Wednesday morning, I could hear the boys blowing stuff up on base as usual, so when the rumbling started from the earthquake, it didn't startle me. However, as the rumbling and shaking continued and intensified, I grabbed the nearest "weapons" to me (a broom and a can of Raid) and braced myself to confront whoever was charging down my staircase. My adrenaline was pumping as I readied myself to confront this assailant. When no one appeared at the bottom of the staircase, I started to realize that this may not be artillery training from base OR an intruder. There I stood, dumb-struck, with a broom in one hand and my Raid-pepper-spray in the other, watching the kitchen chandelier sway over head...What the heck is going on I asked myself? I finally decided, whether it be an intruder or reverberations from base, I was getting the HECK out of this creepy house! I dropped my lethal weapons, swooped up my howling pup, and ran outside. I then noticed a few of my neighbors also were out on their front porches. When the shaking subsided, I went back inside and started googling earthquakes... it couldn't possibly be, could it? My internet searches didn't produce any information. Now, thoroughly perplexed, I flipped through every news channel....NOTHING! Finally I came to my senses, and checked facebook. People started posting about the 5.9 earthquake that rocked VA. Where were they getting this information when I couldn't find it on the news or internet?!?!??! Thank goodness for FACEBOOK, the only reliable and up-to-date information source :) 

Turns out, we did experience a 5.9 earthquake. It was centered just SW of us in an area called Mineral, VA. However, you wouldn't know it based on the news coverage. I was so frustrated as I watched the evacuations taking place in D.C. (nearly an hour further from the epicenter than us) and NYC (over 5 hours and 300 miles away from the epicenter). Instead of focusing on the damage and destruction done to this small town of Mineral Virginia, they were interviewing people who "felt" it in Rhode Island and Ohio!!!! I was so annoyed at the news stations at that moment, such drama and no information!

Thank goodness nothing was too damaged here, especially considering I stood there during most of the earthquake like a helpless idiot, watching the windows shake and chandelier sway overhead. One of my girlfriends did have minor water damage as their water heater pipe broke and flooded their downstairs carpet. Apparently, Target had some issues as well:

After I realized we did in fact encounter an earthquake, my first thought was JORDAN and the 1950s buildings on base, one of which he was probably trapped in. Apparently when the earthquake hit, Jordan and a few of the other California guys sprung out of their seats and sprinted outside. They were not going to go down with these ancient, condemned buildings! Our cell phones were utterly worthless after the earthquake. No one could make a call, send or receive a text message. Finally, one of the wives received word (through facebook-since the phones were still jammed) that the barracks were still standing, and all was okay at Camp Barrett. Once again, facebook saves the day ;)  .

It was quite entertaining hearing all my non-Californian friends' accounts of their first earthquake experiences. Most reported being scared out of their minds and not knowing what to do. Obviously, duck-and-cover or running to a doorway are the first things that come to my mind, if in fact I realize I am experiencing an earthquake, but not everyone had school earthquake drills every year and emergency family plans growing up. Some girls jumped into their bathtubs, as they would do in the case of a tornado; however, I am not really sure if that would have helped during an earthquake or not! My friend Amy was at the gym on base and almost fell off the elliptical as it started swaying back and forth and tiles started falling from the ceiling. She thought WWIII had started, and the Quantico base was being bombed! All in all we survived, and it made for quite a few laughs.

Now that we have survived one natural disaster, we are bracing for a second in the same week. Hurricane Irene will be passing by us this weekend. Jordan and I are calling it our dress-rehearsal for Florida.

It appears that we will be right outside the danger zone (we are in the Woodbridge/Fredericksburg areas on the map), and can expect heavy rains, winds of approx 40 mph, probably some downed trees, power lines, and therefore power outages. So I headed to the store to stock up on bottled water, beef jerky, flashlights, board games, beer, and more! We are ready!!!

In all seriousness, I am a bit worried about this bendy-lookin tree:

I may convince Jordan to move a mattress to the basement if the winds get too strong. That tree looks like it is ready to slingshot into our bedroom! So come Monday when the storm has passed, we will see how prepared we are for Florida. 

And on that note....some exciting news. Jordan has gotten orders to report to Florida October 30th!  He graduates from TBS at the end of September, so we only have a month of wait-time. This is such great news considering we have known people in the past that have had to wait 6 months to a year before reporting to flight school, because of over-crowding. So, granted we don't have any other crazy natural disasters before then, Florida here we come!!!!!

New Acronyms, Fried Okra, and Salmon.....

Another FEX week is upon us, which means us girls are finding things to do to help pass the week until our Marines come home. Monday, a few of us girls met at another's house to see the newest addition to the Charlie Canine Clan (our husbands are in Charlie company at TBS, and we all regularly have doggy play-dates). The newest addition to the group was a 12 week-old Labradoodle. This 12 week old puppy was bigger than the 6 month old black lab of the group!

Toby

Toby, the Labradoodle,  is going to be one big pup! Monday was definitely an entertaining night, with 6 dogs running around and chasing each other through a 1 bedroom apartment! FEX Night 1 of  5 was done! Check!

Tuesday, the FRO (family readiness officer) offered a LINKS class. LINKS stands for: Lifestyle, Insight, Networking, Knowledge, and Skills.  Are you keeping up with all these acronyms....TBS, BOQ, HUMP, FEX, FRO, LINKS! And that's just a small percentage of all the acronyms that have become part of my normal vernacular. Anyway, LINKS is a volunteer, mentoring program that is run by and for military spouses. Experienced military spouses help the newer spouses to understand and adapt to the unique challenges that military families face. These classes have been super helpful in deciphering this new military language, amongst other things. We have also had classes on establishing family plans during deployments, getting wills done, and the history and etiquette of the Marine Corps. Oh and by the way, it's pronounced CORE not CORPSE....eh hem OBAMA!!! J/K this isn't a political blog ;)  AGAIN, I REPEAT, it was a joke, not trying to be political here! Did I mention that was a joke???? :)

Trying to pass another night of the FEX, a few of us decided to go to Applebees for an appetizer and a drink. Yup, I said Applebees...I know, I know....Believe me, I felt like I was living in Scranton from The Office....or was that Chilli's? Oh well, you get the idea. Anyway, over the past 5 months here I have realized how neat it has been to get to know people from all different parts of the country. Applebees was the perfect example.....Here we are, 4 girls, one from Texas, one from California, another from Philly, and the last from South Carolina, and despite all of our differences we have become great friends. We also gave the waiters quite a challenge when they checked our IDs for DOBs... :)

I have met the most amazing, generous, and thoughtful people since moving out here to Virginia, and it gives me great hope and excitment for our future in the Marine Corps. These friendships I have made here have grown so quickly in such a short amount of time, and I am so thankful for the opportunity I have had to meet each and every one of these amazing women. On that note, this past week the Marines, who are not previously contracted as Flight (as Jordan is) or JAG (lawyer), received their MOS's (Military Occupation Specialities), another acronym for you. I was so nervous, anxious, and excited for all my friends and their husbands to find out their career within the military. It was probably the biggest day of these people's lives and careers, next to their initial comissioning into the Marine Corps. It hit me that today's decisions on MOS's would determine not only the careers of these Marines, but also the lives and future of all my friends...who would be getting deployed in as little as 6 months, who would be moving to Okinawa, Japan, etc etc etc. Although most people did not get their first choice in MOS, and many were disappointed, you have to have faith that everything happens for a reason- as I will try to have to remember when Jordan goes through this when he gets his flight platform. And as much as I don't want to think about it, certain decisions such as these can make a difference in whether someone lives or dies. Thinking about things that way, makes everything very overwhelming, and just too real for me.

Last week, a Marine Flight Student died during training in Pensacola, Florida. He was just at TBS, like Jordan is now, a few months ago. Although we hear about men and women dying overseas everyday, it seems we have all unfortunately almost become too immune to this kind of news. But this one was way too real for me. I couldn't help but cry as I looked at this Marine's commissioning pictures and his TBS pictures.I couldn't help but see Jordan in this Marine. This could be my husband, a few months from now. Again, it was just too real and overwhelming for me, so as a defense mechanism, I tried to push it out of my head and pretend it never happened, so I didn't have to think about it. But then I find myself struggling with the guilt of ignoring something that is so real to this Marine's family and friends, because I didn't want to have to experience that kind of pain. Additionally, this comes on the heals of 30 Americans dying in Afghanistan, including some Navy Seals from Virginia Beach. One of our close friends at home is going through the excruciating BUDS training at Coronado in San Diego for the Navy Seals, and I couldn't help but think of him. Although, I do not claim any credit as a "military wife" because I have not had to walk the walk yet, I am already struggling with the emotional battles of the military life.  I do not know how these women survive deployments, raising kids on their own, constantly being uprooted, and the fear of losing the one they love. I envy the strength of these military wives, and hope that I will posses half the courage and strength of the military wives that I am so privelged to know, do.


Anyway getting back to a lighter note, I think it is so great to get to know people from all different walks of life. We each have something unique and interesting to bring to the table.  Not only do we all bring our own life experiences from different parts of the country, but we also bring our own tastes in food!! We were driving back from the movies tonight (saw The Help- almost as good as the book, and by the way, FEX night 3 of 5, done, check!!!) , the 4 of us girls started commenting on what we each missed from home. And second to friends and family of course, was FOOD! We all started talking about our favorite resturaunts from home and how frustrating it was that Ol' Stafford, VA didnt have these resturaunts.While I was missing El Pollo Loco, Rubio's and Chevy's, one of the girls from Texas, a sweet girl named Amy, was missing her Fried Okra and Fried Chicken. I asked her if Fried Okra was fish, and she about died laughing!!!! Apparently it is a fuzzy vegetable? Sounds disgusting to me...especially fried! But then again, a couple of weeks back I brought a delicious mustard dill smoked salmon appetizer (courtesy of Jordan's mom) to a get-together, and a few people looked at it like it was some exotic delicacy. Some of the girls were kind enough (or brave enough)  to have some and thought it was delicious, but a good number politely passed over that dish on the buffet table.  I wasn't offended though, I probably would have passed over a dish of Fried Okra if it was there as well. Oh well! I took 75% of it home, and ate it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, because it was soooooo DE-LIC-IOUS!!!!! Regardless of what anyone thought, I could live on that recipe for the rest of my life, and nothing else! :) If anyone wants it, let me know!

Anyway in summary, I was NOT trying to make a political blog, although if Mr. President says corPSman one more time I may throw my remote at the tv or have to write him a letter!!! The movie The Help was amazing-but not as good as the book, I love meeting people from all over the country, and I will not be trying fried okra anytime soon!!!

Marine Wife Lesson #2: Enter the BOQ at Your Own Risk!

BOQ, abbreviation for: Bachelor Officer's Quarters

At TBS (The Basic School) the Officer's are required to live on base if they are not married. Those that are married are allowed to live off-base. However, each "brown-bagger," as the married guys are called for bringing brown-bag lunches to work, have a bed in the BOQ for those nights when they are required to stay on base. I can't say I have really ever been curious about the BOQ. By the way they have been described to me, they sounded pretty much like overcrowded dorm rooms, where they try to squeeze 3 beds, 3 desks, and 3 dressers like puzzle pieces into creative configurations in an impossibly small room .

Well come to find out they are gradually tearing down these buildings and re-building new quarters, and for good reason. These rooms are more like prison cells than dorm rooms, complete with their white painted cinder-block walls. Yes, the furniture is very dorm room-esque...but that's where the comparisons end. I am pretty sure prison cells have a/c and warm water, don't they? And despite having to relentlessly scrub their rooms from top to bottom, there is a stench that is indescribable. That stench can probably be attributed to 3 grown men with gear, boots and clothing that is worn for days on end in the woods, in all weather conditions, and all of it stored together in these teeny tiny spaces. I could hardly breathe when I (reluctantly) had the pleasure of seeing Jordan's room. Upon experiencing the BOQ firsthand, I could not get over the fact that 2 of the 3 guys assigned to this room actually lived here, day in and day out. Now I understood why these guys would pay money for hotel rooms just to get out of here on the weekends. All of the sudden I felt like we needed to adopt these lost boys. Its like that feeling you get when you go to an animal shelter and you feel guilty for not being able to save all the puppies and give them a home. Yes, they will have to live in worse conditions during the careers in the military, but it just didn't seem fair that they were stuck there while Jordan is able to come home and have a home cooked meal and a warm shower every night. These poor guys!

In addition to experiencing a tremendous amount of empathy for these guys and their living conditions, entering the BOQ as a wife, also means you have to go through the "trying on your husband's gear" ritual. I have heard about the amount of weight they have to carry about on a daily basis, but Jordan wanted me to experience it first hand.

Wow! All that gear was SO heavy, and the pack that I was wearing on my back wasn't even full! I had to keep myself from falling over by bracing myself on the bunk bed behind me so I could pose for Jordan's picture. Apparently the guys get a great kick out of seeing others experience a portion of the pain they go through on a daily basis. And although I think I rocked the uniform, especially with my red and orange printed dress to compliment the green camo, I think it looks much better on Jordan, don't ya think....

Firsts...

I don't think I would have ever pictured myself having to travel 175 miles to a beach. Wow has life changed! When a few of the girls suggested going to the beach this week while the guys were out on yet another FEX, I thought it would be a great way to spend the day. Us wives are always looking for fun ways to help pass the days until our husbands come home from the field. The girl who suggested the drive, said it wasn't very far ... only about 2 hours. Okay, that's far in my book....but for most of the girls here, that's the closest they have ever lived to the beach. I decided to go anyway. Jordan and I are in the mindset that wherever we live during this military adventure, we are going to embrace the opportunities fully to see and do as much as possible. SO....even though the beach was 2 hours away, Virginia Beach was a box that needed to be checked off!

Not only have I never traveled 175 miles for a day at the beach, I have also never had to set my alarm clock for 545 to get up, to get ready for the beach! We didn't leave until 8am, but I had to make sure I ran the dog since I would be leaving him all day, and get some groceries for our cooler. Yes, I think packing a cooler for the beach is a new one for me too.  I know most people do, but with the beach so close at home, we'd rarely stay for long enough to require packing a cooler. Well anyway, come to find out the beach was not "about 2 hours" away (which I had optimistically hoped would mean only 1.5-2 hrs), but a full 3 hours! We were all so excited to get out of that cramped car when we finally arrived, and make the most of our destination.

Virginia Beach turned out to be a nice, flat beach with decent waves for frolicking. My favorite part about the beach was laying in the sand and watching the F-18s fly over us all day from the nearby air station. (At least I THINK they were F-18s. I am sure Jordan's adorable little relative Breton could actually be able to tell me for certain, and he is only, I believe, 3.5!) I couldn't help but smile and think, that will be Jordan before we know it! I am such an emotional person, that my eyes get teared up with pride, picturing him up there.

I spent the good part of my time at the beach trying desperately to take a picture to send to him. I knew it would be so motivating for Jordan, and help him see past the misery of TBS and onto flight school! I wanted so badly to capture the moment and the experience for him, with a great, artistic shot of the F18 soaring towards us over the ocean. However, my picture taking skills failed my artistic vision miserably at capturing what a motivating image I had in my head. Who knew it would be so dang difficult and frustrating! Every picture I took, I either missed the planes completely or they looked like small black specs. Before I knew it, it had become a challenge. All of the girls were trying to capture a picture for me to send Jordan! Couldn't the pilots just slow down for one second!!!! Sheesh. I think this is the best one among the efforts of 5 of us, and unfortunately there is no sand or ocean to be found:

After about 3 hours in the sun, one of the girls suggested we leave to miss rush hour traffic. What? Seriously? It's only been 3 hours! The drive here was longer than we spent at the beach. I had pictured going to the beach, doing some shopping and exploring, and then maybe stopping in at a restaurant, and they were ready to leave???  A few of us secretly texted our disappointment back and forth, as we smiled and agreeably said "okay....whatever works!" Oh well. I guess I had to find perspective on the situation again, and realize for most of the girls, driving 3 hours to the beach was again, not very far relative to their own experiences.

Well leaving at 2pm did not spare us from hitting rush hour traffic. It took us 4 long hours to get home! We were all exhausted, feeling sticky and grimy from the salt-water, cramped, and so hungry that we started becoming deliriously giddy. I remember experiencing that same sensation when I would  be studying for hours and hours with friends....you actually do begin to lose your mind, and everything becomes hysterically funny! Well needless to say, the 4 hours were definitely filled with a ton of laughs! And of course when driving through Virginia, there are always, shall we say, interesting sights along the way.... Here is just one that kept us laughing along the drive:

No this is not how we carpooled to Virginia Beach, this is actually a focus towing another focus. Definitely another first for me! I think I may actually have to devote a  future post to pictures of  interesting, red-neck Virginia. I tend to find myself taking lots of pictures of strange things here.

In the end, although I was disappointed that we did not experience more of the area, at least I got to put my check in that box next to Virginia Beach. Thank goodness for good company and fun girls! Who would have thought sitting in the middle of a small back seat, in bumper to bumper traffic could be so much fun?

Oh, what a beautiful mornin', Oh, what a beautiful day.

As I took Gunnar for his morning walk today, I couldn't help but notice what a beautiful day it was turning out to be! All of the sudden I had that song from Oklahoma going through my head:

              Oh what a beautiful mornin', 

              Oh what a beautiful day.

              I got a beautiful feelin'

              Ev'rything's goin' my way.

The weather felt amazing, and "normal" for a change. Therefore I thought to myself, I must take advantage of it! Perhaps I will work in the yard, or take a nice jog outside. Just out of curiosity, I checked the weather when I got back from our walk:

86 degrees with 58% humidity, is a cool day for me now. It's amusing how perception of weather is a relative thing. Apparently, Gunnar is not so amused....

He ran straight inside, laid on the a/c vent, and gave me that "are you trying to kill me mom" look. It appears Gunnar is still 100% a California boy, and obviously did not experience the same appreciation for the beautiful weather today as I did. However, I am sure Jordan and the rest of the boys are praising the Lord for this "cold-spell" as they spend another long day in the field.

Snakes, and Spiders, and Bears…OH MY!

I don’t think I will ever be able to fall sleep again when Jordan is gone out in the field. Not only because of my creepy squash neighbor, but also out of worry for Jordan’s safety. Ignorance WAS bliss. However, over a lovely dinner conversation, I discovered there are real dangers out there in the Quantico woods.  The  Marines are not just simulating battle against one another, they are fighting against Mother Nature’s most ruthless warriors.  Lyme Disease and heat stroke are amongst the most common of injuries out there. Jordan currently has a running total of 28 ticks that he has pulled out of him.  He even found one in his belly button a few days after returning from training in the field! Heat cases are the most terrifying to me. Most days in Virginia, the weather report puts out heat warnings suggesting a dangerous heat index and warns to stay indoors...but the Marines push on with whatever activities are on the schedule for the day, regardless of weather. However, recently an event had to be shut down due to the heat. Heat cases from Jordan's training company had filled up both the on-base medical center AND the local town hospital.  It was actually a very dangerous and scary situation, and I am glad I didn't know about this (or any of the other crazy stories that would become dinner conversation) until after Jordan was safely back at home….

Jordan left for work that morning at 0430. He knew he was going to be in for one miserable day when he saw the car's temperature gauge already showing 84 degrees. The humidity was so thick that there was an eerie steam rising from the road in the pitch black morning.  By 0530, the morning had grown even warmer, and the Marines were on the field ready for their first task of the day, the Endurance Course. 

The Endurance Course consists of running the obstacle course, followed by a 5.5 mile run, dressed in full combat gear (an additional 60lbs) through more obstacles. These obstacles include scaling walls, cargo nets, rope climbs, the bear trap, and low crawling under barbed wire. The terrain is rough, and footing is often an issue. Jordan is in first platoon of Charlie Company (there are a total of 6 platoons, with approximately 50 officers in each platoon).  First platoon led off the E-course at 0530 with the temperature reaching 87 degrees and the humidity now at 100%. Corpsman were strategically placed along the trail in the case of injury or heat exhaustion. 

Jordan had previously run the E-course and had "maxed out" at 60 minutes (perfect score), but upon running it the second time he felt as though he were completely out of shape, and like something out of a bad dream-no matter how quickly he tried to run, he wasn't able to move any faster. It didn't take him long to realize that it wasn't just him having a hard time this second go-around on the course. People were quickly becoming over-heated. Marines were becoming dizzy, and falling off obstacles. One Lieutenant broke his collar bone, and another fell on his head and had to be taken off in a stretcher. Further on down the course, the Marines were becoming more and more delirious. All the corpsman quickly became overwhelmed with injuries and heat cases, resulting in a shortage along the trail. The Lieutenants themselves were stopping to help their fellow Marines in serious conditions. One Marine was found running the wrong way on the trail. When a fellow Lieutenant stopped to help him, the Marine wasn't able to tell him what his name was or where he was. The Lieutenant quickly realized this Marine was in serious condition. While they yelled for a Corpsman, they stripped this Marine down and soaked him in water. When the Corpsman arrived, the Marine had a body temperature of 106 degrees. He was airlifted to the nearest hospital, where he still was unable to tell anyone who the President of the United States was. With only two platoons out on the course, the local on-base medical center and the local town hospital were at capacity with heat cases. When word of this trickled back to the field, they immediately shut down the event.

Jordan was able to finish the course before it was shut down. Coming across the finish line, Jordan himself was delirious and disoriented, more physically and mentally exhausted than he'd ever experienced in his life. He lay in the grass trying to recover for nearly 30 minutes, unable to speak or put a sentence together. It was obvious as the Marines one-by-one collapsed across the finish line, that even those who were able to push past their physical and mental limits and finish the course, were in serious condition, suffering some form of heat stroke. SEMPER FI, do or die-that's the mindset of a Marine for ya! Although most of the Marines that finished were happy they would not have to re-do the course on another day, their final scores (which are a percentage of their overall grade) would be slower than the first time they had attempted the course.

And all the while, here us wives are out to lunch, without a worry in the world, joking that our husbands are just out in the woods "on a nature walk." Although we appreciate that our husbands' training is something more physically demanding than any of us will ever experience in our life, most of us previously did not understand the real-life dangers that accompany their training. In addition to the heat cases, the boys routinely encounter poisonous snakes, and deadly spiders. A Marine once had a spider crawl into his ear and start biting him from inside his ear canal. Apparently the Marine was in such excruciating pain, that he could be heard screaming from miles away. A few Marines have even reported being chased through the woods by bears! After this lovely dinner conversation, not only did we run out the next morning to purchase a few crates of electrolyte-rich drinks, but Jordan also purchased a knife, to defend himself against snakes and bears in the field. Let's all pray he doesn't have to use it!

Jordan in his Combat Gear....they even must carry their rifle during the E-Course!

The Things We Do When the Boys are Humping in the Field....

Definitions from the "USMC spouse dictionary" that will aid in  the reading of this post:
(hump): Marine Corps Dictionary: A field march or extended hike.
FEX, abbreviation for : Field Exercise, usually 1 or more weeks in duration

Believe me, when Jordan first told me he wouldn't be coming home for a week because he had to go HUMP with the boys, I about passed out. Thank goodness the only thing that I was able to utter through my shock was "HUH!" Which allowed him the time to explain yet another Marine Corps term (see above). Since this mis-communication, I have picked up an amazing book, Confessions of a Military Wife, written by a Marine officer's wife, which has helped me through this crazy new adjustment to military life. It has been so entertaining to laugh through a fellow wife's experiences as she too transitioned into this new crazy world and her similar confusion of all the military base rules, acronyms etc.

Anyway, although Jordan is only training here, he is still gone 2 weeks out of every month out on FEXs and HUMPs. This involves a week or more of being out in the field 24/7, where the guys sleep in the woods and do not have contact with home.

You can always tell when that dreaded FEX time rolls around again, because all of us wives begin swapping netflix recommendations. On the first day of the every FEX, without fail, the weather is miserable. There is usually a heat warning suggesting limiting outdoor exposure (like that's going to stop the Marines), followed by terrible thunderstorms. And as soon as us wives begin to feel sorry for ourselves because we are home alone and the storm has knocked out the power, we think of the boys sleeping outside amongst the ticks, snakes, and all kinds of other creepy crawlers, being thundered and lightninged on.

It also gives us time to bond with eachother, and form tight connections as Marine wives. I have always heard that the friendships you form through the military become stronger, faster, than your civilian friendships, and I am starting to understand that. There are certain commonalities built in to all of us in the Marine Corps family, which allow us to instantly connect. The extra time together, without our husbands, allows us to build upon these friendships. Those of us without children bond over our 4-legged babies. I am sure the mothers in the group roll their eyes as we show pictures on our phones of our puppies and the cute things they did that day. We have doggy play-dates regularly! It's amazing. The dogs usually wear themselves out, and sleep for the entire next day!

I feel like, as with most things in life, these weeks are only as bad or as good as you make them! So instead of sitting home and feeling lonely, FEX weeks are usually full of social activity! We fill these weeks with lunches,  dinners, shopping, and wine tasting! All of the sudden, these FEX weeks aren't something to dread, but something to look forward too, we look for the positive in having time alone. Whether that be having less laundry for the week, or not having to make dinner every night, or just having time to do girlie things like shopping and watching chic flicks; we make the best of it! Undoubtedly Jordan, and a few of the other wives' husbands, come home to some new home decor or piece of furniture that we have refurbished to keep ourselves occupied....

Marine wives are also the best bodyguards! Story: I had a few girls (and their dogs) over this last FEX for a doggy play date :) . We were sitting out on the front porch chit-chatting, when I explained my neighborhood schematics to them.... Across the street-Marine Captain. Next door-Reserve Marine Major/current FBI agent. Diagonal across the street- CREEPER! Literally... 20 minutes after explaining the street dynamics....2 of the 4 girls that were still out on the porch saw the Creeper coming down his driveway and towards the house. All the sudden he is scaling up our steep driveway and approaching my friends on my front porch. Apparently at 10:30 at night, he wanted to share 2 yellow squash...?  Maybe sharing vegetables at 10:30 at night is the norm here on the east coast, but it definitely creeped all 4 of us out! All I know is I am thankful for my girlfriends that kept me company that night, as well as my alarm system that will allow me to sleep safely while Jordan is gone! I am also grateful for all my friends that offered to have me and Gunnar stay over with them until Jordan came home, and those that offered their guns as protection (seriously haha). Oh the joys of meeting people from the midwest!

P.S. thought it might be good to mention for anyone concerned for my safety.... one of my girlfriends took home one yellow squash that night...not to cook...but to hold as DNA evidence in case I go missing ;)

Marine Wives at Buffalo Wild Wings during a FEX week

Marine Wife Lesson #1: You Are Not a Barber!

Part of our weekly Sunday routine involves Jordan getting a fresh haircut for the week. Well on one particular Sunday, Jordan and I lost track of time. We were spending the day at a friend’s home in Woodbridge, a neighboring town about 15 miles away, enjoying a backyard BBQ, when we realized it was nearly 8pm on a Sunday and Jordan had not yet gotten his hair cut!  One of the other Marines at the gathering mentioned there was a barber in town that stayed open until midnight. We decided we could hang out at the BBQ for a bit longer and try out this barber on the way home.  Well the barber ended up being a bit more out of the way than we had previously thought. Even though it was the only babershop open at this hour of the evening, it was farther than we were willing to drive. Our tired and desperate minds rationalized that there was a second option. Jordan did have his own set of clippers after-all. The previous week he had gotten a pretty aggressive (and quite intimidating) high and tight haircut, so we decided we could just “zero-out” (closely shave) the bottom and it would be fine to get him through the week until next Sunday's haircut….

Well those military haircuts are not as easy as they look. Needless to say, it did not turn out too well. On Monday morning, Jordan had a new nickname, “Wild Thing.”  If you have never seen Charlie Sheen in the Major League movies, check out this youtube clip for reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CL34mQTB5kI. Everywhere he went the guys started singing  “Wild Thing….You make my heart sing.”  Well bless Jordan’s heart, he didn’t want his wife looking bad…. So he threw the "midnight barber" under the bus! Thanks hun :)

Since the "Wild Thing" episode, we have found a very nice barber who we visit weekly. She is another story, for another day, herself...but as we learned from our failed attempt at an at-home haircut, it is always better to pay a professional to do the job!

Home....

So it's officially summer... and we are not in California.  On most mornings, the first coherent thoughts that enter my mind are pretty much the same...where the heck am I? Is this really my life? Jordan has expressed the same sentiment. It's very surreal. For the longest time we anticipated this change in our life, but now we are living it! It is crazy how fast time is flying by. The initial culture shock of the military life has started to pass. All of the bizarre and exciting new experiences are beginning to become the norm, which is why Jordan and I wanted to find a way to document this adventure. Inspired by a few fellow marine wives, as well as a friend who is a bit farther down the military/flight school pipeline from us, I am starting this blog to not only document our time and experiences in the military, but also to share them with all our friends and family back home. There is no way I can catch up on the past 3.5 months of life here in Virginia, so here is a small recap of the beginning of our transition into life in the Marine Corps:

* "Rah" has become Jordan's go to affirmative response to pretty much anything and everything (abbreviation grunt for Oorah)
* The military has it's own language-not only is there an endless blizzard of acronyms, there is also a new military term for everyday things that already have names! Running shoes are go-fasters, moonbeam is a flashlight, the package store is a liquor store (not a place to mail packages as I found out), 96 is a 4 day weekend, and on and on....
*I am now used to hearing loud booms and having my windows shake and rattle throughout the day. The first time I heard the artillery from base, I jumped up yelling "EARTHQUAKE"...Then I remembered we weren't in California anymore...
*Its perfectly normal to pass men with big guns on the way to the grocery store.
*The amazing prices at the Commissary (grocery store on base) never cease to amaze me!

I can hardly believe Jordan is already halfway through his training here at The Basic School.  Before we embarked on this adventure and thought about the idea of making our first military move, I kept telling myself we were going to Virginia for 6 months. I never let myself think past that point. I don't think my body could have handled the overwhelming stress that would accompany the thought of a life away from home for much longer than that. Well now that we are immersed in this life, surrounded by wonderful military friends in the same situation, I am starting to let myself embrace the idea that this isn't just 6 months in Virginia, and then a year in Florida, this is our life. Home is where the Marine Corps sends us. Let's just hope that's Miramar :)