Halloween 2009

Halloween 2009 was very exciting! Polly and I had several costume changes and many events to attend:) On Friday we had costume day at school. About a month ago, Angela (Spanish teacher) came up with the awesome idea for a group of us to be the scooby doo characters. I had just gotten my hair cut so I fit Velma perfectly! Angela has red hair, so she fit Daphne perfectly, and the rest just fell into place! It was perfect....and the kids loved it! Polly even joined the crowd as Scooby Doo herself:) It was a really fun day and now the pressure is on for next year:)








Then on Friday after school, Polly and I went to Devin's friend John's house to set up for our squadron Halloween Party. The bulldogs hosted the halloween party this year and we spent a good deal of time Friday night and several hours Saturday setting up. Devin and Aslynn went all out with decorations! We glittered and set up a million candles, had tons of spider web and spooky decorations, made chili and desserts and appetizers, organized a dance floor and dj room, and even dyed the pool blood red and floated "bodies" in the pool! It was awesome! Polly even enjoyed her time decorating - i.e. barking at the dead bodies in the pool:) So, Saturday night was the big event and for this event I was a flapper:) We had a blast!!



The Pool and "Bodies"


Me, Devin, and Aslynn



The Bulldog Spouses and Candace:)



Dancing in the fog on the dance floor:)







Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween!

Love, Pincher Paws Polly

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TODD!

I just have to say a quick HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my 27-year-old, handsome husband:) While we've spent a lot of time apart over the last 2 years, I couldn't be prouder of him! He serves his country with the most pride and dedication and it is truly admirable. Todd works extremely hard yet always has time to tell me he loves me. He is an amazing husband, and I know one day he'll be an equally as amazing father. Above all, I think I love him the most because of his love for the Lord that is always evident in everything he does. I can't wait until he comes home again!:)


I love you, Todd!




**Now get rid of that mustache!:)

Viva Las Vegas!

My dad had a conference in Las Vegas last weekend, so I met him and mom there for the weekend! None of us have ever been to Las Vegas, so let me just say.....it was an adventure! It was a super quick weekend trip, but fun nonetheless!

I flew in on Friday evening and Laura and Jeremy picked me up at the airport (thanks!). :) We went to this yummy restaurant for dinner and I really enjoyed spending time with them. It was so fun to reminisce and make fun of Todd! haha:) They're living in Las Vegas, so hopefully we can get up there to see them again soon (or you can always come to Tucson:)).





They dropped me off at our hotel - we stayed at New York, New York on the strip - and I met up with Mom and Dad. On Saturday Dad had meetings pretty much all day, so Mom and I enjoyed the day wandering around the strip. We walked and walked and walked!!!

My first view of the insanity that is the Las Vegas Strip







Paris!





Venice!



The Fountains at the Bellagio (playing to "Proud to be an American" - boohoo)



New York, New York - with a roller coaster on the roof that Dad and I rode!


The Statue of Liberty with the Roller Coaster!:)



The MGM Grand with the largest bronze statue in the Western Hemisphere - random, I know



That afternoon we tried our luck at the slots.


We didn't do so well.....hahaha!


So, we wandered around some more...



That evening we went to see the Beatles Cirque Du Soleil Show "Love" at the Mirage. It was really fun! I swear there was 1000 things going on at once, but still very impressive. We all enjoyed it! After the show we met with Dad's conference people for dinner at a restaurant called Koi at Planet Hollywood. It was a Japanese Restaurant and it was DELICOUS! I've never been a big sushi fan, but this place was yummy! It also had an awesome view of the Bellagio right behind our table.





After dinner we made the long trip down the strip (in heels!) back to our hotel. It was late, and, well, interesting...






On Sunday we did more walking and exploring around the strip. We wished we had time to venture off the strip to explore other things, but my flight left around 6pm Sunday night, so we just hung out there again.

Here's Dad and I in front of Treasure Island





Watching the fountains one more time....





We had a super fun time, and I appreciate Mom and Dad letting me crash their weekend! Viva Las Vegas!! WOOHOO:)

A not so welcome visitor

Check out what I found as I opened the door last week! AHHHHHHHH!!!!


*Yes, that would be a big, ugly scorpion! And, it's shiny because I doused it with an entire can of raid.

Where is the husband when you need him????

Congrats Carrie and Parker!

My little brother is engaged! I can't believe it! Talk about making me feel old....ugh! Anyways, Parker and Carrie have been dating since high school - something crazy like 7 or 8 years. Anyways, last night Parker asked Carrie to marry him. How exciting! Another new member to our family:) We're growing like weeds...haha.

Anyways, Parker was able to give Carrie our great-grandmother's engagement ring. It is beautiful, and so very special! Lynnie brought it out for me to see while she was here, and I have to say that it is quite beautiful!




Congratulations, Parker and Carrie! We're so excited for you!!









Look at those babies - Carrie and Parker at our wedding - 4 and 1/2 years ago!

Me and Carrie in Auburn Fall 2005





Parker and Carrie with their puppy Maple - Summer 2007






Auburn/Alabama Game 2007






Christmas 2008







At Bellingrath Gardens last Christmas


Congratulations again, Parker and Carrie! We love you!

Last Weekend

Last weekend was BUSY! It's taken me until Thursday to recover enough to post:) (Plus, i don't have many pictures.)

On Friday night I went to Happy Hour with some people from work at Jim's house. I got to see Bella (remember Bella?) and she's gotten SO big! She looks like a lab, but just multi-colored. She still has SO much energy! I took a picture or two of her on my phone, but have no clue how to put pictures from my phone onto the computer. Help?

After happy hour, I made it to Bunko, hosted by the Lobos (another A-10 squadron here in Tucson). We had a really fun time! It was great to spend time with all the ladies and play a mindless game:)






On Saturday, I swear I spent all day cooking. I haven't cooked basically since Todd left, so I spent some time making a meal or two for myself:) I also made yummy dinner for Meagan Sackenheim and her cute boys, Matthew and Jacob. I must be rusty because cooking took me forever! Sheesh. I took the meal over to Meagan's and enjoyed spending some time with her.

I came back home fast to change clothes and then met up with Aslynn and Devin for Emily Case's Pig Fest West. We had an awesome time singing Karaoke allll night:)

Then we decided to climb into Emily's HUGE dog crate.



How many can fit?:)




It was a fun night, but sooo late again. Sunday morning came early! I spent most of the day Sunday catching up on work that I can never finish...ugh! 2 grad school classes this fall is not treating me well!

On Sunday evening, Aslynn, Devin, Michelle, Susie, Meredith, and I went to Sullivan's for dinner. It was super fancy and SUPER delicious! We had a great time together, and I'm so happy that we are spending time together to make this deployment go faster!:)










So, like I said....busy weekend. Hopefully this weekend I'll get some rest:)

Have you checked on your child lately?

So, if you happen to have a child in Afghanistan, you might want to check on him or her soon. There are several child-molester-ish men walking around. Including my husband. What am I talking about, you might say? Here I give you proof.....

That caterpillar growing on his upper lip is real. Be afraid. Be VERY afraid. I know I am.

**Disclaimer**

I am very proud of my husband, and all he does, but seriously, is the mustache necessary? I've been told the answer is yes.....I beg to differ.

Well, have a nap, THEN FIRE ZE MISSILES!

Sorry for the title....but I just couldn't help it:)

Anyways, Lynnie came to visit for Labor Day weekend! I'm so thankful that she flew all the way out here to see me! It was really nice to break the monotony and have someone to hang out with! Polly enjoyed it too:)

Lynnie arrived on Friday night and we ate some pizza and just hung out at home. Then on Saturday, we ran Polly and then went to see Julia and Julie at the movie theater. It was such a fun movie! Then we had a delicious dinner at El Charro:)

On Sunday we went to church and then drove south to the San Xavier del Bac Mission. It's a really old mission (late 1700s!) that was established by Franciscan Friars on the Tohono O'odham Reservation.





















Now, on for the reasoning behind the title of this post....

Then we drove just a few minutes further south and visited the Titan Missile Museum. The Titan Missile Museum is the only publicly accessible Titan II missile site in the nation. We toured the site and got to see the actual titan missile below ground! The titan missile is the missile that was ready to launch an atomic bomb at a moments notice during the cold war. There were only a few secret locations around the US, and this site is the only site open to the public for tours. When the bombs were dismembered after the cold war, the missiles were used to launch satellites into space. The tour was really interesting and we even got to take part in a simulated launch!


Where's the missile?




Oh, there it is....this photo is deceiving....it was HUGE!














We wished Todd could've been there! It was amazing!


On Monday we enjoyed a morning of hiking at Sabino Canyon. We only got lost a time or two, but overall it was a really fun day! Then we enjoyed dinner at Old Pueblo Grille...yum!







Lynnie left early Tuesday morning to head back to Florida. It was sad to see her go, but it was such a fun time while she was here! Thanks so much for visiting! View all the pictures from the weekend here.

Crud Tournament

So....about a month ago we (the Bulldog Spouses) got challenged to a Crud Tournament by the spouses of the other A-10 squadrons at Davis-Monthan. Crud is a game that the AF plays and it's impossible to explain. But, we couldn't take this challenge lightly so, we gathered all our wives and put together two awesome Bulldog Crud Teams! We practiced about once a week, gained an assortment of bruises, and officially learned the ridiculous game. It finally all came down to the big tournament last night! We had 4 teams total (2 from the bulldogs and 2 from other squadrons) and we all played each other once.

Here we all are before the tournament at the bulldogs squadron. We're sporting our awesome shirts that say "Our boys are flying, but we ain't crying"!




And....attempting to show the back!




Here's the front up close - my crud name is "Spike". A play on Todd's call sign - "Punch" - so now together we're "Spiked Punch". Haha!




And, you can't forget our intimidating tattoos!




And the games begin!

Here I am in blocking action. Don't ask about the rules...they're impossible to explain. Just know that the rules include full body contact and I have MANY new bruises to show for it.






And finally after the championship round....our other team took home the title! Go Bulldogs! Hopefully we made our husbands proud:)