I Do...er, I Did....

...Watch the Royal Wedding, that is. :) Cole thought I was crazy. But after the date was announced many months ago, my good friend Amanda and I were talking about how intrigued we were by it and how much we wanted to watch it. Her husband was also deployed with Cole's unit, so we decided that, since the wedding would be taking place several weeks after the boys were home, that we would just take a little "momcation" to Hot Springs, AR and do spa and shopping (and as it turned out, LOTS of eating!) and then get a room and wake up early to watch the wedding. While the dad's played at home with the girls! HA! (she has a 9 month old...)

I am so mad that I didn't get ONE STINKIN' PICTURE of Amanda and I! Grrr! But here is a run-down of our little "momcation"......

We left the dads and girls on a playdate and headed south, about 45 minutes. We had a SWEET ride thanks to Amanda's father-in-law, who let us borrow his Porshe like this one:

Sweet, huh?!?!? We were both very sunburned, but SO worth it!!! :)

When we got to Hot Springs, we at lunch at Brickhouse Grill, then walked around for a bit and looked in some eclectic little shops- something that is a HUGE treat since we never could do that with two big strollers in tow. :) We had spa appointments at 3, so we soon headed to the Arlington Hotel for our hot baths and spa treatments:

This is the Arlington at night. I have stayed there a couple of times, and honestly I like hotels to be a little newer. :) But they have a nice spa and I love the history of the place. As I was soaking I was thinking about all of the generations that had been there before. Al Capone could very well have taken a bath in the same room I did! How cool! I got a bath, facial, and massage. And honestly felt like a new woman afterwards!!!

After we left the spa, we went to check-in at the Embassy Suites, a much more modern hotel. :) They have a complementary shuttle too! So we just valeted the car all night and used the shuttle service for dinner.

We had decided to go to PorterHouse for dinner, but our shuttle driver suggested the Fusion Cuisine place a few blocks away, so we decided to give it a shot. And OH MY GOSH we were so glad we did!!!! It was beyond ridiculously delicious!!! I mean really!!!! SO GOOD!!!! Amanda had fried Bree with Pesto on Bruschetta for an appetizer, and I ordered the beef lettuce wraps for my appetizer. We shared together and OH MY! I tried hard to save room for the main course, but it was HARD! For dinner, Amanda had the scallops (aka the BEST scallops ever!) and I had the fillet mignon. It was heavenly! Both were served on a corn pilaf type bed. I have no idea. But it was SO good!!! And they could actually cook a steak the proper way! Finally a good, really medium rare steak!!! Oh, how I want to go back! I ordered the suggested wine, a cab, to go with my steak, and Amanda treated herself to a glass of champagne. We were too stuffed for dessert, but I am sad about that because the other food was so good that I really wanted to try their dessert!!! Next time, for sure, no matter HOW full I am! ;) Of course, it was pretty pricey. But worth every cent. I promised Cole we could go soon for him. I think he was a bit jealous! ;)

My mostly finished meal. I snapped this with my phone and texted it to Cole. I just had to share with him too! HA!

Then we headed back to the hotel but decided to hit the hotel bar for a "nightcap." We were the only women in the bar- there were a TON of old dirty men there watching the draft. They told us that they were in town to work on the powerlines that were down from the storms. Apparently, Amanda and I need bigger diamonds in our wedding rings. Because they obviously didn't see them. HA! After making it clear we were only interested in a drink, we ordered and found ourselves a table away from the rowdy men. Cole made me promise to call him after we got back safely to the room- he said there is a serial killer in every bunch! HA! This is what I had at the hotel bar...

A chocolatetini! YUM!!!! Like 80% proof chocolate milk! HAHA! I don't drink much, and when I do it is usually wine. But I do love a good chocolate martini now and then!!! And so I treated myself! Glad I did too! Technically Amanda treated me. She bought the first (and as it turned out, only) round. That reminds me I owe her! HA! We have decided that royal wedding or not, our momcation needs to be an annual event!!!

I will post later about the wedding- what I thought about everything- but I was SO glad we woke up at 4:45 and watched it live. It was awesome watching history be made. I grew up watching William, especially after Diana died, so seeing him get married and be so happy, and to a woman that I just love, was super exciting!!!! Royals intrigue me!

On a totally different note: my thoughts and prayers are with all of those impacted by the tornado's. We are all too familiar with their destruction, and I pray for a calm rest of the storm season.

I am still alive! HAHA!

Well tomorrow will mark one week since Cole has been home, and I must say, it has been (mostly) blissful! HA! We are still in that time where even his (and my) annoying little habits are fun and cute! It is kinda like meeting and dating all over again. Except you share a home and a child and a marriage. Very unique experience- this military life! I don't really know what to share or have the energy to share. Mostly because my brain is still trying to process all of the change that has and is taking place in my life right now. It is so hard because for a year, your entire life is on hold, stagnate. And then in one moment- the moment he steps off that plane and into your arms, things start happening SO fast!!! It is just crazy! But a good crazy! I thought I would share some pictures with you...these are by no means all of the pictures I have. In fact, these were all "stolen" from my mil or friend's facebook page! HA! But I wanted to share something with you, and I haven't even downloaded from my camera yet. These were taken friday night. We went to Macaroni Grill with my parents and Cole's mom and stepdad for Steve's (his stepdad's) birthday. We had so much fun and it was awesome to have Cole there!!! I missed him SO much, especially on nights like that one!

I *actually* see more of me in this one!

This girl LOVES her Daddy!!! (and who can blame her?!?! He is amazing!)

LOVE

She cannot get enough of his face!!!

My friends Kara and Amanda with me (I have no idea where I was looking! HA!) The wives of our unit are all awesome, but these two ladies in particular are a big reason I made it through this year with my sanity intact!

Amanda and I, with Ava and B. B is about 5 months younger than Ava, and we do playdates all the time! We just love these girls, and they are so fun to watch together!!!

Those pictures were taken right before the guys got home. In a rare Army occurrence, the plane was about 15 minutes EARLY so I am glad we got there when we did. It was SUPER crowded!!!

Wanna Know a Secret?!?!?!

COLE IS HOME!!!!

Okay now first, Cole is my wonderful husband.

Second, he has been gone for the last 12 months (that is a YEAR folks!) to Kosovo on a multinational peacekeeping taskforce. He has also spent year + long deployments in Bosnia and Iraq. He is a Blackhawk Medevac pilot, and a TRUE American Hero. Like he has SAVED lives!!! So proud of him!

Third, I really really don't like deployments.

and Fourth, I am SOOOOO sad that I don't have pictures. So sad. I think my mom got some. But it was super crowded where they came in, and we were just too overwhelmed to get any! BUT you can read a story about it here...the picture is of our sweet friends, the Beene Family. Their baby girl was born just a couple of weeks after Ava.

I will write ALL about it- and answer any questions you have so post them here!- soon, promise! Right now I am going to go enjoy time with my husband before I wake up! ;)

Land of the Free, Because of the Brave

So my big secret can be reveled on Wednesday!!! YAY! I may not get to it until Thursday or Friday. But I promise to at least do a quick "here is what it is" for those who still don't know! Which of my 39 followers, MAY be two! HA! And for those two or three, this post is a big hint. HINT HINT... Anyway, I just wanted to post this, because I think as Americans, so many of us take our freedoms for granted. But they are not free. Brave men and women have fought and some have died for that freedom. And we tend to only thank them on the 4th of July. But we owe our freedom to them (and the LORD) all 364 other days a year too! There are so many cliche-y sayings about the military, and while I shudder and nearly get sick at such campiness, some really have such truth if you can look past the over usage on t-shirts and bumper stickers! (not to put you down if you HAVE a shirt or bumper sticker with one of these on there. I am just personally not into things like that...). Two that really hit home for me are these... * All gave some. Some gave all. *Only two people have ever died for you- Jesus and the American Soldier I think because until you are in the position to love a soldier, to kiss him goodbye and not know when, or if, you will ever see him again, that sacrifice- while you may still be grateful and thankful- isn't fully realized. I just don't think that it is possible to be. Anyway, please please please remember to pray for our troops and their families. We have military families all over this country that are missing their soldier for our freedom, and soldiers in dangerous countries all over the world who are keeping our homes safe and making this world a better place. and because so many entertainers (I hesitate to call them all singers! HA!) obviously don't know the words to our National Anthem, I wanted to make sure you did....and while you are there, you can learn about flag etiquette. Something that seems lost on so many these days! GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!

Not Doing....

So here I sit, in our office, at the computer, not doing what I know I should/need to be doing. Really, what I HAVE to be doing. We found out today that our big event (you know the worst kept secret that some are still- amazingly- clueless about that we have been waiting for a year for) will most likely be Wednesday. That is less than a week. LESS.THAN.A.WEEK!!!!! AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! I am literally like a kid before the best Christmas ever! BUT, I really have SO very much to get done before next week happens.

• I have been to the salon.


• The dogs have been groomed.


• The baby has been bathed. Okay, we have bath time every night. But still, she is clean and pretty every day!!!

But the house is a WHOLE different story!!! I was telling a friend who is also having the same big event happen the same day that my house is a disaster and that I have so much to do. She didn't believe me. Oh, if she ONLY knew. ONLY KNEW. SOOOOO.... As motivation for myself to get my clean on, I have decided to ***GASP*** post pictures of the disaster known as my home. YIKES. So here goes, in random order, the BREWER DISASTER:

Oh, the office. The catch all place to be. Every bill and paper passes through this place, and it LOOKS it!!! YIKES!!! And if you knew the last time I vacuumed this rug, I would really die of embarrassment. Awful.

Dining Room. YIKES again. Birthday party planning for Ava has taken over!!! Most of the stuff on the table is related to that or our new roof. It is office spill over. You can see where we eat (which might give you a hint of what the big day is), since I have yet to clean up Ava's lunch mess!!! hAHA!

I will say, the kitchen looks worse than it is. I can have this kitchen perfect in 20 minutes. Not that I WILL, but I could if I wanted to... ;) It is mostly just messy and cluttered, and I am too tired at this point to care much. MUST-CARE!!! HA!

Living room. Really not bad. But the TOYS! Oh the TOYS. They are taking over!!! Some days, I feel like I live in a toy store. And that is NOT a good thing. I like feeling like I live in Hobby Lobby, not ToysRUs!!!

Bedroom. Not too bad. Aside from the bed. And the dog beds are SO bad and their replacements are actually sitting in the kitchen floor as I type. Another thing I need to do! :) I am thinking about donating the old ones to an animal shelter. I know they ask for old blankets- do they take old (but still usable, just a little raggy and worn) beds??? Oh yes, and cleverly hiding from me behind the bed is 2 baskets of clean laundry to be folded. Sigh....

I am seriously so happy this day is almost here. But I am feeling overwhelmed! And I tend to shut down a little bit into panic mode. I will get out of it. But for now, I am just having a little freak out! I hope that my TOTAL embarrassment of showing you what my house looks like right this second will be enough to get me going for after pics! HA! We shall see..........

***Sorry the pictures are so bad. I love my iPhone, but the camera is horrid!