boot camp graduation

so i finally asked my father-in-law to send me the pics from brian's graduation 

so i got there 2 hours before the ceremony even started and then had to sit through an hour and a half ceremony while i was staring at the husband i hadn't seen for 2 months... needless to say i was anxious!

in fact the night before i could stand the fact that i was literally across the street from him and i could not go see him...it was agonizing! plus i was like a little kid on christmas and got like 2 hours of sleep cause i was far too excited!

anyway, as soon as they called for liberty i RAN to him

...well ran into a mass of sailors ...and then couldn't find him, but i did, don't you worry

and i leaped into his arms and didn't let go...it was the best feeling ever!

so anyway, without further ado:

finally in my sailor's arms! ♥  

and my favorite picture ever:

love ♥

my chicago weekend via blackberry

just popping in real quick you let you know about my weekend in chicago

i'll post more about the graduation when i get the pics from my father-in-law

bags packed ready to go!

about to take off!

the super cute hangers at the navy gateway inn and suites! oh my gosh! and can i just say comfiest bed ever! seriously though it was like sleeping on a cloud

hubs in in there somewhere! you have no idea how excited i was to see him! (and how hard it was to sit there for an hour and a half and not just run up and give him a hug)

at this ice cream place in great lakes...i was NOT playing lol!

at the airport waiting to send my sailor off to TX! ...at 3 am

ma sent me this...i missed my little punkin!

so when i made my flight/hotel reservations i wasn't sure when hubs was leaving and i wasn't planning on moving to texas then so i wanted to make sure i didn't leave before him so i could give him his phone (you had to do it at the airport) so he left at like 6am saturday morning and my flight wasn't until 10pm sunday night

luckily one of my best friend's boyfriends is in the navy and is stationed at great lakes!

this is them...aren't they cute!? (yes i stole this off facebook lol!)

we'll anyway he was super nice cause i had met him only once before (for like 2 mins) and he entertained me all saturday and sunday!

we went to a white sox game, for free! (technically i wasn't supposed to be free, only active duty military, but we said military tickets and showed my ID and i think the lady felt bad for us lol!)

on sunday we ate breakfast at this totally scrummy place in this cute little town (sorry i scarfed it down before i got any pics) then went for a walk through the town and on this little nature trail waiting for the train to get there

a heart shaped planter in the town

my fav house we saw...actually there was a better one but there were people there so i didn't take a pic cause that would be awk-ward!

me in front of this decorative gun thingy on base...he told me what it was a million times but i don't remember lol!

this awesome dinosaur skeleton statue at o'hare airport

the only pizza i had in chicago...at the airport lol!

and a funny convo with my taxi driver:

driver: they have a six flags in california?

me: ya, there's two

driver: no shit!?

me: yep, one in LA and one in the bay area

driver: so that (the six flags there) wasn't exciting for you?

me: oh no, there's lots of theme parks in california

driver: damn! they open year round?

me: uh...they sure are...

lol!

what i will be doing today...

i can't wait!

military wives club

two of my sorority sisters came over on monday

one of them, erin, i actually didn't really know (she joined the semester after i went alum) and the other was my good friend michelle

these two alpha chis are also military wives.  both of their husbands are in the army.

it was so great to get together with these lovely women and talk about everything we're going through and about to go through. we're all at different stages of this journey.

erin is at the beginning of boot camp

i'm almost through that

and michelle is at the beginning of a long deployment

we live in different places, have different circumstances, and our husbands are all doing different things

but we are all without them and we miss them

it has been so amazing to find so many women in this situation in my real life as well as through blogging, facebook, and twitter

it really is true that only another military wife can know what you're going through

i am so thankful for all of these friendships i have made as well as all of the sorority sisters i have (even those i have yet to meet) it is so great to have a common bond (whether military, sorority or both) to bring so many different people together

it's official!

i am married to a united states sailor!

brian passed his battlestations friday morning and i got a one hour call that afternoon!

i'm so proud of him and can't wait to see him on friday!

on this memorial day

so i have to say that today is the first year i've ever really thought about what this day really means

as a kid it was a warm day off of school that consisted of bbqs and possibly swimming

i knew it had something to do with the military but most of the time i would confuse memorial day and veterans day and could never remember which was which

as i got older i just never really thought about it. i didn't know many people who had been in the military and the ones close to me who had were out of the service long before i was even born

this year it hit much closer to home

because i never want to have to spend a memorial day remembering 

my husband's best friend,

one of my best friend's boyfriend,

my sorority sister's husband,

a girl i work with's father

a girl i used to work with,

the husband's of many wonderful friends i've met through blogging, twitter, and facebook,

the friends my husband has made at boot camp,

and the many more people we will undoubtedly meet and grow close to in the coming years,

and mostly, my husband

just thinking about it makes me cry

i pray that this day will never hit closer to home then is does now, but at the same time i know that there are many people out there experiencing all of those above loses, so i pray for them too

and hope that one day no one else will have to suffer with the loss of their loved one on this day or any other

i've seen the signs a million times but i've never so perfectly understood that the freedoms we have, cherish, and often take for granted truly are not free

thank you to all those who have served and continue to serve our country, and happy memorial day!

it does seem a little strange now to say happy memorial day, but i suppose you should be happy. this day shows us that time is valuable and possibly short so we should make the most of it

and i plan on doing that by writing a long letter to my husband, snuggling with my dog far to much and spending time with family and friends...at a bbq :)

i'm here without you

totally forgot about this song until i heard it recently while watching these awful (ok they're good but they make me blubber like a baby!) military videos on youtube and it's seriously the story of my life right now!

i think about you baby, and i dream about you all time <3

so i'm moving to texas?

so even though it's going to be a pain in the patootie

and even though we decided against it

i'm moving to texas for the 4 months that hubs is in a school

you see... hubby changed his mind and decided he wanted to see me every weekend

so it's either a $400 plane ticket every week or move

oh! and why the question mark?

did i mention i have a month to figure this out and move all by myself

so we'll see if i can really handle it

in other news lulu tried to climb up the wall today...i don't think she realizes she's a pug

wednesday wishes

the first one is the same as brooke's

one. for time to speed up till i see hubs again (and then slow down that whole day)

two. a call from brian

three. for the rain to go away and it to feel like may

four. a sketch like this from our wedding

five. for the laundry to magically do itself

be sure to check out the other wishes

so i've hardly touched the computer in days

and heres what's to blame:

well, actually it started with thursday, you see thursday is mail day round these parts

(round these parts? where am i from lol!)

anyway i happily skipped to the mailbox bright and early thursday morning

(ok it was 9:15, that's early for me)

waited for the mailman to finish, opened my box to find...

...nothing.

that's right, nothing.

my heart sank. mail comes every thursday

this is practically the only communication i have with my husband, i look forward to thursday all week

and there. was. nothing.

there was nothing friday

there was nothing saturday

and of course there was nothing sunday (i didn't check... thought about it though)

suffice to say i've been in a pretty mopey mood these last few days so that combined with my recent obsession with army wives on netflix i've avoided getting off the couch as much as possible

don't fret though, the heavens shined down and i got two sets of letters today

it seems hubs was so excited to send his letter last sunday that he rushed it out without putting our address on it. luckily he can now send letters out on wednesdays as well so i got both sets today

i may have cried when i saw them in the box

but i'll never tell :)

guess what???

exactly one month from now i will see the love of my life again!!!

(one month ago...aka last time i saw him)

and he will be in his dress whites i just can't wait!

this is snuggles

B got him for me on our very first christmas dating...in 2002!

the best part about snuggles is that when you squeeze his hand you can hear hubby's voice!

it used to say "merry christmas amanda" but i pushed it so many times the first quarter i was away at college (not to mention the amount of times i squeezed it the 2 1/2 years prior) that it stopped working

so we took it in to get a new one!

this is also when we got the hat and glove so he could look like hubby in this picture (also why the glove is wonky on his hand):

(sorry for the crappy photo i don't have a scanner and took this with my phone)

considering the amount of times i've squeezed snuggles hand today alone i have a feeling we might have to get another one by the time brian comes home.

be sure to check out...

the new lovebird pictures i posted over at my photography blog!

and and you might want to become a follower cause i have a ton more pictures coming soon

oh! and in other news i found the most amazing facebook page!

it's for RTC aka navy boot camp! and the post pictures!!! gahh!!! i check it like a million times a day no lie im so addicted! finding it totally made my life right now!

besides that fact that they post pictures so i might get a glimpse of my hubby they also answer any questions you have which is amazing! and! i've made some friends with husbands/fiances either in brian's division or with the same graduation date. It's great talking to people who know what you're going through!

anywho, i hope you all have a fabulous wednesday!