Photobooking Virginia

One of the things that I'm slowly learning about military life is how to embrace each spot that we are placed,but also how to let go of it in a positive way when it is time to move on. I'm not great at documenting life. Scrapbooking was never really my thing, I don't print out pictures like I used to, my journaling is sporadic, and I tend to get overwhelmed trying to keep up with documentation. In the past, when I've tried to organize memories, they just end up as half-finished projects sitting in boxes.

One thing I decided I must document, though, is each home that we live in. I know that through the course of Keagan's military career (and maybe even after that), we will live in many homes. I want to remember each place for what it is- a place for memories, growth, and life. I decided that the easiest and most efficient way for me to do this would be to create a small photobook of each house. Throughout the time that we live in each place, my goal is to take pictures of every room, the scenery of the neighborhood, places we visit, and everyday moments. I try to capture pictures of what made each place feel like home to us. Then, after we move I force myself to sit down for however long it takes, and put them into book form.

 I'm kind of bad at it. I've realized that I am way too picky when it comes to designing photobooks. It's hard for me to narrow down pictures to only the ones with the most meaning. It's hard for me to arrange them in a layout and order exactly how I want them without spending an insane amount of time on the project. It drives me crazy, for almost a full day, but then it's done.

So far, I've been so happy with the two books I have made. I love flipping through them and remembering the beauty of each place. I'm excited that someday if we have kids, they'll be able to open the books and know about each place that we've been. I feel that where we've been and what we've done is something to celebrate and cherish, so I'm glad that I have these reminders of our life in each place.

For both of our books so far, I've used Shutterfly's 8 x 8 hardcover book. I decided that I'd always go with whatever site offered the best coupon or deal at the time, and so far it's been Shutterfly both times. Now that I'm used to their system, I might stick with them. Plus, I kind of like the uniformity of the books. Shutterfly's photobook system is pretty easy to work with, once you figure out it's kinks. I've gone the custom route (because I'm picky, remember) both times, but using the Autofill feature would work great too, I'm sure! I probably spent a full day on each book, but to me, it's worth it.

This time around, I altered things a little bit. Instead of just including pictures of our house/yard, like I did in Iowa, I included a cover page with "key phrases"- events that happened/memories while we were in Virginia. I also added a couple pages of pictures of "life" in the back. Since I've accepted the fact that I probably won't get around to documenting our lives in a bigger way, I figured a couple extra pages of pictures (even if they aren't related to our house or apartment) would be worth it.

 Check out a digital version of our Virginia book below!
If you're interested, here's a link to our Iowa book.

Click here to view this photo book larger

The new way to make a photo album: photo books by Shutterfly.

So far in Florida...

It's not as sunny as we expected. We've had a lot of rain and a couple of thunderstorms.

I'm amazed at how much sand gets trampled into our apartment.

We're laughing at how often we get teased for how we dress. Apparently 60° is not as warm as we think it is back home.

Keagan has not started Introductory Flight School yet (thanks to some miscommunication...of course). His start date is unknown.

Keagan has consequently been playing a lot of Halo. :)

We found a big Baptist church to attend.

We're slowly picking up Alabama accents thanks to the radio...

I'm spending a lot of time talking to customer service representatives. I think working as one last year makes it harder for me to sit through some of their antics..

We're laughing at the absolutely hideous military-issued glasses that Keagan is lucky enough to wear and realizing how expensive glasses really are (neither of us have had glasses before).

I'm trying to find a good recipe with churizo. Two have been disappointing so far.

We're fighting over the leftover guacamole.

I'm loving having extra time to read (for fun!) while waiting for my next class' book to come in the mail.

We're watching Parks & Rec, Modern Family, The Middle, and How I Met Your Mother. (I've never watched this much TV before!)

I'm trying to remind myself that having to paint everything back to white in a year or so is a very good reason not to paint the entire apartment...

I'm trying not to give up on the 1000 piece puzzle in the corner of our living room.

We're enjoying a year without a winter, although we might miss it eventually.

We're content with where we're at and making the most of the phase we're in.

Zulu Meets the Gulf of Mexico

It's pretty obvious that I've become a little bit of a crazy dog lady since Zulu came into our lives, but seriously, I've been amazed by how much joy a little creature can bring to a human's life. So, I'm sorry if you're getting bored of hearing about our dog or seeing the million pictures I take of her, but I simply can't help it. She's the most exciting part of our lives. ;)

On Tuesday, we decided to take advantage of a sunny (and fairly warm) day and took Zulu to the beach on base. We've enjoyed visiting this particular beach because it is quiet, relaxing, and because it reminds me a little bit of the beach in Anne of Green Gables...


This was Zulu's first time on the beach, and it was obvious that she loved it. When we let her off the leash, she ran as fast as she could, kicking up the sand, and chasing birds. She even got brave enough to take a dunk in the water- unfortunately, she was a little shocked by a cold wave swallowing her up. She got out of the water as quickly as she ran in.

It was nice to get outside and enjoy a little sun. We enjoyed sitting, relaxing, laughing at Zulu, and watching planes and helicopters fly around. Being on a military base is fun. Keagan is very anxious to start his next phase of training, but hey, getting to enjoy afternoons like this makes the wait a little less unpleasant.

Battleship Memorial Park

One thing (of many things) that is awesome about being married to someone in the military? Gaining new interests. Before Keagan and I started dating, I rarely set foot in museums, much less military museums. Military history was just eh to me. Sure, I thought it was alright, but I would have never gone out of my way to learn more. Now, thanks to Keagan's interests and career choice (and always living close to military installations), I've developed a whole new appreciation for all things military. Marriage is cool like that.

Last weekend, we got in the car, turned on NPR, and journeyed to Mobile, AL (we only live15 minutes from the Alabama border) and visited Battleship Memorial Park. The park is free to visit for active duty military and offers a discounted rate for any guests of an active duty military member. The biggest attraction of the park is probably the USS Alabama, but the park also offers a hanger filled with military planes, an old submarine to tour, and military aircraft and tanks scattered throughout the outdoor portion of the park.

Walking into the USS Alabama was like taking a step back in time to the WWII era. We were able to tour both the outside and inside of the ship. The rooms were set up with props (and original memorabilia); it was almost like we were on the ship as it was in the 40s.

 We were able to see sleeping quarters (some just in the middle of the hallway), cafeterias, bakeries, doctor offices, dentist chairs, chapels, and post offices. It's amazing how ships can be their own floating villages. I decided that as much as I appreciate that time period and find it fascinating, living on a ship would get old fast. I don't think one could survive as a claustrophobic sailor.

 As I mentioned, we were also able to tour an old submarine. If I thought it'd be hard to be claustrophobic on a ship, a submarine would be way worse. I couldn't believe how tight everything was packed. Yet, it was still very interesting to see what life on a submarine would be like.

 The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering through the park as Keagan quizzed me on the names of tanks and aircraft (I failed...). Nevertheless, it was interesting to hear stories about the different models and when they were used. My husband's knowledge of the military always surprises me. Someday I'll remember which tank is which, Keagan. Someday.

Get Engaged When You're 23...Or Don't.

If you have any Facebook friends around 20-25 years old, you've no doubt seen this post 23 Things to Do Instead of Getting Engaged When You're 23 being passed around. And then, you saw a few counter-posts explaining why getting married at a young age is awesome. And then...you got sick of seeing it all.

Honestly, I'm tired of hearing how getting married young is a mistake and on the other side, how waiting to get married and settle down is stupid. Are we really that shallow that we have to ridicule others for their relationship status? Each and every relationship (and person) is very different, marriage is a huge decision, and we don't need to throw labels on each other based on that. For some, getting married young is the answer. For others, there's nothing wrong with waiting. The right thing to do is not universal.

When we got married, I was 21 and Keagan was 22. We heard our fair share of negative and positive comments, which was totally weird. I never expected my peers to flat out tell me I was "stupid" and "wasting my life." Honestly, at times I felt very self-conscious about getting married young. I had to remind myself to focus on the encouragement from friends and family and the reasons why we decided to marry when we did.

In regards to some of the comments in the article, our marriage was not a cop-out. It was a decision that we took very seriously. I met the guy that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, we sat down and talked about the future, and came up with a plan that benefited our future together, not our lives separately. That's what we wanted. We both knew that Keagan would soon move across the country for the Marines and I was not interested in spending years living across the country from each other until we reached the "Proper Age to Marry." Would we have been fine waiting to get married? Yes, probably. Am I glad we got married when we did? Absolutely! I would have missed out on an important part of my husband's life and those years apart are something I would have hated to waste. And Vanessa, I'm not hiding behind a significant other instead of dealing with life's highs and lows on my own. If I hadn't gotten married when I did, you know what I'd be doing? I'd be finishing up my second year of grad school for a career that I wasn't passionate about. I'd be living comfortably in my home state, not taking any risks. Because we got married, I had to give up a "plan" that I had originally created to keep me comfortable. Because we got married, we came up with a new plan and now I've lived in 4 states in the past two years. I've learned that things I once valued and based my worth off of were unbalanced. I'm still learning who I am and what my dreams are, and probably will continue doing that for the rest of my life. And you know what? That's okay. I've got someone who is committed to that journey with me for the rest of our lives. That's one of the best things I could ever imagine. It's what I needed and what worked for us.

That was our situation. That might not be everyone's situation. And that's okay. Get married before 23. Or don't. Make that decision and don't think that your decision is the only one.

Shoes overflow the hallway rug that doesn't really fit in a very convenient spot.

Dog food is pebbled across the floor and miscellany peeks out of a not-so-discreet tote.

Like the blanket tossed on the floor and the mess of cords in the corner, not everything is perfectly pretty or put away.

But it is our home. 

And we're living in it.

To me, that's beautiful enough. 

As I think about home tonight, I also think about warmth. I think about safety, and comfort, and clean dishes drying on the dish-rack. I think of recently folded laundry sitting on a dresser, hamburger thawing in the fridge for tomorrow night's supper, and a food supply that is never lacking. I think about the smell of Christmas-y candles burning, creating cozy contentment and relaxation. I think of the rare Florida chill that requires a knitted blanket draped over my knees. 

Tonight, the temperatures are dropping to dangerous levels in much of our country. Tonight, we'll go to bed under warm sheets with the luxury of a furnace running. Tonight, our needs (and wants) are taken care of. 

I am thankful.

Okay, Okay.

 So, what is it about sitting down and writing a blog entry after a blogging break that makes it so hard? So much has happened that it seems silly to pass by without mentioning it, but then again, so much has happened that it's pretty near impossible to catch up. But hey, I've gotta start somewhere, so I'm going to sit down, get something out on the blog and we'll go from there.

We have now lived in Florida for a month. A month. That seems crazy. We did spend 11 days of our time on the road and back home for Christmas, so I guess that's how it went so fast. But wow, a month. And slowly...it's beginning to feel like home.

We spent the first couple of weeks here getting organized, settled in, planning a trip "home" and exploring the area. We have been working a little harder on making this apartment feel like home, since we might actually be here longer than a year. Keagan starts Introductory Flight School on the 15th, so up until now he's just been reporting to base for formations, PT, miscellaneous duty, and medical appointments.

We finally got our internet set up! Between our new internet company and some issues with our apartment, I played middleman until it was finally worked out. Not having internet at home was okay, sometimes, but when you're an online-student who just moved and has a lot of loose ends to tie up...it means a lot of trips to the library (or a fast food parking lots). Because I didn't want to spend forever and a day on my internet-trips I simply did my classes, paid the bills, did some Pensacola research, and checked to make sure nothing Earth-shattering happened on Facebook without my knowledge.




We went home for Christmas! It was so nice that Keagan's training schedule worked the way that it did, so that we could use his leave and see both of our families for Christmas. We packed up our car and left at 5 PM the Monday before Christmas, and arrived in Iowa on Tuesday. The nearly 20 hour drive through the night was not the most fun we've ever had, but it is the first time we've gotten to drive across the country in the same car. We were so grateful for the time with family and friends. It went so fast, but it was a refreshing reminder of how blessed and thankful we really are for our lives on both ends of the 20 hour drive. (Even if one end is really cold, makes your skin dry, your hair full of static, and gives you an instant cold).

We got home, unpacked, got back on "schedule", had dinner with some friends, and then spent a couple of days doing a lot of laying around. Unfortunately, we've both has a bit of a stomach bug the last couple of days.

And now, it's a new year. I almost sat down on the first and wrote a crazy-reflective post, but I figure there's enough of those out there already, so I'll keep it short. As we look back on the last year, it's been busy, crazy, exciting, challenging, and wonderful. We've lived in three states, Keagan finally got to start his long-term goal of becoming a Marine Aviator, I have been exploring new goals, we've spent valuable time with family, and made wonderful new friends. God has protected us, led us, and taught us so much through the experiences and that's why for 2014, I'm keeping my goals simple. Instead of focusing on me and what I want to accomplish, my goal is to leave my heart open to whatever he wants to teach me and use me for. This year might be a little less "exciting" and "hectic" than the last, and I'm ready for the change of seasons.

-Wishing you all a fresh and wonderful start to 2014!

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