funny

moving is done, now we're unpacking (almost done with that) and i hope to be decorating tomorrow after a trip to Kirklands and Hobby Lobby. We had some excitement and switcharoos with the house we were originally supposed to get: the morning of signing the landlord called and let me know that the foundation was leaking and basement flooded. no thanks!!!!!!! so by 1pm that afternoon, we had found a house 10x better for just $150 more a month and began moving in Wednesday. i'll update with pictures soonish!

birthday weekend

so i went back home for my birthday weekend and for a bridal shower of a friend. much fun was had. and as i'm sitting at work not feeling especially productive and anticipating the busy week of moving (and spending time with mom!!), i downloaded some pictures from my camera and feel compelled to add them to my bloggity blog.

Since the occasions are so rare that the three of us are in the same place at the same time, we always mark the occasion by taking a group photo. as we were under the influence of the deamon chocolate cake, we opted for silliness instead of the usual "ok girls, try and look skinny!"

Claire likes toes.

I love grandma :)

moving will commence tomorrow afternoon - i'll take pictures!

moving

so the plan to move into our new rental house off post at the end of the month has just been accelerated. the people currently living in our house are signing a lease for a house on post as i type. this means that they will spend the weekend moving OUT of their current house (my future house) and in theory, we will sign for the new house sometime towards the end of this week coming. anyone with a strong sudden desire to assist in the moving process next weekend is cordially invited to the Lansing/Leavenworth area - but realistically the party will consist of us, a couple of my friends up here and my parents (because they rock).
i dont know if there will be any painting involved, but it's possible. we will need to buy curtains, shower curtains, and to pay for the duct work and carpets to be professionally cleaned/disinfected.
in addition to the obvious excitement for a change of scenery, this move presents the relief that we have been longing for: life alone with just the two of us. although i dont know with 100% certainty, i am mostly sure that our squatters will not be making the move with us. please pray that this is how it works out. regarless, they will be gone by the end of the month, but i am hoping that they will opt to move only once - away. now. this will be the topic of discussion tonight at my house, as neither of us have had a chance to break the news to them yet seeing as we just found out this afternoon.
i will post pictures of the new casa as soon as i have any (or in reality, about a month after i move in...) it'll be great!

4th of July - pt. 2

so yes, i realize that 4th of july was about 3 weeks ago... whatever. here are some more of the pictures i took in my travels around post while waiting for the previously mentioned flag ceremony. it's so pretty here!
(my camera lense was foggy because it was really humid that afternoon, but it looks kinda cool)

Ft Leavenworth 4th of July - pt 1

So by far, the highlight of my 4th of July (other than spending it with my husband) was getting to watch him lead the ceremony to lower the Garrison flag. The Garrison flag is a special flag that has never been flown at Ft. Leavenworth, for some reason they chose this year to be the start of it and they flew it during the day - raising it at the morning trumpet call and lowering it during the evening trumpet call. It was MASSIVE!!!!! Above is a picture of it flying in front of the Lewis and Clark building, this is the college for all the officers. The ceremony was supposed to be well-attended by a bunch of Post dignitaries, but it wasnt. That's ok, it was still really cool.

This is when it was being lowered. Charles led the team, gave the commands, and folded the flag:


That's him at the beginning of the line standing in the middle - see, it's a BIG flag!! It took 12 people to fold and hold it.


folding...

now carrying it back to the start all folded up - it took up his entire trunk of his car when he returned it to the MP station.

cool huh?! :) I also drove around that day and took pictures of the cemetary and such, i'll post those some other time, i'm just distracting myself at work and thought i'd post these.

Cameron

so anyone who knows me will know how rediculously proud i am of my big brother. he has been in the air force for 11 years now and i wish i could say that i see him all the time, but i dont. once a year if i'm lucky. that being said, he's progressed quite well without my constant supervision and i have discovered in the depths of my 201 unread emails these pictures forwarded from our mom that he had taken.
background: as part of the cleansing process after his divorce, he came to realize that he was now free to pursue some of his dreams that had otherwise been pushed to the back burner by the presence of a wife and potential children. now living with minimal restrictions, he went for it! he began the process of applying to be a member of the Thunderbirds flight team. no, he doesnt fly, he is a communications guy - he has the opportunity to be the PR/communications guy for one of the most prestigous establishements in the world. If you're unfamiliar with how awesome this is, check out: http://thunderbirds.airforce.com/
so yes, my brother has a 99.9% chance to be a part of this "dream job". he will be based out of Las Vegas and will travel 280+ days a year, all over the world. at the end of his 2 year stint with the team, he will be given a ride with the team. $10 says he blows chunks.

and without further ado - here are the pictures he submitted as a part of his application packet. i have no idea what is stuck up his butt, but it's impressive all the same. i couldnt be more proud of his accomplishments and of the man he has become. he's come a long way from throwing tupperware at his little sister, he's a man and a member of the United States Air Force. he's the same rank my grandfather was when he retired and he's earned every speck of those stripes.