BON VOYAGE!!

Wow... my "to-do" list never got shorter this week! A few things...

• pack up remaining things at apartment
• take remaining things to Goodwill -- how do I end up with sooo much stuff!?
• wives' club projects
• wives' club emails regarding projects
• laundry
• try to unpack and feel settled at home
• run errands
• pedicure -- very important, you know!
• work!
• take layla to aunt Amanda's
• dinner
• sleep...
• PACK for VACATION!!!
• talk to landlord

Not all of them got done. Some did. Not everything is on the list. Not crossing everything off my to-do list causes me great stress. But... it doesn't matter now!!

It's time for VACATION!!! WHO-HOO!!! =)

As you are reading this, our Carnival Cruise ship is pulling out of Jacksonville, FL for a fabulous four nights. Sailing into port in Nassau Bahamas as well as Freeport Bahamas! I am so excited. Bring on the fun in the sun!! (the weather this time looks much better than my last cruise!)

10 days off work. 10 days with Brian. Another cruise... a couple days in Arizona... a weekend in San Diego with dearly missed friends... aahhh. I wish it would never end...

Our Weekend

With BW home for our final countdown of weekends *sniff sniff* we are having lots of fun whenever we can! This weekend had potential for being not-so-fun and I was super stressed about it (as evidenced by the nasty canker sores in my mouth! ouch!!)... However, things turned out perfectly and we had a blast!
Friday I napped for a couple hours before the calls started coming in from the girls wanting to join me at our lazy river.. so I got up and headed out.. turns out no one else came over until BW got home from work and he and one of the guys came out, but I still had a nice day. I napped on my chair for a bit but quickly realized it was WAAY too hot for that, so I found a raft and started floating... and napping =) Woke up at one point to realize I had floated out of the lazy river into the main pool and some poor boy was pushing me back into the lazy river so I could keep floating in circles!! haha thanks, little buddy! =)
Friday night BW, myself and two of the other guys headed down to Savannah for sushi and went to The Wing to see a band I was super excited about. We had lots and lots of fun!!
Saturday we slept in... love those days! And then it was out for lunch and a couple things and back to the lazy river! Where else would one want to spend a gorgeous weekend?? I need to post some pictures of the river so you can understand why it is so amazing... Then Saturday evening one of the couples in the squadron had a cookout and we all went to their house to hang out for awhile before heading out to see a different band play in Bluffton that night. At the cookout I got to snuggle with Miss Siena our newest addition to the squadron =) She is about 3wks old and is adorable!!! It is always fun to snuggle with normal babies after seeing the ones I work with everyday.
Sunday... I think you can guess what we did =) Lunch and then lazy river for a few hours. We did have to spend Sunday evening at my apartment finishing up the packing and sorting for Goodwill. WOW, I accumulate a lot of stuff... and stuff I don't need! (but, I have learned that BW is the biggest pack rat of them all! The kid still has clothes he wore in high school and has not worn since then!!! Then again... he kinda reminds me of Vic... hmmm...) So we did lots of packing and moving.
Today I was able to sleep in some before having some wives' club things to finish up and a couple other things to do. It was great to text him at 11a and have him ask why I was up so early =) After a nap I went to the apartment again to load up my car with the Goodwill stuff before work so that all that is left to do is clean and take out the last bit of trash! Yay =) It is great to be done with all that because....

THURSDAY STARTS OUR 10 DAY VACATION!!!

I am so excited!! We will be....

Going on a 4-night cruise... Yes, I did just get back from one but I am going again! =)

(and canNOT wait!!)

Going to Arizona for a couple of days to visit his family...

Going to San Diego for a friend's wedding!

Wow... all in 10 Days! But it will be lots of fun and I am so looking forward to the time together.

Stand-by for fun pictures... **side note, my computer is broke =( so uploading pictures is difficult... but I will try to get the ones from this weekend up before VACATION!**

Summer Fun

I just realized it has been a really long time since I have posted anything... guess that means there is nothing super exciting going on... or that I have just been too busy to actually sit down and write anything =) probably a combination of both!
With BW and his squadron finishing up the last stage of work-ups (that goodness they are over!!!) the wives' club has been busy trying to get lots of "surprises" in the works for them while they are gone. I am so happy to be included in this wonderful group of girls and really am thankful for the support I have found in them (and will have during deployment) and the friendships that have been built. I look forward to the time we will be spending together while the boys are gone. As happy as we all are to have them home right now... I miss my girls and our dinners and times spent together!
BW came home last weekend -- who-hoo! -- and so we are now in our last few weeks together before the actual deployment. It's bittersweet... enjoying the time we have but knowing what it is leading up to, but then knowing that the sooner deployment starts the sooner he will be home again =) and learning to deal with the stress of many people pulling us in many directions as well as all the emotions we are both dealing with... whew! I spent the week before he got home packing up and getting things together to move up to the house in Bluffton where I will be staying while he is deployed. I wanted to have the majority of this done before he got home, and amazingly enough I did! (Even with working all week and picking up overtime shifts!) I was able to sell all my furniture from my apt on craigslist easily for the same amount I had spent on it, so basically was able to use it for 6 months for free! And BW and I are now working on getting things re-organized at the house so that I have room for my stuff while he is gone and his stuff that he is not taking will be put away. It's a daunting task, but we are getting there =)
I am so happy to have him home, and it has been great to get to see him every evening this week for dinner before I left for work... but I have to keep in mind not to get used to this, but I am still thankful for it! We have planned a great vacation for our time off during these weeks -- a cruise, some time in Arizona with his friends and family and then a weekend in San Diego for a friend's wedding! -- and I am looking forward to it. Standby for great pictures from that time.
Wow... I am exhausted all over again just reading through this post... what else is there to say? Basically I am just thrilled to have my honey home with me for now and am cherishing every moment I get to spend with him during this time!

I have also gained a renewed respect for my mom lately and the amazing relationship she and I were able to have (not to leave out the wonderful relationship my dad and I have built lately as well!)... I have been reminded that it is amazing when parents can reach a point where they realize their children have become adults and both parties are able to respect each other as adults. I appreciate my parents and they way they have always supported me and taught me how to have relationships and friendships with other people who are important in my life. Being reminded of this has made me miss my mom lately... some things I would love to talk to her about and vent with her about... I can only imagine her laughing and agreeing with me, I am Debbie's daughter, ya know!

Hope you are all enjoying your summer so far as well!

Girls, girls, girls

Unfortunately while I was on the cruise my camera battery died... I was sure I had packed my battery charger, but when I looked for it I could not find it anywhere*! So I relied on the girls to take pictures for me -- something that was very hard for me to do as I love taking pictures! So far I have not been able to get my hands on the pictures the girls took to share them, but one of the lady's at our dinner table was nice enough to email me this picture of Amanda, Candice and I at our last dinner on the cruise. We had lots of fun dressing up for dinner and I, of course, loved being able to have whatever my little heart desired off the menu! One of my favorite parts of the cruise =)

*turns out my battery charger was in my suitcase... right where I had put it... in the inside secret pocket that I never use! Great thinking, Jess, great thinking!

Thought I would also share a lovely picture of the ladies from the wives' club for BW's squadron, also known as the "WinderChicks." We had a little function this weekend and then had dinner to celebrate one wife joining us and another leaving. We have a great group of ladies and I am very thankful to be included in it (seeing as how I am not a wife... but that is a whole other post!).

Obviously I am not looking forward to BW deploying soon. However, I am thankful beyond words for the excellent group of girl friends that I have made and will have as support through this next step in our relationship. The friendship that I have built with Amanda and the girls at work is amazing and I am thankful over and over for it. She has been here for me in in ways that she definitely has not had to so early in a friendship, but boy am I thankful she has been! And I cannot begin to express what a blessing it is to be a part of a group of women like the WinderChicks and feel the connection that we have. Sure, you put that many women from all different backgrounds and beliefs together you are bound to have some drama... but for the most part we all get along and are very supportive of one another. I have built a very close friendship with Beth (sitting to my left in the picture) already and am so thankful for that as well. Yes this group of women, like I said, come from different backgrounds and do different things, but we are all going through the same thing with work-ups and the upcoming deployment. Some have been through deployment before (some many times) and a couple of us are on our first... but the support that is in this group lets me know we will all make it through.

All of this being said, I am still of course very thankful for the friends I have made who are spread across the country and cherish each of those friendships as well. Alicia is irreplaceable, and the understanding that we have with each other is unbelievable. The girls in Ohio (Lori, Dena, Jen) are fabulous and I always look forward to the times we are able to spend together. The friends I have in NC (Alix, Lisa, UNC girls, Erin) are wonderful and I hope to spend time visiting with them these upcoming months. And, of course my girls in San Diego are forever in my heart and I miss them dearly. The Navy friends I have met along this journey (Cara!) are unbelievable and I love you; you have taught me so much while watching you go through this journey too.

I am blessed.