We've had so much going on over the last few months, so get ready for a VERY long post!
Back in February, we attended the Hail & Farewell gathering at the CO's house. We had a great time and I was able to finally meet most of the wives, including the wives of the new CO and XO. We said farewell to some great families and welcomed the new families into HMM-268.
Stephanie and her daughter
Gathering for good food, drinks and conversation
Signing the plaques for the Marines leaving the squadron
Enough said!
Welcoming Captain "Mouth" Actis and his family
Welcoming the new XO, Major "Princess" Biehl and his wife
Saying farewell to Captain "Lenny" Hulsbus
And Captain "Penny" Thiessen
Farewell to Captain "Swang" Otterblad
Farewell to Major "Vato" Espinoza
And farewell to Major "Stretch" Toth
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Next week, Josh's squadron will have a change of command welcoming the new CO, Lt. Col. "Turtle" Blair and his family. We will be sad to see Lt. Col. Bufton and his family go. His wonderful wife Jeanie has been so kind and welcoming to me and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to meet her, even though we didn't get to spend as much time together as I would have liked. They are headed back to the east coast - we're a wee bit jealous (ha ha), but we wish them the best of luck and many blessings!
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In March, Josh had an opportunity to fly out to an air show in Tucson, AZ. They flew two CH-46's out and one of the birds was "retired." Below are some pictures from the aircraft graveyard where Dragon 11 was "laid to rest."
Taxiing to the aircraft graveyard
Josh thought it was really cool that he got to sign the bird. His "autograph" is written in red...you can click on the picture to enlarge it so you can see his signature.
Josh with the other pilot, Captain Steinmetz, and the crew chiefs, Cpl. Burnside and Cpl. Weekly
Cobras, Hueys and bombers
State Department aircraft
Miscellaneous aircraft
Tomcats
CH-46's (aka "Phrogs")
Josh says seeing this made him a little sad...awwww.
We thought we would include this picture...if you look closely you'll see that they sealed up the door to the aircraft with the stairs still down. We got a big kick out of this when we realized it!
Josh working the stand at the air show
Picture of Tucson from the hotel
The aircrew and pilots enjoying a night out!
Josh had a really great time at the airshow and I was glad he got to experience retiring a bird.
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Soon after he returned, on April 1st, he was promoted to Captain! Three years of hard work and training have paid off! But like his XO said at the promotion:
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"More responsibilities, less excuses!"
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Here are some pictures from his promotion:
Waiting for things to begin...
Taking the oath...
Pinning on Captain bars! I always get nervous when I do this, and mine usually end up crooked...ha ha!
"Speech, speech!"
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Now Josh has a new name...he's no longer Lt. Sweet Cheeks...he's now Captain Sweet Cheeks! Ha Ha Ha!
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The weekend following Josh's promotion, we decided to go on a Dolphin / Whale Watching Cruise. Our friend Nadia joined us for the adventure. We set out from the harbor in San Diego, and even though I was sure to take some dramamine before the trip, I still ended up pretty queasy. For that reason, some of the pictures you'll see below were taken from inside the ship.
Casting off...
Awwwww...
Ferries and boats in the harbor...although it was a chilly day, there were LOTS of boats out!
North Island Naval Air Station
If you click on this picture to enlarge it, you can see a submarine behind the black netting!
Point Loma - the southern most tip of Western US
Here's where we spotted the dolphins...
If you click on the picture above, you can see the dolphin just underneath the water. And I caught a picture of him just as he was diving back into the water. This dolphin swan beside the ship for quite a while...it was incredible!
LOTS of dolphins!
Click on both the top and bottom pictures and see just how many dolphins you can count...there were literally hundreds in this area...the captain of the ship said a great way to spot dolphins (especially while they're feeding) is to watch for the clusters of seagulls.
Although we didn't get to see a whale "surfacing" we were able to catch a picture of one spouting water.
Our captain said that the island pictured on the left above once housed a speakeasy during prohibition. Wealthy residents from the San Diego area would ferry out to the island for a night of partying!
Josh caught a plane coming in for landing...the airport is so centralized it looks like the plane is landing in downtown San Diego!
These guys are SO cute! I just feel bad for that one in the middle...he's going to have quite a stiff neck when he wakes up from his nap!
Again, click on this picture and you'll see what Josh was able to capture on the camera! I was really impressed!
Nadia and I putting on brave faces as we fight off the naseau!
The cruise was four hours long, and as much as we wanted to, we just couldn't muster the energy to tour the USS Midway when we came back into port. Looks like we'll soon take another trip to San Diego!
Nadia took this picture of me and Josh before we disembarked. It was a really fun day!!!
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As you're well aware by now, most of my posts include pictures of our latest projects around the house...this post is no exception...hahaha! We've done some painting around the house. We painted the kitchen and family room and finally finished the office last weekend. Josh built some shelves in the office and did a GREAT job! Take a look...
Even though the color looks darker in the pictures, it's actually a deep olive green
The finished product
And since I couldn't find artwork that I liked for the living room, I created some myself!
The office
Josh's Valentine's Day gift...a map of Catawba County circa 1886 - we can actually see the church where we got married on the map!
The GREAT shelves that Josh built! Don't they look so good?!?
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With the office finally being completed, Josh and I were able to unpack the last couple of boxes that were holding office pictures/supplies. Josh decided to build Siamman a "house" out of the leftover boxes and wrapping paper - these being two of Siamman's favorite things...boxes and paper! He loves his new little hideout!
Spring has finally sprung here in Wildomar...I think the dogs were starting to go a little stir crazy as evidenced by the picture below...
Enjoying a sunny day...
Here's a picture of the spring wreath my mom made when she was out last year...we love it!
And our lillies have finally started blooming! Here are a few pictures...
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I wanted to get a few videos posted of Josh flying but they kept slowing up this post, so I will be sure to get them on soon...I know many of you would love to see him flying.
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Josh and I are so excited to be going to Washington, DC over Memorial Day weekend for Thunder Alley. We will join my mom and stepdad along with my Uncle Hal and Aunt Patricia. We have wanted to go for years...of course, now that we're all the way across the country, that's when we decide to make it happen...hahaha!
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My cousin, Brandon, deploys for Afghanistan in two weeks. Please keep him and his wife, Jess, in your prayers. We want to see him come home safely!
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Please also pray for our friends Nathen & Nadia and Ricky, Maggie, Sonya and Audrey. Both Nathen and Ricky are currently in Afghanistan and we pray for their safe return home.
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Josh will be leaving on June 16th for training in Hawaii...I know, tough job, huh? He will be there until the beginning of August. I am going to miss him while he's away, but I'm glad he's getting this opportunity...maybe he'll surprise me and fly me out for an extended weekend...wink, wink! My dad plans to come out over the 4th of July and Josh's parents are travelling out during the first week of August, so I'll have some great company until Josh returns home. Of course, we're hoping he'll return soon enough to spend some time with his parents!
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We want to again thank all of you for your continued support and prayers. I hope you all know just how much it means to us...even though we're far from home, we carry your love with us wherever we go!
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Much love and blessings to all of you!
