Back in Cape May!

We're back and it feels SO good! We are officially counting down the days until Greg comes home! Coming home there were two things I was dreading; the flight and grocery shopping (haha). So...

The Flight...
     ....went AMAZING! I took a chance when I got to the airport and kept Noah's car seat with us in hopes to have an extra seat. Well, my hopes and prayers came true and the middle seat happened to be open! I gave Noah a ring pop for take off and landing for his ears which worked out pretty well...messy...but well! Noah slept the first hour of the flight and then stayed awake until we were literally landing. During the flight, he ate A LOT, we played with toys, read books, and ate a little more. We only got up once to stretch our legs. We walked up and down the aisle a couple times and spent some time in the back with the flight attendants.

The Grocery Store...(Dun Dun Duuun) - I always have the urge to say that when bringing up the big "G" word!
     ....went better than I thought it would. When I go to the store, I always need to be in a good mood and not in a hurry. My bag was packed with treats and Noah did fine. Of course I had to run after him a couple times but it went well. We were there for an hour but the good thing was that it wasn't very crowded.

Moving on...
Hmm what have we been doing? Well time is officially in slow motion right now. Catching up with neighbors and friends has been our main focus. Keeping Noah busy at the park helps make time go by a little quicker. Although I hate living life that way, all I want is to see Greg so we are doing everything we can to make time fly. The weather has been okay. The humidity and stickiness is definitely something to get use to. There have been a couple days that have been less humid where we have stayed outside and played until 8 at night. A neighbor that moved right after we left for California gave us their water table so that has helped keep Noah cool. Our backyard is practically dirt/sand so he gets pretty dirty but what ever keeps him from having heat stroke, I am all for! I've been working on our front yard a little bit considering it was filled with weeds and I'd like Greg to be somewhat proud of me haha. ;)

Speaking of GREGORY!
I received an email from him last night and I could not be MORE proud of him. He took his Boards test and passed with flying colors. They said that he did really well, so I think they were impressed with Greg. He's pretty much amazing at what he does :) lol. I am so proud of him, I wish I could jump up (yes he's a foot taller than me) and give him a big hug. We will have to do some celebrating when he gets back...which is SOON!!!
He had told me recently that he was going to have duty on the day/night he gets back and I was so bummed! I can't believe I have to spend an extra night without him!! BUT then he passed his board SO may be things will change. The other part of me hopes that he has duty that night because then he will be around for some upcoming events on base. So it's basically a catch 22/bittersweet ;) I just miss my hubby and want him here NOW!

Alright, on to the photos :) Warning: Crappy photos! I sent my camera in to get fixed yesterday so fingers crossed I will get it back sooner than later.

Airplane Ride: Sleep, Eat, Play, Be Silly :)

 I asked Noah what his name was and he points to himself and says (in his own little gibberish) "Noah!"

 I got Noah this little car for $10 from someone on base. He loves it and is just starting to figure it out.

Watching the Recruits run by (thanks neighbor for the photo!)

I remember being so excited to see the videos and photos of Greg running at boot camp! 

Like these...(Always a proud wifey over here!)

We've been working on playing catch so Daddy can see :) 

Getting better and better!

Before I end..some of you know I have been having issues with Noah's sleeping since we have been back. Noah seems to be afraid to go to sleep in his crib unless I am laying right next to him. Well I finally came up with a solution that I am working on. I have been putting Noah down to bed and telling him to lay down and that I am right there. Every day I get further and further away from his bed. I am now sitting outside the door telling him I am there and he goes right to sleep. So I feel like it is working out. My only problem now is that he is waking up more in the middle of the night. I know it's just a phase so I am just going to go with it, especially considering we have only been back for a week.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

What is OPSEC?

OPSEC stands for Operations Security. Basically, it protects US operations, whether it be planned, current, or completed. In order for operations to be completed it must consist of secrecy and surprise so the military can accomplish the mission more quickly and less risky. In order for

Don't discuss current or future destinations/port of call/deployment bases.
Don't discuss current or future operations or missions.
Don't discuss current or future dates and times of exercises or missions.
Don't discuss readiness issues and numbers
Don't discuss specific training equipment.
Don't discuss people's names and operations.
Don't speculate about current or future operations.
Don't spread rumors about current, future, or past operations or movements.
Don't assume the enemy is not trying to collect information on you; he/she is.

OR a Cute Way of Putting It...  (Click to View Larger)

OPSEC is taken very seriously and it FREAKS me out that I may say something wrong. So now you know...I will not be going into details for the safety of my man ;)

The 4th of July

Hope everyone had a nice 4th of July! We spent July 3rd in Sebastopol with my brother and his family. It is tradition for the little ones to have a lemonade stand and the profit goes to buying fireworks! Very cute idea! My niece, Kennedy (12), has been doing it since she was very little and has passed the torch to her little brother Caden (5) and their cousin Charlotte (6). Noah joined them later in the day ;)

 My Niece Sophie :)

Sebastopol Fireworks were great! We watched them from my Sister-in-Law's Mother's house. Noah loved the fireworks. Every time he heard the big boom, he would laugh. It was adorable! So happy he liked them! 

Before going to Sebastopol, we took my dad's boat out to Berryessa for the first time this summer to make sure everything was running before we go on vacation in Clearlake. Everything ran very smoothly and Noah enjoyed the ride as well! His favorite thing to do is "drive" the boat ;) 

On the 4th, I must say, I had a pretty relaxing day! Noah took a 3.5 hour nap! I normally wouldn't let him sleep that long, but he was up so late the night before, I decided why not?? I talked to Greg a little bit through text. They stopped off just to get gas and were not allowed to get off the boat. He sounds well. Honestly, nothing really new with him. He's ready to get off the boat and enjoy some time off on land. They have only spent about 5 days on land out of 38! I should be hearing from him again soon! The night of the 4th we joined the neighborhood for a block party. Lots of kids, food, drinks, and nice people! 

 Taking a Ride with Colton 

 Fireworks with Grandpa. We felt like we were at the actual firework show! 

Pretty impressive! 

Definitely missed Greg this 4th of July. The days are getting harder with Greg not around. I miss him so much, I'm grateful that the day is getting closer..just not close enough! I feel so spoiled being in California with all the help. Noah is one lucky boy. WE are lucky to have family all so close! We have enjoyed our time here, but I am looking forward to being back in Cape May. Getting back means getting super close to seeing Greg! Unfortunately it is extremely HOT over there which I am not looking forward to! I'm excited to see our friends too and get back into the groove of things. Fingers crossed my house isn't covered with critters!! :) We go back a week from Tuesday. Tomorrow we are off to Clearlake for a week, then we will be frantically making our rounds saying good bye to everyone. Not quite sure when we will be back. Greg is waiting to get into A School which happens to be in.....PETALUMA! Ha crazy! So we are hoping January/February. I hope I can keep you all a little more informed on Greg, but I can't say much on here. (See today's blog on OPSEC) :)


Have a Nice Weekend! :)

These Boots are Made for Walkin...

Thought this was so cute this morning. He wanted to wear Grandma's boots!

California Dreamin

So, we have been in California for almost 3 weeks now and have stayed extremely busy! I can finally say that things have slowed down a bit and I am able to relax a little bit more.

I have been hearing from Greg every couple days and he sounds like he is doing great. Looks like he is the lucky one for not getting seasick.  The weather has been raining constantly since they left Key West, FL. The weather got pretty bad that they ended up cancelling the training down in the Mexico and are heading back to the states. Plans keep changing so he doesn't really know where he is going (plus if I knew, I couldn't really tell you!) ;). The waves have been about 10 foot swells so the boat is definitely rockin! The past couple days he hasn't really been sleeping due to the weather. Last night his head kept hitting the wall or his feet would fall over the bed. He is on the top bunk (of 4), so that would be a pretty long fall! Once he gets to port, I'll try to get him to send me some photos so I can post some for you guys :)

Anywho, these past weeks have been busy and I thought I'd share some photos :) Although, most of you have probably already seen them on My Facebook :)

To start off...as maybe most of you know already, our flight to California was HORRIBLE. Noah was very congested and cried the almost the whole 5.5 hours! Yikes! It was pretty bad. I am pretty sure his ears were hurting so at one point, I took him to the bathroom and changed his diaper and let him cry hard (that sounds so mean) so his ears would pop. The last hour on the plane was much better. Lesson Learned: 1) No more Nonstop flights 2) Daytime flights are better than nighttime. (Noah was so tired, he just wanted to go to sleep but couldn't get comfortable). So here is my happy child with grandpa getting our luggage.

Once we got into town, the wedding events started! My Sister's wedding was absolutely gorgeous! She looked beautiful! 

Rehearsal Day!

Jihan Cerda Photography is AMAZING

Swimming at the Pool

Took a trip to the Academy of Sciences with my dad, brother and his fam :)

Our trip to Lake Berryessa was a good time as I talked about in the last post...

Yesterday we went to the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma. Noah was too small for all the rides except the Carousel and Train. He loved them both! He had so much fun with the rides and just running around. He is really starting to become a big boy! He is even starting to listen to me! ;) 

I must say staying busy is extremely good for us but of course I can't help but miss Gregory every day. All the things we have done have been so fun, but obviously would be even more fun with him around. I am just glad he is doing well and staying safe. Can't believe we still won't be seeing him for over a month! Ugh, staying busy is one thing, but time is still going by too slow for me! To end this "oober-long" blog, I thought I would end with this... 

Sorry Babe, hope you don't hate me for this! It's just so cute! Noah loves watching Daddy before bed. It actually makes him more hyper but it's so cute! He jumps up and down when he listens to it! Hope this makes you smile! :)

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend!

Happy Father's Day!

Although Greg wasn't home for Father's Day, I am so happy that Noah and I made sure to celebrate Father's Day before he left. We definitely missed him A LOT, but he celebrated in his own way in Key West, Florida; Kayaking and Snorkeling!! That's a pretty good day! As jealous as I am, I know he deserves it 100%! Greg has been gone for 18 Days (wow seems like WAY more), and has been on the boat 17 of those days. That's a lot of work, so getting a day off, on LAND, is definitely what he needed!

Every night, Noah and I watch Daddy's good night videos. One is just as I said; Greg saying good night. The second one is a video of Greg reading (well, rapping) the book Pajama Time, by Sandra Boynton.

A little distracted by my phone light shining on him but he loves dancing to daddy's rap! haha.

I hope everyone had a nice Father's Day. We spent the weekend at Lake Berryessa with the Busick fam and had a great time! Noah enjoyed the water and playing with all his relatives! :) Then spent Sunday night at my brother's house for dinner and some play time! (Warning: Photo Overload!)

Relaxation Station was a HIT!

Grandad and Noah <3

 Driving the Houseboat!

With Noah's Great Grandad and Great Gram

 Cousin Sophie :)

Eating Father's Day Dinner with the boys

  Playing in the Sandbox with his Cousins

Grandpa Opening his Presents

 LOVES this toy! Makes him miss his Buddy Shea in Cape May!