Graduation!!!!!!!

Wow, where to begin? Thursday I took the 5.5 hour flight to Philadelphia and the hour and 45 minute drive to Cape May. It was quite interesting doing this all by myself but I kind of just laughed the whole time. I rented a Dodge Avenger and made it to Cape May by 8:30pm. I was STARVING because I didn't want to stop off and get food because 1, I didn't want to get lost, and 2, there were tolls at every exit!! After checking into my hotel, I took a drive into town to find a place to eat. I realized the town is definitely a ghost town in the winter with most hotels and restaurants were closed. Long story short, I was able to find a bar, ordered food, and went back to the hotel :)
The next morning, I went to a breakfast for all the Coast Guard families at the USCG Station. I met up with a friend (Alex) I met on Facebook and ate with her and her fiance's family. We also sat with 2 men in uniform, who turned out to be an Admiral and a Master Chief, which I found out AFTER the graduation!! Admiral Kenny ended up making a speech during the graduation in which I realized he was "kind of" a big deal! I was so glad I gave up my seat for him at breakfast! We had great conversation at breakfast, so I feel comfortable enough to say that I still made Greg look good! hehe.
Here is Greg, Admiral Kenny, and I after Graduation

After the breakfast, we went over to the Auditorium where I was able to talk to a few spouses who live in Cape May and also the Representative for Tricare (Health Insurance). We watched the Just 8 Weeks video I showed you HERE and then heard couple speeches from Captain Kelly and Commander Gibbons. They then told us that as we walk over to the gym (where they are graduating), the recruits would be marching over, so we will be able to take pictures. Alex and I ended up sprinting (in heels) after the recruits as they were marching over. We learned what it was like to be the paparazzi! We definitely caught Greg's attention when we ran over there because we almost ran right in front of them! At least Greg knew I was there!
I could not be more proud of Greg. The whole 8 weeks, Greg was in charge of the flag, also known as a "Guidon". He was so fun to watch and extremely easy to spot!

 Alex and I, patiently waiting to see our boys! We were so excited and antsy!!

 SO Happy!

 Greg and his bunk mate Brysen (Alex's Fiance)

 So Proud!!!!!!!

After graduation, we got some work done with health care and my ID card, then went to lunch and walked around the town. The victorian homes are gorgeous as well as the beaches. I can't imagine how busy this town gets in the spring and summer! The night of graduation, we went to dinner with Alex, Brysen, and Brysen's Family. We had a great time! I wish they were stationed in Cape May!

On Saturday morning, we were off to the airport bright and early! Greg and I had separate flights but I was lucky enough to get on his flight from Chicago to San Francisco. As the worst liar in the world, I succeeded beyond anyone's beliefs! I told Greg that I drove to the airport and that we will see Noah when we get back to Greg's parents house. Wellll, Cathy (my wonderful MIL) dropped me off at the airport and my amazing parents picked us up with Noah. Greg was so surprised when he saw Noah. He could not be happier. Noah was so fun to watch. He ran straight to Greg with his mouth wide open.

So HAPPY to see Daddy

 Always a Helper

We got home and Jen, Ryan, and Netti had just pulled up to surprise Greg! He was pretty stoked to see them, especially his new niece Nettie! He also got to see his new nephew, Charlie, and of course, Jack!

Some More Videos from the Graduation



Last but certainly not least, I wanted to make a shout out to Greg's Company Commander, Petty Officer Williams. In the last week of boot camp, he googled "Foxtrot-186", and my blog showed up. By the end of the week, the rest of the company found out about "Busick Adventures" and we have become pretty popular. Petty Officer Williams, I am sorry my music is not up to par, but hopefully my "shout out" to you will make up for my "sucky" choices. :)



Noah's First Hair Cut!

So, I have really been up and down about getting Noah's hair cut. When Greg left, he wanted Noah to get it cut, but I kept putting it off because I didn't think he needed it. But the last couple weeks, the back of Noah's head has been driving me crazy. When he wears a jacket, it looks like he has a mullet. So we took him to Kids Cuts in Rohnert Park and had Jill cut his hair. She was AWESOME! I can't recommend this place enough! She was so great! She let Noah play around a little bit before getting to business. She gave him a sucker to keep him busy, which he loved! We tried to sit him down on the chair but he didn't want to, so I held him :) AND she only charged us $6 instead of $18!! Overall, best experience for Noah's first hair cut. He is lookin pretty sharp for Daddy!

Such a BIG Boy!!

Leaving Thursday for Greg's Graduation!! Can't Wait!!

Week 7 Foxtrot-186 Journal

"WEEK 07 HAS BEEN A WEEK OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR FOXTROT-186. OUR TRAINING HAS FINALLY STARTED TO COME FULL CIRCLE. WE HAVE PROVED TO OURSELVES, THE REGIMENT, AND OUR COMPANY COMMANDERS THAT WE ARE READY TO BEGIN OUR CAREERS IN THE FLEET. WE PASSED OUR FINAL EXAM, AND RECEIVED THE SEAMANSHIP PENNANT AND OUR SECTION COMMANDER'S PENNANT. OFFBASE LIBERTY WAS HIGHLY ANTICIPATED AND WELL EARNED, THE PRIDE OF GOING OUT INTO THE PUBLIC'S EYE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OUR SERVICE DRESS BRAVO UNIFORMS, REPRESENTING THE COAST GUARD IS A MOMENT WE WILL ALL NEVER FORGET.
 MOST OF US SPENT OUR DAY BONDING AS A COMPANY, GETTING TO KNOW MORE ABOUT OUR FELLOW SHIPMATES, AND ENJOYING OUR FREDOM TO INDULGE ON JUNK FOOD AND PHONECALLS HOME.WE ENDED OUR WEEK WITH BEAUTIFUL WEATHER FOR A MUCH NEEDED OFFBASE RUN TO BURN OFF THOSE EXTRA COOKIES AND TO SET US OFF TO A FRESH START TO OUR EIGHTH AND FINAL WEEK OF TRAINING! WE CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU ALL AT GRADUATION."

Sooo excited I am leaving THURSDAY!!!!

A Good Day :)

I talked to Greg today for a little over an hour! He sounds great! Today was Off-Base Liberty; they let them out of the gates around 10am their time and had to return by 9pm. They had cabs waiting for them where they were driven to the nearest Walmart to pick up some prepaid cell phones. Greg is pretty glad to be almost done, as all of them are! When being sent out, they must stay with at least one other person, they are not allowed to go by themselves. So Greg spent the day with his bunkmate and another buddy. They were all looking forward to some delicious food, soda, and just relaxing. For dinner, apparently, they had some delicious prime rib. Unfortunately I don't really know exactly what they did today because he called me this morning and then told me he would call later. He called, but just to tell me he had to go because they were heading back. :( Oh well, I am excited I get to see him in a few more days and at least I got to talk to him this morning and little bit on Facebook messaging. He paid $12 to use a computer and was able to check his facebook, bank account, and my blog for the first time. :) I was so glad he was able to read it! He LOVED it, so I am glad I could make him happy.

As for a boot camp update, yesterday they were able to sit down (as regular people, lol) and just ask their instructors questions. The recruits asked if they were as bad as the instructors said they were; the instructors said they were pretty bad but not as bad. The instructors did feel it was going to be a LONG 7 weeks! Haha. After week 4, they couldn't believe how much the recruits had improved. They didn't even know if they had a purpose to yell. I don't know if the instructors were just trying to get their confidence rolling or what, but they said that Foxtrot-186 was one of the best groups they have ever had. Greg passed his final! They didn't tell him the grade but you have to get over an 80%. Since he has left, he has lost at least 10lbs! It's crazy how hard they work to lose all that weight. I bet he is so strong. In the pictures I have seen, he definitely looks skinnier.

Next Monday, the movers are coming and we will be shipping ALL of our stuff and will be putting it in temporary storage. It sounds like we will be getting into on-base housing around April 20th. Greg will be living in temporary housing while he is over there. There is a possibility he will not be getting shipped out because the Vigorous will be just getting back. It is not for sure (just like everything else!) so we will see! Noah and I will not be moving out there until the first week of May and then we will be back for my sister's wedding in June.

Talking to Greg today felt so good! He was even able to talk to Noah a little bit. Noah took the phone and walked around the house saying "hello" with a few chuckles here and there. Greg was loving it, and I could hear him laughing too! I wish I took a picture! Afterwards, my dad, Noah, and I went over to Leghorn Park to watch our little neighbor play softball. Noah was pretty cute sitting and watching the game. Of course he didn't last long, and went over and played at the park with our neighbor. :)

Tonight, we had some fun reading :)



1 MORE WEEK!

At this time next week, I will be in my hotel room in Cape May, New Jersey, tossing and turning in bed trying to imagine our first meeting together in a LONG time! Will it be an exciting, jump in your arms kind of greeting? Or will it be that awkward "hey buddy how are ya" kind of greeting? When I talked to Greg on the phone last week, he said there are certain "rules". What are those rules you ask? Your guess is as good as mine! I assume a hug and an "appropriate" kiss will be okay. As much as I would like to jump in his arms and hug him as hard as I can, I think I will keep it "cool". And as much as I would like to imagine it like this...

....we all know it won't! But a girl can dream right?

This all reminds me of the day I saw Greg when he came home from Iraq. Standing in the airport with extreme anticipation of seeing him, as he walked down the stairs, I couldn't help but "speed walk" towards him. It was the best feeling in the world, especially since it had been at least 6 months since I had seen him. This picture just makes me all giddy inside ;)

I just found this video when he was home for a little bit before going back to Kentucky

Okay, no more cheesie-ness ;)


When I talked to Greg last week, he also said that we are going to need to talk about the rules on base and when he is in uniform. For example, when you are on base and the Flag is being raised or brought down, you must stop what you are doing, even if you are in a car, you have to stop. When there is a road march, you must get out of their way and you may not say anything to them or do anything to distract them. So I found this site called 11 "In Uniform" Rules Every Spouse Should Know. Pretty interesting and informative. Now I must remember to stand on his left at all times in case he needs to salute. Don't want to get a jab to the face! ;)

Noah Turns 17 Months!

Today Noah turned 17 months. I can't believe it has been almost 2 months since Greg has seen Noah! Noah has changed so much; from talking, to running, to his big hyper personality, Greg is going to be shocked! I took this video of Noah today after dinner. We have been trying to bring up daddy even more than just bed time since Greg will be home in 10 DAYS! Noah definitely still knows who daddy is. The smiles, kisses, and laughs all show that he loves and misses his daddy!

This weekend we went to Tahoe. Noah was able to talk to Greg on the phone for a minute. He was saying "hello" but all Greg could really make out was babbling. I guess I always assume the words Noah says, but to some people may sound like nothing! :) Here are a few photos from the weekend.

Helping Grandad

 A True Busick, Always Workin!

 Playing on the Stairs..the Best Spot in the House!

 Look! Snow!

 Cousin Love

 Hanging with Granny B :)



Week 6 Journal Entry

Just Posted!!!!

27FEB12 Monday Week 06
 The tempo of recruit training has changed in Munro Hall since we started receiving letters from our sponsors. Our company commanders are giving us more freedom and time to call our units for the first time. We really feel like Week 06 recruits but know that if we lose our military bearing and get big-headed our company commanders will bring us back to Earth and reintroduce us to what it was like Indoctrination Weekend.
 28FEB12 Tuesday Week 06
 Today was one Foxtrot company will remember for years to come. We had both out manual arms test and our operational dress uniform inspection and received exceptional scores. Chief Wadley even allowed us to give ourselves one single handclap for a job well done. The highlight of the day was receiving our company colors. It was truly a special moment and some recruits had tears in their eyes. While we are very proud of our accomplishments we know that we must never stop improving ourselves.
 29FEB12 Wednesday Week 06
 Today the company was split into two groups, half of us went to Golf Hall for firefighting and the other half had their military ID cards made in the Administration building. We also got to check out the location of our graduation while performing a Field Day on Training Center Cape May’s new gymnasium.
 01MAR12 Thursday Week 06
 Today Foxtrot Company experienced the Confidence Course for the very first time. Many of us were very excited, but then again many of us took one look at all the obstacles and became very intimidated. We pushed ourselves and cheered each other on. Many obstacles that we felt we could not do turned out not to be that bad. The Leap of Faith-to conquer any obstacle in life all you have to do is jump. It’s called the Confidence Course for a reason. If you give 100%, you’ll make it through.
 02MAR12 Friday Week 06
 Today Echo Company graduated and Foxtrot became the senior company on the regiment. It is still hard to believe we’ve made it this far. We cheered on our Coast Guard family during the first ever basketball game in the new gymnasium, prayed for those grieving the loss of loved ones in Mobile, AL and received mail from parents of previous recruits who’ve entered the fleet and accomplished great things. Tomorrow we have on base liberty and we are determined to make sure everyone is squared away so we don’t disappoint our Coast Guard family.
 03MAR12 Saturday Week 06
 Today seemed to come and go so quickly. After getting into inspection ready uniforms and making sure the squad bays were spotless Foxtrot was granted their on base liberty. Once it started everyone bought phone cards and the booths started filling up fast.  There was laughter and plenty of tears as our shipmates heard the voices of their loved ones over the phone. We also went to the exchange to stock up on supplies such as shirt stays and toothpaste. We also pigged out on candy and sodas just because we could. We ended the evening at the Harborview for dinner were we played pool, listened to music, and just enjoyed being around each other.

I forgot to post these photos that I got on the Foxtrot Facebook Page. Foxtrot 186 were lucky enough to get some time off on Friday to go to a basketball game in the newly renovated gymnasium at Cape May Training Center. The article here explains more about the game :)