The Friends We Keep Along The Way

It's truly a blessing with all the incredible people we meet living this military lifestyle! A long time ago on an island far far away we were forever blessed to have moved into the concrete bomb shelter in Okinawa back in 2003 that shared walls with the Schmidt family! Kathleen came over the very first day with a plate of brownies and a slew of neighborhood kids! I loved her instantly! Like seriously, chocolate fudge brownies and all my kids immediately left the house to go play with their new friends!!! But I got to know Kat in the days that followed and we have been dear friends to this very day! Forever grateful that Matt got orders to Cherry Point, even though at the time I was quite ticked that they were driving to NC from Ca the VERY week the kids and I were driving from NC to Ca!!!! But those orders were the best for me because Victoria ended up there and Kat n Matt have been Vicki's away from home parents! A house to crash at when the nights are too lonely/scary with her husband deployed, someone to call when a flat tire hits and everything else that happens on a deployment, dinner, breakfast, holidays, and her nurse today and the next few days while Vix recovers from her wisdom being dug out of her!!!! Thank you soooo very much for taking care of our Vixter for us!!!! We love you Kat n Matt and you too Vicki!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ From these pictures we've known you guys for a LONG time!!! Who knew way back in 2003 when Vicki was starting 2nd grade that you guys would be stationed together but her married to the boy who lived 4 doors down?!!!



Spent countless hours chit chatting in our shared front yards


These two always making me laugh!


3D roller coaster fun on Oki!


A night of fun at American Village Okinawa


- Vicki was in 2nd grade when we moved in next door to the Schmidts and their daughter Alex immediately became one of Vicki's best friends!



Jorden was in 7th grade and was best friends with their son Cody

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

What The Elf?!!!

Taylor told Ty she had an early Christmas gift for him. He opened up two boxes to find a scarf and a hat, each saying "What The Elf". Taylor was wearing a jacket while Ty was opening up his gifts. After she had put the scarf and hat on him she said, "If only i had something to match...." Than she unzipped her jacket and wha-la!!! She had on a matching sweater!!! These two are too funny! There is a youtube video of this whole gift unwrapping.

The Flag Was Being Lowered

I had zipped inside to grab something while Ed and Ty were heading to the car. When I opened the door this is what I saw....it will be odd to not be doing this at random times when we happen to be in the in between of coming and going during flag ups and flag downs. Will definitely miss this when our base housing days are no longer a part of our life.

Fall Festival With The Marine

MCLB Barstow had their annual Fall Festival and it was a LOT of fun, but than life is always fun with The Dude In Cammies!

The 1st Sgt got things started by loading up his Marines in the train.

I still can't believe the train was able to pull all those Marines!

Vicki and Ryan had fun battling each other. Vicki won and had no

problem being proud of the fact that she destroyed her LITTLE

brother!  

 

These Marines were hilarious playing twister on the inflatable! They

were all out repeatedly but there was no telling them that!!! It was comical!

Ryan had fun on the rock wall and was reminded

that he is still afraid of heights!!!

His Marines LOVED putting him in jail!!!! It was a great fundraiser

for the Marine Corps Ball coming up!

Vicki and I are soooo rockin' the psychedelic look!

The Hamster Ball

The Fall Festival had a really fun venue! A giant hamster ball! Vicki tried it first. She crawled in, the guy strapped her in, she had handles to hold on to, and than he rolled her all over the lawn. She loved it!

This is Vicki starting to climb in......

Vicki being rolled around.....there was LOTS of

giggling and screaming.......

Ed decided to try it.....once his Marines found out

he was in the hamster ball they took over......

There were several Marines having fun rolling him

all over the lawn instead of the lone guy who rolled

Vicki and I around.....

The 1st Sgt got an extra long turn!!!

Normally there are two people strapped in at a time

but due to how windy it was and only this one guy

working this venue there was only one person allowed

in the ball at a time for safety.

I give it a 2 thumbs up!

Dry Cleaners From Years Ago...

It was just like wow to be driving down these streets of Oceanside today.....these were the streets we were on regularly, atleast once a week and usually more often than that between the hair cuts, picking up dry cleaning, and just zipping around as young Marines and their families do......It was just quite a unique feeling to see my now much older Marine carrying one of his uniforms into one of the dry cleaners he used to go to with a child we hadn't even thought about yet following right behind him.....yes, it was a look back and smile kinda moment, and I ain't gonna lie, my smile also had some misty eyes too.....but I wear great big sunglasses so nobody noticed.....but wow.....it seems like yesterday that cammies were dry cleaned.....and we as well as all Marines were always on these little side streets at the many dry cleaners dropping off and picking up cammies....endless cammies....it was one of my 'W" jobs. I hadn't earned my I or F yet, still waiting on my E!!!! Back in the day the wife's ID card had a W on it and The Dude In Cammies lovingly referred to me as the "W" Gosh......seems like yesterday and a life time ago all smooshed together......

Now The Old Hospital!

Ohhhhhh.......Navel Hospital Camp Pendleton.....I went there as a kid AND I had TWO children born there!!! Thing One & Thing Two (Ty and Ryan) were both born there and all 4 had numerous shots there, Jorden had a his physical for Kindergarten there, his sling for when he broke his collar bone there, I had my head stapled back together there.....ohhhhh the memories.......we also camped there at the camp grounds at Lake O'Neil right there by the hospital......sad to see that the hospital is no longer in use.....there is a much nicer one now right by the main gate going out to Oceanside, but this will always be a beautiful site to me.....

Delaware Stop

It was time for a potty break while heading up to New York. Delaware was the stop! Another state these Military Brats can add to their Okiohana adventures!

See Ya Later Kelli, AGAIN!!!

Kelli Kirwan and i have been friends since the early Spring of 1998. We met while our husbands were stationed on Camp Pendleton and we both lived in Base Housing and were in the same ward for church.  Kelli was the nursery leader and Vicki was in nursery along with Kelli's daughter Rebekah who was the same age as Vicki. Those two became quick friends and probably the reason why were never stationed at the same duty station again. We used to joke about those toddlers stealing a helicopter if they were ever on the same base as teenagers! We have had a LOT of fun and crazy times together. Seen lots of sadness together to with the many memorial services we attended for our Marines killed in training accidents. We have gone in different directions over the last 16 years but only because of our husbands duty stations. We would totally CHOOSE to live next door to each other if the Marine Corps would ever make that happen! Anyways.....from 1998-2014 we have PCS'd around the Marine Corps duty stations and the Kirwans hit an Army Post along the way. We finally ended  up in the same state in 2009! Now Kelli is doing her last official PCS move as her husband, Charles, is now in the ranks of the Retired Marines. I went and hung out with her/helped her on her last day of packing out while the movers loaded the truck one last time from a military duty station. It just doesn't seem possible that we are at this point in our lives! When i met her my husband was just barely a Corporal....it has been a fun and crazy along with some tears 16 years of Marine Wife friendship. She is off to Texas in the morning, that is home for her. I won't be surprised if we end up close together again when my Marine joins the retired ranks. Texas is a state we are looking at if the Democrats don't find a way to plant toooooo many blue voters there! I see it happening with all their constant legislation is gaining the Mexican vote, now they just have to figure out a way to get those numbers there to out vote the Texas people. When that happens, which i am afraid it might, The Dude In Cammies and i will have to scratch off another retirement wish location off our list. The blue seems pretty hellbent on taking all the warm locations of our country!!! Maybe i will be talking Kelli into joining me in Wyoming, Oklahoma, or the Dakotas! I sure hope not! I hate the cold!!!    

This is Luke. He is Jasper Jr. The only child of Jasper that we know location of. We know some of his pups were given to Wounded Warrior, but Luke is the only one we have kept in contact with. He is JUST like his Daddy. We always joke and do the Darth Vader voice around Luke of "Luke, I am your father". It never gets old. gonna miss this cute, wild, fat, spaz of a dog!!! He wouldn't look up because he had a ball in his mouth and he thought i was going to take it!!!