Time To Unwrap!

Oh my goodness! He was a TOTAL baby Thursday morning when it came time to unwrap his leg! But I finally got it all off and this is what we have! The tape will have to come off another day....

Every Marine Knows This One

 

Dan Daly.....every Marine knows this line.....I sent this picture to The dude In Cammies and said 'guess where we are?' He knew.....

He Loves His Dean

The Dude On A Horse loves his horse.....he and Dean have a very special bond....you can see it when they are together and everytime Ed comes near Dean perks up. He knows when Ed is near. ed uses the same whistle he uses for Jasper and Dean comes to him just like Jasper. Dean couldn't have come at a better time. I have no idea what kind of talks they have when The Dude On A Horse takes him out riding.....but they take off and they both have a great time on those trails in the deserts of Barstow, especially when they run!

DC National Memorial Day Parade 2014

The DC National Memorial Day Parade went really well! The horses did great! It was crazy but fun crazy!!!

The day started with getting the horses out into the pen and warming them up. The guys put them thru their paces and got all their wiggles out.

Next it was grooming time....I think the horses like this....

Ryan loves horses! He was always found close to the horses. As they were loaded up into the trailer he climbed up and Pete's them and chit chatted with them until we left. The horses love him.

Than it was time to follow them to the staging area for the parade.

Next stage of grooming...getting their hoofs all shiny black, brushing out their tails....good thing The Dude On A Horse had practice doing Vicki's hair!!! Than saddling up and having a little chit chat.

Once the guys were changed into their blues and the horses were all saddled people just appeared out of nowhere! Everyone wanted to take pictures with them and with the horses and ask a ton of questions. Ty and Ryan held the flags while the guys were getting everything ready.

I followed the Gunny to go park my car and the trailer. I ran a TON of red lights but I wasn't loosing him for anything!!!

And than I was in the back of a golf cart bouncing along by the White House and State Capitol, and the National Monument heading to our spot on the parade route.

Before the parade started I looked over and saw this going on...The Dude On A Horse said it is called Honor To Colors. In the midst of the chaos the Marines stopped to do this before starting. So much respect for our countries flag....made my eyes water to see this happening in the middle of the hustle and bustle and see that nobody even knew it was happening. The Marines called out the commands quietly and were quick and efficient as they followed flag protocol.

I got a couple quick pictures before the parade started....

Our waiting spot for the parade was at this museum and so we were able to go and look around in here and use the restrooms! There were some beautiful paintings and art work!

This was also on the parade route. The White House was too but with all the people it was hard to get a good picture with that behind the horses.

It was a beautiful parade route!!! It was HOT too!!!

But it was a gorgeous day for a parade and a perfect place for a Memorial Day parade!

Driving Away....With VICKI!!!

I'm the Mom, the Marine Wife....it's my double job to watch the Marine and my daughter drive away and wave until i see them no more....and than of course wipe away the tear drops and walk back into work with a smile like i will see them tonight at the dinner table.  The life of a Marine Wife....i dare someone to try it for a day....well a day when they are away....well a day when they are away with a gun, while being shot at, in a foreign country, with no laws, and not allowed to shoot back at the people shooting at them, and not sure if the people they are with will be shooting them.....try it on one of those days....those are the harder days.....this is actually an easy day.....i could call him right now if i wanted to, but i won't because he is still on base and he can't talk on his phone on base and i need to get back to my classroom......  

Marine Wife Pantry

Looking quickly into this pantry you would find nothing amiss......welllllll.....other than it being a mess!  But!  Upon closer examination there is proof, once again, that a Marine lives here!

Yep!  The rubber bands around a can of veggies, or sometimes fruit!  Anything that will shape the Marine's cover just right!  I am almost done with my picture book that shows how you can tell if a Marine lives in the house!

Pack & Boots

I never EVER blog when he is leaving for all those short weeks here and there because i am a scaredy cat, so when i blog about him leaving on endless training that he already knows, probably better than the back of his hand, he is already home....but this is the site each night before he leaves on his fun Marine outings.  I tease him about how it isn't fair that he gets to go camping with all of his friends, and hike around, and drive cool vehicles, shoot awesome weapons, blow things up, and of course the ocean swims!  The dolphins always come when the tracks hit the waves!  Oh! AND they even wear super cool make up that hides all your flaws when they are out on these camp outs!  I am not jealous of the swamp swims though....it isn't so much the aligators, but the snakes!  My luck i know i would get the hello via fangs injecting toxins to kill me greeting!  He never takes pictures, so i ony have this image, the "Pack" that he begrudingly packs grumbling the entire time, his "Boots" and that cool "Vest" he gets to wear on their nature walks.....