Meet Calvin.

This is the newest addition to our family, Calvin. He is a five year old, domestic short hair cat, black with a white belly and paws. He was my birthday present this year. Neither Jon or I were sure if we wanted a cat, but this big guy stole our hearts with his extra loud purr. In the 35 minutes we spent visiting him at the Humane Society, he spent at least 25 of them sprawled out on both of our laps, sleeping. Obviously, we had to take this guy home with us.

Calvin and Duke were fast friends. Now you can find Cal on the couch batting at Duke's ears while Duke puts Cal's entire head in his mouth. Duke has taught Calvin the pure enjoyment that chasing your tail brings. Or shadows for that matter.

Calvin is one of the most interesting cats I have ever met. Not only does he tap dance all over our legs to wake us up in the morning, but he literally talks to us as much as he can. He is the cuddliest cat in the world when he wants to be. In fact, the other night, I was sleeping while Jon was reading and I woke up to Calvin laying on my neck purring like crazy. When I started laughing and turned to Jon, Cal used his paw to pull my face towards him so he could kiss me. He really is such a sweet cat with the biggest personality.

Love & Marriage

Tonight was "Spouses Night" at Det 90 (Jon's ROTC detachment here at Colorado State). Spouse night is an optional event for cadets and their significant others (I was the only wife!). There is a panel of Air Force Spouses, and tonight we had a couple who were BOTH in the Air Force (yikes!), a wife of one of the Captains at the detachment (who is a personal trainer; I obviously attached myself to her), a retired AF Officer who has been married for 52 (!!) years, and a retired AF Reserve Officer and his wife.

We were able to ask questions about what it is like moving every few years, how it is being a spouse to an AF Officer, what it is like raising Air Force Brats, and basically whatever else you can think of. It was really nice hearing about how easy it will be to be a personal trainer on base!

All the marriage and family talk reminded me of my absent husband (who was working to bring home the bacon) and how lucky I am to have him. I could not be happier than I am when I'm with him. So this post is dedicated to my wonderful, loving, caring, funny, sweet, handsome husband.

(Hopefully that didn't make you TOO sick to your stomach)

Why I love Colorado.

This is my front yard. Oh yeah, and there are some mountains that are a little difficult to see in this picture, because we're halfway up the mountain.

Picture by Anastasia Smith

It's not even March yet!

Snow! For three days now it has snowed non-stop making our backyard a white-washed wall of mountain. As beautiful as it is, it reminds us (ironically) of our honeymoon in Jamaica. We're reminded of the warm, humid, tropical smelling air, the cool afternoon rains, and the bright blue waters of the Caribbean. We miss the laid back atmosphere, the poolside bars and the Island accents. Which is why we are moving to Jamaica...sometime...

But it has been beautiful in Fort Collins. After a late morning breakfast in the Cottage under the Hill, we watched Duke run rampant through the two feet of snow in the back yard, finished cleaning the house and played Yahtzee! I know we both will be sad to leave this house and our simple life, for the business of Active Duty, and the intense study hours Undergraduate Pilot Training. It's been great having our own place, secluded in the Foothills of the Colorado Rockies, cozy and warm. While the continued snow makes shoveling a pain, the way it makes the world look is worth it. Now it's off to trudge through the white wonderland with the pup.

Snow!

We started getting snow very early last October. This was pretty early for us here in Fort Collins. So needless to say, both Jon (who has to do snow removal at 4:30 am - on CSU's campus) and I are ready for spring. No more snow, no more cold, no more wind. Bring on the rain and flowers.

Luckily, whenever it snows, I am reminded at how much I really love it. It's so quiet and peaceful outside when it's snowing. And not to mention beautiful. Duke and I ventured out this afternoon to shovel the driveway before Jon got home, and he reminded me of another aspect of snow: FUN. This puppy was running as fast as he could straight into snow drifts. He was digging in the snow with his nose. He was standing directly where I was tossing the snow. Because of all the fun Duke was having, I realized I hadn't made a snowman in quite a long time. So...



And for those of you who want to see Duke more than my snowman...

We're in the Blogosphere!

Hello everyone.

We're trying something new out here in Colorado. We recently found out our very first base assignment (Vance AFB in Enid, OK, but more about that in a minute) and I realized that we had to share the "exciting" news with everyone. This daunting task of emailing/calling everyone we knew would care about this pushed me into finally creating this blog (I've been saying I wanted to make one for a while now). I am going to try my hardest to keep you updated (through this blog) on all the happenings of our busy life. So check back frequently! (My goal is at least 3 posts a week)

So, as for Vance AFB. Jon and I do not know when we are moving, but we do finally know where it is going to be! Enid, OK is a small town of 48,000 people in the middle of nowhere in Oklahoma. As this was our LAST choice of base options, neither of us were very excited about it when we first heard, BUT after talking to some people who are stationed there now, and people who are stationed elsewhere, it sounds like we actually got the best base option! Lucky us! We are both actually pretty excited to live in Enid now (over 30 parks for me and the puppy!) especially because we finally have a place to begin our Air Force life. Stay posted, I will let you know when we are headed into the tornado zone.