Sad Heart

Yesterday I had to say goodbye to Drew until October.  It was very sad to leave him and know that I won't be able to hold him for the next eight months.  But I know that God will be holding Drew in the palm of His hand.  And that gives me a lot of peace even if I did feel like my little heart was breaking a bit as I drove by myself back up from San Diego.

But before Drew left we were so lucky to be able to spend so much time together and see so many people that we both love dearly.  He had almost two full weeks of leave and we certainly made the most of it.  We basically had a tour of California.  We spent a week up in Piedmont with Drew's family and it was very relaxing.  It was so nice to spend some quality time with them.  We also got to see many of our friends up there because Sue put together a wonderful little going-away party for Drew.  And we got to have dinner with my Lindsay who I've missed so much!  We spent one fabulous night in San Francisco and had an amazing dim sum lunch - I just can't get enough Chinese food!  On our way down from our visit with the Coffins, we spent a night in Santa Barbara to visit Sarah.  It was so great to see her & visit all of my favorite restaurants - are you noticing a trend here?  Then we had one night in L.A. to eat tasty Mexican food (at Gardens of Taxco in West Hollywood - really quirky little place with good food even if there is an obscene amount of it) with our law school friends, including Michelle who just popped in for the weekend from Phoenix.  The timing couldn't have been better!  And finally, it was off to San Diego for one last night together in the romantic Naval Base San Diego "hotel".  Picking up Del Taco for dinner at 9:00 after we had finished all our errands wasn't exactly the culinary highlight of our trip, but I wouldn't have wished to be anywhere else in the world than tucked inside that little hotel room with my amazing husband.  I am so proud of him and will miss him everyday.  I love you, babe.

Thank you to all our family & friends for your love, prayers & encouragement.  We could not ask to be surrounded by better people.

The Happiest Place on Earth

Drew & I visited Disneyland last week to celebrate our first year anniversary.  We really splurged and stayed three luxurious nights in the Grand Californian Resort.  It was splendid.  We even got the little "anniversary/love package" so there were rose petals, champagne & chocolates in our room when we arrived.  And we now have our very own personalized Disney bathrobes!

Since we had 3 full days of park-hopping we were able to do all of our favorite rides multiple times.  It was so much fun to be together & just act like the kids we are!  Also, since we had so much time we made some fabulous dining reservations.  We ate at Napa Rose, the really nice restaurant in our hotel, one night & it was SO tasty.  It was definitely worth the splurge.  We also ate at The Blue Bayou - the restaurant inside Pirates - one night & that was a treat.  I can't say the food is that excellent, but the ambiance is very nice.  

We got Disneyland Happy Anniversary buttons from one of the store clerks that we mentioned our anniversary celebration to and Drew was a good enough sport to actually wear it with me one day.  So many people told us happy anniversary & congrats - we've never felt more popular!  Also, tons of old men chatted Drew up because he was wearing his Navy sweatshirt the whole time.  You wouldn't believe how many Disney cast members are prior military & it was fun to hear their stories.  

It was an excellent anniversary trip & one of the bonuses is that I got a "free" Disneyland annual pass because it was the same price as our 3-day park hopper & they let you apply the full price towards an annual pass.  So I've got a year full of Disney magic ahead of me! 

We created our dream home at Innoventions - this picture was just too
good not to email to ourselves

Goofy's Flight School at California Adventure or DCA as the regulars call it

A Bug's Life 3D show

DCA at night.  Sadly we missed World of Color b/c it doesn't show
on the weekdays in the off season

Our delicious dinner at Napa Rose 

Cars!

Riding the monorail & sporting our Happy Anniversary buttons

BFFs

Hello, California

We are now both back safely in California and recovered from our lingering jet lag.  While we do miss Guam, it has been nice to see so many of our friends and family again.  Drew had a successful training in Rhode Island and now knows a little bit more about what to expect in Afghanistan, so that's good news.  He obviously still doesn't know very many specifics about where he'll be or what he'll be doing, but the Navy likes to keep him on his toes.  I've been doing a lot of cleaning out at my Dad's house to get ready for my semi-permanent move back into my old room.  Coming back makes me feel like I'm 17 and in high school again, but I think it should hopefully work out just fine.  I'm so grateful to Dad for letting me stay with him!

I've really been able to see a lot of friends & family in the last week.  I've spent some QT with Grams & Pops already, and obviously played a lot of Scrabble.  I've seen my dearest law school friends, attended one of my bestie's baby shower, saw Beauty & The Beast 3D (so good!) with Beckie, and spent Thursday morning with my friend Kristen & her three little boys - I tried to entertain them for about an hour while she packed & loaded up the car for their weekend excursion and I was exhausted!  I don't know how she does it and definitely think she's supermom.  Today Drew & I are off to Disneyland to start our slightly belated anniversary celebration.  It should be a really great time & we're both super excited.  Disneyland pics to follow!

Hope you're all doing well & can't wait to see all of my friends in California soon!  Also, don't know if anyone but me noticed, but I now officially have 10 followers & feel so popular.  :)  Thank you all for your love & interest in our lives - it means a lot to us.

Goodbye, Guam

With sad hearts we said goodbye to Guam for the last time this morning and boarded our plane for Hawaii. Drew is on his way to training in Rhode Island and I'm heading back to LA, so Hawaii was as far as we got together.  I'm currently sitting in the Honolulu airport and am sad that I won't be transitioning through here anymore on my way back to our own little tropical paradise.  

We had such a great time together in Guam - it was the perfect way to spend our first year of marriage and I know that we will always remember it fondly.  We made so many amazing friends & had so many incredible adventures.  Hello, scuba diving!  We already miss our friends and it was so very hard to say bye, but we are very hopeful that we will see them again.  And we're looking forward to the next adventure that God (and the Navy) has in store for us - we are sure that it holds many more friendships & adventures. So, for now, goodbye, Guam.  We heart you.  

Stayed at the Fiesta Resort for our last nights in Guam

I will definitely miss these views! 

Last dinner in Guam - Jamaican Grill style

Moving Day

The movers are currently here packing up our entire apartment.  But before they could pack anything up, Chico (the cute jack russel) and his handler from the USDA had to come check for brown tree snakes.  Luckily they didn't find any in our apartment!