Alive and Well

I apologize for once again dropping the ball and not actually updating the blog on a regular basis like I plan to in my head. A lot has happened since I last posted.

Everyone knows that Jared is home and is doing well. The squadron had a great transition back to work, almost immediately, and Jared got back up in the air to finish his 2-P qualifications. The squadron was nice enough to give the entire command Cold Iron leave and we all headed away from Whidbey to celebrate with family. Jared and I flew to Virginia to split time with both sets of parents. It had just snowed when we flew into Richmond to visit Jared's parents. One of our flights was delayed on the way there because the crew hadn't been able to get to the airport. We had a great Christmas Day with his family and then drove to my house to visit with my family. My nephew, Owen, has changed in so many ways since he visited me out here. He is now talking and running, instead of wobbling. He recognizes people by their names and can play on big boy toys. It was exciting to see that he knew who I was and that he could say uncle "Dodo." Jared swears that he was saying "jojo" for Jared, but we all know Owen was just saying what he saw. :) Just kidding. The time spent on the East Coast was nice, but all good things must come to an end. Jared and I headed back to warmer weather and no snow. Who would have thought that it would be warmer and have less precipitation over here in Washington than in Virginia?

Jared quickly got back to flying again after our family vacation in Virginia. It also started the search for a new car. You see, Jared's Blue Beast wasn't cutting it for us anymore. After the many times spent on the side of the road and the prays thrown about to get us home without it breaking, it was time to look for a more reliable car. You know you need to get rid of a car when you don't trust that it will get you to work (2.7 miles away) or that it won't be able to climb the hill to get you home from work. We were never able to have someone diagnose the problem, but we just couldn't take the chance of seeing how much longer it could last. We decided it would be best to get some money out of it now while it was still "working" than it would be to try and sell it for crap, I mean scrap, later. Sidenote, by working I mean the speedometer doesn't shoot to 120mph with you are only going 40 and the car doesn't cut off in the middle of driving - see blog post about cross country trip to WA. After searching for the perfect car, this past weekend we put the Blue Beast to rest at an Acura dealership where we purchased, well... Jared purchased, his new car. An Acura TL Type S. It is a 6 speed Manual Transmission with all the bells and whistles. It is... blue. The Blue Beast was put to rest and a new Blue Beast was driven home and parked in our driveway. Jared is very proud of this car... and WILL LAST US MORE THAN 3 YEARS! (I know it will because we have an extended warranty until 2017) :)

Since being home, before the buying of the car, we went snowboarding with friends of ours. I hated it and couldn't get the hang of it, so I walked the rest of the way down the hill. Jared, of course, was a natural and looked awesome winding his way down the slopes on his board. The other people we went with also were awesome, but you know... I just didn't feel like hurting myself by falling. I decided to sit the rest of the day out (it practically took my all day to get on the board) and people watch.

Jared and I are patiently waiting on our doggy DNA results. Should be soon! We are finding out what Izzy really is made of, thanks to Bob and Robin.

That's about all that is going on with us. We are just hanging out, having fun, grateful for being back together, and loving life with Izzy.