Our week on Instagram

1. Picture time with mommy/2. Big kisses for Leo

3. Hugs for Leo/4. Love this man with all of my heart

5. Silly time with Leo/6. Silly kisses

7. Sleepy Sophie/8. Snuggle time with mommy

9. My handsome boys/10. Puppy snuggle time

11. Sleeping on dad/12. Double fisting, puppy edition

13. Funny faces/14. Tastykake overload from the in laws

15. Playing with Jarrett's new iPhone 5 camera/16. July Fourth family dinner

17. More funny faces/18. Came home to my favorite bottle of wine from the hubby
 

Friday Five

Happy Friday all! My mom came down yesterday for her week long vacation and we have had a blast since she got here. I am definitely cherishing this week with her for it will be her last visit here before the move. Also, Jarrett and I have moved up the date for when we'll be leaving Virginia. We've decided that since the movers are coming July 22nd and that my vehicle will be shipped the same week, we should just go ahead and drive to Maryland that weekend and stay a little longer there before officially leaving for Alaska. I'm excited about packing all of our stuff, spending quality time with family and friends then just hitting the road for our brand new life chapter!

1. Jarrett's officially done at Langley AFB! Yay! His last day of work was on Wednesday and it is SO good to have him home. Now he refers to himself as a stay at home fur daddy for the time being! Hilarious! So now I don't feel so bad for working a lot until the move. I wanted to work and help out at the store as much as possible before the move so I am working all the way up until we leave. I'm glad at least one of us is home to get a head start on getting things ready and organized! July is going to be the busiest month ever for us!

2. This week I purchased some better skin and makeup products to add to my morning and night skin care routine. I had been meaning to upgrade my routine for a while, but just never really thought about it much until now. I started reading other blogs where they talked about their skin and makeup routines every day and I realized I should probably do more for my skin and do more to make my face look a little better and more refined. I've always worn makeup, but for the longest time I would just wear the usual stuff that didn't take too long to put on in the morning. Maybe I was lazy about taking care of my skin? Yep I was. Now even though I'm having to add a little more time to my morning routine because of the added products, my face looks better and will be healthier because I am taking the time to actually take care of it. Later on, I will share in depth my new routine and maybe you'll find I'm using the same products that you use or that you might want to try the same ones I'm using! Us ladies have to stick together when it comes to taking care of our faces! :P

3. Yesterday was July Fourth and I got to wear my new Old Navy flag tee, jeans and my Asics tennis shoes to work! It was so comfy to wear my Asics all day around the store! I also loved wearing my Old Navy tee. For as long as I can remember I have loved Old Navy flag tees, plus they are so cheap and affordable for everyone! I will probably wear it any time since it's so darn adorable!

4. So, my step father in law has recently started working as a Route Salesman again. Now he is working for Tastykake doing the same job he did years ago. He loves his job and we love it when he brings goodies home. Wednesday when Jarrett got home from work, there was a Tastykake stock pile on our kitchen counter courtesy of Bill. We literally have enough snacks for the entire month. Love it!

5. Today, Jarrett got his IPhone 5 in the mail. Yay we both have iPhones now and now we can do FaceTime during deployments! FaceTime has much better picture quality than Skype, so if we can do FaceTime instead, I will be a lot happier! Of course when you get a new phone you have to spend a lot of time playing with it and getting use to it. Well, this picture of Leo below is a result of him playing with the phone and discovering the app Piclab! He also discovered the Walking Dead app where you can turn yourself into a zombie with your picture. Needless to say, I think he loves having an iPhone!

 

4th of July

Happy 4th of July everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful day with family and friends. I worked only until three, but at least we were able to wear patriotic shirts and jeans to work! I got the cutest flag tee from Old Navy and I LOVE it! Old Navy literally has the best patriotic tees and they are so cheap too! Sweet! When I got home from work my mom was at the house! She was supposed to come tomorrow, but she decided to come early and spend July 4th with us since she didn't have any plans. She didn't hit any traffic so she got to our house around lunch time. We then got ready around four and went over to the in laws for lots of good food! We had the best evening! After dinner and dessert mom, Jarrett and I went back to our house and mom and I had a couple of drinks. Now we are just hanging out with our pooped puppies. We can usually see the fireworks from our house so we'll probably sneak outside for a little to see them soon!

What were your 4th of July plans?

Did you see any fireworks?

Did you eat a lot of food at a barbecue?

 

Alaska Essentials

So, with us moving to Alaska pretty soon, we have started thinking about clothing articles that we'll need to purchase. I mean, we have coats, jackets, gloves and what not, but we don't really have heavy duty stuff for harsh winters! My husband and I want to purchase good, durable winter clothing that won't fall apart on us once we get there. Although it is still summer there right now and the weather is normal, by the time we get there it will be getting cold again. We want to be prepared as much as possible when it comes to our clothing!

We both LOVE The North Face and it just so happens we have an awesome North Face outlet in Williamsburg! I went shopping at the outlets with my best friend Christina not too long ago and we went into the North Face outlet and let me tell you...they had EVERYTHING that we'll need! My mind felt at ease when I saw all the coats, jackets, snow pants, snow boots, etc. Plus, it's an outlet so everything was much cheaper than normal. The North Face is an expensive brand and to find the essentials we need at a decent price was so awesome!

Here is our list so far of the items we need/want to purchase(I'm sure we're leaving some stuff out, but this is all we've come up with so far):

1. More heavy coats(maybe two more for both of us)

2. More jackets, fleeces and sweaters

3. More pants and jeans

4. Long johns and thermals

5. More hats, ear muffs, gloves and scarves

6. Snow pants and snow boots(at least two of each for both of us to start out)

7. Back packs and duffel bags for outdoor activities(fishing, hunting, etc.)

Any other military couples being transferred to Alaska too?

Anyone have any other suggestions as to what else clothing wise we should buy?

Have you ever vacationed to Alaska? If so, did you absolutely love it?

 

Mom's 55th birthday

Today is my best friend's 55th birthday. She refers to herself as turning the "speed limit" instead of turning 55, and I guess she's right considering the speed limit is normally 55 in most areas! Haha! My mother is without a doubt the best friend I'll ever have. We have always had a close knit relationship and I am so grateful for it, especially during life changing events like moving to Alaska! My mom is everything I'll ever need in a best friend. You can't think of me without thinking of her and vice verse. I really don't know how I am going to live so far from her and for so long for that matter. It is going to be hard, but she raised me to be brave no matter the circumstance. I moved three hours away from her three years ago and now I am moving 70+ hours away from her now. I was brave then and I'll be brave now. I have been so lucky to have such a wonderful role model in my life and I hope to be the same for my daughter some day!

Happy birthday, Mom! I'm so glad you had a wonderful day and Jarrett, Leo and I love you so much! Thank you for everything that you've done for us over the years! You are the best mom in the whole world! 

Katie<3

Weekend stuff and a surprise bridal shower

Hello all! How was your weekend? Mine was so busy, but wonderful all the same! Friday I got off work an hour early since Jarrett and I were going to Maryland for the weekend. Before I left work I did a little shopping since I haven't bought anything for myself in a little bit. I bought my two infinity scarves that I've been obsessed with, two pairs of adorable sandals and a Forever in my Heart locket bracelet! I've bought three Forever in my Heart products as gifts for family and friends and I decided I wanted one as well. I bought four charms for my locket that included Jarrett's/Leo's birthstone, my birthstone, a "dog mom" charm and a flip flop charm! I LOVE it! It's nice to spoil yourself every now and then! After I got home, I packed the rest of our stuff and we hit the road to Maryland for the weekend! Our next trip home will be our last and I am dreading it! It will definitely be an emotional last trip!

Saturday, we got up early and went to a big breakfast with mom at Golden Corral. Afterwards mom and I finished up our shopping for Brooke's bridal shower gifts and then we had to take Leo to his grooming appointment with Michelle's Pretty Paws. After we dropped Leo off we went to The Country House so I could get a new duck for my coffee table since my old duck got decapitated! Boo! I loooove The Country House and I am going to miss buying stuff for our home there! After I got my new duck we went home and mom and I got ready for the shower while Jarrett picked up Leo. Mo and I had the best time at the shower. Brooke had no idea I was home and I may have made small talk with her via text message to throw her off. It worked so well. I LOVE surprising my friends ad family! I've snuck home before and scared the crap out of my mom and that was hilarious! Just think of how amazing it will be when I find the time and money to sneak home from Alaska! :P

Anyways! The surprise shower was awesome! Brooke was so surprised and excited when she walked in! I had a wonderful time with her and Erica. I was also very blessed to feel so included even though I am not able to be a bridesmaid! Mom and I also both won bridal shower bingo! I never win anything so I was excited to actually win for a change! We had such a great time and I feel so blessed and lucky to have great friends! Below are most of the pictures I took from the shower!

[delicious cake]

[BINGO]

[Our prizes]

[My gift was opened first! Please excuse my pale bruised Hallmark knees]

[Mom's present was second to be opened]

[Brooke and her Aunt]

[Brooke and her soon to be MIL]

[Brooke and her amazing mommy]

[Brooke and our adorable Austyn]

[Bow hat time]

[Erica, Erica, me]

Sunday, Jarrett and I went to Dunkin Donuts to pick up some yummy donuts for breakfast then we ran some errands. Later on we went over to my dad's for lunch. He made burgers on the grill and homemade Mac and cheese and then we had ice cream cones for dessert! I love my dad and his amazing cooking! We also got to see his new chicken coup that him and Kelly built together. He bought three hens for his coup and they were so fun to look at. Leo got a little spooked at them at first and then he just got curious! So hilarious! After my dad's house we left to go back to Virginia! Leo slept the whole way home! He was a tired little boy! 

Today I did wife things consisting of doing the grocery shopping and the laundry! Not sure why, but grocery shopping and laundry wore me the heck out. It wore Leo out too, haha! Later on Jarrett came home from work and then we went over to the in laws for dinner! Afterwards we went to Barnes and Noble to get The Milepost guide book for our trip and then we started reading it over frozen yogurt at Yogurt Vi! Perfect end to a busy tiring day! 

I'm excited for July 4th on Thursday and my mom coming on Friday for a whole week! I can't wait for a little down time with family this week especially in the midst of a crazy month for us! 

Did you go to any bridal showers this weekend?

Did you do any traveling this weekend?

What are your plans for July 4th?

 

Katie<3