A Year Out

March 14. A year ago this very DAY, Hubs and I arrived to our new home in Arizona. Wow.

It's hard to believe a year has gone by since we packed up our life in the big yellow Penske and ventured out to our new lives here.

We didn't really know what to expect with life at our first Air Force Base, a new state to teach in for me, and just a new state altogether for the both of us... dry, cacti, scorpions... (which we've yet to see any in our casa - fingers crossed!).

We are so thankful for our family and friends who continue to love and support us from back home. Especially Josh, who helped us to get out here in the first place. We really couldn't have gotten out here without you man. It meant the world to us.

I was excited about this new adventure with Brad, especially to be out on our own... to be doing our own thing. I wasn't sure what to expect though or if I would really enjoy it as much as I wanted to. But like I was telling Hubs the other night, I'm going to be so sad when the time comes for us to leave Arizona for our next assignment. I have so loved our time here along with the friends and Arizona family we have found in the Air Force and even in some of my co-workers.

Happy one year to us today and here's to another! I'll leave you all with the first picture we took of our lovely home :)

One Year!

One year ago today, I married my best friend. I said 'I do!' to the man of my dreams, the man I chose to spend my forever with. It has been an eventful first year to say the least.

After we got married in 2011, Brad and I lived in Greenville, NC until I finished out my first year of teaching out at Southwood (woot woot!). After the school year was up, we packed up the apartment and moved back up to the beautiful mountains of NC to live in Boone with Grandmom Burton. This was definitely a nice break and a chance to spend time close to family and friends.

Since our dates got pushed back to March with the AF, we didn't have much other place to go as neither of us had a job any longer. I gave up my position because I thought we'd be out in Phoenix by October 2011. So we stayed in Boone for 9 months and picked up odd jobs.

We've been in Arizona now for two months, and are really loving it! We love the people we've met, our house/neighborhood and the sunshine. Brad had to leave a month ago to go up to Wright-Patt AFB for training, and we were fortunate enough for me to join him for two weeks over the time of our anniversary.

So here's to us, babe! I've loved our first year together and I'm so excited about our forever together! I love you so much!

Yours,
D

Lookin' back now...

Two Thousand Eleven

It was a year of firsts and a year of changes! Here we go at a brief-ish (?) glimpse:

• I finished out my first year of teaching (1st grade) out in the small town of Kinston, North Carolina

• Bradford graduated from NC State AND was commissioned into the Air Force as a 2Lt the weekend of May 14th.

• Brad and I got MARRIED (!!!) on May 21, 2011

• We traveled... a lot.
• Enjoyed our honeymoon in the Bahamas!

• Greenville became a memory as we moved all of our belongings up to Boone to live with Brad's Grandmother.

• Went with our Church to Port Henry, NY on a mission trip. (met some super people!)

• Brad met my Dad's side of the family in Ohio at the Martin Family Reunion in August.

• Oscar came to live with us.

• The Air Force moved Brad's dates from October to April then back to March.
• A friend of mine and I went to Autumn at Oz out at Beech Mountain! (a first for me)
• Brad left Boone for 2 months to go work on Hurricane clean up out at the coast. (So we had many a Skype dates!)

• I got a job substituting in Watauga (not steady, but it was better than my many failed attempts at finding a place of work).
• I got a J-O-B tutoring K-5 students at a small school in Watauga.
• My niece turned 2 years old.

• My sister is having another baby! (this time a boy, due in May!)
• A wonderful trip to our nation's capitol.

• Sarah got ENGAGED!

• Celebrating our first birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Years as a MARRIED COUPLE!
• McKenna called Brad "Uncle Brad" for the first time when she needed help putting her swing together. Brad was very excited!

Was everyone else's year as eventful?! :)
-D