Another Phone Call

Life.

It happens.

Until a few years ago, I never really knew what that meant.

I thought I knew. I thought I knew what it meant, what it felt like, what it was.

I didn't.
I do now though.
Boy, do I know.

And if there was ever any doubt, I'm constantly reminded. Most of the time, it's me who reminds me but yesterday it happened to come courtesy of a phone call from a certain Air Force Captain. The same Air Force Captain who has been on the other end of several phone calls that reminded me of it.

Life.

Three years and 14 days ago, it happened.

Pain.
Terror.
Humiliation.
Guilt.
Rape.
Life.

Life happened.

It's nowhere near anything I ever thought would be a part of my life but on October 4, 2009 it happened and it is now very much a part of my life.

About eight months after it happened, I received a phone call from the JAX (AF Legal) Captain notifying me that the civilian court in Texas had declined to prosecute. The District Attorney had taken my case before a Grand Jury and despite all of the evidence against him, they returned a No Bill on my attacker. The DA had pulled the Grand Jury and discovered that there were three men who could not and would not be swayed of their opinions. To them, my swollen and bruised neck, the petechiae in my eyes from being choked and suffocated, the bruises in the shape of his hands on my arms and legs, the scratches on my back from his dirty fingernails, the bump on the back of my head were all indicators that I liked rough sex. They had no problem saying that in their minds, this was a case of a young military wife who cheated on her husband and regretted it so she cried rape. There was no indictment issued and he was then free to continue on to the base listed on the orders that had been put on pause when the investigation had begun. He was free as a bird and when he got to Little Rock AFB and his file landed on the Commander's desk, I got this phone call telling me everything.

In a phone call, it happened. Life. Again. In that phone call I felt all of that pain and terror and humiliation again.

The beginning of September 2010 brought another phone call. This one was to tell me that the Commander wanted to go forward within the military justice system and convene an Article 32 hearing.

In a phone call, it happened. Life. Again. In that phone call I felt hope. Life isn't always bad and I was reminded of that.

A week later Mr. Superman got a phone call. He was being deployed in two weeks.

In a phone call, it happened. Life. Military life. Again. I felt what I imagine to be the absolutely normal yet no less frightening rush of emotions that any military significant other feels when they hear those words. THE words. I'm deploying. A split-second later however my heart jumped into my throat and my head started to spin because yet again, I was facing the possibility of facing my attacker alone. All of these thoughts, and feelings, and fears overwhelmed me in a matter of seconds.... all because of a phone call. Again.

By the end of September my husband was gone and I was living with family in Arizona. The day marking a year since my attack was full of writing depositions, answering questions from lawyers, and praying I got to talk to Mr. Superman who was 8,000 miles away.

October 19, 2010 was our three year wedding anniversary. It was also the day of the Article 32 hearing. I was berated with questions from all sides. The Prosecution walked me through every single second of that night. THE night. The night it happened.

Pain.
Terror.
Humiliation.
Guilt.
Rape.
Life.

I answered the same questions I'd been asked by so many people, so many times. Then I did it all over again  with the Defense team. I was slandered. Embarrassed, mortified, terrified, frustrated, exasperated, upset, angry.... these don't even begin to cover what I was feeling. I did it all a third time with the Judge Advocate. Each time I had to use clinical terms and explicit detail sparing nothing. Three times. A few hours later it happened. Life. I had gone to an Urgent Care because of pain I'd been dealing with. It was a miscarriage. Our third angel baby was gone. I was numb by this point except for a tiny spark of feeling in my heart when the realization hit that I was going to have to tell my husband.

And just like that it would happen again. Life. Shock and sadness would follow the news I gave my husband. He would be reminded that life happens. No matter what, it happens. There's no stopping it. Even though it was our anniversary and despite him being 8,000 miles away in an active and dangerous war zone, the words I'd say to him would reaffirm the bitter truth of life. All because of a phone call.

It didn't take long before my phone was ringing and the caller I.D. showed it was the AF Captain. I didn't answer it. I couldn't. I couldn't bring myself to face another phone call that would jar me back to the reality of it all. Life. I was sitting in a nail salon with my sister and we both had our feet soaking in mini-jacuzzi tubs. I was going to be flying to Salt Lake City the next day to spend Thanksgiving with Mr. Superman's family and was looking forward to a week of escaping reality. A few minutes after the missed phone call my phone buzzed to let me know I had a voice mail from the Captain. I ignored it. I don't know how many hours it took or if it took a few days but when I finally braced myself and put the phone to my ear, I wasn't prepared for what I heard.

"Everything has been dismissed. The Judge Advocate didn't feel there was enough to take it any further. As far as his civilian record goes, there is none. His military file shows that while he attended Tech School he was questioned about a SARC case but nothing more. Your request for an extension of the Do Not Contact order or a civilian Restraining Order have both been denied since everything has been dismissed and its now as if none of the investigation or incident ever occurred."

It happened. With an ignored phone call and a voice mail I was reminded of the cruelty and unfairness of life. Regardless of what we do or don't do, life happens. It always happens.

The last couple of years have been full of ups and downs when it comes to how I've dealt with and coped with being raped and subsequently having my rapist exonerated twice. There have been days where I felt strong and brave and as if I could see him on the street and be okay. There have been days where I felt like curling up in a ball and crying until my eyes were swollen and my head ached. I've lost count of how many days I have done just that.

Yesterday I was at work when it happened. Life. I was surrounded by a few coworkers and nine 3 year-olds singing fun songs when my phone began to buzz. Normally, I don't have my phone in my pocket while at work but we had just returned from a field trip and I had taken it with me to take pictures of all the kids. I took it out of my pocket to hit ignore but my heart stopped when I saw the phone number. When I got my iPhone, I never transferred numbers over so even though it didn't have the AF Captain's name on the caller I.D. I knew it was him. I'll always know who it is when a 501 area code is flashing on my phone screen. I jumped up and mumbled that I had to take the phone call. I ducked into a small room/closet at the back of our classroom and with shaking hands answered my phone.

In that instant it happened. Life. I heard the familiar voice of the Captain and could tell what he was going to say wasn't going to be good news. About ten minutes later I hung up the phone while furiously wiping my eyes and hoping none of the kids would see me crying. I stepped out and ran to the bathroom where I kept telling myself that no matter what, I had to pull it together and push it all aside. Life.

Here I am 3 years later and because of a phone call I got yesterday I feel just as raw and bruised and angry and terrified and embarrassed as I was the night I was raped.

Raping me wasn't enough.

Choking and suffocating me until blood vessels burst in my eyes and I nearly passed out wasn't enough.

Raping me again wasn't enough.

Slamming my head into a concrete wall wasn't enough.

Bruising, restraining, and hitting me weren't enough.

Slandering and humiliating me weren't enough.

Making sure I felt like I wasn't worth anything wasn't enough.

Getting to walk away free, twice, with no consequences and as if he didn't nearly kill me wasn't enough.

This person who took something away from me with no repercussions now has FIVE different attorneys assembling against me and looking for me so they can serve me with papers to let me know he is now suing me for defamation.

The Captain was calling me to let me know. Even though he was legally not supposed to contact me again after everything was dismissed, he did. And just like that, with a phone call this Air Force Captain reminded me that it happens.

Life.

No matter how many times we have been knocked down or disappointed, it happens. In spite of how we choose to deal with the past, it happens. Regardless of how good we are doing in our lives and how happy we are feeling, it happens. There is never any slowing it down or stopping it in its tracks.

Life.

It always happens.

He Still Gets Me

Once upon a time there was this poor little blog. Its blogger was a total slacker and it often sat for weeks with no new posts.

Yeah, yeah that's me.
Slacker status over here.

Here I am once again about to blog about superficial, mundane, surface stuff. Its all I can do right now which I think is good enough. 

Our new life here is insane.
It's different but we are still so unsettled we haven't even been able to to have everything sink in yet.

Even though we got here in July and had the keys to our apartment about a week later, we didn't start living here at our apartment until two weeks ago. My in-laws went out of the country and we house sat for them. We were finally able to move into (as in actually start sleeping at) our place the night before I started work. Yeah, crazy timing I know. I got hired on at my job about 10 days after we got here but since its a State job I wasn't officially in the computer systems until much later, delaying my start date.

So we have been living here in our tiny little Salt Lake City apartment but I still have boxes full of stuff, our balcony is full of boxes we no longer have a garage for, there is tape on walls waiting to be painted, furniture half-way refinished, bags full of clothes and things needing to be sent to D.I. (Utah's version of Goodwill), and everything is a MESS.

Here's a few pictures though.

The first wall I got fully completed. Right behind our sectional!

Our tiny hallway is halfway finished. One side has the chevron painted while the other is just taped off. 

This is the before, during, and after of my 4$ D.I. find! My new desk chair!

That fabulous fabric? Totally scored that from my MIL's craft room and she scored it from Colorado like 15 years ago. LOVE it!

Now this is directly across from our sectional. That's the dresser Mr. Superman got me for my birthday this year and I LOVED refinishing it. I did a mini-makeover on that lamp and I still love it but I just didn't like it in that corner. I'm really trying to have balance between all of my bright, colorful decor and my vintage, antique, eclectic pieces. I'm also having to just do what I can with what I already have. The lamp I have there now is a lamp we got five years ago for our wedding. It has modern lines Mr. Superman loves (the opposite type of design I'm into) but I like it a lot more now. I just taped it off and did a coat of paint I already had. Voila!

This ugly wicker chest of drawers? I've had it for 6 1/2 years. When I went away to college I inherited all sorts of ugly, unwanted, really old furniture from people. This, I think, came from my SIL's grandma. I've kept it around for years with every single move just because it was great for storing things. I decided to throw some of the same yellow paint I used for the lamp shade on it and it's now residing in the corner by our desk. Eh, it'll do for now.

Our bedroom is my labor of love. I didn't redesign anything from what I had in Georgia because I already love it so much. It's got a vintage/antique French theme going on. The square footage of the master bedroom here is SO much smaller than the square footage in Georgia so its been a little tricky. It's still very much an ongoing project and I have yet to finish painting the edges and refinishing the antique vanity I scored almost two years ago but I will. Someday, it'll all be done and perfect.

So that's it so far. I have SO much left to do including finishing everything that is only half done AND all of the stuff I haven't even started. I've got the guest bedroom, both bathrooms, the kitchen, and the laundry room/closet. After all of that I have a giant list of little things like replacing all of the door hardware, outlet and light switch covers, installing shelving into the closets, stenciling and painting the inside of the closets, replacing the light fixtures, installing custom molding around the bathroom mirrors...

I could go on and on but instead, I'll wrap it up.

I just had to share this last picture.
Every Thursday I get to see Mr. Superman in ABU's and guess what?
It still gets me.

Everything in our lives has changed.
Everything is different.
We moved.
He got discharged.
I'm working.
Our puppy lives with my MIL.

Everything has changed except once a week, I get to see something that makes my heart smile and gives me the reminder of why we are doing all of this. It reminds me that in three years we will once again be an Active Duty family. Every week I get to see my Loverface in uniform and it still gets me.

He still gets me.
Right now, that's enough.

From Civi to Millie

This was the post that Mrs. Gambizzle featured as a part of her fabulous


  

For those who missed it, here it is!

I was asked by Mrs. Gambizzle forever ago to do a post. She suggested I do a post about transitioning from civilian life to military life and I thought, “Oh, easy!” What am I thinking now? “Um, what was I thinking?!” I have also had more than a month to do this post and now I’m sitting here, nearly hyperventilating because not only do I adore her blog and I want to do it, along with all her other guest bloggers justice, but I am so stinkin’ new to the military life that I just don’t feel qualified. I also don’t think that the civilian to military or civi to millie transition is ever complete. There is always a new roadblock to get around, there is always a new burden to carry, there is always a new situation to navigate, there are always new orders, more deployments, new neighbors, new plans, oh scratch those plans, lets try something else…. There is always SOMETHING.

Mr. Superman and I had been married for a little over a year when we started getting feelings and promptings that we needed to look into the Air Force. It wasn’t the first time or even the second but all the other times, it just never felt right. We had recently moved to Utah and both gotten great jobs. A few weeks later, we both got laid off. We prayed and went to talk to a recruiter. He took the ASVAB, blew them all away with his score, and signed papers about a week and a half later. Making the announcement, jumping through hoops, not having things work out the first time, waiting, and finally getting in gave us our first tastes of the unknown, the frustration, the waiting and everything else that comes along with this military world. Shortly after everything was official and we were awaiting his leave dates is when we lost our Angel Baby #2. I was seriously terrified he was going to have to leave before I was healed, recovered, and okay. 

While Mr. Superman was at BMT we hit a few roadblocks. I had to have surgery which was no cakewalk without having my husband by my side. We also weren't one of those lucky couples who got a lot of phone calls and such. We had four phone calls over 9 weeks, two of which were less than two minutes. I would go weeks without letters and for someone brand new to the military life, living in a completely civilian world with no support system of fellow millies, it was really hard on me. Attending his BMT Graduation and spending time with him was absolutely incredible and one of my proudest moments. We had an incident that was semi Air Force related in October of last year that tested us as individuals and as a couple. It nearly broke us but we came out stronger and I daresay, better for it. We were assigned to our first duty station and arrived 2,000 miles away from everyone and everything we knew and loved in November 2009 and started our new life. 

Its been hard. Its been lonely. Its been aggravating, frustrating, and at times, down right depressing but you know what? Its been incredible. I have been doing this for and because of my husband. We are now in a new transition period. The transition of pre-deployment. It was unexpected and the way its come about has been a bit unfair but it is all a part of this life. This unpredictable, roller coaster ride of a life that we chose. Sure its tough. It is also so worth it. I'm already looking forward to our next transition. Next year, when I get to welcome my lovebug home from Afghanistan and we get to fall in love with each other all over again will be a fabulous time. It will be a uncharted waters and I'm prepared to get annoyed and overwhelmed but its a transition that will be amazing.

What It Means To Be An Air Force Wife (To Me)

I've actually been wanting to write a post like this for a while and Nicole and her fabulous Giveaway gave me the push I needed! Make sure you all go and check out Signs of Patriotism as well. Her handiwork is incredible.

What it means to be an Air Force wife, to me, encompasses so many different attributes, emotions, feelings, responsibilities, fears, expectations, and aspirations that it is nearly impossible difficult to put it into words. Let me re-phrase that. It is difficult to put the precise and exact way it all feels and is, into words in a way that doesn't leave anything amiss or misconstrued or misunderstood. That said, I will still attempt it.

The Air Force used to feel like this mysterious and obscure entity. Something I knew about, appreciated (looking back now, my 'appreciation' level is laughable), but it was separate. Separate from me, my husband, our lives, and our future. Seeing my world now, and how utterly blessed and enriched it has become in just a short year, leaves me scratching my head in wonder as to how we ever existed outside of this glorious (and aggravating) military (read: Air Force) world.

For me, being an Air Force wife means representing my husband in an honorable, brave, classy, and strong way. It means being able to carry on conversations about everyone else who works in the bomb dump, who is on leave, who is deploying, returning from or heading to Korea. It means being able to know who is new in Line D. It means knowing how dispatch works, the difference between chaff and flare, bombs, rockets, air to air missiles, and air to ground missiles. It means always being aware of when the A-10's will be night flying and being able to know whether or not it truly is a thunderstorm shaking my house or just the jets. It means being able to differentiate the planes by how they sound flying over my house and being pretty good at guessing where they must be visiting from. It means knowing the gate guards shifts and whether or not my "favorites" are on duty.

Being an Air Force wife means switching my sleep schedule to match that of my husband's so as to get as much time together as possible, helping prep his Dress Blues (holding the ruler and telling him whether or not things look centered), and lint rolling him from top to bottom. It means checking in on him to see how his CDC's are going and offering relentlessly to help him study. It means giving him weekly head shaves. It means making cookies, cupcakes, and other treats for his shop. It means praising the littlest bit of improvement in something or an opportunity to get training for something else, even if it does lessen our "home" time together.

It means living 2,000 miles away from our families, friends, and everything familiar. It means days, nights, weeks, and months of loneliness. It means being overwhelmed and not being able to explain why. It means having so many plans and dreams but also knowing that making plans is a little idiotic because there is no guarantee you'll ever be able to follow through with them. It means my cell phone is an appendage to my body and willingness to walk out of church (gasp!) when it goes off.

Being an Air Force wife means keeping his ABU's clean and hung up, his flight line badges, ear plugs, and ipod/headphones all together so its easier for him to get ready for work. It means being prepared for the worst but readily (duh) accepting the best. It means finding numbered stickers all over everything we own and aspiring to be able to do  DIY PCS but realizing I'll probably never be that brave. It means facing the possibility and eventual reality of many separations, TDY's, deployments, and PCS's. It means hurry up and wait and nothing is for certain. It means we have a steady income, a roof over our head, and food on our table. 

It means tearing up when 'God Bless the USA', 'Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue', 'Letters From Home', and any other slightly patriotic (and chances are country) song. It means having a fabulous network and support system of other military spouses, from all branches, and creating unbreakable bonds with women I have never met. It means my body physically hurting and my heart aching when I hear of another fallen soldier or wounded warrior. Another ultimate sacrifice, another broken family, another pain-filled journey ahead of fatherless children and another widow getting a folded flag. Another Gold Star family. It means being HUA (Hooah, Oorah, Hooyah) through and through. It means immense pride when I see my Airman jump to attention and salute. It means butterflies in my tummy when I see him swagger through a crowd of camo.

Being an Air Force wife, to me, is everything. It is indistinguishable from who I am and who I will continue to be throughout his entire career. Being an Air Force wife is a blessing, a gift, an honor, and it's something I wouldn't trade it for anything in the entire world.

MilSpouse Blog Hop

I'm sorry I didn't do my Thursday Five yesterday. I also missed Kindred Connection but this week was just a very off week. I'm also not doing my normal BLOG LINK PARTY but am opting to go with a MilSpouse one. It sounded like fun okay? I found it over at

Chelle's, or A Muddy Paw's, or It's a Hooah Life

Yes, she is all one person. She found it from

Julie the Army wife at Riding the Roller Coaster

who happens to be hosting this glorious bit of Friday fun. To join up and read the rules go check it out for yourself.

My name is Mrs. S. It's not my real name but it's what Mr. Superman decided to call me. Mr. Superman is my hub-a-lub. We met in a trailer park after his roommate (whom I was dating) introduced us. After weeks of woo'ing (on my part), I convinced him to come be my loverface and we've been inseparable and madly in love ever since. He's tall, skinny, and bald but I like it that way. He pretends to be embarrassed about being bald at 22 but I kindly remind him that him with hair, was never a good thing. I am tall, roundish bodaciously curvy, and we won't even go into MY hair because it'd take a few years. 

Mr. Superman is active duty in the United States Air Force and loves it. He is an AMMO man currently but has high aspirations of being a Captain before retirement. He's quite literally a genius. He can solve any problem placed in front of him without so much as breaking a sweat. I'm a major word nerd. As my hub-a-lub so kindly pointed out the other day when I was disputing this fact, "People call you from 2,000 miles away for help on their college English assignments." Okay I'll claim it, fine. He enjoys football, dirtbikes, Mythbusters, heat, and cars. I like basketball, pursesclothesshoes, cold, blogging, and cars. For the most part we are complete opposites but we like it that way. It makes things more interesting. 

We are parents to two beautiful angel babies that we dream of meeting one day but for now are holding onto our hopes of being adoptive parents. Mr. Superman is a very easy-going, go with the flow, chillaxin' kind of dude. I am a plan it all out, there is a certain way to do it, OCD cleaning queen. We are so grateful and proud to be a part of the blessing and honor that is the Military Family and try to show that to others. We've been taken from the Wild West and transplanted into the Dirty South. Its taking some getting used to but we're doing it our way. We are two crazy 22 year old kids making our way through life, come what may and love it. We are Mr. Superman & Mrs. S.

♥ Mrs. S.

The Party Don't Start Til I Walk In...

You know, I've heard a lot of crazy stories from Mr. Superman and his buddies about the stuff they did to stay in high spirits while in BMT. I imagine being in the Air Force Academy they have a lot more opportunities and freedom for their creativity spectrum and entertainment. I love running across videos like this. They leave me laughing my head off. Enjoy lovelies :)



♥ Mrs. S.

Post Edit** I found this one too and I love it! Most of the clips are from Iraq and Afghanistan. Good to see our troops having some fun. I love the last clip because you see the Iraqi kids cheering the soldier on.



♥ Mrs. S. (again)

You did What!? (Why we chose the Air Force)

When we made our decision to enlist, we got some very mixed reactions to it. I say "we" because it was a joint decision. Yes, Mr. Superman was the one who signed his name on the contract, went to BMT, Tech School, etc etc but we as a couple decided what would be best for us not only in the present but in the long term future.

When people are considering whether or not enlisting would be right for them, or if they think that it may be something they would like to do, it is really important to look at the long term, what you want to do in your life, and especially for those in serious relationships ie marriage, to discuss it with your partner/spouse and make sure that you are both ready and willing for the complete 180 change in lifestyles. The stability in career is fantastic and the opportunities that become open to you are phenomenal but most people don't think about or don't realize the sacrifice necessary.

I can't even count how many people have asked me how long Mr. Superman and I were apart, what we had to do so far, if it's "hard", if we got to choose where to live, how much we make... think of any question YOU may wonder about and it has been asked. For the most part, questions are fine. They are to be expected. Others however, like, "Is it hard?" aggravate me but also make me shake my head at the ignorance. Of course it's difficult! Everything about it is difficult but it makes Mr. Superman happy, he loves it, its something to be proud of... I could go on and on but that isn't the purpose of this post. I will just say that the good outweighs the bad and the hubbs loves it so I am content and happy.

The story behind why Mr. Superman and I chose to enlist and also chose the Air Force over any other branch actually extends back to when Mr. Superman was in high school, before I ever met him. He won't toot his own horn but I'll be more than happy to bragster him up a bit. He is a total genius! He had lots of scholarships and had been accepted to ASU (Arizona State University), U of U (University of Utah), Colorado State, and the ever exclusive USC. He played football and wrestled and as injuries do happen, he ended up with two horrible knees at the end of it and lost the scholarships. He had been fully planning on attending U of U and doing their ROTC program then commissioning as an Officer in the AF. Sweet right?! Yeah well he couldn't pass the physical with two blown out knees.

Fast forward three years. We're married, Mr. Superman has only three semesters left until his BSD, we have 3 jobs between the two of us but no money. We felt like we needed to move to UT. We prayed then moved. After both of us getting new, fantastic, high paying jobs, we were both laid off. *Insert screaming and crying here* Without talking about it we both kept having the Air Force pop into our heads. After a week of no work, we sat down to discuss our options and we both brought it up. Long story short, we went into a recruiting office, got our questions answered, prayed, then enlisted! It was a bit of a whirlwind ride but here we are! So back to basic questions of this post.

Why did we enlist? Well Mr. Superman had always had interest but lost his chance due to sports injuries. We both felt like life was just supposed to happen a little and he's now back on the path that was originally meant for him (us). The fact that he is now loving this career path is a major plus along with the stability in employment, education perks, housing, major network, etc etc.

Why the Air Force? Again, it was Mr. Superman's original interest. Also, it was a huge plus that they would be allowing him to go right back to school. Education opportunities are huge and Mr. Superman finishing his degree is so important to him and to his plans and goals for the Air Force. I guess all in all it was just the best fit for us.

That's all for now lovelies.

♥ Mrs. S.

Welcome Home Baby!!

Cody got home on Saturday, November 7 and it has been spectacular having my baby back! Amber, Jeff, and the White children came with me to pick him up from the airport. Photos are courtesy of Amber. I'm so unbelievably proud of you sweetie!

Update via Pictorials

Here are a few photos to show our escapades during this month of October. Cody taking my camera to work/class, fantastic Air Show, a few random snapshots, hanging with some cute kids, hanging with friends, Thai food for the first time, costume Bunko, the usual :) Enjoy lovelies.

My adorable husband builds bombs.


He loves it.


You've gotta have a passion right?


On our way to the Air Show.


Big ol' plane.


Even bigger!


Cody thinks these planes look extremely angry. I agree.


Yeah, I couldn't get a wide enough shot to include my husband AND the massive engine. I went for the cuter of the two.


Going in!!


The "innards" of the afore mentioned plane.


Cute husband, old plane.


Common sense?


I wanna fly!!


Common sense #2


Its crazy we saw this thing take off


I love this guy.


The old man who owned this plane was so cute in his old school pilot's jumpsuit.


On our way to Dallas to pick up my parents :)


Random snapshot exhibit A


We're goofy, we know, that's why "we" work!


In the short while I was gone, Abby lost her teeth....


Aiden got even cuter....


AND a too cool for Chelle attitude. Haha just kidding, he still loves me although he DOES ask for Cody every time he see me.


Jalen broke her wrist.


Watching Monster's Inc.


Classic tongue photo: check


Smile: check


Kissy lips: double check


Jacob made an AIR FORCE ONE rocket for scouts because of all the stuff he's been hearing about Cody in the Air Force. He did such a great job and painted all the camouflage by himself.



He won first place!! Great job buddy!


Aiden wearing Jacob's Halloween costume mask. Masks freak me out and this one's especially bad.


Parker!!



The smiley chunkster baby Colton!


Love his face :)


Erin!!!


Davey took me to eat Thai food. I was skeptical but it was unbelievable! So yummy!



I subbed in for Amber's Bunko group. It was costumed and was a blast!!




Now I only have one more weekend alone without Cody! Only 8 more nights and 9 more days!! I CANNOT wait to pick him up from the airport. SOOO stoked to have my husband back full time. It's going to be great.