Birthday Weekend and Tons of Visitors

Daniel's birthday week was a very special one. We were able to have Sarah and her beau Andrew over for Wednesday and Thursday night before they left on Friday afternoon. We spent Thursday night playing games and enjoying cake and ice cream. Daniel donned his Afghani garb for S & A and didn't get to change in time before we made him blow out the candles. He told me to never let him wear that outfit again during pictures-taking times. I like it on him, besides it was tailored just for him, and he looks good in anything. :)
We played two different games that night on the porch and had a great time together. It was a wonderful visit.

On Daniel's actual birthday we had dinner at home then had a second night of ice cream, but went to Coldstone for Daniel's favorite cake batter creation. He loves the cake batter flavor!

The next day we ran several errands in the morning and then enjoyed the MumFest in the afternoon. It was basically a big fall festival for New Bern. They had vendors from all over the state there with all kinds of crafts, information and yummy food. It was a perfect day to be outside and I snapped a shot next to the Neuse River in the downtown area of New Bern.

Daniel's weekdays are very busy so we are thankful for the weekends to relax and rejuvenate for the upcoming week. We had the chance to connect with my family this past weekend as Daniel and I met my parents on Saturday morning and drove to Sarah's university for her family weekend. It was another glorious Saturday to spend outside and I am thankful we made the trip. It is only a two hour drive to her school and they have a lovely campus.

Sarah, as an RA, had to take part in the Homecoming activities. She helped decorate the truck for the parade and encouraged her residents to take part in it as well. She did an excellent job of decorating and their float was one of the cutest. As you can tell the school mascot is the camel. They have some school spirit. Sarah, along with some her her residents, was in the truck bed throwing out candy to the bystanders.

During the parade I was able to snap a couple of other shots as well... Here are Momma and Daddy sitting on the roadside during the parade, and quick shot of the Danny boy and me. It was a bright sunny day so the glare was extreme.









That evening we went to dinner and went to see "Flags of Our Fathers". It is an excellent movie, but beware it has extremely graphic war scenes. I had to look away at times, but the overall theme of true heroism is captivating. I just need to read the book now and luckily we have it...It is next on my list.

We returned home late on Saturday evening and went to Sunday school and the church service in the morning. We took a nice long nap to prepare for the upcoming week and to recover from the lack of sleep from the weekend. Daniel had planned to be out in the field all week, meaning he would not come home at night for dinner or to sleep. He would be outside sleeping or in the barracks at Le Jeune due to the early mornings and late nights.

But, last night I got a call around 6pm saying he was coming home early. I was very excited. He called later and said he was going to stop by a friend's house to see if he was back from leave. John, a friend of Daniel's from Okinawa just returned from Iraq and post-deployment leave. Daniel wanted to stop in and say hi. We also knew another friend from Oki, another Daniel, was visiting that evening and my Daniel wanted to see him as well. He originally thought he was going to miss seeing both of them this week due to being busy in the field, but his team finished up early and Daniel called and told me they were headed here for dinner and to spend the night.

I multiplied dinner times two and got the house ready for guests. I just love having people over! We had a great evening and they had a good chance to reconnect and recollect Oki stories. I snapped a picture of the three of them this morning around 5am before they headed out the door. John, my Daniel, and Daniel. They are really great guys and both have such a kind spirit. It was a joy meeting Daniel finally (I had met John) and having them stay over.

Yesterday during the day I went over to the director of the St. Charles Singers' house again. I have been twice now. (I never filled the blog readers in.) I am now an official St. Charles singer. Basically it means she contacts me with certain gigs and I can say yes or no and sing as much as I want. I love the flexibility and the opportunity to sing different styles of music. I have a gig set up at a restaurant in Jacksonville already and I have to fill an hour of time. I am doing a couple of duets, but mostly solos ranging from Disney to country-pop to Broadway. I just love having the opportunity to sing on a regular basis. We already have 4 performances lined up in December as well. It is all very exciting. I will be sure to let ya'll know how that goes.

Last week I also finished up LINKS mentor training. I am now a mentor which means I will be helping facilitate monthly LINKS training for new Marine Corps wives or just wives who want to know more about the Corps, the local area, or meet new spouses. I went to LINKS training in September and they asked me if I would like to be a mentor. Well, I passed mentor training and I am on the list for next months class. It is another excellent volunteer position to meet wives and stay involved. I really do look forward to this opportunity.

I am picking up the activity level with KVs again as our Marine spouses prepare to deploy again. This Thursday is a big meeting where I will meet other KVs, mostly wives of the men Daniel works with. I am looking forward to meeting them as well as building the KV program within Daniel's team.

I am headed to lunch now with another Marine wife. She is getting her car fixed in the shop so I am going to swing by and pick her up for lunch.

Have an excellent week!