beach and eating

We finally made it to the beach on Saturday.  The weather was beautiful, in the low 80's and sunny.  AB loves her new sand toys.  She even has a sandbox in our backyard that she loves spending hours a day playing in.

 Mike persuaded me to get into the freezing cold water...but this was what he had to promise to let me do.  I've always wanted to bury someone in the sand :)

Laying in Daddy's sand cave 

 It was hard to get a good picture because we were looking straight into the sun

First time playing in the sandbox that our awesome neighbor made for her

 Handsome man

I have been trying out a lot of new recipes lately, which has been a lot of fun.  I have several cookbooks that I haven't used much.  I have resolved to be more creative and try new recipes.  We have had some delicious meals so far.  I have also shopped for and written out a menu for the entire upcoming month!  Go me!!!  That is the most organized I have ever been with my food planning.  I made salsa last week, and after talking to my mom on the phone, got a wonderful idea to put raspberries into the salsa.  I happened to have some in my freezer, so in they went.  Oh. my. goodness.  Wow, was it good.  I will definitely be doing that again.  

 With the raspberries...doesn't it look so fresh and delicious?

I also made some homemade pesto to put on my grilled cheese sandwich, which also included tomatoes and salami (all on sourdough bread).  Mmmmmm

Some of the other new meals I have tried include shrimp scampi on angel hair pasta, blue cheese burgers (Awesome!), chipotle chicken rolls with avacado dipping sauce, tortilla soup, ham and swiss creoes, and more.  Now we have another month of new tasty experiments.  We have even added some new dessert recipes to the list (almost my favorite part).  Sorry I don't have pics of the other foods I made.

OCS Graduation

Mike's graduation was a lot of fun.  It was so neat to participate in something so meaningful on such a large and personal scale.  Mike's mom, Annette, and I designed and sewed a sailor dress for Anabelle to wear to graduation.  She even had a jacket to match his.

 Isn't is adorable?!

Ready to show Daddy her support

 Can you spot Mike?

 She was a little tired that morning.  Can you tell?

Saluting the Captains of the different commands as they gave Mike his diploma.  Mike was a distinguished graduate, graduating in the top 10% of his class (top 8 of 82). Go Mike!

Finishing up the graduation ceremony with the traditional dismissal and tossing of the covers

Class 06-11 Foxtrot (there was another company in his class)  This is half of the graduating class.

 Mike's dad in his Coast Guard uniform

 Such a handsome man

 Receiving his first salute (from his Dad)

 Navy girl

 Navy wife

 Oh how I love him

Receiving his first salute from his drill instructor and class chief

We were very happy to have Kirt and Annette there to celebrate with us.  They were also very helpful with Anabelle

Just a few more pics 

Celebrating later that evening

 Cooling of AB's pizza

 Bowling

 She wasn't feeling very well.  It turned out that this night was the beginning of her several-day-long fever

 You can't see them well, but they had bowling shoes in her size.  They were definitely the cutest bowling shoes that I have ever seen.

We had such a great time in Newport for all of the graduation events.  Sorry it has taken me an entire month to post pictures.  Life is pretty crazy when you're moving and settling in.  I'm glad to be able to share a little piece of our lives through blogging.

Hi Moms Cocktail Party

We had a cocktail party Thursday evening when we got all dolled up and went to the Officer's Club to meet and mingle with all of the soon-to-be Ensigns and their families.  It was fun getting dressed up, and some of the finger foods were pretty good.  They showed a slideshow of the class, which gave us a little taste of what they went through at OCS.  Some of the class drill instructors and chiefs also gave a little speech.

With Mike's Drill Instructor, Gunnery Sergeant Rykman, United States Marine Corps.

Chief Smith

Lieutenant Lufkin (he wanted us to make a serious face-I cannot pull off the serious face at all! ha ha)

Fixing AB's pigtails

OCS Graduation Events

  After 2 months of separation, I was greeted by a handsome man in a very nice military dress uniform :) We were finally together again!  Yes, it was a long embrace.

 So happy to be reunited (although AB looks a little unsure of the whole situation).

       

But she was happy to have her Daddy back!

Mike showed us around the base a bit.  This is a retired aircraft carrier. You can't tell from the pictures, but it was ENORMOUS!

Wrestling with AB at one of the events.  I was trying to get a picture of our matching shirts that I made.

Marching in for their drill parade at Pass in Review.  The two separate companies marched in, along with the color guard.  They performed some drill formations, some announcements were made regarding their classes, and they were relieved of their current duties.  

 Standing in formation

 Doesn't he look so good in uniform? :)

Sorry it has taken me so long to post about graduation stuff.  It's already been over 2 weeks.  We haven't had a good internet connection for most of that time, or we have just been too busy.  I also have some video I would like to post, but considering it took a couple of hours to upload all of these pictures, it would probably take all day to upload a video.  So that will just have to wait.  I will post more again soon about the other events and happenings with us.  Thanks for tuning in.

"That's Daddy's Flag"

AB loves flags.  Today, while we were driving from Ogden to Salt Lake, we saw some out the window.  I decided to teach her about the flag a little bit.  We recited the Pledge of Allegiance a few times.  I explained to her that our country's flag is called the American flag, and that we live in the United States of America.  I then proceeded to tell her that Daddy works for our country, so we can have our freedom (stuff like that).  So when we saw another flag, I asked her, "Whose flag is that?"  She responded, "That's Daddy's flag."
So there you have it.  From the wisdom of an almost 2-year-old.  This is Daddy's flag...and mine...and yours. God bless America.