September - Come and Gone

I know, I have been terrible about my blog the past month! So much has been going on and I've been all over the place. Literally. It has been a great month, but a tiring one. I came back from my big trip to Illinois for James Howard's boot camp graduation with the same crud that he got while in boot camp (thanks babe) so I was a bit under the weather the first week I was back. Not fun when you have a new baby niece. Since then I've been here there and everywhere. The most exciting thing that came after my big trip was my decision to chop all my hair off. Right before I left for Great Lakes I cut 3 inches and when I got home, I cut another 3" off so in total I've cut 6" in the past month or so. Picture below. There is a big divide amongst people in my life. Some people are VERY Pro-Short Haired Julie and some people are VERY Pro-Long Haired Julie. You all know who you are, so congratulations to the Pro-Short Haired Julie people. You've won for now.

So what else have Julie and James been up to? James is really thriving in A School. (Apprentice School) He has been getting fantastic grades on all of his tests, I think his average is a 95. He is really liking Electronics and is learning so much. He is getting adjusted to night classes, so it is a bit of a challenge for him to connect with those who are at work during the day. He is getting his internet set up today so you can always email him! He goes to class about 5:30 and gets back to his room at around 12:45am (which is 1:45am here) and he sleeps pretty late. It will be a nice schedule when I actually do live up there, as we'll have the days together. And of course he has Saturdays and Sundays off! We're still waiting on his Live Ashore packet to get approved so I can move up that way. I've gotten very good at waiting.

And of course, the big trip back to Great Lakes to celebrate our one year wedding anniversary. I drove through 5 states and 14 hours to get to my husband. Now, those of you that know me know that I despise being in the car for long periods of time (James says I'm like a toddler and we have to pack "toys" for long trips to keep me occupied) and despise driving so this was a big deal for me. I was so proud of myself!!! Seeing him waiting at the gate when I pulled onto base that next morning was all the reason I needed. It was such a great weekend. We had an amazing dinner on Saturday night in the city at Fulton's on the River and we had so much fun looking back at the wedding day and our honeymoon. James even got to wear civilian clothing and order a beer so he was VERY happy. :) Below is a picture of us at Fulton's. I can't believe it has been a year! We also decided on an apartment while we were there and i LOVE LOVE it. It is in Highwood, Illinois. It has a small town feel to it which James loves. We can walk downtown to the little shops and restaurants (until it gets cold, then I'm not walking anywhere) and the apartments have all been renovated so they're very nice. James turned in the lease to get approved. I can't wait!

Other than that I've just been spending as much time as I can with my family and friends. I am down at the beach for now and am loving the time with my Dad and my Mom. Lilly is having the best time too! We went for a walk at the marina today and she discovered the hard way not to step on a floating dock at high tide. She got a quick swimming lesson! Last weekend I attended the Sugarland concert with my favorite sibling in laws and two of my besties. The next morning I got lots of Molly time. She is getting so big! She was four weeks old last Saturday. She is the spitting image of Jason and absolutely adorable. She is definitely making my impending move not so easy :) Hope everyone is enjoying the Fall weather. I think me and my Granny are the only ones sad to see the blazing hot weather depart. Here are a couple of pictures from Sugarland and me and Molly cuddling :)