Its been awhile...to say the VERY LEAST!

To be quite frank, I forgot I even had a blog.

When it did dawn on me that my account was probably still active, I thought "I should try logging in" and TA-DA....here I am, again.

Honestly, so much has happened in the past year that I can't even begin to think where I should begin. So, I'll just give the extremely brief version. Ready? Here it is...

We end the summer of 2009 with a couple vacations under our belt, Joe has come and gone to NTC in Ft. Irwin, CA, and we're gearing up for our 2nd deployment to Iraq come October. In August, I start a new job as a Reading Specialist at a local high school (yeah, I said high school) working with remedial 9th grade readers. September, we find out I'm pregnant...wonderful timing. Right before Halloween, Joe takes off for overseas and I'm literally vomiting everywhere. November and December - I puked through those months too, but with less force and the decision is made that I won't be returning to work after the winter holidays....thank God high school is on semesters. Beginning of 2010, feeling better and it's a....boy (Joe is elated). Did some traveling to see family and friends. Joe takes command of his Troop (Crazyhorse) at the end of March and I become FRG Leader by default. We charge through the Spring, preparing for Brady and being a command team. Contractions start coming towards the end of May, I pray Brady holds off on coming until Joe gets home on R&R at the tail end of the month and our sweet little boy does! June 2nd - Brady Knox is born with Joe by my side. Every family member present to witness his first hours. We spend the remainder of Joe's R&R doing a crash course in parenting and then he's back on a flight overseas a week and half after delivery. The rest of June and July have been spent learning how to be a mommy and enjoying every minute of our son's life. Been to the beach, been to the pool, spending time with all of our families, visits from friends, and the list goes on.

So now, we're in the present....AUGUST! Joe's command is in full swing, the FRG is running smoothly, everyone is pumped for the final 2 months. We just got done with weekend visit from Sassy, my mom, and we'll be laying low until Grandpa and Grandma Suzi, my dad and step-mom, come to visit in 2 weeks. We, Brady and I, spend a good bit of time with Honey and Grandpa Jim-Jim, Joe's parents. And of course, we can't forget Brady's favorite aunts (Steph, Marge, and Elizabeth) - we've been spending lots of time with them too.

I hope to stay pretty up to date with this now, so check back when you can.

JR & Jenna's wedding

We did have a FABULOUS time at a recent wedding back in June. One of Joe's fraternity brothers, Jonathan Robinson, got married to a beautiful Jenna Chastain. The wedding was in west Georgia, so we stayed overnight, along with several college friends, at a local hotel. We wish both Jonathan and Jenna a long and happy marriage!

My Tie

I had the pleasant duty of purchasing a tie for Joe today; he desperately needed one to go with a linen suit that he'll be wearing to an upcoming wedding. Hum! That's about all I can say to sum up my experience in the men's clothing store today. Finding that "just right" tie to polish off a suit can be a bit tricky. Do I got with the paisley pink tie that I think looks dashing with a black linen suit or do I go with a more low-key black tie with sea-green paisley accents??? Or should I completely forego the paisely and go with your standard stripes in red, blue, or grey? CRAP people, I mean CRAP! If I pick the wrong one, he just might have a hissy fit that I got him a girly-looking tie. Hem and haw..hem and haw some more...oh screw it, just buy two and hope that he will wear the one I like the best. We'll have to wait to see which one he decides on.

calling all Beach Bums

We were able to get away on a 7-night cruise to the western Caribbean just after Joe reported in to Ft. Stewart. Don't get this wrong...it was what some may consider a deal with the devil. He reported early, foregoing Airborne School, and in return the squadron commander agreed to let him have the "so-soon" time-off. Regardless, we had an amazing time the whole trip, just focusing on relaxing and doing whatever we wanted when the mood struck us.

We made day-long stops in Labadee, Haiti, Ocho Rios, Jamaica, and Georgetown, Grand Cayman; no excursions planned, so we simply self-guided ourselves through each port. Interesting to say the VERY least! We walked around Labadee and played in the beautiful water. Shopped and took an abbreviated tour of Ocho Rios while a taxi-cab driver named Billy, who took us to the "unseen" sections of Jamaica. Visited a beach club in Georgetown and then searched for an ATM so that we could pay our taxi...not easy when very few banks take American bank cards...sheesh.

The other days were spent at sea, taking in the cruise liner's activities, amenities, and accommodations. We met some fantastic people, namely a couple from England, Lynn & Ivan. All in all, the week was everything we could have asked for and much needed. We just might need to go on another vacation before the summer is up.

On the Freedom of the Seas:

Below is Lynn & Ivan - wonderful couple

Labadee, Haiti:

Ocho Rios, Jamaica:


Georgetown, Grand Cayman:

Another enters the working world...or at least we hope.

Joe's middle sister, Margaret, graduated from our alma mater, NGCSU, at the beginning of May. Super exciting to have another North GA grad in the family! We traveled up to Dahlonega to celebrate with the family and had a wonderful time. Hopefully, Margaret will find just the right job and next life path for herself...these days are hard, so we'll keep our fingers crossed for her. But, obviously this day wasn't too much about what tomorrow held, it was about celebrating her accomplishment, so HOORAY for Marge.

Margaret & Kathryn (the other grad)

Elizabeth, Margaret, & Stephanie

Watching the photo shoot

Over the past two months!

Best of friends

My West Coast ladies - Stephanie, Kayci, Ashley,
Adrienne, and Molly

The one and only Britney Spears

The Pussy Cat Dolls were the opening act for Britney!

After leaving Kentucky and moving into our new home in Georgia, I took a short trip back to Washington to see friends, specifically Kayci and Adrienne (the besties). We had plans to go to the Britney Spears concert for Kayci's birthday and just hang out for the remainder of their Spring Break. I just love those women and miss them tremendously.

Oct. MCCC ladies

4N - Rick, Sean, Justin, Mike, MAJ Doran, Joe,
Ales, Jason, Kevin, Calvin, Chane, & Stoney

Ali & Stoney Portis

April 1, 2009: Joe graduated from the Maneuver Captain's Career Course and if I can brag, he finished in the top 10 of his class of 50 something. I can't remember is exact class rank, but I think it was in the 5-6-7 range. We absolutely loved our time while Joe was in the MCCC, we were able to spend quality time together and met awesome people! The guys that Joe met will be friends for years to come and we, ladies, clicked very well and have continued to stay in touch. We will definitely miss having our MCCC friends around!

In early March, the weather started getting a bit warmer in Kentucky, so Joe and I took Guinness to Douglas Lake on Ft. Knox. Not quite "dog-swimming" weather, but he loved rolling in the grass. While we were there, we played with the fish-eye lens that Joe got me for Valentine's Day. He caught me in mid-motion...lovely, isn't it?

Late February: Joe and I joined Brett & Julie Gambacorta over at Dan & Tammy Padgett's house in Radcliff, KY for a Arrow Troop Reunion. Dan was Brett and Joe's troop commander before they deployed from Ft. Lewis. Although they weren't technically in the same troop during the deployment, they remained close; so naturally, we would all get together since we were at Ft. Knox, even if for a brief time. Tammy, Julie, and I are close as well...SABER SISTERS! While the guys talked "shop" and recounted war stories, we modeled for Abby and Ava (the photographers). Joe thought it would be hilarious to buy Veteran hats for the occasion, Brett and Dan ate it up.

Rewind to February: Kayci came to visit us in Kentucky and we had a wonderful time spending quality time together. We tried to cram as much as possible into 3 days, including all the things we love to do together (eating sushi, shopping, watching movies, telling hilarious stories, etc.). Joe took us to Louisville for Valentine's Day and we bar-hopped...so romantic :)

Ok, ok, ok!

I'm back to blogging after a severe hiatus! So to catch everyone up, we're back in Georgia, Joe at his unit at Ft. Stewart, I'm actively searching for a teaching job, and life is overall good. We've got quite a few pictures to post, but as you can tell, I haven't posted ANY of them. One step at a time, one step at a time.

Other than that, our new address is
236 Savannah Lane
Richmond Hill, GA 31324
so update your contact information!