Catching up!

Here is a sweet picture of the little one!! Taken on her 9 month birthday!

I know, I've been such a slacker!

So, it's offiical, Juliet is crawling!! And she loves to crawl quickly. Like so quick, she's ran into the sliding glass door a couple of times, lol. I don't know how much her poor little noggin can take!! She now says mama and dada....along with many variations of the word. LOL. She also says "yay." She desperately wants to say "good girl" lol, but all it pretty much is emphasized GG's. But it's pretty cute.

I'm also excited because my good friend Jerrica and I decided to make a summer reading list. I'm going to try and read the first five Harry Potters by the middle of August. Let's hope I can do it!

And something random happened this weekend. I was in the middle of making lunch when all of the sudden my over-the-stove microwave bit the dust. Obviously we can't afford an expensive new one, so we decided to take it out and get an on the counter one. Well, come to find out there is a huge hole in the wall behind the microwave, lol. We fill it and realize we can't find the same color paint to cover up the hole. So, we just decided to repaint because it looked so silly with two different colors. But, in the end I'm happy we did it. My kitchen looks amazing, and I'm so proud of Adam for doing so much work to get it done. Plus! For the price of paint and a new microwave, I pretty much got a new kitchen for not even the price of the expensive micro. So, I'm happy!!

Well, it's Memorial day weekend, and Adam has had 4 days off, and let me tell you, it's been amazing having him home.

I hope everyone is having a good memorial day!!

Crockpot spaghetti!!

Crockpot Spaghetti!!!

1 green bell pepper
1 yellow onion
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 big can of tomato sauce
Sweet italian sausage
Italian seasoning
Salt
Pepper
Garlic
Seasoned Salt
Oregano

Dice bell pepper and onion, empty diced tomatoes and sauce into crockpot. Add sausage, and seasonings to taste, as you like it. And cook on low for 5-6 hours!! Delish!!

Easy Chicken Crockpot Tacos!

All you need is:

3 chicken breasts

1 tub of wholly salsa (I usually make my own tho)

1 pack of taco seasoning

Add all of it into the crockpot and cook on low for 5-6 hours. It shreds so easliy, I don't even need 2 forks, lol.

Serve on warm flour tortillas with sour cream and guacamole

Guac:

3 avacados

1 half of a jalepeno

Garlic

Salt

Pepper

Salt

Enjoy! I promise you'll love these!!!

Mama Garretts Unique Taco Salad....yummmmm

This is the most amazing taco salad I've ever had. My mom has been making this for me since I was a little kid, so I thought I would share it with all of you.

1 bag of your favorite salad
1 lb of turkey meat (you can use regular meat, but we like turkey better)
1 packet of taco seasoning
2 tomatos (chopped)
French dressing
Tabasco sauce
and tortilla chips

Make your meat, and add the taco seasoning, mix all of the rest of the ingredients together. There is no percise measurment for the dressing and tabasco, it's all up to you. But I'm pretty generous. Crush the tortilla chips up and enjoy! I love it, it's amazing. Makes me hungry just thinking about it. LOL.

Just a bit of bragging....

Very proud of my hubby today. He was in Sierra Vista yesterday with his Honor Guard team honoring homeless Vets that lost thier life in war. So Proud!!!

Watch the video!! You'll see him a few times!



http://www.kgun9.com/news/local/148344685.html

That's a Yummy Stromboli!!!!

Alrighty, I love love me some Stromboli! I figured I could make it better than going to the little expensive family restuarnt down the street. So here is the recipe:

1 can of pilsbury pizza crust (I usually like to make my own dough, but this works in a pinch)
Oregano
Tons of spinich
Pepperoni
Hard Salami
Mozzerella cheese
And anything you want, pretty much.

I like to have a side of marinara sauce on the side to dip in. I like to put tomatos and a bunch of veggies with spices in the crockpot all day and have yummy homemade sauce.

Lay the dough on a cookie sheet (greased) lay all of your ingredients on the dough, sprinkle the oregano on top, wrap horizantally, close the ends and bake at 350 for about 20 mins!

It's delicious!


Well, until later, I have to feed me and the kiddo lunch :)

-Cassie

It's been one heck of a year!

Hi everyone,

I know it's been a year and a few months since I've written on my blog, and I feel like a total LAZY, but I figure I had so much going on that I needed to focus on growing a baby, and taking care of my hubby. LOL, excuses excuses!  

Well since my last entry, I had Juliet. On August 23rd, at 1:20 pm. 7 lbs 6 oz. She is absolutly perfect in every way. That was almost eight months ago. She has grown so fast, in a blink of an eye, really. I can't believe it. She is almost crawling, but talking like a mad-woman. She is so close to saying "mama" I can feel it! She loves her Papa so much, and I love to see them interact together. I am in love with my life, and can't wait for what it has in store for me.

We also bought our first home this year, in June! And OMG, I'm so in love with this house, it's not even funny. We live out in the middle of nowhere, but, I like the quietness that comes along with having only a few people around me. The house is perfect for the 3 of us, and I feel blessed that we were able to get a place of our own.

Also, in the past year, I lost my grandpa Tom, in May. He was most of my world for all of my life. He was my dad for all intents and purposes. I loved him so much. I still feel like I haven't been able to fully come to terms with the fact he is gone. Honestly, I didn't have a choice. One day, he was fine, and the next he was in the hospital. He got to the end of his life, scared to leave this earth. And it broke my heart. I wished he knew that I KNEW that he was going to go to Heaven. He may have been an ornery guy, but he was the most kind hearted man ever. And so strong.  He would do anything for anyone. Most of us didn't deserve his sweetness. I really don't think that many people understand the relationship I had with him. Most think, "yeah, he is her grandpa, no biggie. I have the same relationship with my grandpa." But in all honesty, we talked about things that I wouldn't even talk to my best friends about. I knew I could trust him. Not even my family understood how close we were. He was my world. Other than my husband and Juliet, he was what got me thru. There were a few things that him and I didn't agree on, and in all honesty, it got in the way of our relationship at the end. And it absolutly tears me apart inside to know that it was never resolved because he just couldn't understand my feelings. But, what gets me through, is that know that I know he knows my TRUE heart, he understands. Worldly problems no longer matter to him anymore. And I know that he sees why I did what I did. I did those things to protect my family and myself. Even if I'm alone in my decisions (minus my mom and family, of course) I no longer question my last months with him. No one can change how much I loved him, and that makes me at peace. And I know he is as well.

Now that I've got that off my chest :o) I can now go to the exciting news!

Adam is finishing up his Masters degree at GCU for healthcare administration, and we are getting out of active duty at the end of the year! I can't tell you how stoked we are to get out from underneath the Air Forces thumb!! This brings on another burden in our lives because some people don't understand. And most don't because they have never served. But we are making this choice for our family. It's whats best for US, and that is all that matters. Sometimes, people treat us like we are children, like we don't know what we are doing. And I think it's funny because Adam and I are probably the most cautious people around. LOL. But with this decision, comes another. I am going to start a small buisness out of our house. Which I will announce when I get it up and started! I am so excited, I can hardly keep it to myself!

So now that Adam is home and our lives are constant, this blog will basically be a life journal. With recipes, news, and life happienss that happens along the way!!!

I hope you all come along for the ride with us, because it gets a little crazy sometimes!

Exciting News!!!!

Adam and I are so happy to let all of you know that WE'RE HAVING A BABY!!!

And we couldn't be happier. Of course we are shocked, stoked, and anxious but still soooo happy.

I took my first test on 1/1/11 first thing in the morning and it was positive! After taking the test, I walked out of the bathroom and said "Babe, it has two lines." Adam looks at me and says "Nuh-uh, shut up." LOL I thought that was so funny.

Then I took the second test the next day during the afternoon and it was still positive, faint, but none the less, positive.

The first two tests (top) 1/1/11 and (bottom) 1/2/11

Being the skeptic that I am, I had to take one more test so on 1/5/11 we took our third test and it was still positive!

and this is the 3rd one from 1/5/11

So now I finally started to believe. LOL

This week, I went to the doctors to get my blood drawn and on Tuesday, 1/11/11 we found that we are officially going to be parents!!!

It still hasn't sunk in yet that I'm growing a little person inside of me. But it becomes more and more real as the week goes and I have, what I like to call, All day-All night morning sickness. LOL oh the joys of pregnancy.

I'm waiting for my referral to go to a doctor off base, which should come in on Tuesday. So after that, I get to go hopefully see our little "baby bean."

We love you guys! and we are so happy to share this with all of you!

It's been a loooong time!!

Hi Guys,

I know, I know, its been literally like 4 months since I have updated this thing, but to be honest, I didn't really think I had much to say lol.

But I did want to give you guys a little up date about whats going on, on our side of the fence.

Adam is working in his office at the moment. He has to take these things called CDC's. And for those of you who are in the Air Force or Military know what those are lol. But for those of you who aren't, CDC's are tests that, in our case, Airmen have to take in order for him to be able to work in his specified job. Adam is in Knowledge Operations. Which means he pretty much works with top secret documents and what not. Anyway, he hates this LOL. He wants to be up and about, and he is required to just sit in an office and study all day. And if you know Adam, this is a NO GO for him. So he is having a hard time. But hopefully they tests will go by quickly and he will move on to bigger and better things.

We have 2 new additions to our household, we got more dogs. Jasmine, who is a boxer and Harley, she is some sort of shepard mix. We had intended on only getting one dog when we went to the shelter, but ended up walking out with 2. Gotta love us Grahams. Their faces were so sad, we couldn't take just one.

We do live in a house now, on base. We love this house. It's just big enough for us, and has lots of room for our stuff. We are looking into getting a newer house here on base. But who knows when that will be!

Both Adam and I are going to go back to school in the next few months. Probably after the new year. And we are both VERY excited about that!

Oh and we bought a new car!

I think that's it for now!

I hope everyone is doing well!

The (waaaaay too long awaited) Airman Graham Update :o)

Well, since I have been so swamped with stuff for pretty much the last month, I finally made myself sit down and update this thing! lol I'm sorry for taking so long.

Alright, here we go.

Okay, so as I'm sure you all know, Adam graduated from BMT on April 9th....with honors!!! Like I said in a previous post that he was Academic Adviser for his flight 260, and they got the Academic Streamer, which is pretty huge for Adam, considering he was Academic Adviser :) His flight also got PT (Physical Training) Streamer and BEAST Excellence! This was pretty awesome for his flight, because its the most streamers his TI has ever had. So that's awesome for all the boys!

Adam's graduation weekend was....needless to say....amazing. We arrived to San Antonio on Wednesday, April 8th, got settled into our campsite and explored the area. Ugh!!! Texas is so incredibly confusing! LOL I was having a hard time with remembering where we were, so I was freaked! But, the fam and I were able to find the base and my hotel, which was a huge burden because we wanted to know where everything was for the next morning. On Thursday, the 8th, we all got up at 4am, Texas time, so ugh, LOL, 2am AZ time. And we were all quite cranky, but extremely excited to FINALLY see Adam. We had a briefing at 7am, and they pretty much told 3000 of us the proper etiquette for our stay there at Lackland AFB. No biggie. Then we had to wait an hour to see Adam run in the Airmen's Run. The fam and I found our spot on the side of the road and anxiously waited for Adam to run by with his flight!!! At around 9:10am, we could see all the flights coming around the corner, running toward us. WE FREAKED!!! lol Adam's sister, Sarah, and I made signs for him, so he knew to look for us. All the flights ran by and we didn't see Adam, but thankfully they got to run by a second time and we got to see him!! He had a huge smile on his face. I screamed and cried lol. It was amazing to actually get to see him, if even for a few seconds. So after that, we had to wait 2 more hours till the coin ceremony. We found our seats and waited...again. Hurry up to wait right?! But at 11am, the ceremony started and all the flights were promoted to Airmen and we were able to go get our boy! I have never moved so fast in my entire life!! He didn't even see me coming lol. He was surprised! So after hugs and kisses, we had to book it to the Honor Ceremony. There, Adam got, yet another coin, and its beautiful! That was great accomplishment for him, and I was/am so proud. At around 1pm, we decided to go find some lunch because we were all starving! Everything was super crowded so we decided to go to good ol' Burger King. And oh man, I have never seen Adam eat so much in my life!! He ate all of his food, about 3/4's of my burger and all of my fries, PLUS a half of a pie and my homemade cookies, LOL and he still wasn't full. Then we went bowling, and had a blast!! And for some stinking reason, I can't remember what else we did that day lol. But at around 7pm, Adam had to go back to his dorm. The next day, Friday, the 9th, Adam officially graduated!!! The ceremony was at 9am. Adam was in the flag flight, and held the Idaho flag during the ceremony. To be honest, the ceremony took forever lol. There was a bunch of people, like TI's getting promoted or something, but it was cool! Adam swore in, I cried, and we got to go get him again and take him off base for Base Liberty. Adam had to go sign himself out back at his dorm, but was told that he had to pack all of his stuff and get it ready to leave for Monday, I dunno why, but whatever lol. So dad and I went and got the rental car and came back. Adam needed to get his stripes put on all of his uniforms so, he and I sat at the Stripes store for 2 and a half hours waiting to get them put on. LOL oh goodness, more waiting!!!! Then we went and had dinner with his family, chicken wraps, one of Adam's faves. And by that time, it was time for him to go back to the dorms. On Saturday, the 10th, I picked Adam up and drove around looking for a Cracker Barrel lol, one of our favorite breakfast places. I don't know how, but I somehow found one, and we ate. Adam ate....get this...4 plates worth of food!!! LOL BMT deprived him of food! Later that night, we went and had dinner with his fam and went to the hockey game, Rampage won!!! After that, we had to take him back to the dorm. Boo! And finally on Sunday, we visited all day, and had to take him back at 3pm. It was a sad day.

But Adam has not changed one bit. He is still the same silly, funny, outgoing Adam that all of us know and love. He does look different tho. He has lost quite a bit of weight and has like no hair! lol. But he seems more grounded in the man that he wants to be.

Well, now its May 2nd, and he has been in Mississippi for 3 weeks. He started classes on Monday the 26 of April. He only has one more week of that class then he goes to his second block of classes that will be 6 weeks long. We are ready to have him come home. The nicest thing about Technical School is that we get to talk to him. So everyday, when school is out, he is able to call me. He has more freedom, on weekends he can do what ever he wants.

So now, we are just waiting for him to get all of his classes done and come home! Which is going to hopefully be sometime in June. I will try and to keep you posted :) I'll write more when I have more exciting news LOL

Here are some pictures from our weekend with Adam:




In a meadow that he found...he was in love!


Us on the first day I got to see him!


At his Honor Ceremony, 3rd from the right!



At the coin ceremony, second row, 6th from the right