Catching up

So much has happened since I wrote last. Let's see...We moved to Louisiana and bought a house.


Addie turned 2!!


We had a fantastic Halloween. This was the first one that Addie really enjoyed and understood. Isn't she a precious parrot??


We took Addie to the fair in early fall. It was fun with alot of good food to eat! (See, it's so good that Jarrod has taken Addie's sucker.)


We spent Thanksgiving in Lake Charles. This was the first time that Courtney did not go home to spend Thanksgiving with her whole family. Jarrod and I sure ate good though!! We griled turkey breasts, had sweet potato souffle, broccoli and rice casserole, and some delicious pumpkin pie! Check out our turkey!


We got to spend Christmas in Georgia with all of our family. Addie and Elisha got wooden band kits from Beth Anderson (Mott's best friend, Courtney's other Aunt Beth) for Christmas so we had a family band.

Addie and I attempted to get a Christmas card put out once we got home but to no avail. (If you were to have gotten a Christmas card, this would be it...so consider it delivered.)


We also made it home in time for Santa to come visit us here. He brought Addie some wooden puzzles, blocks, and a spinner.


We spent New Year's Eve at Toledo Bend, a huge lake that lies on the Texas-Louisiana border. It's about an hour North of us, near the Army base Ft. Polk. The cabin that we stayed in is owned by the miitary for military members to use and are really cheap. Our friends Jay and Allison and Walt and Ryan(Walt's fiancee) went with us. We cooked steaks over an open fire out back and rented a boat for fishing. We didn't catch anything but we had a great time! Our view from the front porch.


This is the cabin that the three of us stayed in.


February brought us Mardi Gras! We really enjoyed our first family Mardi Gras. My dad and Elisha came out for the weekend before Fat Tuesday. We really enjoyed their visit.


After almost two and a half years, Addie's hair is finally long enough for pigtails!!

In late March, Addie and I flew to Atlanta from Houston.

And she got her first haircut while we were there.


She was much happier after the haircut!


Easter came while we were in Georgia and Addie was ready to hunt some eggs!

She thought that she should feed her bunny the "carrot" which was really Reese's Pieces.


With Summer here, our family has been spending more time playing outside. Addie loves to play in the rocks and build castles.



And on June 2nd, I pinned Jarrod as a Petty Office First Class! I can't be any prouder of Jarrod than I am. He is a wonderful husband, father, and friend.



Also, the last of the latest news is that I just returned from another year in the field at Bonnaroo. I saw many more great bands this year as well as got to hang out with my friends.

This is my attempt at sneaking in a group photo that no one else is aware of.

This is myself, Christa, and Jessica listening to John Fogerty on what I would swear will be the hottest day of this year. You can literally see the sweat.




Well, thanks for allowing me to be a major slacker! I have been so busy here! this last year, I spent the first half of the year filling in as a Spanish Immersion instructor while the principal found a permanent solution. That job was followed by an offer to work part time in the computer lab at the same elementary school. For next year, I have been offered a full time position doing the same job in the computer lab. Hopefully the following year, I will be able to get a real teaching job because I will be finished with my Master's degree in the Spring. I can't wait!

Louisiana: Week 1

We made it to Lake Charles pretty late Tuesday night and crashed as soon as we got here. Our day Tuesday was a long one...at each of our stops we let Addie out to play for a few minutes. It didn't matter where. We played at Chick-fil-A in Montgomery, and a few grass patches at gas stations along the way.

Wednesday we spent the day being kind of lazy. Amongst the laziness, I did find time to go apply for a World History position at Hamilton Christian Academy. I spoke with one of the people doing the hiring and he said that he would speak with the others doing the hiring and let me know either way. This would be an awesome job. It would be like teaching at Westfield. The school will not tolerate any trouble makers, they have corporal punishment, and the class sizes are around 13 per classroom.

Jarrod started work on Thursday. He didn't do much of anything except for in-processing. He did meet a guy named Dan whose wife will keep Addie with her own children for $75 a week. We went over there tonight so that I could meet Dan and so that the both of his could meet the rest of his family. His wife, Tracy, and I hit it off pretty well. They have three children; Rachael, 7, Giana, 5, and Dex, 9 months. Addie played well with them and I now have someone that I can hang out with on Monday while the men are at work! That's so exciting!

I guess this is the point where I mention that we are still living at the Days Inn in our new town. Our house won't be closing until Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. On top of that, our belongings won't be here until Friday. This means that we will be living in the hotel until the end of next work week. We'll already have the keys and be able to go paint and change things to our liking while coming back and sleeping in a real bed. We did get a room with a king size bed and a fold out couch though. Addie sleeps on the fold out and we put it up during the day for a play place.

Addie and I got out of the hotel yesterday morning and went to the water park at the Rec. Department. Addie had a blast. There is a smaller kid section that is attached to the "big kid" section. It might be two feet deep at its deepest--this means that Addie can freely move about without me really worrying about her drowning unless she just falls over. She enjoyed going down the water slide and playing with some other kids that were there and there were many of them there.

Overall, our first week is going okay. I would love to be out of this hotel and be in our house but it could be worse. I could be the person that is literally living downstairs from us. And, tomorrow we're getting out of town and heading to the Acadian Zoo in Lafayette.

I will do my best to keep you all in touch since we're kind of getting settled in again! I love you all!!

Our 2nd Anniversary and R.I.P. Crackberry (not quite)

So, yesterday was mine and Jarrod's second anniversary. Has it really been that long since we were in Athens getting hitched? To start off our day, Jarrod and I both had to go to work. Jarrod has to be at the gas station at 6 a.m. on the weekends so he left before I did at 8. When I woke up and went to get Addie, I found some roses sitting on the dining room table waiting for me with a card. I have such a thoughtful husband. Reading the card, I nearly cried. It was the most perfect card I've ever read. Who knew Jarrod had such a way with words?

Jarrod got off at 2 and went to get Addie and I got off at 3. We spent the rest of our day hanging out on the couch and we took Addie in her wagon to the park. She's now big enough that she thinks she need to spin around and lay down--continuously moving--while Jarrod is pulling her in it. How brave! She played all over the park; climbing most of the steps all by herself.

We really enjoyed our lazy day and leaving our phones at the house. So thanks for all of the calls and sorry that we missed them.

This morning started bad!! My crackberry didn't start this morning, leading me to believe it had died overnight in its sleep. I did CPR repeatedly throughout the morning and slowly diagnosed the situation. The two nights prior to this one, I have been woken by my phone telling me that it was dead eventhough it was attached to the wall at the time. So today when it was completely dead I really was worried. I thought for a second that the battery was dead but when Jarrod came home for lunch I stole his battery so that I could charge mine in his phone...and it worked. His battery gave my phone new life and his phone could charge my battery. Now I just have to figure out how to keep this up until I can get to Verizon to talk to them about a warranty before I actually give in and call the insurance people.

So, without a phone this morning Addie and I went to CFA so she could play on the indoor playground. It's been rainy outside all day which means we have been cooped up so I wanted to make sure she got out this morning. After (and during) breakfast Addie played all by herself. She learned how to go up the slide backwards and was thrilled with herself. She would climb all the way back to the top and giggle when she could see me again at the bottom. Then she would take off again. Mind you, this slide is a tube so I can only see her when she comes around the curve smiling at the very bottom, so proud of herself.

So, I'm content now that my phone is back in commission...but I do have to work this afternoon so I must run! Love!

BUSY: Poker Run

Things have been so busy around here. Let's start with last week's events...

Jarrod and I went with my dad to Park City, Utah for a snow skiing trip. I've been skiing for a while now but Jarrod's only gone once or twice in North Carolina or Tennessee. East Coast skiing just isn't where it's at though. I was amazed and proud to see that after a day or two Jarrod was doing really good and I knew I could stop worrying about him breaking a leg. The first day when he did about 12 barrel rolls down the side of the mountain--losing 2 skis, 2 poles, and 1 glove in the process; I was kind of worried. He gave me the thumbs up though and that was the end of his bad falls.

We had snow dump on us Monday and on into Tuesday morning. We got 14 inches! We had a great time on the slopes and off. This was the first time that my dad and Jarrod have spent a significant amount of time together and I'm proud to say that they got along well. My dad likes Jarrod and Jarrod likes my dad! Yay!

Since we've gotten back, I've gotten back to being busy! The idea for a poker run is really in motion now. I've set the date for April 11 and I've sent out flyers. I've had some pretty wonderful people helping me get the word out. I have some pretty great friends. I really hope that we can have a fun, safe time and raise lots of money for Brandi.

Here's the part where I start begging:
Good news about the day too--you don't even have to have to be a motorcycle mama (or pops, I guess) to participate. You can come at the end of the ride and eat some food with us and participate in a raffle drawing. I also need a few volunteers to sit at one of five different stops and give out cards. I'm sure too that if you show up on Saturday, April 11 and have two free hands I will put you to work. Oh, last plea, if you know anyone that has anything to offer that we can raffle off...please beg for me. I would do it myself but if you already personally know them, then you have a better shot at getting free goods.

Okay, I think that's all the begging that I have to do. Adelaide has all of her 'fang' teeth coming in and we hope that's why she's been so grumpy at the sitters. She's been spending alot of time over there and I'm terrified that they're going to quit keeping her...she cries the whole time we're gone. It's sad. She's so wonderful here at the house. I don't get it! I thought she would get over the fact that we were gone within an hour of us being gone. I mean, she did just make it an entire week without us.

Also, I don't know what Mott did with her while we were gone but she is trained to sit still and eat her breakfast all by herself! I don't have to sit there and feed her or hardly even monitor her! It's amazing! I love her independent spirit! (I'll regret saying that later)

I've been raking the backyard between working two jobs. Addie likes to get in my piles of leaves and toss them into the air. Does alot of good to rake them into neat piles. Speaking of...the leaves are calling me.

More soon.

Our weekend

I was so excited for Friday to be here so that I could cook Jarrod a meal! He has been working his two jobs like a farm mule so I never get to cook for him anymore. I was so excited that lunchtime Friday I sent Jarrod an email with options to choose from: 8 different main dishes, like, 6 or 7 vegetables, and three different bread options. What can I say? We did recently go to the grocery store. I ended up cooking a fantastic meatloaf!! I must admit it's not my recipe, but one that I got from my dear friend in Athens, Travis. It's so delicious! I made homemade macaroni and cheese, cooked some green beans, and we had rolls. It was all so good!

We had so much that we reheated it for lunch the next day with my in laws, Kim and Robin. We had a great time kicking the ball in the back yard with Addie. I think she's going to be an athlete. She's got mean soccer skills. After some quality yard time, which included Papa Robin putting leaves between Addie's toes, we drove downtown and showed our guests around town. We drove them over the Dames Point Bridge and the Matthews bridge past the Jaguars' stadium. We made my favorite stop for visitors at The Treaty Oak which is a humongous oak tree that seems to have been there forever.

After downtown we drove to the park near the Coast Guard base and let Addie monkey around for a little while. She loves the slide and already thinks that she's big enough to walk up them. She is getting big enough to climb up the platforms that lead up to the slides, though. She also loves hanging from the monkey bars with a little help. She's also picked up a new favorite word! No! She will sit and say it to herself over and over. At the park she was saying excuse me to kids when I would. Pretty impressive (and sad) that my 16 month old has more manners than most grown folks. We know please and thank you, too.

After some fun park action, we went out to the CG base and went for the tour. Jarrod showed Robin and Kim around and taught me a few things that I never knew before--like, you can tell the length of all of the CG boats under 100 feet by just looking at the first two numbers on it's hull. We saw some Coasties practicing their knot tying on the back of a self-righting boat (it flips itself back upright if overturned) that can withstand 40 foot seas. Our tour of the base ended in Jarrod's office.

We then went to the Navy base and looked at some frigates before heading home to relax before dinner.

We ate dinner at a little place on the corner near our house called Cattleman's Catch. It's some pretty good food to eat! Jarrod and his mom shared seafood for two and I think the restaurant meant for the menu to read Seafood for Four. I had steak with a sweet potato. After dinner, I was showing Addie the animals that were taxidermied when some men at the bar started telling me what kinds of animals they were; which included a wildebeest and a baboon. I asked one guy if he was the owner then and he said no, he was just a friend. I told him to tell his friend that I needed a job and he did. I spoke to the owner before leaving and it sounds like I may have a job 1 or 2 nights a week and I can ride my bicycle to it.

So, that concludes the excitements of my weekend. The Harrison's left this morning around 9 and it's now 2 and Addie and I are still in our pajamas.















The Dames Point Bridge




The Treaty Oak

No news isn't necessarily good news

I've once again gotten the scoop on what's going on at the Coast Guard. Jarrod says that the detailer will have another list for us to look at tomorrow. This is essentially the leftovers and new jobs that have come open since the original list was made. I have no clue what's going to be on there but it according to the detailer it's actually a decent list.

I got some good news this morning. My Spanish teacher sent me an email asking if I could tutor some of her teen students during the week for a little bit of money. This is all good news because it means that I am doing really well in the course and also that I might be able to make a little bit of money on the side. Who knows, maybe if this goes well I could tutor other High School Spanish students in the afternoon for a little bit of cash. I've also talked about looking into being an ESOL teacher. I always enjoyed Spanish and made good grades in my classes until I got to UGA. I'm glad that I like it again and that it seems fun because there are endless opportunities for me if I continue.

We found out the other day that we will be going on a vacation soon. We'll be leaving March 7 for Park City, UT. I have been skiing for a few years now and am very excited about being able to take Jarrod out there so he can enjoy it too. We will be going with my dad so I am excited that this will give Jarrod and my dad an opportunity to get to know one another a little better. He's yet to see what a joker my dad is. We'll enjoy a week in my favorite place in the Rockies and return on March 14. For those of you that don't know, Park City is where they hold Robert Redford's Sundance Film Festival every January. They also held many of the Olympic events there during Salt Lake's Winter Olympics.

Well, Addie and I are off to ride our bike. Mott (my mom) got us a bike trailer for Christmas and I just got my new bike seat in today. It's so much more comfortable on my bottom than the old one and I'm trying to ride at least two miles everyday. I'm doing good except for when Jarrod's home. He needs a bike. I'll let you know tomorrow about the list.

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Not much going on here today. We got up early because of our sweet child and went to the grocery store, so at least we have some food. It's turning out to be a pretty day outside so Addie is happy. Yesterday I was trying to connect my new printer wirelessly to the computer and the rest of the network and lost my internet. After hours of frustration, I gave up on it and made oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dough, which makes Jarrod happy. Today, I'm preparing for week 5 of 8 of this whole last class thing by doing a lot of Espanol today and I got the internet back up. Addie is in the kitchen with her daddy helping him unload the dishwasher. She likes to get the silverware out and hand it to you to put in the drawer, piece by piece. I love that she's trying to help. I have tried three times to upload a video I made of Miss Giggles this morning but it's not working so I may put it on you tube or try again later.

Just getting started

I suppose that I'm here because I want to do what everyone else is doing--document everything that happens to us so that we can share it all with our friends and family since they're so far away. I know that I will get busy and that I will from time to time totally neglect this blog by forgetting to write but I am going to try because I feel that there are so many small things that I could try to share more frequently. I will also be considerate and try to send out notification when I do update it so that you don't wait on my every word. hehe

Today finds the Bohler family waiting on the military to give Jarrod his set of orders. We originally put in for jobs in Savannah, Charleston, Mobile, and others farther away like Wilmington, NC and Paducah, KY (which is on the Ohio River). The Detailer (the guy who decides our fate) has been toying with us since the beginning of the year as to when we will be receiving them but we were guaranteed to have them by Friday the 13th. Well, Friday came and went without anything which most likely means that we will be getting a second list of jobs (the leftovers) to choose from next week. Wish us luck!! We're hoping that we can pull one of two options: One, Jarrod's Commander really likes him and knows that he's a great worker and is willing to call the detailer personally. This might work only because the First Class Beau Vallier is making Chief which creates a vacancy in his office that Jarrod could possibly fill with Comm. Gibbs' recommendation. If this doesn't work then our second option is to cross our fingers and hope that there is still a job in Kings Bay, GA open. The job in Kings Bay is really out of Jarrod's rate (his field of specialization) which could hurt him in the long term because he wouldn't be doing his "job" and would risk delayed advancement like he saw here the first two and a half years. I don't think it will hurt his advancement too much since he hasn't technically been pinned a Second Class and he's already completed everything necessary for him to become a First Class except taking a test that he isn't allowed to take until he's been a Second for a year. Also in Kings Bay, Jarrod would be on a boat from time to time for two week intervals. This isn't so bad since we would so close to family still and Addie and I could just leave the coast for a while. Either way, let's pray that we can stay near.

Addie is just growing into a beautiful and well-mannered little girl. She says please for everything and will attempt thank you with some coaxing. It looks like her little 'fang' teeth are starting to come in, I can see the little white bumps now and we're dealing with a nap-less little girl. I am thankful that we have an outdoorsy child that loves to play outside in the dirt! I am not thankful, however, that I sweep the living room at least once a day because she likes to bring leaves, grass, and more recently huge handfuls of black dirt. I can't keep my plants on the ground because she will dig roots and all out. More about her later or I'll never end.

Here is a photo of my Valentine! We stopped at Best Buy on the way to the car show and I had to get a photo!
Lastly, I am currently having the last house in Hawkinsville worked on! After that I have roofs that need to be fixed and it all never ends! I am also going to class number 5 of 8 tomorrow night and am so close to the end I can taste it!! Graduation is May 9 in Athens at 9:30 in the morning so mark your calendars because I will finally get to wear this cap and gown that I have in my closet and get to feel the grass in Sanford between my bare toes! Go Dawgs!!

P.S. I decided that I would use Georgia as my font to pay homage.