Labor Day Weekend 2010

Happy Labor Day!!

So its Labor Day and I'm sitting at work laboring away........ ok maybe labor is a strong word there..... in reality I chose to work today instead of taking off and going to play. 

Are you asking yourself if I'm crazy? 

I mean choose to work?!

Yeah I know. As I gaze out at the beautiful day I ask myself that question to. 

But like most things there is actually a method to my madness. 

Marine will be home shortly and by working today that just means I have an extra paid day I can take off later. And after 7 months, trust me, there is a lot of time to make up!

But let me tell you about my weekend. It was not all work and no play.

Friday night I went out to diner with the future in-law family. Marines family - parents, brother, sister and grandparents. Diner was delicious brick oven pizza. SO YUMMY! I am so blessed to have such wonderful future in-laws. It's funny thinking back how nervous I was to begin with when Marine and I first started dating and now I am truly part of the family. 

I hear so many stories about monster in-laws and these stories always make me thankful of the family I am to become a part of!

Saturday I loaded up Horse and accompanied my mom and one of her friends to a local state park that had special designated trails for horses. 

The weather was perfect!! Low 80's with a cool breeze blowing occasionally. 

The perfect day to go riding in the woods. 

Unfortunately our map was not quite good...... translation IT SUCKED! There were different trails you could take. All marked with signs, but some signs that were not present on our map. 

That was ok though. I was out to enjoy the day and didn't have a particular destination in mind. 

I wasn't worried about getting lost, my philosophy was - you can always go back the way you came. 

So Horse and I stopped to enjoy the coolness of the creek. A minute after this picture was taken she was sure to splash so that I could feel the coolness of the creek as well....... Horse is considerate like that, always making sure I don't feel left out. 

It was a wonderful afternoon and definitely a place Marine and I are going to have to visit when he's home. 

There is nothing like the hint of fall in the mountains. 

Ok enough break --- got to get back to work ;)

Happy Labor Day ~ Hope you are all having a great one!!

Labor Day Weekend Recap

Friday night Marine got to the house about 9:30. Before the arrival of Marine and VB, Vixen and I had been rocking out to some SingStar. Hadn't played it in awhile and with some spare time on our hands it was great. Since I knew Marine would be arriving late I had stopped by the movie store on the way home and checked out a movie. I had been on the phone with Marine when Marine1 in the background suggest we watch Last House On The Left. Now I should have known better than to take movie recommendations from Marine1 but it was Friday at 6:00 p.m. and the choices were slim. So reluctantly I hand over my money and leave with movie in hand. WORSE MOVIE EVER!!! In my opinion at least. I did not like it one bit!!

Saturday Marine woke early and left to go fishing with his Grandpa. Vixen and I headed in the opposite direction as we attended Hollywood's little boy's birthday party. It was the official welcome of the terrible two's. A year that I'm sure she hopes won't live up to the horror stories. His love for Cars, a movie he wants on repeat 24/7 was the party theme.

After the party I returned to the barn to feed horses and get my things ready for the horse show that evening. I had finished up with everything and was sitting in a rocking chair waiting for time to leave. I rocked enjoying the moment of peace. Marine walked thru the door and my heart skipped a beat as he greeted me with a smile. He slid into the chair next to me and reached over and took my hand as he told me about his afternoon and then asked about mine.

He helped me get the horses ready then the two of us along with mom headed to the horse show. We got there and he walked with me as I did the routine I did every weekend. It was weird yet nice to have him accompanying me as I went to sign up, unloaded the horses and proceeded to get everything ready. Most people would have gotten in my way, messed with my routine. But he didn't he was actually a big help and it made me appreciate the fact that he actually knew about horses. We had brought along a horse for him to ride and we sat atop our horses side by side and watched the show, waiting on my turn to run. I had so much fun and he seemed to as well. It was great having someone I could share this special part of my life. Horses are my passion and they have taken a backseat before when I have been in a relationship but I can tell this time is different. Its like having the best of both worlds. I can race and have the relationship. And he was so supportive! I had a good night. Placed 3rd in one event and 5th in the other.

We didn't get back to the barn and get the horses unloaded and put up till nearly 2 a.m. We were both tired yet we stopped at Wal-Mart on the way home. A cookout was planned for Sunday afternoon at the house and Marine wanted to go ahead and pick up steaks so we could let them marinade overnight. Yeah this put us at the house about 3:30. We were sweaty, dirty and exhausted!! But a shower was definitely a necessity before going to bed.

Now I have a funny story. It involves a mouse, a flip flop and screaming. But this is a recap so you'll get that story a wee bit later.

Sunday morning, with very little sleep, we get up and head to church. After church its off to lunch with Marine's Dad. Then to the feed store where we pick up horse feed for his horse and take it to his mom's and unload it in the barn. That left of with just enough time to hurry back to the house and change clothes before everyone started arriving for the cookout.

It was a fun day. The cookout went well. Great food, great friends, fun times. It was still different from last year and I missed my friends that were unable to make it. But maybe next year.

Monday we again awoke early..... well cause let's face it - Marine is only home for a short amount of time and there is always alot to try and fit into that time frame. We headed to his Mom's where we ate brunch with his mom, stepdad and stepbrother. It went good as it always does. Then Marine and I gave his three horses each a bath before grabbing fishing poles and going to meet his Grandpa to go fishing.

At first I was hesitant on the whole fishing trip idea. I know that is something he and his Grandpa usually try to do while he is home. It's their time spent together. I didn't want to intrude. But I am told I am welcome to come by both parties so with a smile I agree to go. I had so much fun! I had already met his Grandpa once before and knew I liked him but after the fishing trip I knew that my first impression had been correct.

Now as far as the fishing went I did catch a few trout, which was good. But I also caught something quite unexpected..... a rather large crawdad. Not one but three! So yeah I was pretty much at least able to give Marine and his Grandpa a good laugh because apparently they fish at this spot all the time and have never caught a crawdad. Yeah I'm just special like that. :)

After fishing we meet up with his parents and his little sister and go out to eat Mexican.

Yes it seems the only thing we did the entire weekend was eat!

Tuesday morning I awoke and got ready for work. Marine packed his bags, he would be leaving shortly to head back to base. As we left the house I hugged him. Not wanting to let go. I would see him again before he left but still this was the private goodbye, just the two of us.

I arrived at work hungry. I had been to busy to eat breakfast. I sat at my desk, I was the only one in the office when the door opens and in comes Marine with a Chick-fil-a bag. With a smile he places it and a Dr. Pepper on my desk, "I know you didn't eat before we left the house...."

Seriously how sweet is that?! He is so considerate, so thoughtful, and just so wonderful! I really never believed guys like him actually existed.

I met him for lunch and then after that he left for base. It was a great weekend. Of course the time passed to fast. But it's ok, I'll see him next weekend when I go up there for my birthday.

I know this is a half ass post. I'll admit the weekend was so much more fun than this recap does justice. In all honesty I'm tired. I have been going way to much, with way to little sleep. Just seems there are never enough hours in the day!

I do promise my next post will be much more entertaining as I tell you a story from the weekend that I will just refer to as Mouse Trap.........

Growing Up and Apart

I look forward to this weekend with some excitement and some trepidation. This will be the first Labor Day in years that all my girls haven't been together. We started out as a foursome: myself, Vixen, Giggles, and Conscious. Then we picked up some new ones along the way: Vivi and Blondie. Yes, I am lucky to say I have not one but five best friends. Last year on Labor Day we were all together and cooked out at the house I now share with Vixen. This year I had hoped we would be able to have a repeat of last years fun. But only 3 remain: Vixen, Blondie, and myself. Conscious, Vivi, and Giggles will all be out of town.



We are all growing up and heading on different paths of life. So much has changed in the past year. We are all still friends - just to much going on to get together like we did last year. It's no ones fault. Things change. People change. We all have our own lives. We're still friends don't get me wrong, I'll just miss the six of us being together in fact come to think of it that may be the last time all six of us were together at one time....... What happened to the days of young carefree? Where exactly did they go?

It will still be a fun weekend though. Marine should be home tonight between 8 & 9! I'm so excited 4 nights 3 days. To much to do and never enough time. Tomorrow night I have a Barrel Race and he is going with me. I'm a little nervous (I mean pressures on) and excited all at the same time. Sunday is the cookout at the house and then Monday will hopefully be a relaxing day at the lake or something.

I really like Marine (which I think you all get that by now) I look forward to seeing what the future will hold. But for now I just look forward to a great weekend!

What have you got going on for Labor Day?

Reflecting

Is it bad that it is now Monday morning and I still feel slightly affected from the rum Saturday? Yeah I thought so to. So let me give you a recap of my weekend. And let me tell you this was a fun weekend that may have had to many exciting events.

I'll start out with Friday. Vivi, Blondie, Vixen and myself started out with diner at the sports bar and made our way around town from there. I won't discuss much of Friday night but any night you actually think it's a good idea to ride a mechanical bull is a fun night! Once home I get a phone call from Big. Long story short he had swerved to miss a deer and ran off the road. So of course I went and got him and then helped him all Saturday morning to get things straightened out.

Now Saturday was a fun day! Probably one of the most fun days I have had in awhile. Vivi, Blondie, Don Juan, Big and myself loaded up and headed 40 minutes south to a sports bar that was showing our College teams football game. Now I should state here come football season we are all big supporters of our favorite college team. So we get to the sports bar thats showing the game and it's packed! Here we meet up with 2 of Big's other friends who I will just call Guy 1 and Guy 2. After some waiting we get a table and settle in to eat, drink and watch the game. We ran into another group of friends who had also come to watch the game. It was nice to see some of these people who I was so close to before X and I split, mainly the guys, cause honestly some of their girlfriends are just a little to fake if you know what I mean. Overall I think everyone had a good time. After the game we headed back to town to sportsbar to visit with bartender. With our big group the place was packed as we all visited enjoying the relaxed atmosphere. Up until this point many suspected Big and I might have something going on but very few knew the truth. Well after Saturday I think it's safe to say I think everyone knows. I may as well have had on a shirt that said, "I'm with Big" (which Vivi is taken care of for me) ~ and I should point out he is the one who let the cat out of the bag. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Not sure yet. I kinda liked the idea of it being a secret but maybe its a good sign he is now telling everyone. Who knows. Overall it was a great day!

But in reflection we all know I care about Big but do I ever really see myself with him? I'm 50/50. After this weekend I thought "How could I ever want to date him" but then Vivi was so nice to point out how happy I can be when he is around.

Sunday Vivi, Blondie and myself headed to the lake where we laid in the sun relaxing. Weekends like this I feel so lucky and so blessed to have such great friends. And how lucky are we to be able to go the lake anytime we want? Blondie's parents have a house and boat dock right on the lake. Great for those lazy day recoveries!

And today is labor day. I decided to work half a day since I will be gone on the cruise this next week. But this afternoon I will be headed to Vixen's for a cookout with all our friends. So here's to great friends, great times, and great food!