Happy Anniversary!

Last Sunday K and I celebrated our one-year marriage anniversary.  The day itself wasn't really that special...  K called me that morning (which is always a good way to be woken up) and then I treated myself to a yummy breakfast:

Cinnamon roll and a Chai latte... yum!

And the rest of my day looked like this:

Homework, homework, homework.

That evening I had the usual Sunday dinner with my family/grandparents.  (Their summer goal seems to be figuring out how many things you can eat on a stick.  That particular Sunday it was a yummy chicken/pineapple kebab.)  Mostly the day was unremarkable.  I didn't even wash my hair.  

It was definitely bitter-sweet to be so far apart on a special day, but we both did our best to make it special.  When I got home from work on Saturday, these beautiful flowers and a balloon were waiting for me:

And there isn't much I could do for K, but I recently came across a care package phenomenon known as "Cake In A Jar" so I decided to give it a try.  I found a simple recipe/instructions and recruited my mom to help me (and by help I mean do all the work).  I made him a red velvet cake because our tradition is to have red velvet for all of our special occasions, and it's K's favorite.  I made two jars and attached plastic forks, and packaged them up with a can of frosting for a special anniversary package:

K and I also got to video chat that day so we took a special screen-shot to go with all of the others we've taken:

The sign looks like it was written by a 5-year old
because I had to write it backwards.

Despite having a slightly lame anniversary day (although it won't easily be forgotten), I have had an amazing first year of being K's wife.  I love that he is the one I get to share my life with, the fact that he still gives me butterflies, and that we have a million plans for our future together.  Our anniversary may not have been perfect, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Now, if we could just get in a honeymoon before the next anniversary...  wishful thinking.

Lately...

Work has been really great.  We had some kids leave... some for good reasons, and some for not-so-good reasons.  I'm happy for the kids that get to leave (but a little sad to see them go), and really sad for the kids that are sent back to Juvenile Hall/kicked out of the program because they fell back on some old habits.  They are all such great people and just want to learn and grow and I'm so eager to help them.  I love being bombarded by all of their questions about everything from my time in the military to why metal can't go in the microwave.

School is almost over.  I have finished two of my three finals and gotten an A on both of them.  My final final (lol, sorry) is this week and I will officially be done with the semester as of 4:30 Thursday afternoon!  The semester has been so crazy and I'm happy that my schedule will lighten up, but secretly a little sad it will be over.  I've had so much fun learning about all of this new stuff and the super-busy schedule has helped me get through the last two months in the blink of an eye.  Wish me luck on my last final!

I watched a really great movie a few weeks ago called "Away We Go".  It came out awhile ago but I never got a chance to see it until now and I LOVE IT.  It's my new favorite movie.  It has John Krasinski (from The Office) and Maya Rudolph (from SNL/Bridesmaids) and was written by Dave Eggers who is one of my favorite authors.  They play a young couple expecting their first child who are looking for a place to call their home.  It is so subtle and hilarious and perfect.  If you haven't seen it, go rent it.

I haven't gotten to spend much time with my friends lately given my super-busy schedule.  I'm hoping that I can enjoy the last of this summer weather with them.  I will be moving back to Las Vegas before I know it, so I hope that we can all take advantage of the time we have together while I'm so close.  I know that once I leave it will be back to the old routine of only seeing them once or twice a year (if I'm lucky).  And the same goes for my family, because really, how could you resist these two cuties?

My niece rocking some Harry Potter glasses.

My nephew licking the leftovers of some cake-baking.

Finally... we've made it halfway!  We're about three months into K's deployment, which leaves us with three months to go!  It's hard to believe I haven't seen (not counting Skype of course) or touched him in three months, but I am so ready to tackle the second half of this deployment.