This past Monday, my sweetheart and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary. It was a wonderful day! We planned a day full of letterboxing!

We started out by planting 3 letterboxes. We have done a series called Tour of Clarksville and we added one box to that series and then a bonus box! I’m quite proud of both of these. (I carve all the stamps we use) Then we headed to Hopkinsville to plant the first letterbox in the town! (that we know of) We planted this one at a really cool park called Round Stone Literary Park. We just had to take pictures!

Matthew had to try to pull the sword out of the stone. Hehe.

The Round Table. It was HUGE! This picture doesn’t really do it justice.

We had fun.

After that we headed to Paducah where we tried to find several letterboxes, but it was getting dark and we were unsuccessful. But we still had fun!

When I had been planning out trip out I saw how close Illinois was to Paducah. So I insisted that we go, just so I could add another state to my list of states I’ve been to! After doing our circles (which we do on EVERY trip!) we ended up in Metropolis Illinois. It is the “home” of Superman! They even have a celebration every year! We are planning on going back for that!

After we left Metropolis, we headed back to Paducah and had dinner at Texas Roadhouse. It was yummy. Then we headed home and spent the night watching a movie and relaxing. It was a fantastic day!

Stay tuned for pictures from our trip to Gatlinburg, which we are on right now! We are attending the Strong Bonds Marriage Retreat that the Army does. We’re having a blast! Well, I gotta go so we can go find some more letterboxes!

I have always loved anything formal. It comes down to the whole Cinderella – Gone With The Wind – Princess thing. What girl doesn’t want to dress up and feel like a princess?! Since I never had a prom I just assumed my wedding would be the only time I could dress up that formal. Well, I’m getting another chance!

We found out yesterday that sometime this spring/early summer there is going to be an Army Ball that my husband’s unit is going to! I’m so excited! Even my husband hasn’t been to an Army Ball. So now I’m looking up dresses and etiquette on military formals. Granted the formal etiquette isn’t nearly as strict as it used to be, I’m a southern girl. I want to be my best!

My husband just asked me if I was done looking at dresses, since we’re getting ready for our date night. I laughed and said “I’ll be looking at dresses for months!” I apologize in advance for the multitude of mentions about dresses, military formals, etiquette, etc that are sure to be on my blog for the next few months! To say I’m excited is a bit of an understatement.

If you or anyone you know has had any experience with military formals, I’d love to know more!

My time as an active duty army wife is quickly coming to an end. This is my last year! My husband is set to retire in November 2012. Now I’ve only been an army wife for 2 years. And half of that my husband was deployed while I lived an hour away from post. So now I want to get as much experience as I can this year while we still live close to post.

My FRG (Family Readiness Group for you civilians!) hardly did anything during deployment, even though we had more wives! We wanted to have get togethers and events. Even though I lived an hour away I wanted to be involved. However, we did nothing. I only went to one of the TWO Battalion FRG meetings during the whole year. Our unit’s FRG never had a meeting. It was very disappointing.

A couple of weeks ago we had a unit Christmas party. It was the first one the unit has had since my husband has been here. They announced that the FRG is going to start doing more things soon. I’m so excited!! Maybe now I can be more involved. (At least until we move!)

I also joined the Enlisted Spouses’ Club. We have one event per month. Last month was a holiday party, the month before was a pottery painting party. This month is a wine tasting at our local winery! I’m excited about that! We also make a home cooked meal once a month for the Fisher House on post, which is where families of wounded soldiers can stay while their soldiers are in the hospital. We also help out the Officers Spouses’ Club every once in a while. Last month I got to volunteer for their Tour of Homes. It was amazing!!

So that is one of my goals for this year. Call me Super Army Wife! HOOAH!

I know it’s way late, but I wanted to post some pics of my hubby’s homecoming. Now, before we went to get him, I decorated my van. I was super excited!

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Once he was home, we kept the writing on the van for a month. We had tons of people honk at us and wave. One day we had some of our neighbors knock on our door. They had made us cookies! Then a few days later, some other neighbors left a card in our mailbox that had a $25 gift card for Olive Garden! Then we went to O’Charley’s with a friend, whose husband is currently in Afghanistan. Apparently someone had seen us get out of the van and paid for our meals! It was so sweet.

I had no idea people would respond the way they did. It made me feel so blessed and thankful to be an American. But I really didn’t do it to get free stuff!

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Having my husband home is so amazing. It has been great spending time with him, getting used to living together again, going through the “honeymoon” phase. I am so glad we get to go through the adventure of life together. He is my best friend, my lover, my other half.

Ok, enough of the sappy. Here are some more pictures of the homecoming!

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I’ve been kinda MIA this week because we’ve been in Gatlinburg. Don’t worry, pictures will be up soon! I promise! Anyways, here’s this weeks questions! Enjoy!

1. What is one of the things you always do special when your husband returns from a deployment?  submitted by Keep Calm and Soldier On

We’ve only had one homecoming, and probably won’t have any more. The only special thing I really did was wear a dress for his ceremony! LOL! I rarely ever wear dresses. Other than that, we have just been spending quality time together.

2. What do you do to help your spouse and/or yourself re-adjust after a deployment or long separation?  submitted by Diapers, Dogs and Deployments

I’ve pretty much just been my normal self. Living every day like we did before deployment.

3. Are you a crazy coupon clipper (I’m becoming one, so share your secrets with me)?  submitted by Married My Airman

I am getting there! LOL! I’m still not getting 95% (or better) off, but our recent grocery bills we have saved MORE than we spent. I have a huge PINK binder, with 24 categories and lots of baseball card pages to hold my coupons. It makes it so much easier to find your coupons! And I usually buy 4 newspapers every week, but I’m looking into ordering the coupon inserts instead of buying the papers.

4. What’s your most treasured memory of you and your spouse (not counting your wedding – that’s a given)? submitted by Scrubs, ACUs and One Crazy Ride

Oh, there are so many. One that sticks out to me is one of our road trips together. It was just good quality time spent together. It doesn’t take much for us to enjoy life together!

5. If you could live anywhere overseas, what would you pick and why? submitted by Little Moments Like This

I’d love to live in Germany. Then we could travel all over Europe! How fun!

Another week has come to an end. Time to get to know me a little better! Check out some other amazing MilSpouses at Wife of a Sailor.

1. Which was the best day of your life- Wedding day or Homecoming day? submitted by Pink Champagne, Gatorade & MREs

I have to say my wedding day. Because that was the beginning of the rest of my life. But Homecoming day was almost equal! My beloved coming home for good. Best feeling ever.

2. Were you a part of the joining the military question or did you sign up for the relationship when your man was already in the military? submitted by Cammo Style Love

He had already been in for 17 years when I MET him! LOL! I didn’t have much of a choice. Literally. You can’t choose who you love.

3. What is your favorite Disney movie and why? submitted by Raising Roscoe

The Little Mermaid! I just love everything about it, but the music is my favorite. So awesome.

4. What is your favorite family activity to do on the weekends? submitted by Destination: RN!

Really just hanging out at home with my husband. Watching movies, tv, whatever. I know he would say his favorite is letterboxing, but I like to relax.

5. Where do you secretly wish you could be stationed with you/your SO’s line of work (realistically speaking, not everyone can be stationed on NAS Fiji)? submitted by Wookie & Co.

I’d love to be in Germany. Just for the experience. But I’m happy about where we’re going next because it’s close to family and some of our very best friends are there.

This is part of Wives of Faith’s Military Spouse Appreciation Blog Carnival 2011.

Today’s theme is 11 things you want to do in your current duty station, or upcoming duty station. Since I’ve lived in this area my entire life, I’m gonna list things I want to do in our upcoming duty station, Ft Knox KY. I’m so excited about being there. It’s about 45 minutes from Louisville KY, which is where my mom’s family is from. So it’s home away from home!

1. I’m very excited about touring Elizabethtown (E-town), which is right outside Ft Knox.

2. I definitely want to go see the birth place of Abraham Lincoln. As many times as I’ve driven past the signs for it, I’ve never been.

3. While I’ll probably never actually GO to the Kentucky Derby, I DO want to host a Derby Day Party while I’m actually in Kentucky!

4. I want to go to Thunder Over Louisville.

5. Go see a Louisville Bats baseball game.

6. Go to the Louisville Zoo. I’ve been before but I was LITTLE when I went. I’ve been wanting to go back for years.

7. Go letterboxing all around the area! Maybe even plant a few boxes!!

8. I want to go to the Patton Museum at Ft Knox.

9. We’ve been to the Louisville Slugger Museum which is a BLAST! Especially if you love baseball as much as my hubby does!

10. I want to go to the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green KY! (Another attraction I’ve driven past for years on end and have never been to!)

11. We have been to the Schmidt Coca Cola Museum in Elizabethtown KY. SO much fun! It’s the family’s personal collection, as they used to be a bottling plant for Coca Cola! (Unfortunately the museum is now closed and they are auctioning off the collection! But the gift shop is still open. Sad day.)

This post has been entertaining for me to write. I hope you’ve been entertained by reading it! I’m looking forward to visiting all these places in the next year or so!!!

Today is Military Spouse Appreciation Day! Wives of Faith is hosting a weekend-long blog hop in honor of today. Make sure you stop by to see all the other great posts!

11 Reasons I Love About Being an Army Wife

1. I love how patriotic and proud I feel to be an American, every time I see our flag or anyone in uniform.

2. I love seeing my husband in uniform.

3. I love that we survived deployment!

4. I love the support I have gotten from other military spouses/girlfriends.

5. I love all the amazing friends I have made because of the military!

6. I love the discounts we get.

7. I love the job security.

8. I love the health and retirement benefits!

9. I love the support we have gotten recently from friends, family and neighbors.

10. I love that my husband is home!!

11. I love that I get to be a military spouse for the rest of my life.

That’s right ladies and gentlemen! After many months of being alone, my beloved husband is going to be home for good. PRAISE THE LORD MOST HIGH!!!

Don’t forget to check out the rest of the MilSpouse posts! (Click on picture)

I’m a little late, but it’s better late than never! Right?

1. Have you and your spouse agreed to live in separate locations (a geographical bachelor tour) knowing that the short-term inconvenience would have long-term benefits for your family? How did it work for you? submitted by When Good People Get Together

We haven’t done that, except for deployment. Which we didn’t have a choice about. However it did help us. Our communication is much better now. BUT! thank God deployment is almost OVER!!!

2. What is your favorite thing about being a MilSpouse? submitted by Sarah Ruth Today

Hey that’s me! Hehe. Let’s see. My favorite thing would have to be the pride I have in my husband, who does so much to support me and fight for our country. I have become so much more patriotic than I already was, since I became a MilSpouse. I hope that never changes.

3. If you could still have your spouse/significant other and your family, but take the military life out of it…would you?  submitted by Trust. Love. Believe. Bake.

I don’t think I would. Being associated with the military has brought me into contact with some amazing people. It has put me through difficult situations, which have in turn made me stronger. I thank God for the military life.

4. What have your homecoming experiences been like after a year long tour of separation? submitted by Army Soldier, Army Wife

Ask me next week.

5. If you have a child(ren) why you chose their name(s)? If not, why you would name your child something?  submitted by Tiara’s & ACU’s

I don’t have any children that I have named. Hopefully soon! We will pick names that mean a lot to us.