holidays.

i spent last week at home with my family.

it was such a short trip but very fun and so beautiful.

we left the NIGHT before it started dumping snow!! i'm so glad of it too. i don't do cold very well, but i do appreciate the beauty of it......

my dad said he kept shoveling all day yesterday.

it took TWELVE hours to drive from st george to san diego. it should have taken MAYBE nine. it was such a jokeeee. i'm happy to be back in sunny california. the weather has started to turn more fall-like. it has been about 55 degrees. today, my friend katie and i went and bought me a tree! it was the oddest thing, buying a christmas tree down in the city, just a few blocks from the beach. 

i came home and decorated it with this cutie-

he isss the sweetest. 

him and my lil cat kept me company while i strung the lights and added the ornaments.

look how cute. i got a tree for my bedroom a couple years ago. it was tiny. 

this tree i got is so big, i don't have quite enough ornaments to cover it! i'm excited to start collecting ornaments for jon and i over the years. i already got us two this year...they are so perfect and special. 

it's bitter sweet decorating without him... however, he deployed at a perfect time.

halloween, thanksgiving, christmas...etc. the holidays are such a happy time of year. its so nice to have things to look forward to and enjoy with my friends here and family back home. and i'm not mad about this deployment being 35% over....horrayyy..:)

wk 24.

this is the only photo i have of myself last week. 

hmm, what does this mean?

365 days ago. :)!

one year ago jon proposed to me here:

with this beautiful ring:

this is how happy i was:

and this is where we decided to get married. 

our lives have changed so much in just one year. 

he makes me so happy. i remember exactly how i felt last year. 

all through college, i wore a ring on my wedding ring finger.

i was wearing it the day he proposed. he doesnt know this, but i took that ring off when we went on our walk. he proposed on our walk...

boy, i read you so well.

thank you for proposing to me. and thank you for not doing it in public. 

you know me well, and i love you for it. 

thankful.

education.

my lil humble home.

and my car! SO thankful for my car!

aircrafts like this that fascinate me almost every day. (i love them....weird)

and america. 

san diego's beauty.

this tiny cat that is way too much 90% of the time and really cute only when sleepy.

friends. and sisters.

granny. for always being a good example and good listener.

my family. so grateful for my family. 

and this boy. for being just as brave and he is handsome.

(and i'm really thankful for the marine corps. thank you for giving us a good life.)

wk 23.

we went to the utah football game when they played in san diego.

it was obviously pouring rain.

and we won.

wk 22.

this is how happy i am that jessie is coming today!!!!!

i could not be any more excited than i am.

i've had family visit, and cousins. my sister and a couple friends have come to stay the night. however, this is the first friend that is visiting for longer than one night! i am so excited!!!!! she is the funniest, we're are going to have such a ball.

also, jon had wifi this weekend, so we got to talk a ton! it was so great.

plus, he uploaded 80 pictures onto facebook so i finally got to see what its like out there. 

i hate how offensive this photo is, but just look. at his arms.

*swooon*

wk 21.

I help my cat get high.

this was a really great week.

beautiful sunsets. going dancing with great friends and good company. going dancing gives me a happy high for like five days.

doing crafts with amanda and inviting the christmas spirit into our home! seeing family and going to the dentist, looking forward to visitors. making new friends and video chatting with sisters.

i've been hearing from jon a whole lot lately too, which makes me so happy. i could go on and on about him. if someone gave me the chance, i could brag about him for seven days.

this week includes:

-jessie. i love her so much.

-visiting camille and amanda and keeping bev company.

-utah game?? i hope so!

-touristing and making a music video. remember this one? hilarious.

i'm so happy to be living here. i look around every day and marvel at its beauty. i feel lucky to be given the chance to spend time here and call it home for awhile.

marine corps birthday/veteran's day.

how proud am i of my husband today? and yesterday.

and the day before, just because.

here are a few quotes i want to share in honor of the 235th marine corps birthday.

The safest place in Korea was right behind a platoon of Marines. Lord, how they could fight!
MGen. Frank E. Lowe, USA; Korea, 26 January 1952

The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!
Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States, 1945

You cannot exaggerate about the Marines. They are convinced to the point of arrogance, that they are the most ferocious fighters on earth- and the amusing thing about it...is that they are.
Father Kevin Keaney, 1st Marine Division Chaplain, Korean War

And I love this story-

"Some people still don't understand why military personnel do what they do for a living. This exchange between Senators John Glenn and Senator Howard Metzenbaum is worth reading. Not only is it a pretty impressive impromptu speech, but it's also a good example of one man's explanation of why men and women in the armed services do what they do for a living.
This is a typical, though sad, example of what some who have never served think of the military.
Senator Metzenbaum to Senator Glenn: "How can you run for Senate when you've never held a real job?"
Senator Glenn: "I served 23 years in the United States Marine Corps.
I served through two wars. I flew 149 missions. My plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire on 12 different occasions. I was in the space program.
It wasn't my checkbook, Howard; it was my life on the line. It was not a nine-to-five job, where I took time off to take the daily cash receipts to the bank. I ask you to go with me ... as I went the other day... to a veteran's hospital and look those men - with their mangled bodies - in the eye, and tell them they didn't hold a job. You go with me to the Space Program at NASA and go, as I have gone, to the widows and Orphans of Ed White, Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee... and you look those kids in the eye and tell them that their DADS didn't hold a job.
You go with me on Memorial Day and you stand in Arlington National Cemetery, where I have more friends buried than I'd like to remember, and you watch those waving flags.
You stand there, and you think about this nation, and you tell me that those people didn't have a job? I'll tell you, Howard Metzenbaum; you should be on your knees every. day. of your. life. thanking God that there were some men who held real jobs. And they required a dedication to a purpose - and a love of country and a dedication to duty - that was more important than life itself. And their self-sacrifice is what made this country possible.
I have held a job, Howard. What about you?""

the best part about my husband being a marine? he does have the cleanest body, the cleanest shaven face and well kept hair cut. he doesn't have a dirty mind or low morals. he has the highest morale and self confidence in the marine corps than anyone i've met.

The American Marines have pride, and benefit from it. They are tough, cocky, sure of themselves and their buddies. They can fight and they know it.
General Mark Clark, U.S. Army

lizzie, hopefully this commercial is more realistic for you than the ones with the swords.

a few reasons why i am grateful my husband is a marine:

• he can make a bed like its nobody's business.
• he has excellent manners. he calls gentlemen "sir" and ladies "ma'am".
• he cleans our bathrooms....and he cleans them well.
• not just that he's a marine, but that he is a dedicated marine. he remembers the ones that have gone before him, and is respectful of the tradition and uniform. i thought his cammies were just work clothes. however, he won't ever put them on the floor. he respects them because "that is the uniform that men die for our country in."

dear jon, i hope you're reading this all the way over there.

i love you. happy 6 months.

lastly, this video. its him, a couple hours before he left, pretending to be extremely nervous. at the end, he acts like he hates being this sick. he loves it though.

wk 20.

judy and i went to the san diego zoo and rode the skyfari. 

later that night, i hung out with friend-katie. 

she's making a poker/movie night package to send to her marine boyfriend in afghanistan, so she bought this fake money. the purpose of this photo was to show that they spelled coins "Conis" on the package.

katie, of course, made sure the flash ruined the picture.

then we almost crashed, because she was taking this picture and trying to drive.

wk 19.

my little robbie and i on the haunted hay ride at hee haw farms. 

this was before the ride...it was pretty scary.

i'm having so much fun in utah. i've been so busy catching up with friends and family... i love it here. i love san diego too. its been weird being here, wishing i could stay longer but being homesick for miramar...

i'm finally caught up on my weekly photos. what a fun project.