Ranger Ball....

So last night was a special night for both of us! We got to get gussied up in our formal attire and attend the Ranger Ball through Ben's work. We arrived at the River Mill Center downtown Columbus, GA around 1730 and met a few people and got our photos taken (hopefully they turn out!) As people came in that we knew it was fun to see them all dressed up as well and hear the boys tease each other about their uniforms. They started with the event with the posting posting of colors, rememberance of fallen Rangers, Punch Bowl Ceremony, and formal toasts. If we would have known that they were going to do all this BEFORE dinner we would have had some snacks before coming! Dinner was around 1945! It was excellent food and worth the wait! After dinner the guest speaker, LTG Mulholland (3 star General) spoke for a bit. Pretty much after the speaking people mingled around and took some last photos! All in all it was a great night except for the bobby pins in my head giving me a headache! I had a very handsome and hot date and that made the whole evening perfect!!
(Our table)

(first photo of night)


(The Colonols wife and I...we take spin class together)

(Ben in full Dress Blue uniform...handsome)

(Had to show off my work....)

(Ben closing his eyes and saying...woman no more photos!!)

8 Things.....

Write out your 8 THINGS and then tag a few people at the end! I was tagged by Leanne!

8 Things!

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To:

1. Core and more class on Friday then lunch with friends and a baby!

2. Tanning on my weedy yard in our above 80 degree weather this week!

3. The night I am going to take Ben on Sat....under the stars! (blog to follow)

4. Disney World and Destin Beach in July!

5. Answers from Jesus!

6. Eating some ice cream tonight even though I did not work out today!

7. Maybe riding my bike with Ben tomorrow at the River Walk

8. Loving on my man!


8 Things I Did Yesterday:

1. Got up!

2. Went to spin class and got my butt whooped but it felt good!

3. Went to the commisary for food and they finally had ground turkey so I bought 6!

4. Tried to tan outside but the sun was behind the clouds until I went inside!

5. Made chicked salad with organic greens for dinner that was way GINORMOUS!

6. Welcomed my hubby home from work

7. Went to a Ranger wife social and had yummy cake and bought a cute necklace

8. Helped Ben study and went to bed!


8 Things I Wish I Could Do:

1. Had gone to spin class tonight to get rid of some stress

2. Finished my "trial run" of hair for Ranger ball next Friday.

3. Worked out this morning.....I chose not to! :)

4. Receive un unlimted gift card to a good clothing store

5. Go on vacation NOW!

6. Pray more.....worry less!

7. Gone to Ben and Jerrys for the free give away yesterday!

8. Love my man more and MORE!


8 Shows I Enjoy:

1. Survivor

2. Private Practice

3. Amazing Race

4. 24

5. Biggest Loser

6. Greys Anatomy

7. ER....sad that it is gone!

8. HGTV...when I have cable!

I tag.....
Melody
Kandace (Brooke)
Aubrey (Jamie)
Amy I


(Bonus photo....out on boat last weekend!)

Refreshed yet ready to go again.....

Well, we went to the retreat this weekend and had alot of fun just being together. Like mentioned in the latest blog we went to Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, GA. We were to get there around 3pm for the first session but Ben is in this school and didn't get out until 5pm. Right when he got home we packed up a few remaining things and put the bikes in the truck and headed off! We got there about 6pm and went to check in before dinner. Of course there were like 5,000 other people in line to check in at that time as well! We did get checked in and went to put everything in our hotel room. When getting into our room we found out that we had two double beds and not one big bed. We have a king size bed so when we saw that we were going to be sleeping in a double that was going to be a big and tight change! Ben thought maybe we could just move the night stand out and push the two beds together! Brilliant ubtil we noticed that they were on these wood platforms and not just a bed frame! We gave up on that idea for the moment and went to dinner. When we got down to dinner we found out that is was a buffet, which is good except we found out that it was seafood night! Bla! We both do not like seafood at all except those tasty coconut prawns that are so tasty! Thank goodness they had chicken! We did go out on a limb and both tried some dill flavored salmon and Ben tried some mussels that I would not even attempt to try just because the look of it!
We headed back to our room because we were excited to watch some TV! I know that may seem very silly to some people but to us it was like we were little kids whose mom just gave us an opportunity to watch a show! We don't have TV at our home so we were excited to lay in bed with the clicker and watch a few shows! Ben also figured out a way to push our beds together....thanks to his grand muscles!
Saturday morning we woke up and went to breakfast in the garden room. It was so pretty sitting by the window and looking out on the veranda to some beautiful flowers, pond and birds. That is what I would picture my yard to look like when I get one...it is so peaceful. We then went to our classes which lasted up until dinner. After dinner we decided to take our bikes out for a ride into the gardens. I of course had Ben carry the camera so that we could stop at the Azelea bowl to take some photos. I did not bring the case because it was to bulky. Little did I know that they batteries would die after the first photo was taken. I would have thought that I could at least get one photo of Ben and I but no all I got is one of Ben! Well, he is the better looking half especially in his bike gear then me! :) We had a lovely ride and then when we went to leave the park the gates were closed! We found an opening by one of the enterances that we were able to pass our bikes through to eachother! Hey, it was better then climbing over the fence with bike shorts and bike shoes that you can barely walk in! We got through with no issues but it did mean that I had to ride on the main busy road! I have not ridden on the road before (just the River Walk and bike paths) so to have crazy cars passing you and going over 40 miles an hour was shaking me on my bike! Not forgetting to mention that I had my sunglasses on and it was dusk out (they were also used to shield bugs) so I could not see as well! Ben, my protector and good husband, rode behind me to make sure I did alright! That evening we cleaned up a bit, got out of the crazy bike shorts and went to a little bar downstairs for a drink.....which was very peaceful as well and we shared some good laughs.
The following morning (Sunday) we got up again for breakfast and of course the morning was full of thunder, lightning and rain. I am so done with storms here! After b-fast we went to our last session on sex and romance. Had some good laughs and also some times of seriousness. After that we checked out and headed home. We took some wisdom seriously and drove the speed limit because were informed that morning by someone who works law enforcement that on Saturday the police in north Columbus issued over 250 speeding tickets!!! Glad that we were not one of them!
Overall our weekend was fun and very relaxing. It is nice just to get away from all the usual day-to-day things and spend time with each other. We will have to do it again soon! Enjoy the only 2 photos that I took! :)


(Ben and his bike)


(The beds pushed together...we asked for no room service so they couldn't see our craziness!!)

So Ready......

Do you see these photos! This is what I cannot wait for! We are going to Callaway Gardens next weekend for a Ranger marriage retreat. As much as I would like to say that I am glad it is a retreat that will keep us in some classes during the day it will be a good retreat for Ben and I in other ways. We need to get away from the usual every day-to-day life that we live. It is nice just to get out of the city that you live in to drive a half an hour to a beautiful place like this and find peace and stillness!
Some definintions of retreat:
~an act or process of withdrawing especially from what is difficult, dangerous, or disagreeable
~a place of privacy or safety
~a period of group withdrawal for prayer, meditation, study, or instruction under a director
~a religious or spiritual term for time taken to reflect or meditate
I believe the last definition suits us the best this time. We have some decisions coming up that need to be made that will impact both of us. Ben and I are praying for wisdom, peace, patience, contentment and direction for what the Lord has for us. We want His best for our lives and want to see Jesus ALWAYS in our lives!
We plan on taking our bikes to get a few rides in and hopefully hit the pool. The azalea bowl should be in bloom and so many spring flowers will have their heads out seeking some sun! Ahhhh I just hope to have some lovely weather as well!

Welcome little ladies....

So a good friend back home had her identical baby twin girls this morning! I had to share them with you because they are so precious! I saw there photo and it made me want to be home to see them! I did get a bit teary eyed because they are such a wonderful miracle! Handmade by God and with his touch on their little lives! Many of you probably think that now that I have seen another photo (and got teary) of not only one baby but two that it would make me want to have one of my own....not yet please! So, welcome into the world little Penelope (6.7lbs) and Katie....yup that is right (5.8 lbs!!) Both are healthy and mom is doing well! Oh and I failed to mention that they are being welcomed as well but a 2 year old brother! My oh my Emily is going to have her hands full!!

Lots of date rides......

I finally got a road bike! We had been talking about it forever and the day finally came! We had been wanting to get me a bike so that Ben and I could do something "sporty" together! I like my running, spin class, and own gym workouts and he likes his mountain climbing, extreme sports, lifting and so on. We have been talking about what we can both do together that would entail having fun, getting exercise and being together! Well, since Ben already had a road bike we thought that it would be a good idea for me to get one too! We went to the bike store yesterday to just go looking and see if anything would be the right fit. We actually went to buy some spin shoes for my spin class so I could get a better workout! There are a ton of bikes there and good thing Ben knows what he is looking for because I had not a clue....just knew I did not want anything that had pink, purple or any other girly color to it! Could you imagine me on a pink or purple bike....not thank you!! Anyways, we found a few but Ben was not satisfied until he asked the man to see one that was higher on the second rack. Of course I was like...ohh I like the colors....until I saw the price! It was not the price that we had discussed before coming to the store! He later said that he tried to hide the price knowing that I would say that I did not need a bike of that $$$ amount. So, I took it for a spin and it was quite funny because I really don't remember the last time I had ridden a road bike! HAHA and now to put me on one that has way thin wheels....oh my! It was fun though and I could imagine myself cruising along the road with Ben and sloughing off these love handles that seem to cling onto me and never want to let go! Ben had to work on a homework assignment for his school so we went to Panera to use their fast internet and sip on some coffee. After much thought and deliberation and Ben telling me it was not a matter of the price tag but that it was a bike I will have forever, can andvance/improve on, use together and also use for future family fun we went back and got it! We got some good flyer miles which is a bonus! Also included in the package were these lovley padded black bike shorts!! Ummmmm can you give me a whoot whoot for I am going to be sporting some lovely spandex material!! One benefit to them is that the legs/thighs look a bit slimmer! :) We wanted to go riding today but it has been raining all day long! Does the weather man not know that I just made a purchase and want to use it??!! I will post photos later when Ben and I go out to bike of the whole updo and riding experience!

First day out....

This was the first day this year that we got to take the boat out! After having crazy weather last weekend it finally got in the upper 70's on Saturday! It was a beautiful day to just go out and smoothly glide along the lake. Well, Ben did have a fewe times of crazy driving and making some wakes for Mike and Kaylyn on their boat! Will and cute lil Olivia joined us and Olivia got a bit bored with the boys talking so she ate some sour patch kids and then fell asleep! I did not think the sun rays were going to be as strong as they were so I got some lovely pink skin and now am going to have to even out some funky tan lines! Oh what we do for some sun! All in all it was a fun day that was topped off by some yummy burgars the Isreal's house!

(One of the reasons I married Ben...for the boat of course! Haha)


(Olivia racked out)


(What they do best....chill and talk about work!)


(Ben looking handsome and me just waking up!)