Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

For our 6 month wedding anniversary (yes, we celebrated it... not sure if that's customary, but we had a great time!) we went to DC to see the Christmas tree that stands in front of the White House! This tree happens to have come from Washington State! Very cool! This huge tree also had a normal size tree for each state around it; each decorated differently!
We followed the tree looking up with a wonderful dinner together at Bucca di Beppo! Mmmm, so good! :)

Welcome Grandfather and Emily to viewing our blog! Thank you Tim for getting them all set up!

PS - I am going to add to the bottom of this post this week, as I have time to write, so we can keep the tree pictures at the top of the blog!

Where to begin... lately....

Nolan and I have both been very busy!

Week before last Nolan completed MOUT - an urban operation training exercise. This past week we are excited to share that he passed his 1st class swimming test! :-) Whoop!
(This is required for flight school)
This past week I have attended a lot of meeting with Nolan, so I have gotten to see him a lot during the day, which is a very nice change!
Friday was our last meeting of the week and we found out when we will be MOVING!! (well about when, for now) End of January/end of February 2007
Nolan will do intro to flight school here, so that move date will likely be pushed to the end of February. NFO school for Nolan should start in May 2007, so we will be there by then!
;-) We are excited!
This week Nolan is doing "war, also known as FEX IV.... he will be home this weekend... It is his LAST!!! WHOOP! Then he is off for about 2 weeks, then back for a few final classes, mess night and GRADUATION on January 11th! So very exciting!

I am still the long term special ed sub at one of the base's elementary schools... I am really grateful that I am not subbing like the usual subbing, where you are in a different place everyday! The staff has really embraced me, I've been there now ?? 7/8 weeks, and I can't begin to say how much FUN I have at work! Sadly they will hire someone after the first of the year for my job.... but I know they will have me there often to sub, so that's good! :-) I will have to check in on my 3 students ( all brothers - twins in K/1st grade and one in 3rd grade)

Huntington is another story, I still work about 12 hours a week there, it's just a bit boring at times... I think I'm going to only work 2 days a week there after the first of the year... we'll see.

Next Monday, the 18th, we are truly blessed to be able to be traveling to both Seattle and Houston to see our families for Christmas!! :-) We will return the 27th, just in time to ring in 2007 in Washington, DC with Josh and Jill!

Nolan earned a one, of two, NFO positions!

(Naval Flight Officer)

We will be moving to Pensacola, Florida for a year? of training! :-)

(Not sure when... but we hope to find out the first week of December)

Congrats Nolan! :-)

Happy 231st Birthday Marines!

We attended the TBS Marine Corps Birthday Ball at the Marriott in Richmond, Virginia on the evening of Saturday, 11 November!

Jill, Josh, Nolan and Paige at the Ball

Us! :-)

Josh and Jill!
Jill flew in from CT for the event! Fun times! :-)

Josh and Nolan
One of the servers swore they looked like brothers! :-)

Luke and Nicole
Nicole and Paige are great friends...
We hang out most often when the guys are out in the field, but we chat most everyday! :-)

Shannon and Wayne
Shannon is one of Paige's friends

We girls, minus Stephenie... not sure where she went! :-(

The National Museum of the Marine Corps opens to the public Monday, November 13, 2006!
Not sure when we will get to visit, but definitely before we move!

Nolan in the process of making dinner from scratch! :-)

The amazing Chicken Caccitore Nolan made for dinner! :-)

Off to cook chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes for dinner!

Have a great week!!!

Random Tidbits from the Week

Paige started this project while Nolan was gone this past week for FEX III...
Our wonderful retired neighbor, Marie, was kind enough to teach Paige one afternoon!




Prayers for Paige's mom and stepdad, Tim... Tim was in a horse riding accident and spent last week in the hospital with a broken pelvis... :-(

Only at a Marine Corps Base elementary school do they take

their grades k - 3 kids on a 1.5 mile "Fall Hike." Good times!

On Friday, the sentry (military police) at the Iowa Jima gate of Quantico took my temporary car registration sticker, saying that I had changed it's expiration to January 07... Riiiiiight, keep telling yourself that buddy...

I was able to get permanent stickers that afternoon, so all is well!

FEX III went well for Nolan and we are looking forward to finding out his MOS!!!

The 231st Marine Corps Ball for TBS is this Saturday, so we will be sure to post pictures...

Happy Birthday USMC! :-)

I'll try to think of more... check back!

We carved our pumpkins on Friday night, while watching X-Men III!

(Nolan's is on the left and Paige's is on the right)
Paige cheated a bit and used a stencil she found online! haha

Whoop for (more) Work for Paige!
FRIDAY UPDATE!!!
I just got a call to be the sub, for the aide to the teacher I subbed for yesterday, for the next two weeks!!! I AM ESTATIC!!!

Today (Thursday, Oct 26) I subbed on base, Dept of Defense School, for the first time, and it was GREAT! I subbed for a content mastery co-teach teacher for grades K - 3 (that's not what they called it, but my Jane Long friends will understand) Believe it or not, co-teach works/worked! I kept my two to three students on task while they worked and everyone in the classroom got their work done! Amazing!
On top of a good experience with the students, the staff was so very welcoming and helpful! One volunteered, first thing, to take me on a quick tour of the building.. Then soon after getting settled in my room, 22, THE PRINCIPAL came by to welcome me and see if I had all the lesson plans and such that I needed!!! INSANE! Mid-morning, the aide who gave me the tour, mentioned there would be an aide opening in January if I was interested!? Interested? YES! Too bad we will move then... I'll just have to see what the next duty station holds!! :-)
It was early release today, so I have some free time before I head to Huntington!
Just had to share how excited I am about being back in the classroom! :-) Proof that good things come to those who are patient!

Nolan has been learning about machine guns and such this week... He did great on the application part of the test and only missed 2 of 50 on the written test! Whoop!

We also celebrated his 23rd birthday on Tuesday!!

The castle cake I made (pre-icing)

Happy Birthday Nolan!

My knight in shining chainmail and helmet, holding his battle axe and castle cake!
(a few other pictures won't upload right now, I'll try later)

This weekend Nolan's company will be helping with the start/finish line at Marine Corps Marathon in DC. Bright and early Monday morning he starts FEX III, which will last until Friday! It's pretty chilly here now, so hopefully they all stay warm! Pretty much from here on out, Nolan will have a week at home (to sleep and do homework, between the hours of 7-8pm and 4-5am) followed by a week in the field... He will be busy, but January 11th, graduation day, is getting closer!! :-) Whoop!

Until next time.... :-)

Pumpkin Pickin' in Virginia

We began our afternoon of fun with a huge bag of homemade Kettle Corn! YUM!

While we waited for my friend Nicole and her husband, Luke, who is in Nolan's Company at TBS, I took a ride on the zip line that one of my students, at Huntington, had told me about!YaY FuN! :-)

THE PUMPKIN PATCH!!! SO EXCITING!! :-)

Photo opt mid searching for THE perfect pumpkins!


After much searching...
Nolan and Paige with their perfect pumpkins!

(There were a lot of pumpkins lined up on the road between fields... we weren't sure if those had been claimed, but we decided if you weren't holding it, it wasn't yours! haha )

On the hay ride back from the pumpkin patch...
Can't you tell... Nolan is just THRILLED with our finds and to be with me, of course!! hehe

One of many round hay bales in the parking lot...
Mom and Tim definitely need to make one of these! ;-)

Last, but not least, the MAIZE MAZE!

View of the maze from a bridge

Nolan with the map...
(too bad the mailboxes with the next piece(s) to the maze were no where to be found!)

Paige with the "if you get totally lost, STOP, raise and wave this and we'll come get you" flag we had to carry! haha :-) No... we didn't get THAT lost, just made a few wrong turns along the way... kept things interesting! :-)
(It was interesting to find out how stinkin' cold it was in the maze!)

Texas! Cont'd

Visiting with the many horses at the family ranch!

The baby cows (on another 100 acres) coming up to get some food...

Mardi Gras - my cow's baby -

her face looks like she has a mardi gras mask on... hence her name...

Props to my mom for the name! :)

At Stephanie's Bachelorette Party, Friday night...

Two happily married couples!

2nd Lt. and Mrs. Nolan Dean ;-)

Jayci's (my niece) perfectly formed cannon ball! :-)

And the splash... from another jump into the pool!

Grant and Kaleb
My brother and his son, my nephew!

My brother and his family with Nolan, me and Grandma!

These are all the pictures I could get so far.... Enjoy!

Texas Adventures!

This past weekend Nolan and I traveled to Texas for my friend and maid of honor in my wedding, Stephanie's wedding in Pearland! It was a busy weekend visiting family, as well, but well worth the trip! :-)

I came into IAH on Thursday and drove up to Marlin to see my mom and Tim's new place... this is their rent house in downtown Marlin.... (Nolan was still in VA taking care of some medical tests for his flight contract... still no word yet; but all of the medical requests have been taken care of.. so time will tell)

Magic in her pen in the kitchen! I can't wait to get our Lab!

Friday Morning
After taking a look around the family ranch... I stopped for a picture with all of the dogs!


then rode Gray for a short while... (some cowgirl in windpants and my JLMS t-shirt, huh? haha)

Mom and I went to visit all of the horses in the back pasture on the four wheeler!
Next addition... all of the horses and cows!! :-)
*** Blogger won't upload pictures right now, so I'll have to try later ***

Friday evening was Stephanie and Justin's rehearsal and rehearsal dinner in Pearland... then I went to Stephanie's bachelorette party until I left to go get Nolan at IAH...

Saturday we girls got our hair done in Friendswood, then headed over to the church for the wedding... the Mass began at 2pm and the reception followed... Stephanie and Justin left around 8pm? and then we cleaned up the reception area...

Sunday morning Nolan and I attended church with Grandma McGee in Angleton, the church we were married in only 4 months ago! :-) After church we really wanted a nap, but I soon remembered that we were to meet with the photographer in downtown Houston!! BOO!! Thankfully we only got a little lost, making us about 10 minutes late...

On the note of wedding pictures... We had to leave the proof album with the photo guy, so that he could use those pictures to make our album by Christmas... SO... unfortunately anyone that wants to buy pictures (by December) from our wedding... here is how! :)

1. Visit www.provadaphotography.com

2. Click on Client Area

3. Click on Click Here to View an Online Event

4. Click on Show All Events

5. Find and Click on McGee and Dean Wedding

6. The password is: npdean

7. Find the picture(s) you want and write down the number and size of that picture you would like .... ( Example: Picture 1 of 361 - 8 x 10 Picture 45 of 361 - 5 x 7 etc. )

8. Call Provada Photography ( 713-981-0279) and give them your order.. It will be CHEAPER
( Sorry Grandma and anyone else who already ordered online - we just found this out... how convenient, eh? ) ((if you get a recording... get the number off of the recording and call it))

9. Feel free to call me if you have trouble! :-) 979-777-9379

Moving on...

After we finished up with the photo guy we met up with my brother and his family and Grandma at my dad's for an early dinner (insert picture) Jayci (our niece) did cannon balls into the pool (insert picture)
Grandma locked her keys in her car, but Grant was able to us his truck's antennae to break in! :-)

<<<<<===== Back to the past two weeks or so

Nolan surprised me with a package... FOUR 1/2 gallons of Blue Bell Ice Cream!!! Whoop! We have shared with our fellow Texan Marines, but we are still working on our last two 1/2 gallons!

Three of my girlfriends and I hosted a "coffee" at the beginning of October; at a coffee Marine Corps spouses (it's all wives) meet for a snack (we provided various dips, sandwiches and drinks) and chat about a specific topic (this time was deployments) Overall, I think the coffee was a success, but a bit nerve racking, so we are glad to have gotten it out of the way! :-)

Nolan has been working on/learning about patrol orders, this evening they are out late practicing what they've learned... He is also now Platoon Sergeant for the next two weeks; I'm sure he is going to do a great job! :-)

I am still not subbing yet, but I'm not complaining, as it leaves lots of time for running various errands and making breakfast for Nolan at all hours of the morning (between 0330 - 0600), which I love doing! I am doing mostly SAT prep at Huntington from 4 - 8pm each night... It's a real bummer that sometimes Nolan will get home early (5 - 6pm) and I'm at work til 8! Oh well! :-) It is super nice though, that I leave out something to cook for dinner and Nolan will have it ready when I get home at 8:20, so we can then eat together! One night he made Chicken Cacciatore from SCRATCH! It was sooooooooo tasty and I think he had fun making something different! Oh and he had bought me flowers! :-) So very thoughtful! :-)

Okay this is getting VERY long, but all in all, life continues to be a blessing each and every day for us! We are so happy here, especially here together! :-)

Until next time... Peace!

Echo Company Picnic

at

Lunga Park

Quantico MCB

Our new friends! :-)

(all of the husbands met at the picnic today)

Shannon and Wayne

Nolan and I

Stephanie and Kyle
Luke and Nicole

(from left to right)

On Our Walk....

We found Autumn? is here...
the leaves on the trees don't just FALL OFF?!? ;-)

a SNAKE!

(nope, not on a plane, in the water!)

a SLIDE! :-)

a pier...
which we fed the fish sour gummy worms off of

And finally...

One HAPPY couple on a BEaUtiful Monday!