Back To The Real World... Finally!

The day we made our fabulously long journey home from Utah I got a call from the office saying they had a two day a week assignment open for me, and I could also start working another day in the office as well since the budget was looking a little better. So that means 4 days of work instead of 1. What a relief. I'd been looking everywhere and I'd interviewed a bunch of places but nothing seemed to be working. It's a big stress reliever and it will keep me busy during the week. Rufus isn't enjoying the change as much as we are though, that's for sure. He's so used to having all my attention during the day that he's been a terror this week. That's okay though, we'll just work on doing the best we can. This week was also the week of Matts TAP classes, the classes that help Marines transition out of the corps. He's learned a lot already about government assistance to help us move, and about the GI bill. And he still has a few more days to go. We are both really excited about these classes. They've helped relax us both and relieved a lot of our worries. Anywho... that's enough rambling for now. Here is a funny picture of Rufus for you to enjoy.
Guess Rufus wants a taste of the employed life!

One Bumpy Ride With Our Furry Friend

Hello all. As I'm sure you all know -because I've mentioned it a billion times on here haha- we spent the last 10 days in good old Utah. It was so nice to go home, we had a great time. We almost didn't make it there though, Sierra's car decided on the 2nd half of our drive home that it didn't really want to go too much further. So we were pretty close to stranded in St George, but we pushed old Speed Racer (Matt's loving nick name he gave my car on our trip to Brad and Claire's in February) along, and babied her a bit. But we made it. We left the car with Sierra's grandpa while we went to Island Park for a few days with her family, and when we came back old Speed Racer was as good as new! PS - not long after rolling out of our parking lot to start our journey, the odometer rolled over to 340,000. (It is now at 341,767 ) We got to see lots of people from school and church and old friends we haven't seen for a while. But mostly it was nice to see our families. We got to see little Ethan, who isn't so little anymore! The last time we'd seen him, he was barely 3 months old and now he's close to a year! It was so much fun to play with him. We stayed with Matts parents and it was really nice of them to let us stay. They even took care of Rufus while we were in Island Park, so we owe them big time. What a crazy cat. From what I hear he didn't get along too well with Ashley's cat Gus who lives at Mike and Colleens. I guess Rufus just wanted to play and annoyed Gus to death. Poor Gus. At least she has her territory back now. haha.One of the most exciting things that happened while we were home, was that Matt got to do a few ride alongs with the sheriffs department, including doing one with my dad. He had such a blast that he even picked up an application. So we are now looking into the pre-law enforcement test before he can enter police academy which is in January. Wish him luck!! Matt is on cloud 9 and I'm so glad he found something that he loves. We tried to spend as much time with our friends as we could but we didn't have much time at all. Hopefully everyone understands and knows that we will be back in 3 months. In the meantime, here are some pictures of our trip. Enjoy!




Rufus is quite the little traveller. He spent all his time either looking out the window, or sleeping on Matts lap. We were impressed.

Matt? or Dwight?....

Ryann and Jace on a walk in Island Park

Cpl Phillips standing next to corporal geyser

Matt and Josh standing on a bridge in Island Park -right before Matt jumped off

Sharifa and little Ethan at the pool. I didn't mean to cut off your head Sharifa!

Rufus being naughty at Mike and Colleen's

We tried doing a session at our favorite temple, but it was closed for 2 weeks. So we went on a field trip to temple square instead

Hug a Vet

Hello all. It's not often I let myself get emotional but with all the goings on this week, I think it was inevitable. A year ago right now my hubby was deployed and in, what I can only imagine, was the closest thing to hell on earth. I was hoping this year we could make up for how bad his birthday was the year before, and I think we did. But also this week was the fourth of July. Last year I saw the fireworks with my family and took pictures of them with my sister. I don't know how anyone could stand to spend time with me while Matt was gone, but I'm thankful for everyone that did. Especially both our parents, who weren't afraid to let me talk even if I didn't want to. This year we had decided to spend the day on the beach on base and stay for the fireworks at night. It was overcast but still SO much hotter than either of us could handle. We met up with a bunch of Matts friends and hung out for a while. There was a big festival on the beach with live music and hot dogs and lots of families spending time together with their marines. It always chokes me up to see a marine and his family. A year ago it seemed like forever until Matt would finally be home, but he's home now and I can't tell you all how grateful I am that he came home safe. In the end we decided to come home instead of sweat out the rest of the day to watch the fireworks. Especially since it was so overcast we wouldn't have been able to see much anyway. We came home and cleaned up, got some of Matts favorite burritos at los tacos and came home to hang out in front of the air conditioner. But since there was a big goings on in San Diego we wathed the fireworks on tv. They had a tribute to the military and played all the patriotic country songs that choked me up while Matt was gone. And well, still do. But I think this week has done a lot for me. We've been married for half a year as of last Saturday and I'm so glad that we are finally together. Okay, that's all the mush I can give you for now. We're heading out to dinner with some friends. Thanks for reading and all the support you've all given us both. Hope you all had a happy 4th and next time you see a Vet give him a hug. I know I will. :) Love you all. Sierra

My Family

Oh, Happy Day

Yesterday was the big 22 for Matt, and it was a really fun day. The best part about his birthday this year -in my opinion- is that he got off work yesterday at noon and doesn't have to go back until Monday at noon, (where he has to check in for a minute) then we're off to Utah!! We are SO excited for our trip home. It's going to be nice to have him home for a few days before we go and we're looking forward to spending some quality time doing fun things during the day while everyone else is at work. -Except right now he is playing Call of Duty 4 and I'm at work, but not for long. I got some fun pictures of Rufus and Matt last night just being themselves. They crack me up. Rufus is still enjoying playing in the bath tub. He doesn't even pretend the water phases him anymore and that must makes Matt tease him even more, which makes me laugh even more. Tomorrow we are heading up to Del Mar beach on base to watch a fireworks show for the 4th. Anyone out there doing anything fun for the weekend?

Rufus eating a bow off of one of Matts presents

Cheesey smiles