A Quick Bahrain Recap

I know it’s been forever since I wrote anything – this summer has been complete madness. Even though we’ve all been very busy, Dylan and I have been talking to Josh as often as possible. Lately, he has been putting in ridiculous work hours to help get his boat in working order. Between our busy summer, Josh’s work schedule, and the 8 hour time difference, it has been challenging. But we manage to Skype 2-3 times a week.

But don’t think that Josh is only working and not having any fun. 

He (not surprisingly) has joined up playing on a Softball team. I’m not sure how those guys tolerate sweating all day in their uniforms and then voluntarily going back out there in the evenings to sweat some more. I guess the playoffs started this week, so I'm sure they're having fun.

He has also purchased a bike for getting around over there. It's a must faster commute to the base from his apartment. He’s also gone on some day trips with some friends.

He's even getting some travel time. He headed to Kuwait on a 4-day trip last month.

On a fun side note, Josh has been enjoying the local cuisine. 

About a week before he was deployed, we went to see The Avengers. If you stayed until the very end and saw the clip after the credits, you saw the Shwarma scene. A Shawarma is a fast-food staple in the Middle East. I told him that he had to take a photo of his first one once he got over there.

While he was in his hotel room during his first week there he took the photo for me. Yay!

Eating My Way Through Austin, TX

When I went to Austin I didn’t really know what to expect. I knew there would be music and I expected to have a taco or 12. What I didn’t know was that I would end up wanting to eat my way through the city and not have enough time to do it.

THURSDAY

The feasting began the first night we were there. Andrew decided to cookout for everyone at his house. I had just arrived around five in the evening, so I had a lot of catching up to do with the rest of the crew. Everyone else had already been tubing and drinking all day, so some needed to nap, some needed to shower, and some were ready to start all over again.

I got to hang out with my boys. All that was missing was my husband. 

Drew, B-ry & Matt

This photo is of Andrew, Bryan, and Matt hanging out in Drew’s backyard and chowing down on some fresh mango slices. There is a walking path just outside Andrew & Holly’s fence in the backyard. I think we saw at least two dozen dogs taking their owners for their evening walks.

Andrew was our grill master for the night. He prepared beer can chicken, mangos, corn on the cob, and ribs. I did manage to get him to let me help marinate the ribs and prepare the corn. I was feeling the need to help out with the feast.

It was a beautiful night (aside from a couple rain drops) so we were all sitting out on the deck enjoying our time together, and the smell of the food grilling. 

At some point Shannon said, “Is something on fire?” We all responded with casual “No” answers. Not five minutes later, someone realized that something was, indeed, on fire. It was the beer can chicken. Not too worry, there were several ex-lifeguards on duty, and Matt’s quick thinking had him running into the kitchen to grab a towel and taking the chicken off the grill. Don't worry, the skin was charred, but the meat ended up still tasting great later.

Even with the small disaster, our dinner ended up being really nice. We stuffed ourselves and had a great time. Andrew gets major points for his grilling skills. And Holly made some kicking potatoes!

B-ry, Shannon, Rob, Drew, Elliot, Mike, Lisa & Holly (Clockwise)

FRIDAY

The next day, I spent the afternoon exploring the city with Shannon and Rob. Rob and I were newbies, but Shannon had been there a few times, so she took over as tour guide. We had a list of places to check out. And we did! If only we could have squeezed several meals in! My stomach just couldn't fit any more!

Our first stop was lunch at Hopdoddy Burger Bar. I absolutely love a good quality burger, so I was really excited to try out the local fare. Hopdoddy prides themselves on fresh/all-natural products. They grind their own meat, bake their own bread, and cut their own fries. They also have craft sodas instead of the traditional Pepsi or Coke products. We made our orders and waited at our table for our burger experience to begin.

Self portrait in our booth while waiting for our food

I ordered the Terlingua Burger and drank the Doppelganger soda. 

My burger was Angus beef, Chile con carne, Fritos, Tillamook Cheddar, and Sassy Sauce (Yes, you read that right. There were Fritos on my burger). They serve your food on a metal tray so it can catch all the delicious grease that runs down your fingers. The fries were great too - I dipped mine in chipotle ketchup. Yum!

Up the street from Hopdoddy was a parking lot full of food trucks. I was so stuffed from my epic burger that I couldn't even think about purchasing anything from the trucks...not even the cupcake truck. How disappointing?

Shannon, however, wanted to sample Home Slice Pizza. She only tasted our burgers so she could save room for some pizza by the slice. She ordered two slices to sample. She stuck with the basics and got one slice of cheese and one slice of pepperoni. They came out hot and tasty! (I snagged a quick bite off hers) It was pretty good NY style. Although, it wasn't really better than other by-the-slice places I've had in the past.

But, if you know anything about my husband, it's that he has an obsession with pizza by the slice. He has a radar for these joints when we travel anywhere. So, I had to take a photo of myself in Home Slice, just for him. I also had one of the pizza guys tell me about all the flavors in the window. I was very interested in the sausage + garlic pizza, but still way too full to even think about getting a slice. (They cut the sausage like pepperoni and sprinkled garlic all over the top! YUM!)

Later that night, we were off to the rehearsal dinner. (More about the party part later - right now it's all about the food!) It was a buffet style set-up with a long table of great smelling food. 

My two favorite items were the tilapia (you can see two pieces on the top right corner of my plate) and the ranch dressing. I know that sounds weird, but I like a really good quality ranch (not as much as Brittany does, but she wasn't there to critique it, so I had to take over as the resident ranch expert). I can't believe I had enough room after my huge burger earlier to eat the whole plate. But when it's good, it's good!

Bryan and Matt were ready to dig in!

               

The dessert bar had two kinds of cheesecake and an English Trifle with strawberries. Shannon was super excited about the Trifle.

               

SATURDAY

It was wedding day! But not until late in the evening, so we had all day to hang out with the groom and have some fun. He decided to lead us to a taco Food Truck for lunch. There was a huge group of us and we were hungry!

Waiting in line to order our tacos

Andrew gave us some advice on which ones were his favorites and how we go about ordering. Brittany and I decided to each order one of our own and then to order one more that we could share.

Matt, Britt, Me & Drew ready for tacos!

My tacos were AWESOME!

Fried Avocado on top, The Democrat on bottom

I ordered "The Democrat" for myself and the "Fried Avocado" taco to share with Britt. I actually liked the Avocado taco better, but they were both very good. I'm sure I could have stuffed another one in if it was on the plate. Food is dangerous when it tastes so amazing!

That night we enjoyed a dinner of Hors D'Oeuvres at the Wedding Reception. I took a photo of my and Brittany's plates before we dug in. There were lamb balls, southwest eggrolls, spicy hummus, au gratin potatoes (with an amazing cheese in them), and several dips. 

Photos don't do all these meals justice. But know that if you plan a trip to Austin,  you will be eating well! Now if you don't mind, I need to go fast for a few days to make up for the ridiculous amount of food I consumed last weekend. Thank you, Austin, for making my belly happy!

Reunion in Austin, TX

Last Thursday (June 7th), I got left my little angel with my parents and got on a plane to Texas. I had only been to Texas once before. I went with my mom to San Antonio when I was in High School. Even though Andrew had been trying forever to convince Josh and I to make a trip to Austin, we hadn't yet. Apparently, all he had to do was get married for me to make the trip.

I got off the plane in Austin and was greeted by the sound of live music at the airport taco bar. That was reason number one that I loved that airport. Reason number two was the glass etchings of fancy hairdos on the bathroom mirrors so you could wash your hands and laugh at yourself at the same time.

I felt so loved when a whole carload of people came to pick me up. Holly, Matt, Shannon, and Rob all came along to get me! I have some amazing friends. Even though I am really sad that Josh couldn't be there to spend time with his friends, I was so happy that I had something to look forward to right after his deployment. This group of friends always has a good time and I knew they'd be the perfect distraction from missing my husband.

B-ry, Me & Matt

Me & The Bride

Me & My Shannon

As always, they were awesome and so much fun.

And the perfect reason for our Texas reunion was the Bride and Groom.

They are so cute together and are the perfect fit for each other. I always thought that statement was true, but didn't realize how true until that weekend. They are a perfect match and I couldn't be more thrilled that they found each other. Holly is definitely the kind of girl you want your guy friends to find. I'm so glad that I can now call her my friend as well.

If you don't already know, Andrew is a Production Manager, Camera Operator and/or Director of Photography (and more - I don't know what he likes to be called, but I know he's always doing a bunch of different things) for a huge variety of projects. Weather it be one of his own productions or for shows that have aired on VH1, MTV, A&E, Nat Geo, Discovery, and more. He has also filmed a bunch of music videos for Granger Smith and Drew Kennedy. Check out some of his work Here. Okay I'm done bragging about my friend now.

Enjoying the show

While we were at their house on Thursday, he gave us a preview of the wedding video we were all going to watch at the rehearsal  dinner and a few other projects he had been working on. We loved it! I'm so proud of him for finding an exciting career that he loves doing...and he seems to be REALLY good at it! (In my amateur opinion)!

And it would be totally uncharacteristic of our group to not play a few rounds of "Stop the Boat."

Stop the Boat

It was a great start to the Wedding Weekend Extravaganza!

Josh's Apartment in Bahrain

I know I haven't written in quite a while. Between being out of town for a few days for a wedding, and preparing for that trip, I have been really busy! But I realized that I haven't given a good update on Josh lately, and that is unacceptable! So this post is all about Josh! (One of my favorite topics)

[NOTE: I'm going to share the photos he took and try to tell you about everything. I may not have all the details 100% perfect, but I'll try to remember everything and pass all the info along. If I'm messing up anything, I'm sorry. I'll try to do my best.]

The street where he lives

He moved from his hotel into his apartment during his second week and is settling in well. He isn't living on base, he is in an apartment complex that is about a 15 minute walk away. If you, like one of my friends, was imagining that he was living in a tent and eating dirt, prepare to be surprised. That is not the case at all. He shares an apartment with two other Coast Guard guys from the base.

This is his apartment:

He has his own bedroom with a King size bed. I told him that he's going to hate coming back and sharing a Queen with me. (He, of course, completely disagreed and earned himself a few extra points) 

He also has his own television in his room where he set up the PS3 that he took with him. Imagine, all the game play he wants without a nagging wife to limit his Madden time!

It's a townhouse with the Livingroom and Kitchen on the Main Floor:

Livingroom

Kitchen (View 1)

Kitchen (View 2)

There is a pool that he can see from his bedroom window.

However, I know he hasn't really been swimming much. I wonder if the water in the pool is too warm from the weather being so hot and miserable all the time? Anyway, he said that he went swimming in a pool on the other side of the complex once, but that's about it.

Well, I hope I didn't mess any details up too much. I promise to start doing better about Josh updates. He's starting to settle in and I know he's finally adjusting to the time change. We've even gotten a Skype schedule down and tend to talk around the same time almost every day. More Josh details to follow soon...

Josh’s Farewell Party

I thought I’d use Memorial Day to write about Josh’s Going Away Party. Saturday, May 19 was the big day to celebrate my amazing husband. It wasn't to celebrate the fact that he was leaving. It was to celebrate the fact that he is serving our country, the sacrifice he is making, and to let him know how much he is appreciated and loved by family and friends.

Me & My Man

Some of Josh’s family was able to make the trip to Moline. His Mom, Dad, Sister Michelle, and Uncle Bud traveled to Illinois to show their support. I was so grateful that they were here. My Dad and Step-mom also came from Colorado for the party. It really meant a lot that these people traveled all this way for Josh’s send-off.

It was an all-American party, from the Coast Guard service-member to the décor! Fun note: the signs on the drink coolers were labeled VETERANS (Adult Beverages), ENLISTED (Soda), and RECRUITS (Water). I’m telling you, when I pick a theme, I stick with it!

We had so much food! There was enough to last all day with plenty leftover! My Dad was the grill master with the hot dogs, and I had lots of help with the food from my Mom and Grandmas. We even had a teamworking cookie machine the day before the party. Josh made the batter and then the cookies were baked by Cindy, Michelle, and Connie.

Speaking of cookies…

Cookie Bar

Josh isn’t much of a cake man so we decided to have a cookie bar for dessert. My grandma even made a huge batch of her chocolate chip cookies that she always makes for Josh. And we ordered a giant cookie instead of a cake.

It was quite the turnout. So many people came to show support for my man. I was so proud. He even got some special drinks and a cigar from some of the guests. Sometimes he is a little too humble to be the man of the hour, but he certainly deserved it this time.

I was happy to have several of my friends there to show support. Jon, Colleen, Erin, Tricia, and Breanne all came. I know that handful of friends are going to be the ones who are going to be here keeping me occupied over the next year. I’m really lucky to have their care and support.

Breanne, Colleen, Anika, and Tricia

Colleen and I shared a couple awesome moments. She had all her kids with that day and our children were bonding like crazy. While we were watching Dylan push Tyler around on one of his toys Josh came up behind us and said, “You two have been waiting for this moment for about 15 years, haven’t you?” Yes, yes we have.

Dylan & Tyler

Dylan also had a quiet moment with Kiley that I was really excited to catch with my camera.

Kiley & Dylan

Dylan had way too much fun at the party. I'm sure he thought the party was for him. There ended up being a lot of kids there.

He was also getting awfully spoiled by Poppy (my dad). He took Dylan for a walk across the street and bought him an ice cream cone! Good thing he was still in his swim gear because I think he got more ice cream on this clothes than he did in his mouth.

Dylan may have thought the party was for him, but Josh was obviously the man of the hour. I think he told the same stories more than a dozen times. When he was leaving, where he was going, about the kind of ship he'll be on. I even saw him with his phone out at one point, showing a map of where to find Bahrain.

Talking to B-ry

Overall, I think the party was quite a success. The kids seemed to love the Kids Zone in the back yard and it looked like the adults had fun too. So many people came to support Josh and wish him good luck. It was a great send-off. Josh even got support from California - Bryan called that evening.

I need to thank my Mom for weeks of help leading up to the party. She was there for me the whole time and I couldn't have gotten the party together without her and Bob. And a big thank you to everyone else who helped make the party such a success.

Anika: Wife, Mother, Party Planner :)

On Memorial Day today, I'm thinking even more of my amazing husband and all our friends who have or still are serving. That small percentage of our Country's population deserves more than a few special days a year when everyone remembers the huge sacrifices they are making (or have made).

"This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave." ~Elmer Davis

Happy Memorial Day!