Messina Hof MC Birthday Dinner

On Tuesday, Nick and I attended Messina Hof Winery's Marine Corps birthday dinner.

Everyone told us that this was a "must go to" event, so Nick and I jumped at the opportunity.

It is a semi formal Marine Corps birthday ceremony complete with dinner, cake, and of course...wine!

Paul Bonarrigo Jr. (the son of the Messina Hof Winery's founder and owner) was a former Marine, and has kept the tradition of celebrating the birthday every year at his family's winery.

The guest of honor was Nick's CO at Texas A&M, Colonel Bright.

He gave an amazing speech about the Marine Corps, and what it is today.

He talked about how even with all the changes from generation to generation, the core concept of the Marine Corps has not changed.

The crowd is not your typical Marine crowd at this event.

It's mostly older, retired Marines, and I'm pretty sure the only currently active duty Marines that were there were the Marine MECEP'ers from Texas A&M, and the Colonel. 

That's what made this evening really special though.

I got to talk to the older generation of Marines, and as humbled as I was to be amongst them, they seemed to have been humbled themselves to be amongst the younger Marines.

It's a mutual respect us Marines have for each other, young and old, old corps and new corps...

It's what makes us great. 

I scored this amazing Nicole Miller dress for an absolute steal at 50% off its' original price!

SCORE!

How gorgeous is this cake!

Anything with edible glitter is a 10 in my book!

Colonel Bright's speech

The passing of the cake from the guest of honor, to the oldest Marine (a class of '53 Aggie grad), and the youngest Marine.

You know this is an older crowd when the youngest Marine happens to be a SSgt.

The narrator of the event was a retired Cobra pilot.

As an aviation ordnanceman who worked on Cobras at one point in my career, anyone affiliated with this magnificent chopper is a friend in my book.

Col Bright's wife, Jill.

Can't hang out with Mary without being suckered into a selfie!

My handsome date and I

Nick and I had such a fabulous time.

We came home with our bellies full of delicious food, wine, and plenty of memories to share.

It was truly a perfect way to celebrate the Marine Corps' 240th birthday.

Thank you to Messina Hof Winery for hosting such a fun filled event and honoring our Marine Corps' birthday!

The Totally Awkward Veteran

I just finished writing a research paper for my English lit class on dramatic literature, so my motivation to actually blog went out the window.

But I feel that since today is Veteran's Day, it's important that I share what today means to me.

As a veteran and the wife of an active duty Marine, days like today have a whole different meaning. 

I know firsthand and have experienced the sacrifices that come with serving our great nation.

Missed birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, milestones...

Pain, grief, loss, guilt...

Mental health issues, physical issues...

With that said, it's still incredibly awkward for me when people tell me "thank you for your service". 

I honestly end up mumbling some words like "it was an honor", "you don't have to thank me", "thanks"...

The best one is when I blurt out, "No, thank YOU"....

It usually gets a little awkward, since the other person is looking at me like, "why the hell are you thanking me? I'm not a veteran, and I just thanked YOU!"

 I feel like I am coming off as insincere, when in reality, I am SO grateful that there are people in this country that will recognize a veteran for their service.

Being thanked for a job that you volunteered for and absolutely loved is sometimes awkward though...no matter how you put it.

But when I think about it, most of my friends that are fellow veterans probably feel the same way I do..in fact, I KNOW they do.

I've had many discussions about it with fellow vets and even my husband.

If you're a veteran and you don't, then I'm going to assume that your humility level is slightly lower than me (haha...sorta.)

But this doesn't mean I'm not proud of my service, and proud of my accomplishments as a Marine. 

I love being part of this "exclusive club", and even better, I get to be married to someone who is in the same club as me! score!

I am constantly in awe of what Marines accomplish every day, and I am so humbled some days to share the same planet earth as them!

How can I not be proud to be amongst such great men and women?!

So, I end with this...

If you're a veteran, don't be ashamed to go get your free meal and appetizer at participating restaurants. 

Don't be ashamed to post your photo of you proudly in uniform on your social media.

If you're a thankful citizen...

A thank you means a lot.

A hug means a lot (but be careful...I know lots of vets who hate being touched and may get all awkward if you try and hug them...or even violent...haha....but really...)

 

And in the off chance you meet a veteran like me who is totally awkward in "thank you for your service" situations....

Just break the ice, and say something like...

"I bet you don't miss wearing them combat boots anymore!"

 "I bet you don't miss getting up at zero 430 every morning!"

Dannika's school had a Veteran's Day flag raising ceremony this morning.

The students were encouraged to wear red, white, and blue.

Dannika and her principal.

The boy scouts did an awesome job of raising the flags.

I love how so many kids showed off their patriotism in their red, white, and blue!

Silly kids.

Afterwards, they invited us all in for coffee and cookies in the cafeteria.

I even got some adorable "thank you" letters from the kids.

Some of my faves..

Dear Veteran,

Thank you for 'hiting' bad guys. I love you.

Love, Billy

Response from me: *I've actually never hit a bad guy, but I have build bombs, rockets, and guns that might have aided in their deaths...* (is that appropriate to even say to a child?!?!?!)

Dear Veteran,

Thank you for dying for our country.

Love,

(Name illegible) 

Response from me: *I'm so glad I could die for you! lol.*

 Happy Veteran's Day, folks!

Profound Birthday Thoughts

Today is the Marine Corps' 240th birthday!

I woke up genuinely excited for today, almost as much as if it were my actual date of birth.

I guess part of being a Marine is identifying so strongly with the birth date of the Marine Corps.

Nick and I will be attending the Messina Hof Winery's Marine Corps Ball tonight to celebrate.

I won't say much today, but I wanted to leave y'all with something Nick wrote on his Facebook last night.

It really struck a chord with me, and by the end of it I was crying big ugly crocodile tears.

Here's what he wrote, and I'll end with my thoughts...

"Just a few more hours until our beloved Corps turns 240. I normally leave it to my wife to post something life altering or prophetic but I will make a statement this year. 11 years ago I participated in a battle that was compared to one of the most intense house to house fighting that ever occurred in Marine history, Hue City during the Vietnam war and fought house to house and street to street In some of the most intense combat our brothers had seen to date. As an artillery man I always thought I would take my cannon and a crew into combat and lay waste to targets I would probably never physically see, (As we did in Afghanistan) but this time was different. I was no longer a section chief. I was a squad leader. I had 4 trucks, 13 Marines, 6 crew served weapons and more ammo then I knew what to do with. Being a participant in Operation Phantom fury or The Dawn will live on through me for the rest of my life. Long story short, over 11 years, November marks a very difficult time in my life. I lost a friend that I rarely talk about, Brian Wilson in Iraq to a vehicle accident, my best friend Vincent Bell to an IED in Afghanistan, I lost my mother to stress and poor health, Christopher Nelson in a case of mistaken identity. To tell you the truth it is hard to embrace the good that this month holds when there is so much to remorse. Thanksgiving, Veterans Day, and the marine corps birthday are the positives but I know what the pain of remembering brings to mind. Vincent bell was the epitome of patriotism, Chris Nelson was a contradiction to the rules of broken, my mother was a light to all, and Brian Wilson gave his life for his country. The pain And emptiness I feel is replaced with pride, respect and patriotism. I am thankful for the Marines I was able to serve with and for, I am honored to have made my mother proud to call me her own and I am proud to be a United States Marine. Thank you [Christopher] for not giving up on me, [Thomas] for being a model for all Marines to emulate and being the man of my house when I was deployed [Dore] for being so selfless that you would give your time and life to the service well after anyone would ever do so and taking care of my blood like your own, and all of my Marine friends and family. I want to thank my wife who is sound asleep next to me and my children who went to bed with smiles on their faces for being patient with me this month. November is full of reflection and I am thankful for every opportunity I was ever given. Happy birthday Marines. Semper Fidelis, kill bodies, and most importantly never forget the ones who paid the ultimate price. They are truly the heroes and should be celebrated"

Nick very rarely shares his feelings and thoughts about his experiences in combat.

I literally have to pry it out of him, or I have to hear about it from Marines he has served with.

His humility is what is so attractive about him.

I've learned that Marines that "boast" about their experiences in combat, and are constantly talking about it are the ones who have never truly experienced pain, hurt, loss, and guilt.

So for him to share this on Facebook and be vulnerable...

Opening himself up to social media...

It made me realize just how important a day like celebrating the Marine Corps birthday is to him.

So with that...

Happy 240th Birthday, Marines. 

Semper Fi.

 

Mimosa's Before a Field Trip?

Has it really been a week since I blogged?!?!
Holy "poop"....lol.
I'm taking macro economics this semester, and it is seriously ruining my life...
It has consumed every ounce of my being.......

But I know you don't care...
"cry me a river...blah blah blah.."

Ok....I'm OBVIOUSLY kidding about drinking adult beverages before a 1st grade field trip.

But, I'm not gonna lie....

The thought crossed my mind (and a friend of mine who I chaperoned with) when I imagined myself surrounded by a crowd of 100+ first graders running around a zoo.
I thought we'd have a hard time figuring out the difference between the kids and the animals!

The 1st graders of Dannika's school went to the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco for their field trip last Tuesday!

As a Marine, my biggest feeling of "mommy guilt" came from the fact that I couldn't do fun things with Dannika during a regular work week.

My life was dedicated to the Marine Corps and its' rigorous hours.
 The ONE thing I looked most forward to when getting out of the old gun club (amongst a million others) was getting to be "that mom" that got to go on field trips, class parties, and just be present in my kids' lives without the Marine Corps dictating my time.
I was over the moon to be able to work around my school schedule to chaperone her school field trip this year.
We had an absolute blast!

Dannika's class!
Her teacher Ms. Rod is THE BEST 1st grade teacher in the world.
I may be a teeny bit biased, but she's pretty awesome!

 My friend Katy and me with some of our kiddos (plus some extras).

Adorable, right?
Maybe we can round these kids up one day when they're older and get a similar photo.

The field trip was an absolute blast, and absolutely exhausting!
I got home, bathed the kids, threw on my PJ's, and had a giant glass of wine (or two).
I am so blessed to have the opportunity to chaperone a field trip!
I seriously used to dream of this stuff when I was an active duty Marine!

A Texas Halloween

This is our second Halloween in Texas, and I must say, it did not disappoint.

(I mean, can anything in Texas really disappoint anyone? Of course not!)

We live on a cul-de-sac, and we decided to do a mini block party with all the neighbors.

We passed out candy candy, grilled some meat, had some delicious homemade sides, and hung out with the neighbors!

You can't really beat a Halloween like that!

And Halloween was off the a great start with an Aggie win against the Gamecocks!

WHOOP!

 

Mattis was a puppy, and Dannika was the new version of Cinderella (from the recent movie).

He was so over his costume by the second house, but we did manage to hit up 3 1/2 houses.

He forgot all about his costume once he realized people would give him free candy.

Our neighbor's dog Buckley.

We realized Mattis' costume looked kinda like Bucks!

Neighborhood cul de sac party!

The prettiest Cinderella ever.

I begged Nick to throw on his blues and be her "Prince Charming" for a few photos.

She was obviously in heaven.

He even danced with her. 

We did carve some pumpkins this week, and thankfully, the Texas heat did not kill them before Halloween!

I have been obsessively scrolling through my Instagram looking at everyone's Halloween costumes!

It's my favorite thing to do the day after Halloween!

I hope y'all all had an awesome Halloween!