Catching up on October

Well, well, well
I honestly have no excuses for my lack of posting. I am literally just lazy. So let me catch you guys up... After getting back in town from our fabulous trip to GA, my parents came in for a visit. We headed up to Memphis to see the ducks in the fountain of the Peabody Hotel...which was...interesting. There is SUCH a huge crowd and some inconsiderate people that decided at the last minute to block our view...so we really didn't get to see anything cool as far as the duck march goes. BUT...we loved Beale Street which is also in the downtown Memphis area. So we had dinner and then headed to Tunica to the Casinos we have heard so much about! Yeah, I know...I can't believe we gambled all our money away either! We had a blast and got home super late. Yeah, my parents are awesome. I know.

I was pretty sad to say bye to my parents because we've been so lucky to be able to see them and our other family so often...and now it's going to be a while (like probably Christmas) before we see them again! LAME. Anwayssss we decided to really get festive this year so Michael and I each got our own pumpkin to carve. Clearly, I won. (on the left)

Let's see...Michael is currently in his first "full" week of pilot training. Everything is so far so good! He is basically just doing academics (aka a bunch of class time and tests) but they get to do some cool new things too like the altitude chamber! We had a career day a week ago which was super neat. We got to look at a lot of planes and talk to the pilots about what their lives are like professionally and personally. It really opened my eyes to what it could be like for Michael and me. I know I'm going to sound so corny when I say this...but it makes me SO happy to finally see all of Michael's dreams coming true...I know we are only in the beginning and we have a long way to go...but still. I'm just so lucky to be along for the ride!

 Here's the C-17/Cockpit view with Michael and our friend Tony inside!

ALSO!!! We got new counter tops!!!! I am such a freaking housewife. Ahhhh I love them :) Our old ones weren't awful...but I guess I didn't know how bad we had it b/c these new ones are amazing! Look!

Um....other than all the above we've just been enjoying married life and I'm still job searching...but trying to stay patient and trust that God has my best interests in mind and has the perfect job out there for me! Love you all to the moon and back! Miss you guys!!!!

(Sorry if I seem cracked out in the post...I am...on sugar from leftover Halloween candy)

The bible and dog treats

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord "plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

A sweet friend of mine reminded me of this verse today. It was exactly what I needed to hear. I have been in a sort of funk because I still haven't found a job...and I'm really getting frustrated trying to find one. I am going to do my best to just stay patient and pray that God will open the right doors for me and I know that it will all work out. So, since I'm not working...I have spent a lot of time at home and that leads me to my next topic...

Before I begin this part, I'm gonna go ahead and expect all the "your dog is like your child" comments. And, yeah...she is :) Anywho, I have been very bored at home which led me to Pinterest and to making dog biscuits. We had everything on hand so why not?? It was so simple and Zoe loved them...so I'll probably make them again because we always keep that stuff on hand :) Here you go dog lovers:

Ingredients:
1 cup of flour
1/4 cup oats
1/2 T baking powder
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup milk
1 T olive oil
1 T applesauce

Mix it all up...if it's too sticky to work with after you mix it...add more flour.

Roll it out on some wax paper about 1/2 inch thick

(Insert cute cookie cutter here) I obviously didn't have one...so I just cut them up.

Bake for 20 min at 350!
And yes, you can eat them if you want. We did!
They taste like peanut butter cookies without the sugar. AKA nasty. haha

An Apple a Day....

 Fall season is in full force, and after going to the fair this past week I have been dying to make my own caramel apples. Well, I did it! Thought I would share with you guys...and I have to thank Pinterest for the inspiration!

Enjoy :)

What you'll need:
5 tart apples
1 bag Kraft caramels
1 bag white chocolate chips/candy melts
Popsicle sticks
Cinnamon sugar
(Okay, I went overboard with the apples so I used 2 bags of caramel/white chocolate)

First, wash and SCRUB those apples like there's no tomorrow...otherwise the caramel won't stick. After they are squeaky clean shove a Popsicle stick in the bottom of the apple. (I only had jumbo sticks on hand and they worked fine!) 

In a medium saucepan melt the caramel (use whatever the directions on the pkg say). Just melt one bag at a time...it's a little easier to deal with. And stir the entire time b/c the caramel will stick to the pan.

Dip the apple into the melted caramel...and spoon some on the sides to cover it completely.  Place on parchment paper or wax paper (coated with cooking spray) because those suckers get STUCK on that freaking paper.

Pop these suckers in the fridge for about an hour or 2 (you can poke them with a clean finger to see if the caramel is set). 

Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 sec intervals and then coat the apple with the chocolate. (I have to use a CLEAN finger to smear it around in that fabulous pattern you see here).

Sprinkle the apples with a little (or a ton) of cinnamon sugar and VOILA! Yummy apples :)

Our week in the Motherland :)

Well, Michael and I are now back in Mississippi from a very long and wonderful trip back to GA. Michael hadn't been back since we moved here! Crazy...because I feel like I've been back so many times. Anyway...we spent a wonderful weekend in Athens, quality time with our parents and some fun with our friends. It was GREAT. I really miss being so close to all my family and friends at home...but living further away makes those trips back home even better :)

Finally back between the hedges. Felt so good to see UGA beat MSU.

Mom and I at the fair! One of my favorite things about home in the fall :) We never miss it!!!!

GA National Fair in Perry

We stopped in Columbus, GA on the way back to MS and I got to love on these little ones!!
Ahhh I miss them so much. How cute are they?!

This pretty much explains just how we all felt on the trip back to MS.

We are all safe and sound at home...and pretty rested up. (Although I am pretty sure Zoe could/will sleep for days) Switching gears...this is Michael's last week of freedom! He has his Week 0 next week. It's basically a bunch of paperwork and medical stuff he has to do before he official starts UPT. Sooooo we are going to enjoy this last week off to the fullest! I also just remember that I need to post more pics of the rest of the house! I will plan on that this week! Hope you all are doing well and taking some time to enjoy this amazing weather! Love fall in the south :)

Just showing love to my peeps

Although I miss everyone from home and I love you all...I have to say that I miss my mom and brother just about every day. I talk to my mom 3459856405895 times a day. Seriously. There is so much to share/ask/gossip/laugh/cry about and she is my life consultant (for real). And she deserves about 99% of the credit for any and all creativity I have. She is the MASTER of all things creative and anyone who knows her knows that. My house would not be near as cool without her help and ideas (and time dedicated to shop with me). She is such an amazing woman and I know it's not mommy's day, but her bday is right around the corner so everybody show her some love!!!

Another bday coming up (exactly a week after my mom's) is my big brother's. It's funny because as much as they hate to admit it...my mom and brother are SO much alike :) They are both the most driven and fun loving people I have ever met. They seriously live out the "Work hard. Play harder." attitude and I love it! My brother and I are super close and really always have been. We also talk all the time (shocker) about everything! One thing I love about Zack is that he has this energy about him (an aura if you will) that draws people to him. Seriously, everyone that meets him tells me--"Terren, I love your brother" or "He is so fun to be around". And he is! If you don't know him...you should. He's awesome.

All that being said...I am so lucky to know both of these amazing people...and as mushy/gushy or cliche as it sounds I am so happy to get to celebrate another year of them being...them! Wooooo! Happy Almost Birthday Mom and Zack! Love you both!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mom and I dancing at the reception!

Zack and I dancing to our fav song (he knows what it is)

Us at mom's birthday party 2 years ago!

My crazy side of the family at our engagement party.

Last Little Bit of Summer

Numero Uno-I HAVE to be more diligent with my posts...because when I actually do update...I have so much to say (surprise surprise). Numero Dos-sorry for the long post. I'll actually start with the pictures and then major life updates at the bottom.

My parentals and grand parental units came to visit a few weekends ago. And if you know my family...then you know it was a good time. This picture could pretty much sum it all up...crazy fun times! My brother came down as well (not pictured because he missed the Riverwalk)

We took the little one to a river in Caledonia...about 15min from base...and she LOVED it.  It was her first time swimming and she's basically a beast. We'll definitely be taking her back before it gets too cold.

We went back to the same river on Sunday (not it's not the Mississippi River) and we canoed/kayaked 10 MILES (!!!!!!) down the river. There were some wanna-be rapids at some parts in our trek but it was pretty much our legit skills that got us down the river. 

Michael and Tony doing um....whatever they're doing.

There are some other of our friends that we went with! And you can see the River.

All in all, we have had a great few weeks. For some other great news--Michael's training dates got moved up!!! He starts UPT (Undergraduate Pilot Training) at the end of October. So what that means for us it that he will be in training from October 2011 through October 2012. We won't know what he will fly or where we will be stationed next until the end of UPT. We will be in MS until the end of training (probably until the end of next year)....so you all have plenty of time to visit!!!!

Here's a rundown of UPT...the basics. UPT is broken into 3 Phases. First is academics (lots of classes and tests), second is when they will start flying on the T-6. (The first two phases take up about half of the overall training)  And then the third phase is where he will either fly the T-38 (fighter training jet) or the T-1 (training jet for the "heavies" aka cargo planes, etc). That's what he will be up to over the next year. Super fun.

In case you've been wondering what I am doing...a whole lot of nothing around the house. My nursing license FINALLY posted this morning and I can finish my job applications and hopefully get some answers back. With any luck, I will be starting a job when Michael starts UPT!

We have such an exciting/stressful year ahead of us...so Michael is taking leave so that we can come home and do some fall GA stuff. All the F's---football, family, fair, fair food, fall weather, and FUN!!!!! haha 

Well that is all for now...and I will let you guys know how the job search goes...yuck. And keep Michael in your prayers as he starts what will probably be the toughest year of his life! We love you alllllll!!!!!!

Labor Day Fun

Wow! We have been busy busy in the Cole House! Michael and I have been spending some much needed quality time together. We went to a Keith Urban concert a couple of weeks ago with some friends. We got tickets for $3.50 because the Air Force is awesome like that. It was a great end to a fabulous week because I passed my boards!!!! I am officially a registered nurse :) I am currently applying to jobs so please pray that the right doors will open for me...I can't wait to get started! Sadly, my first patient was my sweet daddy. Last week I even went home for a few days because my he was in the hospital. He had shingles for a few weeks and developed pneumonia as well. He was admitted because his fever was staying above 100 for days...aka not good. He will be the first to tell you that he was miserable from both the shingles and pneumonia...and I have never seem him so sick. Thankfully he is much better and at home now. I'm glad I was able to get home to be with my parents. I think I got a taste of how hard life is going to be for us sometimes, because I won't always be able to get home for important things like that. But that is a part of my life now and just something that we all have to accept. But for now, I am glad I was there :)

On another note, we just came to the end of a fabulous Labor Day Weekend with my brother and the Fry's! Zack got us a late wedding gift which we put into full force this weekend...a Big Green Egg. Let me just say that it is one amazing grill! We slow cooked ribs all day Saturday and then did hamburgers on Sunday night. Ahhh just talking about it makes me hungry. Michael is so excited to try out some new food on it...and I seriously don't think that it's possible to mess anything up on that grill. We tried a meatloaf (which I usually hate) and it was amazing!

Here's what we've been up to:

Keith Urban concert in Tupelo!

Big Green Egg!!!

Livi loved Zoe!! So precious :)

We took the kids to the awesome playground on base.

Jack loved it! He thinks that Michael flies every plane we see :)

I love getting to see family...but it's always hard when everyone leaves. My brother actually just moved to Memphis this week for work...so I'm excited to have him just a couple hours away! Michael and I are so blessed to have such amazing family! Also Michael's dates for UPT got moved up to February! So, we are on "casual status" until then :) He's going hunting this week and then my parents and grandparents are coming into town this weekend! So until another post, hope everyone is have a great start to the fall!