Now that we're currently playing military family our date nights no longer consist of beach walks, movies or bar hops. Our relationship revolves around text messages, letters and skype dates. I consider myself lucky if we can both find corresponding times in our busy schedules for a quick skype visit. I'm even more lucky if I get a visit from a special guest like tonight's appearance from Nun Walker. Good thing I was on my best behavior.

Anybody out there??

Long time no post...

I guess my excuse this time is live has been crazy busy. I little out of hand at times, but we're getting by. When I decided to go back to school we understood it would be a difficult road full of sacrifices for the next year. Little did we know it was going to be this challenging and rocky of a road, maybe it's better we did not though, sometimes ignorance IS really bliss.

I guess I don't even know where to start blogging since it's been so long. I guess I'll just sort through my camera and see what I can find.

In May we FINALLY finished (what we thought was finished) our Ford saga... We received the keys to our brand new 2011 Escape. Identical to the old, a little lighter color, a few more frills and (best part) a working transmission. Yay.

You can see the old evil Escape in the background...

Our "gift" to ourselves with our tax return was to rip the carpet out of the bedroom and put down some hard floor (major driver of this project - allergies and pets). I was more than happy to see the carpet go, tan carpet and animals (or someone as clumsy as me) is just a bad bad combo.

Before

For some reason I don't have an after photo?? Stay tuned on that one...

Chris and I treated the family to a David Letterman performance at McChord as part of his Tour for the Troops. I think it's safe to say we all had a great time.

Chris requested a trip to Long Beach before he left, as usual the coast did not disappoint.

With Chris' upcoming departure in July we tried to squeeze in some visits to local sites. We took a tour of Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge and it was worth the trip! It's crazy to think that there are gardens that beautiful and well cared for right in our backyard.

A trip to the Seattle Aquarium, followed by dinner and a Sounders game.
What a life for these guys:

Hard to believe he takes me anywhere!

We celebrated Father's Day and JoAnn's birthday

I built myself a raised bed (I'm eating fresh veggies like a King right now) with a little help from Chris.

And extended the flower bed down the side of the house (room for my rhubarb and blueberries!)

Jennie flew out to visit and we had a great time of wine tasting, birthday celebrating, Sounders game and hanging out.

All this excitement wore Chris out so he caught a snooze on the ferry ride home.

We visited another beautiful garden about a half mile from our house, yet again amazing people can make such beauty when our yard looks like... uh... we won't go there...
This plant was taller than me!

Our last outing before Chris left was to Port Townsend, one of our happy places. The town is so relaxing, you can always find a good bite to eat and it's close, but still feels like a get away. We pretty much ate our way through town starting at our favorite restaurant (with homemade pie!), via the local microbrewery and creamery for fresh cheeses. Yum! On the way home we stopped by the Port Townsend Airport to check out the airplanes there for the fly in. (I'll let you guess who's idea that was). There was a gorgeous vintage Air Force plane there, shiny!

After all the fun we'd been having the day we've been preparing for and dreading had arrived, my Airman was leaving for five months. Chris was all packed and ready. I tried to get myself into this duffel, but it just wasn't working out. Bear thinks he's going though.

It was a sad and emotional day and after saying goodbye in the morning I headed down to the Naval Hospital for one of my last clinical days. It was good to be there, surrounded by people who understand the military way of life.

So while Chris has been gone I've been attempting to be Super Woman all while perfecting the art of being in two places at once. You never know how much a team a marriage is until half the team is 2000 miles away! Between class in Renton, wrapping up round 1 and 2 of clinicals in Bremerton, living in Kingston, staying in Auburn, juggling the dog (shout out to all the single mom's - wow.) and prepping for my next round of clinicals in Gig Harbor it's been exhausting (now you can see why on the lack of blogging). I've considered selling the house because it seems as though I just live out of my car these days... With that said, it's safe to say I miss Chris. But don't worry, Team Walks will be reunited for a visit in September. I'm flying down for (almost) a week to spend some time with him and check out his new stomping grounds. After that, another few months apart (throw in more clinicals and a national certification exam to keep me busy) and we're through this chapter in our lives. I graduate from Surg Tech school the day before Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving morning I have a one way ticket to Dallas to go retrieve my husband. I'll spend a week at Sheppard AFB while Chris finishes classes, attend his graduation and then we embark on a two week journey home (via grand canyon, Vegas, Disneyland, San Fran to meet the new baby and Mt Hood for a wedding). I've warned Chris he better be prepared, I've already been practicing my football style tackle hugs for when he comes to get me at the airport :)

So two days after Chris left my summer break started... nice timing. Rather than sit around and pout at home I jumped on a plane and made my annual visit to San Fran to see Eileen, Ben AND the baby on the way! It was a perfect trip full of sleeping in, relaxing and eating (the baby caused that one :)

Eileen flew back with me for time with her family and a baby shower! Fun! Here's mom and a pregnant Eileen.

That about wraps up the excitement. As of now I'm just trying to keep life under control as a one man show!

And it wouldn't be right to write a blog without making tribute to my wonderful Grandma. Such a strong and inspirational woman full of life and love. I treasure every chance I got to spend with her. She is very much missed and remembered daily.

I'm sure she's up there baking up a storm right now so everyone that enters the pearly gates is issued a loaf of zucchini bread :)

I'm back on the radar! Besides school work, not much has been going on around here, but here's a Walker household roundup (in no particular order).

1. First quarter complete - check! This was a rough quarter, course load wise and personal wise. With the support of parents and an exceptionally understanding husband I finished the quarter strong with a 3.97 GPA. Next quarter should be easier (yeah... right.) I'm only taking 24 instead of 27 credits. Come May I'll begin my labor and delivery clinical rotations and hopefully get a placement closer to home. Clinical schedule is class Mon/Tues and in the hospital Weds-Fri. Anything shorter than a two hour commute will be greatly appreciated.

2. Spring break! For me at least... Chris is still participating in the "grown up world" and doesn't get one. No Cancun or anything exciting. Just spring purging and a few donation trips to Goodwill.

3. Birthdays! I celebrated the big 27, Payton celebrated the big 1. Chris and I got the opportunity to see the family at Payton's celebration, so we kept mine lowkey. In honor of my 27 years I got a giant slab of salmon and some cake. Yum.

Chief Cake Decorator:

Finished cake with flowers from the Walkers:

Pretty fishy:

4. Chris and I had our first ever legal encounter yesterday. We had our arbitration hearing with Ford over the Escape. We were well prepared and had everything organized (don't mess with two engineers). The Ford representative phoned in and was completely disorganized. I told Chris afterwards that it would've been better if Ford had just sent a written statement rather than let this yahoo on the phone. This guy had no idea what we were even there to arbitrate. Long story short we have a good feeling that Christopher Walker vs. Ford Motor Company will end in our favor. Hopefully this saga is nearing an end, stay tuned.

5. Bathroom remodel still underway. Yet I have some new ideas we're executing. Could be good ideas... could be bad ideas...

6. Animals - We finally decided to just bite the bullet and take Bear in for doggie allergy testing. He's been itchy for months and we've tried everything. His test revealed he is allergic to mother nature. Grasses, trees, you name it. We've got him on some super strength pills and some shots (I know, I know) and he's doing much much better.

You can see his test spot that they shaved. He's in diver dog position here.

And Gatsby's just Gatsby. Courageously guarding the folded laundry here.

Since I have the week off I promise another post in reasonable time :)

Coming out from under my rock...

Admittedly I've been MIA for awhile. I'm back in school and apparently on a suicide mission (which directly correlates to my lack of blogging). To get through this program and on with the rest of our lives I'm enrolled in 27 credits (9 classes) this quarter. 15 credits is considered a full load/full time student so 27 is just plain dumb, but I'm getting through and coming out on top. I'm over halfway through this quarter, and I'm only taking 23 credits next quarter so things will get better :)

Along with the crazy school load comes a crazy, not ideal living situation. I am beyond lucky to have parents that let their 27 year old married daughter come back home (cuts my 2 hour commute into 40 minutes). Between school, commuting, homework, work and drill on the weekends Chris and I don't see too much of each other these days. But you gotta do what you gotta to do make it through, this is all part of the "master plan". Our mantra these days - short term sacrifice for the long term goal. When it's all said and done I'll be graduated and certified the week of Thanksgiving, that's my motivation (or is it the warm sunny vacation I've been promised?) Perfect timing for me to jump on a plane and spend Thanksgiving with Chris, be there for HIS graduation and help him move back home. If all goes as planned life will be back to "normal" by Christmas.

A few weekends ago I finished my studying early and we went out to Port Townsend for lunch at our favorite cafe. Exploring the area took us to a new beach!

Chris has been making excellent progress on the master bath remodel project, it's coming right along!

Wainscotting going up!

New tile, counter, sink, faucet, moulding and floor. Just waiting on wainscotting and doors.

Well back to studying. Gotta keep my head above the water!

2010 Highlight Reel

What a year...

Here's the 2010 highlight reel for you guys. (A bit lengthy, sorry :)

January included remodeling our downstairs bathroom. Basically everything but the toilet and cabinet. Also, our first tile job! There were a few mistakes, but we're awfully proud of it. We were thrilled to host the Walkers for a week, and even got a trip in to the coast.

Bathroom during


Bathroom afterWalkers on the coast

February was a rough month around here. I was laid off from my job (really a huge blessing in disguise) as an engineer (stupid economy). It did allow for more time to work on the house and get outside and enjoy the strangely nice winter we had. Also, Feburary brought the exciting news of Payton Hall, the first baby of the family. Proud parents Jenna and Kyle welcomed their little girl into the world on 2/27.

Bedroom mid-remodel
Bedroom after
Bear out for a hike
Baby Payton

March brought even more beautiful weather, home renovations and some other fun activities. March was also a special milestone in Chris military career. He celebrated his 10 year anniversary with the Army National Guard. Thanks Chris!

We all tried our hand at curling - it is waaay harder than it looks!
Tiled kitchen backsplash

Sunny days in Poulsbo

Our flowering cherry trees in the front yard
Grama and Grampa treated us to a hockey game for my birthday
And Chris and I spent the day in Bellingham to celebrate my 26th birthday

In April we celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary. It just blew our minds how fast the first year went. Chris had a work trip in Florida and I tagged along for a little bit of sunshine. We drove up to Georgia and his parents drove down from North Carolina so we could spend the weekend together. Although it doesn't seem like a big deal, another accomplishment of April, finally putting in some flowerbeds in front of our house. Only took us 2 1/2 years.

Front yard

Happy (cold) anniversary from Whidbey Island!

We even managed to get a trip to Eastern Washington in to visit our friends in Walla Walla.
Kayaking with the manatees in Florida

Walkers in South Carolina.

We even drank from the Fountain of Youth in historic St Augustine, FL. I would not recommend it, the water was disgusting.

May was pretty quiet. I think our only remarkable adventure was visiting Chelsea in Spokane.

June was a month of big news for Chris military career. After months of paperwork and waiting, waiting, waiting we got word that his transfer to the Air Force Reserves was accepted. Chris immediately began drilling at McChord in Tacoma as a C-17 Electrical and Environmental Maintenance Technician. All I know is he gets to play with big airplanes and comes home greasy and happy, works for me. The transfer means some tough separations coming up for us, but I think we'll reap some amazing benefits in the long run.

My grandparents came along when Chris was sworn in the the AF, my Grampa was once an Airman himself :)

Chris' new "office"

Nothing says "Happy Fathers Day" like a local beer fest.

July was another month marked by Walker visit (en route to Alaska those lucky ducks) and a vacation to San Fransisco to visit Eileen and Ben for 4th of July. And somehow we also managed to squeeze a trip out to my parents place on the coast.

We drove up to Rainier with Chris' parents and we found sunny weather!

Out with our lovely hosts in California

Bear in the field at my parents cabin.

Bear swimming in the Pacific Ocean.

August was a quiet one, we had to recover from July. I was mid-quarter with summer classes so laying low was essential. We did take a few nice hikes, this one out to a beach near our house.

September we took our big vacation of the year. We started at the Dave Matthews Band concert at the Gorge with some friends, then headed out to Montana and up into Alberta and British Columbia. Spectacular scenery and a wonderful trip (besides the car troubles... grrr...).

Started at the Gorge

Headed out to Glacier National Park, MT

Then up to Kookenay National Park, British Columbia

And finally to Banff, Alberta

All in the little teardrop trailer.

October must've been uneventful, apparently I have no photos from that month. I did get news that I was accepted into the Surgical Technology program at Renton Technical College. It was tough to get into and I was amazed that it had worked out. The surgical tech education is just a supplement to my career plan (I have a long range plan, but no need to bore everyone here) and will take me a year to complete. Yay for more school...

November was a tough month with the passing of Chris Grandmother. Under unfortunate circumstances we took a trip back to Maine. However, just as his Grandmother would've liked we did enjoy the company of family and Chris like getting back to his home state.

Height of the Land on the drive up to Chris' family's camp.

View from the back porch of camp.

Chris' Dad and I got up reeeeal early to go see if we could find some moose. Not many moose, but an amazing Maine sunrise.

The Walker family again.

December brought a lot of scary health news in my family, but everyone came out just fine. Reminds us all how special family is and just how fast things can change. We had a great Christmas with the family and managed to start back up on a few new home projects.

A new dishwasher! Merry Christmas to me!

Demolition phase of the master bath remodel.

Christmas pajamas will never get old (even though we do),


Strongest people I know!

So there you have it, what a year! Hopefully everyone had just as good of a year as we did!