How does "Aunt Casey and Uncle Mike" sound?!

I'm so excited to report that my brother, Brian and his wife, Carrie, are expecting! Congratulations to them!!!! Carrie is now eight weeks along and doing great except for a little nausea. She is due June 7th. The day after we heard the news, Mike and I went to buy he or she a little gift. We tried to find one that said, " My Uncle is a Marine," but there were none, so we thought this little number would be just as cute. I'm sure it's the first of many baby items I'll find too irresistible not to purchase for my niece or nephew. We're thrilled to be aunt and uncle! Mom and Dad are ready to be grandparents, too. They're going to be great ones. Mom is already planning a little nursery for the new house they just moved into.

Please pray for a smooth pregnancy and a healthy baby for Brian and Carrie. :)

My Man in Uniform

'Uneasy' would be the word to describe my feeling when seeing Mike in this uniform for the first time. Given that I never imagined Mike would be a Marine, I guess that makes sense. But now that I see him in his gear every day, it's become a normal thing. In fact, Junah is getting used to it, too. There are Marines all over this place, so every time Junah sees someone in their fatigues, he goes crazy thinking it's his daddy.

Here, Mike is dressed in one of his work-day uniforms. They have so many, though. I'll try to take some pictures of him in the others as well. In fact, just recently Mike was fitted for his "Dress Blues." It's the most formal uniform they have. It's the one with the dark jacket, blue pants and white hat and gloves - the equivalent to a civilian's tuxedo. We'll be going to a Marine Corps Birthday Ball in a couple of weeks where he'll be able to wear it for the first time. I'll definitely post some pictures so you'll be able to see how handsome he looks!

Shut-eye: A Precious Thing

As I've said before, Mike has some really long and tiring days doing drills, taking hands-on navigation tests, running obstacle courses and hiking for miles and miles every day with 100 lbs strapped to his back. Tonight I was able to capture his utter exhaustion from an especially long day. (It also happens to portray Junah's sheer laziness as I assure you his day was anything but taxing. He's bound to cuddle up to whomever is sitting or laying down.) When I looked over to see them sleeping so soundly, I couldn't resist.

Tricks for the kids, Treats for me!

So here's the extent of my Halloween decorations. My friend Sommer and I spent an afternoon painting the pumpkins we picked. I was going for cute and friendly, but I think it came out more on the crazy-mad side. I'm not sure if we'll have trick-or-treaters here at the apartment complex, but I'm planning to get some candy just in case. But those who know me well know that candy in my presence is a dangerous thing... 'sorry kids, no more candy - that scary lady ate it all,' Mike will say. As soon as the candy corn hits the shelf each year, I have to pry my fist off the bag in a desperate attempt to make it out of the store without any. Sadly, I have failed time and again this season. Treadmill, here I come!

Congrats to Matt & Beth!

Unfortunately, Mike and I couldn't make Matt and Beth's rehearsal dinner because of Mike's work schedule, but we were thankful to be there in time for the wedding Saturday. The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was very nice, too. We enjoyed visiting with family and meeting Beth's family. We also had time to look around the city and campus of Matt and Beth's alma mater, Valparaiso University, were we took a few pictures with Matt.

We're looking forward to attending CJ and Amber's wedding, January 14, in Texas. I'm so excited to have two new sisters-in-law!

Not Your Typical Frequent Flyer

Mike and I boarded our plane to Chicago Saturday at 6 a.m. in Washington, D.C. We traveled to Valparaiso to attend Mike's youngest brother's wedding. It was an early morning. We had to get up at 3:45. Mike and I were dragging, but The Kid (a name we lovingly call Junah sometimes) was jumping all over us, ready to go. Junah has flown several times with me, but Mike's never seen how well he travels on a commercial flight. As you can see, he's a seasoned traveler and prefers the window seat. He's also much more comfortable with "Bunny" by his side. We were so thankful for his good, calm behavior. Everyone cooed over him, which Junah always eats up. The flight attendants brought him a beverage and snack.

Taking in the Sites

After our move, Mike and I soon discovered we were very close to our nation's capitol. Just 30 miles, in fact. So we headed up to DC last weekend to do some site-seeing. We took Junah with us, but since he's so lazy, we ended up carrying him the whole time. (He's rotten.) The monuments, memorials and the Whitehouse are gorgeous. It was neat to be so close after only seeing them on television and in movies. We didn't do the entire tour, so we plan to go back - sans puppy next time - to see the rest.

Seasons Change

Mike and I moved about a month ago to our new residence in Stafford, VA. Mike is currently at The Basic School at the Marine Corps Base, Quantico. Although he spends long, tiring days and sometimes entire nights on base, he's enduring it all and doing quite well with all his training. It's still strange for me to see him walk through the door each day wearing his camoflauge get-up, but I'm getting more used to it. We look forward to the weekends when he's off work. We spend a lot of time with the other married couples here, which is a welcome change from not knowing many people in Texas. I've continued to work some from home, doing various graphic design projects. I've applied to several companies, but apparently no one is interested in hiring someone for six months. I stay busy though, so I can't complain.

We aren't sure yet where our next move will be. Mike is still hoping for a flight contract. If that happens, we'll be headed to sunny Pensacola come March.

Last weekend, we went pumpkin picking with two other couples. We walked for hours through a puzzling corn maze and then took a hay ride out to the patch to pick out our little winner here. Ain't she a beauty?