June random stuff

 What do you do the week after your husband deploys for a year? Get a job, of course! Sometimes the timing isn't right (who will babysit the kids all summer, how will they get to/from swim team 5 days a week?) but great opportunities don't come knocking twice, so I knew I had to jump on this... I had just started thinking about looking for a job that was a bit more regular, and challenging, than substitute teaching at the preschool, as I had done for the last 2 years. I mentioned this casually to a friend- who has bragged about her gem of a job as long as I had known her. Guess what? She had just decided to go back to full-time work and was leaving her so called dreamy part-time job... Should I apply? Was I qualified? It sounded too good to be true- close to home, flexible hours and great co-workers. I gave it a shot. And got hired! I am now a legal assistant for Attorney George Riley in the quaint little town of Occoquan, just 3.6 miles from my front door.

Meet our office dog, Lucy-

Guard dog she is not! Spoiled, yes she is. She comes in with my boss, George, each and every day.

With my personal chef Brian gone, I knew it was going to be a long year of eating crappy food, so I would have to step up my game. A few hits- 

Arancini- fried Italian rice balls. YUM! And I'd never fried anything before. Kids loved them.

I pickled tons of cucumbers this summer! Quick pickling, so so simple. No recipe- they tasted different every time. (No recipe is new to me)

In an effort to step it up as fun mom, we played lots of games. We've had Farkle for years and years- why didn't we ever play this over Candy Land? It's so good! Like Yahtzee, but much easier scoring.
It's so good that I bought us a giant lawn game version even

In June we said good-bye to some military friends... First up was was Wendy- we were stationed with them here and in Monterey, and they are now headed to Romania!

And then it was the Robert's retirement, stationed with us here, in Germany, and in Monterey. They are now headed to Utah. The guys left a space for Brian, who sadly missed the retirement- 

Diane and Wayne are also saying see ya to the Air Force and retiring... Luckily, they are staying here in DC!

At Wayne's retirement party, I needed a picture taken of Diane and I. Oddly enough, we have been friends for 8 years and I did not have one picture of just the two of us (always had other friends, husbands or kids in them) up until this point! And our first is a good one-

We spent lots of time at playgrounds in June- something that was on our summer bucket list... And don't you just love Macy's shirt?