MCMAP Man

My husband got his gray belt in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP). He's hoping to get his green belt before we leave Virgina Beach. I'm so proud of him! His overall schedule since we got here has been intense and exhausting and he's stuck it out. He is so hardworking, ambitious, and steadfast. I am so proud to call him my husband!

Life in Virginia Beach is going great. I've been working so I don't go crazy and we're getting ready for another move in April. Sadly, the weather is just starting to be GORGEOUS so it is going to be hard to leave the beach

Welcome to Virginia Beach

View from our bedroom. Buildings on left- VB Boardwalk

A few weeks after new years we finished moving our stuff in storage, threw what we needed into the car, and drove three hours south to our new temporary home in Virginia Beach. We were excited for the new adventures we can have in a new place but it was hard to say goodbye to friends and my kids-- I've been teaching the 3 and 4 year olds at church since April.

View from our living room

Now we are settled in our hotel room and Dmitri is working/going to school everyday of the week. I am applying for jobs, keeping myself busy with anything I can think of, and hoping to meet some other wives soon. Needless to say it's going to be a very long 11 weeks before we move again -- especially for Dmitri who works 7 days a week usually until about 10 each night only to go to sleep and wake up to do it all over again.

 But while there are some negatives to living here there are also some great positives. Our backyard is literally the beach/ ocean, housekeeping, doing laundry is free, and great location (church, boardwalk, restaurants, and the commisary are all close to us.) I just hope we get to take advantage of this beautiful place before we have to move again.

On our side of the dunes we have a gazebo, bbq area, and a set of stairs/bridge that take you over the dunes.

End of 2011

OK this one is long -- so read bolded words if you're in a hurry or if you don't want to read the whole thing :).

Our 1st 2011 Move
As 2011 came to a close Dmitri and I spent time with family and got ready to move again -- sounds an awful lot like last year.....? YUP we're moving again but this time it's not across the country just a few hours south of Stafford to Virginia Beach. We'll be living on base in a hotel room for 3 months. At first I thought this would be pretty glamorous. Since it's an extended stay hotel I assumed it'd have all the amenities of a home just in a smaller space. We called to have a better idea of what to bring and what to put in storage turns out the only parts of our kitchen include a small fridge/freezer and a microwave. Needless to stay I freaked out a bit but found comfort in my crock pot -- they save lives, it's official! We'll be moving again in April -- don't know where yet.

Uncle Joe's Retirement
We took a break from packing and work to celebrate! Dmitri's uncle retired from the Marine Corps and ALOT of his family came into town for the festivities. That weekend we went to see the lights at the D.C. temple and had family get togethers at Joe's house. After his beautiful retirement ceremony- where we learned more about his uncles personal history in the Marine Corps and how much he'll miss it- we attended Handel's Messiah in D.C.

One of the coolest things I learned at Joe's retirement ceremony is that my husband is a 5TH GENERATION MARINE! I'm very proud of his Marine history, as is he.

A Very Michigan Christmas
Second stop was Michigan to spend Christmas with my brother and his family! As soon as we decided we were going there I got REALLY excited! My brother and I have always seemed to have lived far away from eachother, since I was 12-- so yes VERY EXCITED. I also was looking forward to them getting know Dmitri better. We got to Michigan and it was fun from the beginning! We played with the kids, went bowling, ate delicious food (provided by my amazingly talented sister-in-law Jenni), played games, and went to a place called Pump It Up where everything is inflatable (slides, obstacle courses, boxing bouncy houses) and did I mention that adults get in FOR FREE!!

D.C. Temple, bowling with the Tolboes, and Dmitri sitting on Landon's lap telling him what he wants for Christmas

And between all of that we celebrated Christmas by reinacting the Nativity scene and remembered how grateful we are for Him and for our families.We had so much fun visiting-- even though several of us got the stomach flu :(-- we didn't want to leave! Thanks Tolboe family for having us for such a long, fun, vacation!

Happy New Year!!!

We rounded off the holidays with New Years Eve in Maryland at Dmitri's grandparents house with the (almost) the whole Lopez side of the family. We ate yummy food, boogied with the kids, and I got a BIG kiss from a sexy Marine at midnight -- then I let him take me home . HAHA ;-)

Post TBS

Shortly after Dmitri graduated from TBS we had the Marine Ball. We attended the one in Richmond, Va with a handful of our friends. We had so much fun. We got there early for the cocktail hour followed by the ceremony, which was absolutely wonderful. The ceremony itself made me so proud of the Corps and my husband who is a part of it. The man I married is dedicated to a cause bigger than himself - I love him!

As part of the ceremony they brought in the colors, had a video message from the commandant, a live speaker, traditional cake cutting, followed by a sit down dinner - YUM! Then I danced with my husband until we headed back home.

The next week Dmitri got his wisdom teeth pulled, poor thing. He was on bed rest for awhile and ate LOTS of Jello, go gurts, and pudding. He's doing much better now and is back to work. He's in Mike company right now -- a holding company-- doing jobs here and there until he starts school in January.

For Thanksgiving we went to his parents house in Maryland. We had delicious food, hung out, watched movies and (my favorite thing about Thanksgiving) brought home LOTS of leftovers!

Now we're packing and getting ready for Virginia Beach. I've been looking for a job and we've been trying to prepare for whatever our orders may say come March. We are loving life and enjoying our time together before his training starts again and makes him super busy. I don't say this on this blog enough but I'm so happy. I'm married to my dream guy.

October 2011

October has been an extremely busy time for us.

We had fun with friends!

We went to a Halloween party as Popeye an Olive Oyl. Dmitri had his mess night and I had mine. Tea parties with the wives. Played golf for the first time.

Dmitri graduated from TBS last week!
In the morning we had Warrior Day. They gave friends and family a taste of what our Marines had been doing for the past 6 months. (shooting guns, obstacle courses, martial arts etc.) Then that night the Marines got to walk the stage in their dress blues. My husband is so handsome.

Dmitri took me to Annapolis to show me around the Naval Academy.

It's been so long since he'd been there but the memories rushed back as we walked around the BEAUTIFUL campus. We found the cheer squad practicing and Dmitri ended up stunting one of the girls and coaching a little bit. He just couldn't resist!

My Mom flew out from California to visit with us.

While Dmitri was out in the field for the war my mom and I went apple picking, went to Monticello, showed her around the base, went to the Marine museum etc.

My Birthday!
It was a weekend of celebrating. Dmitri took me out to dinner the night before. After church on Sunday we spent at home watching childhood Halloween movies, Dmitri made dinner, talking to family, and enjoying a pumpkin birthday pie.

When we weren't going out on some wonderful much needed date time
Dmitri worked hard to finish up TBS and I've been coaching soccer three times a week.

MOS: Air Intel

TBS is coming to an end! Dmitri's company is graduating the end of October!

We officially know that his job will be an Air Intelligence Officer (0207). We are very happy! It was his number one pick! He worked very hard in competing for it. School starts January 30th

We don't know: any details about when we're moving, how long we'll be there, or where our duty station will be just that his training will be in Virginia Beach.

This website is a break down of what his job means. Except the part that says how long the training will be - we don't know if that's true yet.

We'll keep you posted on future

Happy Anniversary

I got the best anniversary gift ever! Labor day gave Dmitri and I a 4-day weekend to celebrate together! Dmitri got off work on Thursday and we jumped in the car and drove down to Virginia Beach for a fantastic long weekend. We checked in to our hotel and had a yummy dinner at The Melting Pot. The next day was our official one year anniversary! We spent at Virginia Beach Boardwalk and when we went back to the hotel to get cleaned up for dinner I went to pick up the edible arrangement that I had ordered for Dmitri and I. On our honeymoon we had chocolate covered strawberries and since this anniversary was my job to plan I wanted to make sure we had them. So you can imagine my surprise when there were two bags under my name and I found Dmitri behind me taking pictures. That night we went to a restaurant on the beach with great musical entertainment and a romantic walk on the water for dessert. We took a remake of one of our wedding pictures (I thought it would be a fun tradition) and then our personalities got the best of us and we ended up chasing crabs the rest of the night. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Saturday we went to Little Creek Naval Base. I had planned on touring the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse but the earthquake the week prior had damaged the area and it was considered too dangerous to be allowed inside. However, we were still able to follow through with my planned picnic in view of the lighthouse :) The base provided us we a beach that wasn't crowded and a great place to take lots of pictures. Afterward we rented a jet ski for an hour. Dmitri threw me off twice and when I drove I enjoyed scaring him. I didn't throw him off because I knew that if I succeeded in doing so he'd just take me with him. Sunday we relaxed in our hotel and had a great dinner at Aberdeen Barns. Monday we had planned to go to Water Country USA but the weather changed our mind. We continued our drive home and celebrated the rest of the weekend together watching movies at home.

Only to find out the next day that we'll be moving to Virginia Beach after TBS. Go Figure!

Our first year of marriage has been fantastic -- although difficult with the times we've had to spend apart. Dmitri is my best friend and we're still falling in love.

Happy One Year Anniversary!