Hail to the Chief

It is finally official!!  We have a Chief in our house!!!  His promotion ceremony was Friday since an exercise kicked off Friday and my midnight and everyone would be too busy this week.  Leading up to this momentous occasion I made many attempts to plan Joe a big party.  He. Wasn’t. Having. It!  No matter how many times I tried to talk him into it!  Since he was the man of the hour I decided to honor his wishes -it wasn’t easy lol.  About two weeks before the ceremony one of his best friends called me and said he wanted to surprise him and fly out.  It was fun planning that and I managed to keep the secret!  Yay!! Tuesday night Davis showed up and Joe was totally surprised.  It was the best!!!  I had arranged for Joe to have Thursday off work and he only worked half a day Wednesday so they could hang out.  Davis would have stayed through the weekend but Joe was going to be on 12 hour shifts so the weekdays were all they had.  Davis had rented a 2017 Camero SS (I have no idea what that stands for just that it was a fancy little sports car) and the guys had the best time.  Let’s just say they tested the cars capabilities and left their mark on the backroads of Warrensburg.  

These nice guys even care and helped with some thrift shop stuff on their guys day out.  Moving the thrift shop is a whole other post in itself.  It’s been so much work.  We are getting there though! 

Anywho, back to the Chief.  Friday came and Joe went to work and Davis and I decorated a little and headed to base to pick up the cake.  I have never ordered a fancy cake before; just your standard grocery store cake.  But this was a big occasion so I decided to do a big cake!  I gave the lady a couple of ideas and she did a fantastic job!  

After getting all that ready, Mom and Dad Huhmann arrived.  I picked up Haylee and we all got ready to go to the ceremony.  I wanted to wear pants because it was FREEZING that day.  Coldest day of the year so far.  Well, weight loss is awesome but my pants were falling off me.  I didn’t know what I was going to do.  No worries though.  Grandma to the rescue. She was able to pin the side of my pants and I was able to wear them.  We headed to base and met Chad and Amy at the gate.  There were a few hiccups getting escorted onto the flight line but after freezing to death for about 20 minutes we made it inside the “load barn” and warm up.  Joe was the only promotee for his squadron so the ceremony was all about him.  Fancy!  

Standing for the National anthem. We 💙 America :)

The people :)

Looking official 

After we tacked on his stripes.  ❤️

With his parents 

All the Chiefs, past and present, in attendance that pic might be blurry :/

Col. Mark Riselli re-enlisting Joe. It was fun to see him take the oath of enlistment

Joe really wanted to sit down after this but they asked him to give a speech.  

He thanked everyone for coming and as he started to thank his friends and family for coming he looked at me and started to get emotional. Since he is not about that he just quickly switched gears and told everyone to have a great day.  It was cute.  

Leading the Air Force song 

He and Davis. 

Us with Chad and Amy.  It was so great to have them there! 

Chief (ret.) Ente 

Our family, we really missed HD and Kassi being with us. 

After the ceremony we got to go up in the mock B-2 and sit in the cockpit.  Then we got to drive around the flight line and see a B-2 come in for a landing.  It was awesome!  

This was my “look at all these stripes” picture!  

After Joe changed we went to dinner at a golf course in town.  

Haylee was invited to a Halloween party that night so she left a little early.  I love this pic of her and her dad. 

The day after this she and I were driving somewhere and I asked her “how proud were you of your dad yesterday?” She answered “Ridiculously proud!” It was so cute. 

Here’s the Chief and his cake.

The non party -party peeps.  😉

It was the most wonderful day!!!!  

We are looking forward to all that is to come in this grand Air Force adventure! 

Two weeks-ish

I had a great post typed out last weekend and somewhere in the middle of me finding a pic it disappeared!  #lame and I was too tired to type it out again #lazybones So....here are the last two weeks or so. 

My maintenance spouses social pumpkin. :) I cheated and used a vinyl sticker thing for the words. Trust me it was better for everyone that way.  

I love facetiming this baby.  He smiles and talks to me when I call. 

We went to the UCM homecoming parade last weekend. It was a really warm day.  We still drank got chocolate in the spirit of fall lol. 

We went on a most fun double date with Chad and Amy.  We went shooting at Frontier Justice and I shot Chad’s 22 rifle.  It was awesome!  Amy and I both did great.  It was really fun to shoot. Joe and Chad had a shooting competition at one point. 

The .22

I also shot our gloc and did really well.  I don’t like shooting it because it is too heavy for my hand but it would stop someone in 1 shot rather than 10 with my .22 handgun. 

The two down in the “7” area I told Joe “I wasn’t really paying attention for those two.” He was like “that’s not really something you should say while shooting a gun.” Lol.  #truth I was paying attention just not focusing super hard on accuracy. 

We went to dinner afterwards and headed to our favorite place (54th street bar and grill) and they were not cooking anymore because they had no power. A huge storm was blowing in and it had blown a transformer. We ended up going back up the street to Teds Mexican restaurant.  It was FANTASTIC!!  We are so glad the power was out at 54th.  Teds is a new fave!  We drove home in a deluge of rain.  Lighting was all over the sky.  It was a bit scary but we made it back safe and sound. 

Haylee’s school pictures arrived. I never buy school pics but she looked pretty cute in this one. :) I can’t believe she will be 16 in a couple of weeks.  I am so emotional about it!   I cried buying her candles!  

Sierra found out her right rotator cuff is completely torn.  Here she is doing the pre-op stuff. Surgery will be scheduled once our insurance approves it. And after we find out if her left hand is broken (a whole other story that involves her falling down, that kid needs to be wrapped in bubble wrap!) 

We went to see this illusionist on base on Tuesday.  He was incredible!!!!!  Seriously amazing!  We had such a great time and it definitely added fuel to Haylee’s magician fire.  (She has been really into doing some amateur magic.  She is really good!) 

He also told of his personal struggles with Tourette’s syndrome.  It was inspiring. 

This kids hair deserves its own post.  She does NOTHING with it.  Just brushes it and off she goes looking like a princess. 

These are her curls tonight. 

Perfect spiral curls!  She is so dang lucky!! 

One morning this week all snuggled up in bed. I was too cozy to get up!  

Tonight Sierra was at work and Haylee was at a stake dance so Joe and I had a nice date night at home. Dinner was pork loin with a salad and caluflower rice. Delish!!

The most perfectly roasted marshmallow EVER!  

We met 18 years ago next month.  Who knew marriage could be so happy.  Sure love that guy. 

We watched a storm roll in. 

It was a beautiful evening!! 

My sweetie

Spent the day with Joe today.  He was off work but a Haylee had school so we decided to do some running around.  We went to IKEA!  Haven’t been to one since we left Maryland.  IKEA is far from us here.  We ate lunch at jimmy Johns and then headed to Hobby Lobby.  After Hobby Lobby we went to a survival stores. We are getting some food storage in order and wanted to see what they had.  Then we headed to Costco.  You can’t leave Costco without spending 100 bucks I swear.  It’s worse when you don’t live close to one.  We stopped at a couple of truck dealerships too.  Joe is thinking it’s time for a new truck but no car payments makes it that much harder to buy.  Still fun to look!  :) at some point we drove over the bridge in the pic above.  It’s close to the city and crosses the Missouri River.  Haylee texted and said she had a terrible headache so Sierra picked her up from school for me. We had leftovers for dinner and relaxed the rest of the day.  

This picture is from Sunday morning.  The sunlight streaming through the window looked like gold.  It was a beautiful way to wake up. 

Last news is I have a friend I grew up with who is dying of cancer. They don’t expect her to live more than 48 hours. She was diagnosed a year ago just two weeks after her oldest son left on his mission. She got to speak to him a few days ago.  She is surrounded by her family as they say goodbye.  I can’t imagine the pain they are in.  Even though I haven’t spoken to her since high school my heart aches for her and her sweet family.  I am saying extra prayers. ❤️

Weekend fun

Friday night we went to the football game.  It was a great game and especially fun to hang on and win in the last minute!  We always sit with Chad and Amy because they are our favorites.  :) 

Amy and I had some Snapchat fun...

This one is hilarious!! 

Haylee with two of her best friends Rebecca and Vicky, Amy is a pro photo bomber 

Yesterday we had some things planned but all of our plans cancelled so we had a whole day free!  What to do? We decided to scout out an ice skating rink for Haylee’s 16th birthday party in a few weeks.  SIXTEEN.  I am in denial.  We passed by a park that had some really cool ballons/kites! 

Last night I went to the adult session of stake conference.  I don’t always love the adult session because I go by myself and have to find someone to sit with.  Amy always offers but she comes in just before the meeting starts and I don’t want to go sit in the reserved seats by myself lol. A dear friend came in just after I did.  She is going through a very tough time and someone had saved her a spot luckily they had room for one more so I sat with her.  It was a sweet time to sit next to her and share some of her sorrows. Mourn with those that mourn is a real thing people. There was a musical number of A Child’s Prayer and my sweet friend just cried and cried. I know she has been hoping that Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers and that she has had some sweet experiences knowing he does.  I got teary just sitting with her and remembering those times in my life where I too have wondered and hoped.  When your heart aches so much you don’t know if you can take it.  And then you see the hand of the Lord in your life and you KNOW he hears you and that he loves you. It was a great meeting and I am so glad I went.  Today we went to stake conference as a family.  Joe came and so did Pam and Vernon.  It was so nice to have our family together.  Sierra sang in the choir and they sounded angelic. The messages today were great too.  Especially the testimony of our newly called 1st counselor in the stake president President Beard. I had the privilege of serving with him when I was in the stake young women as he has been serving as the stake young men president.  He is a great man. Today was also a little sad for Haylee as her first crush, Jared Boswell, is leaving on his mission next week so today she had to say goodbye.  He is an awesome kid and will make a fantastic missionary as he served the people of Brazil. 

Haylee met Jared at her first BYD here.  She didn’t know anyone and I was hoping she would have a good experience.  Imagine my surprise when my little tomboy came floating out of the house talking about she met the “nicest boy!!” And he was “so cute!!” He was also the first boy to ask her to dance at a stake dance and it made her whole church dance experience amazing.  Haylee is a good judge of character.  :) 

Tonight I FaceTimed my sis so I could talk to this cute boy 

That is the sweet smile I got when he realized his fun Auntie was on the phone.  I am so thankful for technology so I can see his sweet face and he will know my face and my voice even though we don’t live close.  He is a smiley happy boy and I miss him and his momma so much! Bonus news he loves me even when I make crazy faces.  Best neffy!!  

All in all good weekend.  :) 

42

Last Saturday was my birthday!  42 whole years completed on this big round globe.  I feel so blessed for the life I have.  I am thankful every single day for an amazing husband. I can’t even express how awesome he is.  From little things he does to what a great example he is to me.  I have four of the most wonderful kids on earth.  I am so proud of each of them and the people they are becoming.  I feel so lucky to be a part of their lives. I am also blessed with wonderful friends and extended family whom I love and adore.  

Friday night we went out to dinner and then walked to the ice cream shop downtown.  It was a beautiful night.  Sierra got me that fun glittery pumpkin.  I love it! 

Here is my official birthday selfie 

Joe got me some flowers and a ballon and a sweet card.  I am going to get a couple of things I have been wanting which is fun too! 

The day before my birthday was a crazy car day where the battery in the van died.  Joe jumped it once and I drove around for a good while to recharge the battery but when I turned the car off it died again.  I was on base so Joe could come and rescue me.  I did my shopping and waited for my prince. When he tried to jump it again it was unrevivable.  Super dead.  It refused to turn over.  Joe took the battery out of the truck but it wouldn’t fit in the van so we drove to Sierra’s work and got the battery out of her car. She was stranded for a bit but was a good sport about it all.  That did the trick and I drove the hour to the dealership. We had only bought the battery a year before so they replaced it no charge.  I was thankful I didn’t have too much on my agenda.  And super duper grateful for a handy hubby and friends who call when you are in need and drive your kiddo home from work so she doesn’t have to be stuck.  

Back to Saturday: it was general conference weekend so my birthday was spent listening to wonderful speakers and feeling uplifted and happy.  It was a great day!!  

A few of my favorite quotes:

Haylee got her school picture proof back today.  They turned out great!!  This cute girl is one of my favorites for sure!! 

This morning I went to a meeting at Amy’s to plan food for an upcoming Stake Relief Soceity social.  She, Kari and I came up with some great ideas! 

We found this cute kebab idea while looking online. 

So cute!  

And just for good measure here is a pic of Amy when I went to pick her up for “Tara and Amy’s day of fun” 

Our day of fun consisted of lots of shopping and lunch!  It was a great day!