(I have been really bad at taking pictures so you'll just have to imagine some things.)
November:
Isaac and I both got part time jobs. I started working seasonally at Ann Taylor and he got a job at Home Depot. We got settled in at Isaac's parents house and enjoyed spending time with our families. We spent Thanksgiving at the Loveland's with about 30 friends and family!
December:
We picked out and cut down our first Christmas tree!! This was our first married Christmas together (Isaac was deployed last Christmas). We had my traditional Christmas breakfast at my Dad's house, then a brunch with the Lovelands, then dinner at my cousin's house, then dessert at my Mom's house, and then went to the Slininger's to recover from our food coma.
The day after Christmas we had a HUGE blizzard where we were stuck inside for a few days. Isaac's brother Mike and his wife Lydia were visiting from Kansas for Christmas, and his sister Christen and her boys came to get snowed in. We enjoyed playing games, eating a lot of food, and hanging out with them.
This was the view of the snow from our bedroom window:
January:
Isaac and I took a short trip down to Atlantic City for a night. We enjoyed eating buffets, and playing some slot machines. Our room was up high in the Bally's tower and looked out at the ocean. I was hoping to get to the outlets for some shopping the next day but it started to snow so we headed home.
Isaac also started school at the end of January. He is in an associates degree program for automotive engineering at our local community college. The classes are very interesting for him and our beneficial to us when a car breaks down. He really enjoys the program and made Deans List his first semester!
February/March:
Not too much happened in February or March. I started a new job waitressing at a local pancake place. We celebrated our second (first together) married Valentine's Day by driving into Pennsylvania to get the tires rotated on my car.
Isaac turned 23 in March and went on a camping adventure with some friends. At the end of March we signed our first lease!!
April:
We moved into our apartment the first weekend of April. We got settled and made it our home. In the middle of April we drove down to Maryland for the weekend for my best friend Jenn's birthday. We had a fun night out and went to a dueling piano bar in Baltimore.
May:
May 1st was my birthday and also the day we welcomed a special little pup into our family! Feeny was my birthday present from Isaac to himself. haha.. I wanted a dog too but Isaac was the one who really really wanted a dog.
We both wanted to adopt a dog but after looking at the SPCA and a few other pet rescues we actually got Feeny from a family who placed an ad in the newspaper.
She is a boxer puppy who is named after everyone's favorite principal Mr. Feeny from Boy Meets World.
June:
Isaac surprised me with a trip to Lancaster in the beginning of June for our wedding anniversary (which was May 17th). I didn't take any pictures but we had a fun time walking around Amish country, trying homemade root beer from an Amish farm, staying at a cute bed and breakfast and going to a spa.
July:
We were able to fly out to San Diego for our friend's wedding. Tim and Melina had a beautiful wedding and a great reception! We spent a few days in San Diego staying with friends and catching up on everything we missed.
When we got home from San Diego we picked Feeny up from Isaac's parents house and she was HUGE! I can't believe how much she grew in a week.
The end of July was eventful for us too. I had surgery to get my gallbladder removed. Thankfully the surgery went well and the recovery was very easy. I was home hours after the surgery and back to work in a week.
August:
August was a big month for Feeny. We took her to get spayed and she had to wear the cone of shame. She also started basic training classes at a local pet store. She is the youngest in her class and showing a lot of improvement. We have been going to classes once a week and she has graduation at the end of September.
Isaac spent the summer life guarding on Asbury Park Beach. He really enjoyed getting to work out, get tan and surf at work. I started another new job at the end of August. I'm now working the front desk at a veterinary hospital. I have only been there a few weeks but I like it.
First Day of School!
The end of August also brought us an earthquake and Hurricane Irene. The earthquake epicenter was in Virginia but we were shaking up here! I felt the earthquake at work and knew what it was because I had felt them in San Diego. It was Isaac's first earthquake and he felt it on the beach! It was exciting stuff here in New Jersey! Irene came later that week and thankfully she didn't cause too much damage in our area.
The day of the storm we headed down to the beach with friends to check out the waves. They weren't too big at the time but it was windy and starting to rain. A lot of local businesses and houses boarded up their windows to prepare for the storm.
The night the storm hit we stayed at Isaac's parents. Our apartment was not in an evacuation zone but we thought it would be easier not to have to take Feeny up and down stairs to go outside while it was raining. We lost electricity at the Loveland's around 11pm. The next day we found out that a tree had fallen on the wires the next street over. Around 9am it was over and we went back to the beach to check things out.
I think she knew something was going on outside
It's hard to see in this picture but the waves were going right up over the jetty
When were standing on the boardwalk looking around a woman next to us was on the phone looking at this building where they sell beach badges and said "seriously, it looks like someone took a crap all over the badge house."
Well lady I guess that's one way to explain it.. Really, the water came up over the boardwalk and the wind and sand left the building and the streets looking like this. It was pretty gross.
The next few days brought some nice waves (and dirty water) for Isaac to surf in.
September:
Isaac is back to school. He just started training for a new job. He also recently passed his chiefs test. It is a written and physical exam you need to take to be considered for employment as a police officer in the county. Feeny is spoiled rotten, and getting much bigger!
This past year went by very quick. We transitioned from Navy life to civilian life easily. I am realizing that no matter how much I want everyone I love to move to New Jersey, it isn't going to happen. It does give us a reason to travel, and a chance to have a lot of visitors. We are looking forward to actually finishing our big cross country adventure one day. For now and as always are thankful that we are blessed with such amazing family and friends who made our first together married year in NJ an adventure.
