Family Day

There are so many things to write about at the moment. Lots of little stories I have saved away while I have been off gallivanting around the south, away from a stable internet connection. Today's story segment begins with today: Family Day for BLT 3/8. Before deployment they have a day of fun and food for the Marines and any of the Family members that can attend. BLT 3/8 decided to have their family day at the beach. It was a fun day with my husband and a few of our adopted family members. I took some great pictures of "my boys" out playing in the sand and surf. They had fun in the water wrestling each other and keeping their beer from getting water in it. I had a good time, but at the same time kept thinking that we keep getting one step closer to the big D-day. I have mixed feelings...knowing he is going to be gone for what seems like a terribly long time is dreadful, but also knowing that this should be his one and only deployment and his enlistment will be up shortly after he returns is good. (Although, once he is unemployed from the Marine Corps that will add some stress of job hunting...ugh, I'll worry about that later.) I trust that God has a plan in mind and I'll just hurry up and wait for things to happen. I've realized his hand at work in so many other plans so I'm confident things will work out just fine. I've been blessed with a wonderful husband and I trust that he will be in God's hands while he is gone from my sight and will return to me safely.

Ok, enough gloom and doom served with a smile and a hopeful outlook. Next story: 4th of July. We had a few of the guys over for the 4th. It was a rather small celebration, but was a good time. I, the DD, drove the guys to the two fireworks stands in J-ville where they perused the merchandise and had a hard time finding anything worth buying to blow up. We left with the grand total of 4 fireworks (I didn't ask how much they cost). Well, after the boys had happily burned the 4 fireworks they were bored. Marines love to blow stuff up, probably what makes them good at their job. I dug out the sparklers and that satisfied them for another few minutes. Then they began the search for flammable household items. They ended their search with rubbing alcohol and whiskey. These brilliant boys decided to have flame pools on the sidewalk. They're still pretty amused. Then one Marine decided that he might like to try breathing fire. He decided to get a mouthful of whiskey and breath it onto a flame. He can now join the circus, although his Marine buddies cannot say the same. They weren't quite as successful. So, once the whiskey was gone they turned to burning random bits of stuff on the concrete again. Finally they tired out and fell asleep so I could sleep peacefully knowing that nothing was going to burn the house down. (Editor's Safety Note: These young Marines did have the foresight to have a garden hose nearby and turned on whilst they were playing with fire and explosives. No one was harmed or injured during these 4th of July celebrations, but please do not try this at home.)

Picture Notes: The top picture is my husband and the only person he said he would room with again, Combs. The second picture is what the Marines were doing on the 4th of July.