Country Roads Take Me Home

This 4 day Thanksgiving weekend has been great. We spent Thanksgiving with Corey's mom, Pamela, at her house in PA. I made dessert and she made pretty much everything else :) It was so good though and I dread the year I have to actually make a turkey. We left the next day for West Virginia to the WVU vs. Pitt rivalry game. We got tickets through Pitt and had to sit in their section so we cheered for Pitt even though we secretly wanted to cheer for West Virginia 'cause they were rowdy and had lots of cool cheers for first downs and touchdowns.
We encountered our first snow storm of the season on the way there and it was freezing! I lasted until the third quarter before I became really uncomfortable. Corey said that the harsher the weather conditions, the cooler the game is...he's a little more hard core than me. The game was really fun though and WVU scored the final 3 points in the last 3.2 seconds of the game for the win and as the crowd stormed the field they played Country Roads by John Denver and the whole stadium sang along. It was really cool. After the calming sounds of John Denver we were quickly reminded that we were in total hickville when all the WVU fans started chanting, "Eat sh!t Pitt, eat sh!t Pitt!" and waving unpleasant hand gestures at us. Luckily we were not hit with any beer bottles or by any fans.
Yesterday we went up to Pottsville, PA to the country's oldest brewery, the Yuengling factory. We took a tour and saw the city. It was pretty cool and not what I expected. It's very small but really interesting. I had never heard of Yuengling 'cause it's only sold in a few eastern states. We couldn't figure out how the oldest brewery in the country hasn't been able to reach states like Ohio or Michigan or any of the cold states where all they do is drink beer. Weird.
We are finally home to clean up the house and get ready for a 5 day work week. It always seems so hard to work that many consecutive days when you've had a few weeks with only 3 or 4. Plus, it's really hard for a lazy person to comprehend the need for a 5 day work week.

Veteran's Day

I would like to thank all the men and women who served in the military and their families. I feel bad that I never realized the sacrifice that so many people made until I joined the Air Force. I guess life is so easy in America that you don't always realize how hard it was for some people to get that for us. Freedom is one of the greatest things we have and nothing is special or valuable unless it was fought for.
My sweet, perfect husband is obviously my favorite veteran and he's off on an Army training in PA for 2 weeks so he's not here to stop me from writing about him :) Corey joined the Army when he was 17 and joined the infantry despite his mom and dad advising against it. They were both in the Army and did not want their son risking his life like that. Since he was a dumb teenager he signed up anyway and he deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. He got to shoot terrorists and play with guns and grenades and all the things boy dream of so he was pretty happy about all of it. However, he was hit by an IED in Iraq and was sent back to the states to recover. He was hit in the side of his neck and nearly died but thanks to his medic and a lot of skilled surgeons he survived and still serves his country despite all that. Lucky for me he reclassed into the medical field and we met at school in Texas. His code name was 'War Hero' so my friend and I could talk about how hot he was without anyone knowing.
Corey is so brave and a tough MFer. His Army training still comes in handy like when we have creepy people on our porch staring into our home. He also helped me improve my shooting skills and thanks to him I qualified as Expert on the M16 yesterday!
I'm so grateful to all the people who have served in the military and have sacrificed for our country. There is a lot at stake and so many people willingly give up time with their families, their safety and their lives. My brother, 2 cousins, husband, father-in-law, mother-in-law, both grandpa's and so many friends have all done this and I'm so proud of them and so grateful to them.
So go hug a veteran and thank them for helping keep us free from living like Iraqi's or African's. Our country isn't perfect but at least it's not okay for men to beat their wives or for the military to kidnap and rape whoever they want. If you want to learn a little about what's going on in the political world, Corey has a new blog. He's very smart and teaches me everything I know about politics. www.themovementmoveson.blogspot.com

Halloween Weekend

Not to brag, but I won 1st place at a costume party last weekend. How? Easy. Texas Hold 'Em!!!



Sunday we went up to PA for Grandpa Ansel's 80th birthday! We had so much fun and it was a great party. We stopped at the Catoctin Mountain Orchard on the way up to get dessert for the party and we got the best peach praline pie I've ever had. I can't stop thinking about it. Check out their cool pumpkin patch. And my cool face cut out :) I love those things!

Virginia

Last weekend Corey and I had one of those non-stop weekends and it was so much fun. We drove to Charlottesville, VA for the UVA vs. GT football game. It POURED! It was so much fun though 'cause Corey got us these great ponchos and it wasn't too cold so we just sat there getting pelted by the crazy VA rain.
After the game we walked around the campus and downtown which is so pretty. Thomas Jefferson designed the campus and it is beautiful. We went to Monticello to see his home and that guy had it made. I got lots of great ideas from his home. He was a very talented architect and gardener and lawyer and scientist and even a little naughty 'cause he had all these kids with his slave Sally Hemings. Anyway, we had so much fun and since the leaves are all changing it was super gorgeous.
We left Monticello and hit up a cool little apple orchard before we left for Richmond to see Sarah and Devon. We spent the night at their house and Sarah showed me around a chic little part of the city and then I was about to crash since I normally go to bed at 8:30 so in the morning we got up bright and early since we normally get up at 3:30 and we were off to Luray caverns. Lots of stalactites and mites and other crazy looking formations. We had to rush to Corey's dads house for Packer football after that and the Packers won their game and the Vikings lost their game so Corey was super happy. We finally got home Sunday night and I've pretty much been tired since.
So go to Virginia 'cause it is beautiful and has so much to do and it is for lovers. I can be your tour guide now :)

I love Pittsburgh!

We went to Pittsburgh yesterday and Corey's BFFF, James, gave us his hometown tour. I guess I always thought Pittsburgh would be nasty but it was beautiful! So many trees and rivers and awesome bridges. We went to the Pirates game. They of course lost but the field is amazing and we got in for 7 bucks. It was also National Talk like a Pirate Day so we had a great time. We went to the famous Primanti Brothers Restaurant and got sandwiches. They were pretty good. They're famous 'cause they put coleslaw and the fries in the sandwich... ok, it was good. Not that freakin' ingenious if you ask me but my pastrami cheese was nice.
We rode an incline which is a trolly looking car that goes straight up the side of a mountain on a track. There's a couple different ones in Pittsburgh. They're quite frightening but pretty cool. If that cable gave out you would go plummeting at 100mph to your death. Luckily, no one was harmed.
Driving out of the city at night was the best part! All the bridges were lit up and it was gorgeous! Overall I give Pittsburgh a 9. It was full of beautiful buildings, cool bridges, lots of stuff to do in the city or on the rivers. I would go back any day and I will when we get tickets to see the Steelers play the Packers :)

The Catoctin Zoo

There's a wild life reserve 10 miles up the road from us and it turned out to be such a beautiful day so we finally made it up and it was awesome. We got to pet a kangaroo, a camel, bison and all kinds of animals. It's small but you're so close to the animals that it's more fun than a regular zoo. You're in a little bit of danger so it's more exciting. We also got to do a safari in the back of an old Army truck. I got stung in the armpit by a yellow jacket and it hurt worse than the flu shot I got on Thursday.
Life is busy lately. Corey is trying to make points to get promoted. He got 146 out of 150 at the boards and so he's getting close. I'm taking Biology on Mon and Wed on base so I get home late those nights. Luckily my professor has been super chill and nice so the class isn't bad. I made a friend too. She's from Colorado :)
The summers are great here but unfortunately I had to turn the heat on in my car the other morning and it made me sad. I never want it to get cold...my brother and sister-in-law just got orders to Hawaii! Where it's always warm. Krynn is pregnant so they're not going until after the baby so we're planning a trip in April :) I'm so excited for them and to see my new niece or nephew. Krynn calls it the 'bouncy lil' Burt'. My sister is also having a girl on Christmas. My family is getting big but I love it! Sorry, no kids for us...for a while...like 4 years...possibly more.

Busch Gardens

Last weekend we met up with Sarah and Devon and Eva and went to the world's most beautiful amusement park. It was seriously gorgeous and I was very impressed. It was also completely free for me and Corey thanks to their generous support of the troops. I always feel a little bad accepting free things as a 'hero' since as you all know all I've ever done for our freedom is pushups, but since I'm with Corey it's not as bad. He is a hero and has a purple heart to prove it so I kinda just ride on that.
Anyway, it was such a cool park and it did pour and I kind of thought we were going to be caught in the midst of a hurricane but turns out it kept the crowds down. Budweiser owns the park so Corey got his picture with a Clydesdale and couldn't be happier. He loves animals.
We stayed the night in Richmond and got to see Devon and Sarah's new house and and a little bit of the area. Virginia is a lot prettier than Maryland. I didn't realize this until we went down there. Oh well, Maryland is still nice if you're not in the ghetto.