Holiday Party Weekend

Last year Ryan's unit began holding their holiday party in January which is really nice since it used to always fall around finals time. This year I got to spend some time with Alex who made the trip up from NC for the party and we had a lot of fun with our dogs before we started getting ready. After a trip to the dog park we went to the barkery near us. The dogs love getting special treats and being able to go in a store and the people at the store are really nice to them, giving them free treats and loving on them.
Then Alex and I ran into get the flowers for the honored guest spouses and we had to leave the boys in the car. These are the faces we came back to after picking up the roses. I didn't take a picture of them but Giant did a nice job with the flowers. We asked the lady to wrap three bouquets for a holiday party and they were beautiful and probably even cheaper than if we had bought the plastic wrapped already made bouquets. I am a real ribbon snob though so I did switch out the ribbon around them when we got home and it really classed them up for next to nothing.

Then we came back to the house to get ready. It is nice that our hall bath is on the other wall of the master bath so both couples had their areas but we could still talk and laugh at the dogs who were hamming it up. Samson and Sarge may have just met but they were great together.
I searched so long and in so many stores for my holiday party dress. It was looking hopeless for a minute but then I found this great steal at Ann Taylor online and I am so happy it fit and worked out. It is definitely a keeper too. I just wish it wasn't so cold in there so I could have taken my cardigan off because it was really only supposed to be for outside but that's January for you.
This is Ryan's best friend in the unit, Williams, and his girlfriend Alex. I am so thankful they have stayed close in spite of Ryan switching to the dark side when he got commissioned. It's really nice that Alex and I get along well too and I am glad they are moving back to MD soon. We will hopefully get in a few double date things before the boys go and then Alex and I will be each others dates once they go. It may even work out for her to move in with me when the boys leave which would be really nice. I would be okay alone but having someone around would be really nice too.
Ryan may not have been Mr. Vice, but he sure was a ham for most of the night. He looked out for the other soldiers and ended up in "trouble" a lot for it. This was his punishment for asking if the soldiers could use the latrine. The Captain said that it could be dangerous and he had to be prepared to save lives if necessary. The way these dining outs work is that there are tons of rules and silly punishments to keep the night interesting.

One of the highlights of the night was getting to know the Brigade Commander. Ryan was tasked with playing host and wasn't sure what to expect since he had never met him. He and his wife were so wonderful to talk to and so sincere. They really have a heart for Belvoir and this unit and it turns out his wife had trained some of my physical therapists so it's a pretty small world. LTC Lawson gave an excellent speech in which he prepped all of us on what to expect in the various stages of deployment we are in and about to enter. He was so honest about some of the challenges we are all about to face and so thoughtful in his suggestions. He encouraged the use and creativity of the Family Readiness Group and I am looking forward to getting to know the other spouses more through it and to getting through this together.

Some nice surprises/blessings of the weekend:
1. My friend Ashley C and her son came to visit Friday after my internship and Connor and Sammy hit it off. It looks like she will be coming over more often now that we know how great they are together.
2. My parents and one of my mom's co-workers joined me for church and it looks like they will be coming more often. I am okay going to church alone because I feel like this is the church I am meant to be at right now in terms of the healing and growth it has blessed me with, but it sure is nice to have people there to share the experience with when Ryan is away/at drill.
3. We got a lot more done today with the invitations than I expected. I am glad they are turning out so nicely and I will have to get a picture of them when they are all finished.
4. I got to have some one on one time with Laura's sister-in-law while Laura and Nicole went to Kinkos and it was really nice. She lives less than a mile from me and has a sweet baby girl and we may try to take walks together sometime and have baby/puppy play dates. It's always good to expand the circle of friends especially those who live nearby since most of my high school/college/grad school friends live pretty far away.
5. My husband is finally home so we have a few more weekend hours to enjoy before the week begins. Only 5 more days until our date Friday together: Daily Grill for dinner, Crate & Barrel trip, and Caps game, does it get any better than that?