Team Marien: July 2009

Nothing better than a Chick Flick and Blogging!

As you all know Paul went off to Weapons School on January 2nd. Basically to give you an idea this is the "Top Gun" of the Air Force! It is the best of the best. Applying is a tedious process and from there they are extremely selective! When Paul got selected it was bitter sweet! HUGE career move but he was leaving for six months. Little did we know that this was going to be the hardest deployment we have ever had (yes...way harder than Iraq). We knew it was a tough course meant to weed out those that were not up to the standard. BUT, we now know it was 16 hour work days 5 days a week and 12 hours on Sat/Sun. We would only get to talk every 2-4 days and it was usually when he was running somewhere to grab something to eat. By the time he left the squadron (average 1-2am) and then would go back in (6am) we were sleeping so no time to chat...Thank God for texing! To make matters worse Paul was the class leader. He was the highest ranking officer and not only had to complete all the course but had to make sure everyone else was up to par and help them work through their issues. And issues there were....imagine 12 people working together 16 hours a day 7 days a week for six months. This course is so difficult that they only offer it twice a year and Paul's class started off with 12 and only graduated 10. That should give you an idea of the pressure and level of standard. Many families did not understand how difficult Weapons Schools was and it took its toll on the class...it definitely put pressure many marriages with the little to no contact. FUN TIMES FOR PAUL!! (You should see all the gray :) He figured it out in the end. Their Intelligence Class put in over 2000 hours in 152 days. To put that into our civilian terms if you work 40 hours a week you put in 2,080 hours in a year! They worked over that in 5 1/2 months. WOOO HOOO!

To say January moved by very slowly would be an understatement. Paul was overwhelmed and seriously stressed and I was so missing my best friend. My sister who is the most amazing sister and friend (and the best Auntie EVER) told me she would take my kiddos for the weekend and to go buy a plane ticket! WOO HOO!! She didn't have to tell me twice...Valentine's Day and Paul here I come!!

I knew Paul would still have to work but I am quite good at entertaining myself and I was one of the few that really understood the difficulty that was put on the WUG's (better know in laymans terms as students)! I flew out Friday early in the afternoon knowing I wouldn't see Paul until that night! God was so good and I knew not to expect much but Paul just so happened to be in between phases and only had to go in for smaller blocks of time for the weekend! YEA!!! AND Monday was Presidents day and it was a federal holiday so they only had to work an 12hr day!

We had reserved a room at the "Trump" for our romantic getaway. There was no way either of us wanted to stay in the dark-dingy base dorm room. I love to see real pictures of great hotels from real people so here are some pictures of the Trump Vegas!
On a side note...I love Valet Parking

I told you I could entertain myself...Give a girl a mirror and a camera:)

While I waited I went shopping (of COURSE!) I headed off to fashion show mall. Only in Vegas do they have a mall with a catwalk that comes out of the floor and has "hot" girls parading in swimsuits. (At least that's what I think they were)...Nordstroms, Sax 5th Ave, Bloomies here I come!Paul finally got there around 9 and we were off for a great weekend. He had to work during the day but went in at 5am and stayed until 1pm and then we had the afternoon to ourselves. We love the nightlife and there is nothing better than people watching in Vegas. We walked the strip more times than I could count. We went to the Toby Keith Bar and Grill and danced the night away and had a blast! (WE LOVE TOBY KEITH!!) We went through all the hotels and many of the bars and ate at amazing restaurants, including Mario Batali's (one of our favorite's). Valentines Day we got massages and spent the day at the Spa (ahhhhhhh) and that night we stayed in knowing there was no point in paying $500 for dinner. We went and got wine, cheese, and bread and had a picinic in front of our floor to ceiling view of Vegas! It was amazing and that is all I have to say about that ;)

Along with eating our way through 4 and 5 star restaurants we went and saw "The Phantom of the Opera!" Incredible, amazing, sensational, stunning...just a few words to describe it! I basically had to drag Paul to go see it as he rolled his eyes but I will say that when it was over he said, "That was actually really cool!" and for a Major in the military that means he had a blast! We walked around more and then Paul gave me a piggy back ride back to the hotel (you can only wear heels for so long).

Sadly Monday came...we went to breakfast and hung out for a while and then Paul took me to the airport and off to work he went, to catch up on things he "should have" done but I was a great distraction! Did I mention that the Vegas airport SUCKS...sorry to use such strong language but it does. Our weekend was over and we had 4 1/2 months left...But I came home to my amazing kids who had a BLAST!! with my sister and am grateful that God gave us the opportunity to be together. I am so blessed to have the most amazing man who makes my knees go weak even after almost 14 years of marriage!

HERE ARE SOME OF MY FAVORITE PICTURES :)

This one is my most favorite...Outside the Wynn...Love you all! xoxoxo