We're Moving!

What’s new with the “New” Bournes?

Well, first things first, when do “new” Bournes become “old Bournes?”.  Hopefully never, it doesn’t have as good of a ring to it.

Caleb and I are getting ready to wrap up a chapter in our lives.  As of April 19^th, we will no longer be a “military” couple. Not that we ever really branded ourselves with that title anyway. I never really played the role of an over embellished Navy Wife. You guys know what I’m talking about, “my sailor” this, “my sailor” that, or have a decorated car that says, “I love my sailor”. It wasn’t my gig. It’s sad to see it all come to an end though. I will always be thankful for him choosing the military, and being sent to San Diego. I can’t imagine where my life would be if it weren’t for him and the military making those decisions. For those of you who know me, you know I have always played my cards very safe. I don’t like change. I like stability, and routine. When Caleb first told me he was probably going to get out, I tried to convince him to stay in. However, the benefits, and secure pay can’t touch the fact that he is unhappy with it. I would rather struggle our whole lives with finding consistent work than him go to a place every day that he doesn’t care for; a place that doesn’t allow us to make plans and travel- a place that could take him away from our family for months on end when we choose to start having babies. It’s just not worth it for me, or for us.

So, that’s what’s happening. He will begin his terminal leave in March and be honorably discharged in April.

If you’re up with my facebook posts (and, how could you not be, they are AMAZING!) then, you have seen what is happening after April. The “new” Bournes are relocating to Missouri.

Home Sweet Home- 04/2014

Wait, whaaaat? This California girl is hanging up her bikini and flip flops and moving to the  Midwest. Prior to Caleb and I getting married we had a very strict rule in place; he could not marry me if his intention was to ever move us back to Missouri. So, how did this happen? The fact of the matter is, is California is a dual income state. It’s far too expensive, for far too little.  My dreams, and what I want for me and my family are much greater than I could ever do in this state. The best part about it all though, is that I will have my mom moving me, and us. Our future children will have all grandparents to visit (and be spoiled by). His family as well as mine will be there for births, birthdays, and Christmas (Sorry, Bourne family- our children will also believe in Santa ;)). They won’t grow up where sex, drugs, and violence are introduced at a younger age every single year. They will have a chance to figure out who they are before being thrown into the world- something that is damn near impossible to do in fast paced California.

I’m embracing the biggest change of my life. It’s a change that up until recently I never thought I would do. With that though, comes a lot of heartache. I’m leaving behind some of the greatest people I have ever known. I have been beyond blessed to have very close friends who have helped me through my darkest and hardest times. While I will only be a phone call, text, or e-mail away- they won’t be able to just get in their car to be with me. I’ll miss my niece growing up, and being part of her life- like I have always imagined. I will miss birthdays, and births, weddings and anniversaries- and, likewise, they will miss all of that for me. These are girls who, at some point or another, had to worry what my future consisted of and now they are just not going to be there in the same way as they always have been- and THAT is a tough pill for me to swallow.

The future looks bright, for me, for my husband, and for my mom. We will finally be living in a place where we can build a nest egg and provide for one another. I am very excited for what is to come, and I know that when I’m struggling and missing my friends, I know that family never fails.

The True Story of a Seven Year Marriage

I read this last week, and fell in love with the message behind it. My marriage is brand new, and I feel that my husband and I are more in love today than we were yesterday, but learning to live with someone for the rest of your life, can be challenging. And, it takes work. It's always going to take work. Perhaps, I am saving this story for a rainy day, or perhaps the two of us are well-equipped to know that our marriage will take continuous work- and we are going to have to keep falling in love with each other everyday for the rest of our lives. At any rate; the message behind this blog is beautiful, and we can all always use the reminder.

Source: https://flysoftly.wordpress.com/2013/07/30/the-true-story-of-a-seven-year-marriage/

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I used to scoff at those who simply made it work, couples who lived long and tedious years together even if the fire had died. Life is too short I thought, to spend it with someone who doesn’t kindle your passion.

That was before I knew that passion isn’t something that floats around and lands on you like a lucky butterfly (at least not all the time). It needs to be tended, like a fire in your heart, by breathing life into a spark over and over. You choose where you build your fire, and your heart listens to your choice.

When our turn came to meet and marry, I wondered how we might avoid the boring fate of the uninspired; the settlers who had aimed high and fallen short.

What made us special, more right for each other than the others? We fooled ourselves and listed off the reasons.

Years came and went in a blur of working hard and spinning our wheels. We filled our days with what we thought we had to do, passing each other on our way to office jobs, college classes, cafes where we did our homework.

No one did the dishes, I scarcely remember what we ate, and our tiny apartments never really felt like home.

We were careless with our love, sending out sharp words and criticisms and then rushing out the door to our next obligation. We thought we were building a life for our future. We didn’t see the cracks in what we were building.

A few months before my graduation, we got the best news of our lives. Our little boy was already growing inside of me.

We looked around at the pieces of our life together so far, the noisy apartment by the railroad tracks, the stacks of books and papers, the eighty hour work weeks, the anxiety and stress headaches. We knew it wasn’t what we wanted for our precious child and we dreamed bigger.

Envisioning a garden, a sandbox, a home, we bought a beautiful old yellow house and settled in. We brought home a beautiful, perfect child and hoped to give him the peaceful start he deserved. We didn’t realize how much work we had to do.

Pipes broke, the baby screamed, work piled up, and I grew into a sad and lonely version of myself. My heart sank lower and deeper, knowing this wasn’t what we had hoped for.

We looked to each other for the answers, and only saw more confusion reflected back. “Can you save me?” we asked each other. “I would if I could, but I think I have to save myself.”

We both cried about where we had ended up. We were hoping for a soul mate and found that we barely even knew our own souls, let alone another person’s. Taking a long hard look at the age old question, we dared to ask it and listened for the answer, “could it be that you weren’t the one?”

That question echoed high in the ceilings of our one hundred year old house. It bounced off fir floors where our own babies crawled. We noticed the bare places where the wood had worn and splintered. How many years did the forest grow before it could be cut to make floors that would last beyond a century?

We knew we were sinking fast and that more years spent in battle would only pile up and add more weight until we reached the bottom.

So we put a solid foothold down, somewhere to stand still and look around. The foothold was our commitment to each other, our desire to love the person across the breakfast table.

The question of “one” seemed foolish now and we quickly brushed it aside. We placed that question firmly in a box labeled “myths and lies.” What makes you “the one” is the extent to which your heart belongs with the other person. The one, the two, the three, the four of us. It’s all the same now really: family.

We gained new skills, started owning our feelings, and dared to believe in each other again. Most of all, we started listening and each moment of listening piled up until we could start climbing right up and out of our hole. We added laughter when we could muster it and that made the climbing feel lighter.

We let things go, saw with new eyes, and stood in the other person’s shoes. Most importantly, we stood in our own shoes and examined where we had lost ourselves along the way.

One day I opened my eyes and really saw him again, or maybe for the first time. I saw him pull out his entire tool box to fix a five dollar broken toy train because it meant something to our child. I saw him water fragile seeds in tiny plastic cups, set them by the sunniest window, and then finally plant them in our dirt where he grew them into food. These hands knew how to build things that would last.

This week I sat with our three year old while he worked long and hard on building block towers. He had to come to grips with the laws of physics, that you can’t put a huge block on a tiny foundation and expect it to stand. Each tower crashed and the blocks rattled on the same ancient floors. I held him while he cried and then watched as he bravely tried again.

This is the sum of what I hope he learns about loving another person. Before you can make high towers, it’s best to build a good strong base. It comes from laughter, empathy, forgiveness, accepting the other person’s struggle, and knowing yourself.

But sometimes without knowing it, you build too high and too fast. Things get shaky and start to wobble.

There is alway a way to rebuild if you’re willing. Always new and different blocks to try, always time to take a few steps back and build the bottom stronger.

So these days, I honor the builders. Those who have made high and lofty towers or those still limping along at the base. Those who have built once and decided to start again, and those who have been building for decades, creating a shelter for the rest of us.

To those whose love I dismissed so easily because it didn’t look fulfilling to the untrained eye, I see you now. I see how you walk through days and years of knowing another person, of letting go of who you thought they were and holding on at the same time to who they are and who they will become.

If you’re going through the motions, I see the art in that. I now know how foolish I was to think the motions were boring and uninspired.

Motion brings movement and life when things have gone dry.

You water the dry ground and something grows that surprises you. You sweep the floors and life flows through a room. You bend over hot skillets, and your children eat the food and become strong. You build your life the way you want it, and spirit comes to breath life into what you’ve made with your labor.

I honor you and follow in your solid, shaky footsteps.

Once, on a long evening walk with my friend, I asked her about her own marriage. “Why are you together? What makes your love stick through all the years of change and growth?”

She took a few careful steps over a cracked sidewalk and then laughed her answer. “I’m with him because he’s my home.” Those words echoed in my heart and rang true for my own life. Yes, I’m finally home as well.

The Things I Promise to Never Change

I hate how emotional I am.

It's 10pm on a Wednesday night. I have on a rerun of "Four Weddings", and I'm crying my eyes out in my empty apartment while Caleb is at work and our roommate is God know's where. I wouldn't be able   to pick these women out of a crowd, but I'm crying at their weddings. Theres a few things in life I can't handle: Weddings, Births, Deaths--you know-- all of life's major events.

I finally found some downtime for myself, so I'm watching wedding stuff on TV, while playing on pinterest. While scrounging through my friends recent pin's, I came across one blog called "16 ways I blew my marriage". The title grabbed my attention and so I clicked on it. It sums up the story about how a family gave wedding advice to another family member on the eve of her wedding. The blog writer had no advice. He had two failed marriages, and giving advice didn't seem proper, so instead he gave his sister advice that he had wish he known then that he knows now or done differently so he didn't end up divorce twice.

The list took me by surprise, and as I read through them, I started thinking of how sometimes the little things end up meaning the most. Below are some of the ones I really liked, that I can promise to never change long after Caleb and I say, "I do".

#1- Never stop holding hands- Caleb and I always hold hands. When we walk to the car, when we walk around a store, while we drive and sometimes while we are even on the motorcycle. I promise to never stop holding his hand. There is nothing that we cannot conquer in this world; as long as we have each other's hand.

#2- Don't stop trying to be attractive- I would hope that Caleb desires me because I've made myself desirable. When Caleb and I met when I was at the peak of losing weight. I never gave up trying to be the best person that I could be. Fitness has become such a huge part of my life, and I so, I promise to never let myself go. I want my husband to be as proud of me years down the line as he is of me now for all that I have accomplished. 

#3- Don't always point out their weaknesses- Though, this doesn't seem to be a problem in our relationship now, there is no need to focus on the areas of improvement. If you did this with someone while you were dating, chances are the relationship wouldn't last too long. Why would anyone thing that if you constantly pointed out someone's weakness in a marriage that the marriage would last? I promise to keep building my husband up, and not break him down. If there is an area for improvement that is having a negative effect on our relationship, we can discuss it knowing that we are just trying to build the best marriage possible. 

#4- Don't stop cooking for Each other- Truthfully, I wish this was something that Caleb did more often for me, but he does make me some INCREDIBLE bacon. I would treasure nothing more though than to have him prepare a dinner for me, sometime. But, because of our work schedules, it just doesn't work out that way. I get the opportunity over the weekends to prepare him food, for which he is always grateful. I promise to continue to prepare Caleb's meals, and send him to work with lunch as often as our schedule allows. 

#5- Don't yell at your spouse- This one is my favorite by far. This isn't to say yelling in the terms of arguing (which is a whole other point in itself), but instead of trying to get each other's attention by yelling for each other, take the time to get off the couch, pause your t.v. show or video game if you need or want something. I promise to make my husband a priority. If that includes me walking away from something that I find enjoyable to give him the attention he deserves, I will do it. 

#6- Don't stop kissing- The amount of times we kiss each other now, is absurd. We are forever locked by the lips, and I'm sure it has to drive people crazy! But, I don't ever want to get so comfortable around each other that we forget to kiss each other throughout the day, or when we captivate one another. We began our relationship with a kiss, we began our engagement with a kiss, and we will begin our lives as Husband and Wife with a kiss.  I promise to kiss him in the morning- morning breath and all. I promise to kiss him during the day; when I come home from work, or when he comes home from work. I promise to kiss him at night, and all the hours in between. 

#7- Don't only show affection when you want 'something'- A woman shouldn't be touched by her man simply when he wants sex. A woman shouldn't show affection to her man when she wants a new material possession, or when she wants sex. Show affection to each other when you want to remind each other that you love them. I promise to not only dote on my husband when I am wanting something. I promise to show him affection throughout all ups and downs that our life my be blessed with. From simply laying with him on the couch, holding his hand (see #1), kissing each other (see #6),  or a back rub, or back scratch. 

#8- Don't stop trying to woo each other- Many times in our relationship Caleb and I have surprised each other. I've been surprised with my Kindle Fire, and surprised him with an entire weekend date. I don't want to lose the essence or importance of these types of things after we have become husband and wife. I promise to never stop showing Caleb and my gratitude and appreciation for him in all ways, including gifts, or romantic get-aways. 

#9- Don't emotionally distance yourself after a fight- Or, another favorite saying of mine, "never go to bed mad". We are far from a perfect couple, and we do have our fights. One of our greatest abilities, is to let it go shortly after it has happened. Yet, we both can be so strong headed and never apologize (mostly because our arguments are so tedious!). Emotionally distancing yourself after an argument or fight just throws a wedge your relationship, and causes further turmoil. We both should be able to swallow our pride, not only for ourselves, but for each other and for our union. I promise to never let a fight get so bad that I can't swallow my pride and say I'm sorry or accept an apology from my spouse. I promise to not emotionally distance myself from you in the heat of the moment, and I promise to not go to bed when I am upset or have something on my mind that needs to be discussed. 

Without a doubt, some of these can begin being worked on now. Like I mentioned, I am far from perfect, but can only hope to have my idea of a "perfect" marriage. I can only hope that he can make the same promises to me, as I will make to him. Though, the list extends far greater than these nine, these are just some of the promise I intend to keep in all the years of marriage. Until death do us part.

100 Questions You Should Ask Your Spouse Before Marriage.

This is something I will definitely be finding the time to do with Caleb. There's some tough questions on here, and some that I already know the answer too, but we've done several of these types of questions in the past and I think this would be important for us to touch on. Stay tuned for how it turns out.

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100 Questions to Ask Before You Get Married

Bethany Grow of LoveTheGrows.com adapted from

Don’t You Get Married Until You Read This! The Book of Questions for Couples

by Corey Donaldson

Sex/Romance/Love
If we eliminated physical attraction from our relationship, what would be left?
What is the best way for me to show that I love you?
If I put on weight, will it affect our sexual relationship? How?
Is it important for you to know that I am/am not a virgin? Why or why not?
What do I do that causes you to question my love?
What turns you off sexually?
How would our relationship be affected if for medical reasons we could not have children?
Do you think being in love means: (1) Never having to say you're sorry, (2) Always having to say you're sorry, (3) Knowing when to say you're sorry, or (4) Being the first to say I'm sorry?

The Past
Which childhood experiences influence your behavior and attitude the most?
Could any feelings of affection and romance be revived if you met a previous boyfriend/girlfriend even though you feel strongly committed to me?
Is there anything in your past I should be aware of?
What did you dislike the most about your previous partners?
If your past boyfriends/girlfriends listed your most negative characteristics, what would they be?
Do you keep letters and memorabilia from past relationships? Why or why not?
Are you comfortable continuing this relationship if there are things in my past that I am not willing to share with you?
Have you ever been involved in any criminal activities? What were they?
Did your mother or father abuse each other or you in any way- sexually, emotionally, or physically?
Have you ever been able to overcome a bad habit? What was it?
Have you ever been violent in past relationships?

Trust
Have there been times when you were uncomfortable with the way I behaved with the opposite sex? If so, when and what did I do?
What do I do now or what could I do in the future that would make you mistrust me?
Would you be comfortable transferring all your money into my bank account?
Who comes first, your spouse or your children?
Is trust automatic until something occurs that takes it away, or does it evolve over time?
Do you trust me with money?
Is it permissible for us to open each other's mail?

The Future
How are we different? Could this be a source of future conflict? Do our differences complement each other?
Do you anticipate maintaining your single lifestyle after we are married? That is, will you spend just as much time with your friends, family and work colleagues? Why or why not?
How did your family resolve conflicts when you were growing up? Do you approve or disapprove of that method? what will you change or not change to resolve conflicts in your future family?
Is there anything about marriage that frightens you?
Would you prefer to live in the city, the country, or by the beach? Why?
If I wanted to move away from our families for work, would you support me?
How would it affect you if I travel on my own frequently to (1) visit family, (2) earn income, (3) pursue a hobby, or (4) deal with stress?
Suppose we are experiencing trouble in our marriage. In what order will you seek help from the following to resolve our conflicts: (1) divorce lawyer, (2) your parents, (3) a brother or sister (4) a marriage counselor, (5) me, (6) a church leader? Why?
How will you support my hobbies?
How do you feel about having our parents come to live with us if the need arises?
Is there anything you would regret not being able to do or accomplish if you married me?
How will we schedule holidays with our families?

Children
If we are unable to have children, should we adopt?
Do you anticipate raising our children (1) the same way you were raised (2) completely differently from the way you were raised (3) a mixture of both?
How long would you like to wait before having children?
Other than formal schooling, what types of education will our children get and how will they receive them?
When we have children, who will change the diapers, heat the bottles, prepare the meals, do the housework, bathe the child, get up in the middle of the night when a child is crying, take the child to the doctor, buy clothing, and dress the child?
What types of discipline would you implement to correct a child's or a teenager's behavior? Were these practices you experiences or are they new ones you have developed on your own?


Annoyances
If I had bad breath or body odor or wear dirty clothes, will you tell me? Should I tell you? Why or why not? How should we do it?
What is nagging? Do I nag? How does it make you feel?
DO you approve without reservation of the way I dress?
What does my family do that annoys you?
Would it bother you if I made body noises all the time, like passing gas or burping?
Is there anything you do in your line of work that I would disapprove of or that would hurt me?
Do you believe that you should stick with a marriage if you are unhappy all the time?
When do you need space away from me?

Communication
Whenever we have difficult feelings about each other, should we (1) remain silent, (2) say something as soon as the difficult feelings arise, (3) wait a certain amount of time before raising the issue, or (4) do something else? If so, what?
If you always say you are going to do something but never do it, what is the most effective way to bring this problem to your attention?
What did you admire about the way your mother and father treated each other?
What is the best way for me to communicate difficult feelings about you so that you are not offended?
Who should know about the arguments we have?
What makes you not want to talk to me?
Do you feel you could communicate with me under any circumstance and about any subject?

Finance
What justifies going into debt?
What are all your current personal debts?
Do you feel stress when facing financial problems? How do you deal with that stress?
How often do you use credit cards, and what do you buy with them?
How should we prepare for a financial emergency?
Do you feel that lack of money is a good reason not to have children?
When our child is born, will he or she go to daycare or will one of us stay home to take care of the child? Who will it be?
Will we have a budget?
Who will pay the bills?
How do you feel about helping me pay my debts?
What are your feelings about saving money?
Do you prefer separate bank accounts or assets in different names? Why?

Miscellaneous
How would you rank all the priorities in your life: work, school, family, spouse, friends, hobbies, and chuch? Does your ranking reflect the amount of time you spend on each?
Are you closer to your mother or father? Why?
Do you prefer a set daily work schedule or flexible work activities and timetables?
What do you fear?
What influence, if any, do you believe my family should have on our relationship?
Do you believe that our parents should know our financial condition, whether good or bad, just because they want to? How far should this go?
What are your views on pornography?
How would you react if our son or daughter told us they were gay?
Do you harbor any racial prejudice?
How do you feel about having guns in our home?
Is there anyone close to you who feels we should not get married? Why? Should we this?
What health problems do you have?
Have you ever had any psychological problems?
When you are in a bad mood, how should I deal with it?
Do you like pets?

Keepin' Up With The Bournes'.

Truthfully, there isn't much to keep up with, but I have had an urge to write a new blog for the past few weeks- but adjusting to my new schedule has not allowed to me 1)Plan my Wedding NEARLY as much as I would like too, or 2) write.

On another truthful note, this is my little escape. There's nothing quite like turning on some music, and finding your place with pen to paper-- or fingers to keyboard. Tonight is a night for me to get away.

I've been managing KettlebellxTraining through the expansion, and getting all set up to become a trainer. While I've taught a few classes here and there (tonight included), my regular training schedule starts on Monday. I'll also being doing all nutritional consultations which is awesome. All of that is wonderful. Tomorrow is one year since I started working out there and it takes my breath away when I think how far I've come with everyone there. However, once again, that leaves Caleb and I adjusting to a new schedule. Which, should be nothing new. When I was working full time, I hardly saw him but I've become quite accustomed to seeing him in the mornings until he goes to work. ::sigh::. So, now I'll be teaching two back-to-back classes starting at 6am, followed by 7am, and then doing work at the gym til about 11 or so before heading back home. We'll see how it works out, but for now, it's just going to have too.

I announced it on facebook when it happened, but I have finally decided on my bridal party, asked them to take part in the day- to which they all said YES!

My best friend of 15 years is my Maid Of Honor. Because our friendship is truly unique in every aspect, I asked her to be my maid of honor differently than I asked any of the other girls in my bridal party. Here's the video I made of only some of the memories we've made through the years:


For the rest of the girls, I got a little crafty. Now, I had seen this idea on pinterest, but I didn't repin it because I didn't want anyone to know what I was thinking of doing, and I didn't want to start getting asked about my bridal party. So I made a mental note and put it into work. My bridesmaids include, Julie Dieter, who I've known for 15 years as well, Melissa Salts, who I've always considered like a little sister, and Krystal Avila- my newest friend of all of them, but still very dear to my heart. And then Aleigha- Melissa's Daughter is my precious little flower girl.

[Top Left: Ashley and I, Top Right: Aleigha and I, Bottom Left: Julie and I, Middle: Krystal and I, Bottom Right: Melissa (we've both lost such a tremedious amount of weight and haven't take a picture together, yet. I was NOT using an old one!)]

I started off with pre-painted white boxes that I picked up at Michaels, and some sticker letters for their initials on the front the box. Simple. I also found some tags at Michaels, so I picked those up too, along with a different style of alphabet letters for the words "maid". Bridesmaid was too long. They got the point.

When you opened the boxes up, the top inside was lined with purple scrapbooking paper, and the bottom lined with Silver. (See a theme here? We have wedding colors!) I printed out a cute picture I saw on Pinterest that says, "I've got the guy but I need my girls" and then printed out the following poem as well:

"You have always been there for me, You're more than just a friend. You're the one that I can turn too, you'll be there til the end. As I walk down the asile to begin my married life, will you be my bridesmaid as I become a wife".

The rest of the box had particular directions that I was asking from each of them. They were titled, "Your Role, The Dresses, and Our Day". You can click [here] if you're interested in knowing what each one said. 

Then, because that wasn't enough to fill it all up. I put in some other inspiration photos I've gathered from Pinterest. One included the Bridesmaid dresses and the color of it, that I've already picked out. along with more purple things, and then a contact sheet so they can all be in touch with one another if they need too. 

Over all, I enjoyed the way they turned out, and whatever the girls choose to do with them from now until the wedding day is up to them, but I was happy to have made it.

I'm not entirely sure where Caleb stands on his groomsmen, but we need to get it worked out and we also need to decide on a ring bearer. So, we have some more work to do on his end. We are also trying to find a photographer, wedding cake maker, DJ, and an officiant. We just haven't sat down to discuss it. We have however, finalized our guest list and now I need to start collecting addresses. So, slowly but surely things are coming together. As a bride, I would just love to focus just on the wedding however so it's planned perfectly. ::sigh:: if only.

Stay posted for more information. And check out our wedding website. I have updated some information over there too. 

The Show Me State

I can finally cross one big "to do" off of my list: I FLEW ON AN AIRPLANE! Caleb and I packed our bags and headed to his homestate of Missouri on August 29th. I'm not gonna lie, I tried to play it totally calm as we boarded for our flight:

But, this is how I was really feeling:

Five hours later we landed in Missouri and were welcomed by his Grandpa/"Pa", and Grandma. They both were great. We drove from Saint Louis to Farmington, and Caleb seriously pointed out about a million different places he lived a long the way.

Welcome to Farmington, MO!

After arriving at his mom and dad's house, we hung out with his sister and talked more with his Pa and grandma and waited for his mom, dad and brother to get home before going to dinner. 

I was also introduced to this fuzzy little ball of energy: 

His parents got home a little bit later, and they were really sweet. We sat around and talked for a little bit and waited on his brother and tried to think of a place to eat. We decided on this little country/cowboy place right across the street that was really good- andddd you could throw peanuts on the floor. It was like The Roadhouse out in Santee, CA- only different. I don't even like peanuts, but I ate them anyways- so I could throw the shells on the floor. 

That night, Caleb, his brother Amos, Miranda, and I went to a pool hall/bar called Styx and played a couple games of pool before calling it a night.

The next morning, Caleb and I both woke up around 5am, and decided to walk around the neighborhood before the sun came up. We got back to the house pretty early and we grabbed a set of keys and we drove around. Caleb showed me where his house is that he owns.

He also showed me some other places, like a park and where his dad works. Places that were blown down by tornados and where he went to enlist into the navy. It was really cool to hear all about HIS hometown. I'm forever talking about San Diego and all the places I went to do all things I've done, so it was really cool to be on the receiving end of that for once, or to finally be able to see what he has been talking about for so long. 

Our plans for the day consisted of going to the Saint Louis arch, going over to the the place where my ring was ordered from, and just hanging around. It was supposed to be raining for the rest of the trip because of the hurricane that was coming in so we were going to make the best of our Thursday. We enjoyed our walk and made our way up to Saint Louis. On the way there we saw Anheuser-Busch, Inc. Pretty Neat! 

 

This is where where we parked our car. Right next to the Mississippi River and right by Illinois. 

I was told there are a lot of dead bodies in the Mississippi River, and I wanted to go try to find one, but-I guess that's creepy. But, just wait, I was taken to the creepiest cemetery of all time later. 

And, if there is an opportunity to do a handstand, 9 times out of 10... I'm gonna take it.

The view from the top was incredible. Caleb's dad said somewhere he heard that the arch is the same wide as it is tall. Hmm, I should google it....

Truth be told, it is. According to google.

Busch Stadium- Home of the St. Louis Cardinals (Which the Padres swept on 9/12/12):

Caleb and my future father-in-law James. Are they twins or what?

Myself, My future mother-in-law Cindy (She was laughing, I said I had my hand on her booty) and Caleb. 

Before we left the Arch, we went to a museum that was located at the bottom of it- I took a moment to be a bit rebellious. There were signs that said no touching the animals. Oops!

We had lunch at the Speghetti Factory in Saint Louis and drove back to Farmington. On the way home we did pass by this wonderful car which clearly suggested it's political view. He noticed that we were taking pictures of him, and he pointed us out to his passenger. You just don't see this stuff in California.

We took a short nap when we got home from Saint Louis and then went to the Jewelry Store! It turns out the ring that Caleb got for me doesn't have a wedding band so they have to custom make one, which isn't a problem (although, they do have to keep it for two weeks, after the first of the year. ::Cries::). They kept my ring over night, and cleaned it, and tightened the center stone which was apparently loose. The lady that helped us was VERY nice, and VERY pregnant. Oddly enough when we went back the next day to pick up my ring--she had gone into labor. Since picking it up and seeing how clean and beautiful it was, I no longer put lotion on with it on, or get it wet. I think I needed that reminder! 

After leaving the store, We drove around downtown Farmington and we stopped by the creepiest cemetery I have ever seen. Half of the headstones had fallen over, you couldn't read most of the dates on the headstones, most had been over grown by moss.... It was crazy. 

As we kept walking around this place, we came across this little piece of work... I'm pretty sure this guy, or gal, whoever it was, was laid to rest and their headstone was a DIY project. 

As we left we saw a man playing fetch with his dogs...in the cemetery. Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you usually play fetch in say, a park? At any rate, It was sad to see all these headstones cracked, falling over, or in such poor condition.. so forgotten about! Rest in Peace people. ...still super creepy.

Friday came, and so did the rain. We went up to his grandma and grandpas house and were greeted by the most delicious chocolate chip cookies EVER. A few months ago his grandma sent him some cookies in the mail. They arrived crumbled, but they were still SO good. So to have them whole was FANTASTIC. They will now forever be referred to as "grandmas cookies" not, chocolate chip cookies. I can only hope to someday make them as good as her! 

We went four wheeling around where his grandma and grandpa live and found ourselves out in the woods. It was pretty neat since California really doesn't have anything like it. 

He also showed me this nice little house in the residential area where his grandparents live. SO pretty. It's so crazy to me how the front of houses in Missouri don't have fences really, but in California the front of every house has a fence to keep people and... life...out. Haha. 

When we got back to his grandparents after our adventure, we headed into the backyard to go fishing.

After several unsuccessful attempts, this ended up being my catch of the day, and boy oh boy did it fight back:

You're not a fisherman until you catch a few good twigs. That's what I've always said.

Caleb had a little bit better luck.

That ended up being a wrap at the grandparents. We would be back out there the next day (Saturday) for an early dinner and family pictures. Friday night Caleb and I went over to his best friends house for dinner. I was really excited to FINALLY meet Abram and his wife Elizabeth. I've been friends with them both on Facebook and have heard SOO much about them from Caleb. They were even better in person, and I miss them already! I can't wait to see them again. We went over there for dinner, hung out for a bit and watched a movie. 

They look so in love:

Abram is under here somewhere, but he was getting BEAT up by his children.

My little boyfriend. Love this little guy:

Yeah, I don't even know. They have a strange bromance.

On Saturday everyone went over to his grandparents for dinner. There was deer, ribs, potato salad, beans and more and more deliciousness. So good! We ate, I tried my hand at fishing again, which ended up being another failure, and we watched home videos of Caleb, Amos, and Miranda as babies. They were some cute kids, that's for sure.

After watching the home videos we had desert. Strawberry shortcake is definitely my second favorite desert of all time following CLOSELY behind chocolate chip cookies, and look what was on the menu for desert: 

Yum. 

We ended our day taking some pictures of everyone so Caleb and I can hang some at home and never feel that he is too far away from Missouri.

Cindy, Caleb and James. 

Mom, Son, Dad.

Everyone

Minus the Photographer- Miranda

Even Coco the dog :)

Now we got Miranda, and ended up missing James. 

Still missing Miranda. 

Still missing Miranda. 

Everyone. But, Coco is tired of taking pictures. 

Grandma/Grandpa, Mom/Dad and the Soon to be Newlyweds. 

My perfect catch. <3 

When we came back from his grandparents on Saturday I made Caleb pull over so we could take a picture of this sign. 

Would have been way better if we could have stood next to it. Caleb by the C, and Me by the K.

Later that night we played trivia at Buffalo Wild Wings. If anyone has a million dollars and wants to open a franchise in San Diego, please do it. I'm baffled why there isn't one here! It would make SO much money! It was a lot of fun, and the Mizzou game was going on too. When the crowd died down, we went to Family Fun Center to play on the go carts, and play arcade games. It was my last night in town and we definitely made the best of it.

Indoor Go-Carts:

Our round of golf that I clearly lost at:

KB: 36, Miranda: 30, Caleb: 29

I am NOT Tiger Woods

Caleb playing the Motorcycle game. He would.

I had such a great time in Missouri. Caleb ended up staying for an extra eight days after my trip but I had to come home and start my new job at the Kettlebell x Training. I'll tell everyone about it, eventually. But, for those that don't know, I am no longer working at Comic-Con! It really sucked being away from Caleb but since we are a military couple we should probably get used to being away from each other- and 8 days is really nothing. I'm proud of myself for being able to get home on an airplane all by myself though! I was super happy to pick him up from the Airport on Monday, and I've enjoyed having him home with me..even if he does make a mess, and take up the bed! I definitely hope to be able to go out to Missouri once a year, and have a really good relationship with his family. Plus, theres a lot more I want to see and do out there. And dang it, next time I go, I better catch a fish! 

In other news, there has been quite a few developments happening revolving the wedding, so stay tunned for a blog about wedding happenings. There will be one shortly :)