Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

Well its offically snowing up here! Its amazing how people up here freak out over just a couple of inches. I heard rumor that, since snow is very rare here, when it does snow the whole city shuts down and well basically its true. We have received maybe an inch so far and schools and the base were both closed! I would have loved to have grown up here, one inch of snow and you have the day off! Coloradians are expected to plow through blizzards and still make it to work and school on time....

As is expected it is has been a while since I last posted :) To updated everyone....

We spent Thanksgiving in CO and had a wonderful time. My Uncle, Aunt and Cousins were town which made the holiday that much more enjoyable seeing as how we had not seen them in over a year. Both being Military families, it is very rare when the entire family can get together for holidays so we cherish every moment we can get. My grandfather is doing 100% better than I expected. He is still on a feeding tube and it was hard for all of us to eat a huge turkey dinner while he sat in the living room and waited, but I noticed a huge change in just the four days that we were there. I know seeing the grandkids really helped brighten his mood and speed up his recovery. We continue to pray for his health. It was also fun to see old friends and experience the annual Frelly Christmas Dinner in Denver. This year consisted of BD's for dinner, Cheesecake Factory for Dessert (wish you were there Paul and Sue!), and walking around enjoying all of the Christmas lights.

The following weekend Scott Berry was in town for a job interview and we explored all of the Seattle sites. Although we tried our hardest to convince him that Seattle is the best place to ever live, I believe he will be taking the job in Denver :(. So close to having more friends out here!

Marc took a TDY to Alaska the next week to fly some missions with pilots in the 10th (his squadron). Unfortunatley, due to weather and plane malfunctions, he was only able to fly on one mission. The down time did give him the opportunity to catch up with some old Academy friends stationed in the area and spend some time with the Stralkas. He is still trying to convince me to move there for our next assingment but 8 degree days with only 4 hours of sunlight in the winter seem a little much, he is going to have to try a little harder.....

While Marc was in Alaska I flew to Tampa, FL for Joe and Melissa's wedding! It was a crazy, fun filled 3 days of late nights, early mornings, and constant laughter as I was able to spend time with college friends I had not seen in a very long time. The late nights eventually caught up with me and I spent 3 days sick after I got home. But it was worth it :)

We hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

Fall in Washington

Living most of my life in both CA and CO, I've never really experienced a fall. Sure some of the leaves would change but by the first snow in CO (usually say Sept.??) it would be winter from there on out. This season has been amazing for us to watch all of the leaves change, and stick around, for months on end and we have definatley taken advantage of it. We've gone on numerous drives just to see the colors and love the colder, somewhat rainy days of just drinking coffee (or pumpkin beer that Marc has made a staple in the house until the end of the season) and eating pumpkin bread (which I insit be in the house at all times).

We took a little weekend vacation down to the Portland area last month to visit the Little People Big World farm. I know we are total dorks but for those of you who are TLC fans, I also know you're very jealous :) They have a pretty neat farm and aside from some really crazed fans who probably knew way too much about that family and made Marc and I feel really weird, we really enjoyed ourselves. Unfortuantley, we went the last weekend in October so it was slim pickings as far as pumpkins go.

We recently had Marc's parents, Paul and Sue, out for a long weekend and had a nice relaxing time with them. We did all of the typical touristy stuff, ate way too much, and had "Christmas Morning" since we will not be able to celebrate Christmas with them in December. Marc got a Wii and although there was no Wii face (PJ), he was very excited.

My grandfather is also finally done with his radiation treatments. For those of you who do not know, my papa was diagnosed with throat cancer in September. Thankfully it was only stage 1 when they found it (which is apparently very rare for throat cancer) so they are pretty optimistic that we will come out of it cancer free. He went through grueling treatments, has to have a feeding tube, and for a while suffered panick attacks and hallucinations from the pain medication he was on. Towards the end of treatment, my nana and papa were basically living at the hospital since he had to have treatments twice a day. He finished on Oct. 31st but will suffer pain for the next 6 months to a year as this neck and face are burned from the radiation. It could also take that long until he is off his feeding tube and has energy again. Please pray for my nana as it is hard for her to take care of my papa everyday and for my papa to no longer be in discomfort. I am so anxious to be out there at Thanksgiving so that I can be with them. Marc's dad has been a huge help to them through this process as well. Paul went through the same cancer and treatments several years ago and his information and encouraging words have truly helped them get through this time, we are so thankful. In December the doctors will do some tests to see if the radiation was able to get all of the cancer cells so we continue to pray for good results.

Welcome Family and Friends!

Well we started our blog back in May and it has taken us this long to finally really prepare it and get the word out. I am going to try and be as diligent as possible in keeping everyone up to speed but no promises :) We initially started this blog on vox.com but switched to blogpsot after we realized we could upload images easier. Anyways, the two previous blogs are from months ago but I just copied and pasted them from the other site so everyone could get up to speed.

We figure that this is such a great way to keep in touch with family and friends and feel free to leave comments! We'd love to hear from you :) Pictures to come soon as well.


Enjoy!

I promise to keep this thing updated....

So I've come the realization that blogging is not my thing. I am horrible at keeping this updated (thanks for the kick in the pants mel :) ) but since it is the easiest way to keep in touch with friends and family I am vowing to keep this thing updated....as much as possible at least. To give a quick update since I last blogged (my one and only time) here is a quick synopsis on what happened in the Marmino household this summer:

1. We moved into our apartment in downtown Tacoma! We are loving it and are within walking distance to restaurants, shops, the grocery store, the sound, and weekly farmer's markets that I frequently visit.

2. We shared our 1yr. anniversary in Seattle and enjoyed a nice romantic weekend. We both can not believe that one year has passed already! Seems like yesterday....

3. We attended PJ (Marc's brother) and Eileen's wedding the beginning of July which was beautiful! We had a blast seeing family and loved watching those two get hitched :)

4. My brother came into town for a quick visit and we spent the weekend in Portland, Oregon visiting uncles, cousins, and my grandfather, all on my dad's side, and enjoyed the Portland Beer Festival. Basically a big park in downtown Portland filled with numerous beer vendors and beers to try from around the world. A good few hours there and we (Marc and I and my cousins, not dan haha) left feeling like true beer connoisseurs. I loved spending time with my bro, you can always count on him to bring the laughter.

5. My mom and the Lahnert's paid a visit the following week and we engaged in all the typical touristy stuff and loved spending time with them. Unfortunately during that time I also had to spend time in the hospital for some pain. Thanks Dave for keeping us company during the hospital stay, I will never forget the look on your face after the doctor almost caught you blowing up the hand gloves and making puppets out of them :)

6. My dad left his job at Starbucks and my mom and him drove back to the big square! Long, Long story but basically my dad was frustrated with working for the company with all of their changes and so many people were getting laid off in the corporate office that he feared he was next. My parent's hadn't sold their house, were tired of living apart, and packed up my dad's apartment and drove back! We miss them but are very excited be able to visit CO more now. My dad has since picked up a job with Edward Jones and I know he is going to do great at it!

7. Marc and I took a two week trip to NJ while Marc had some training out there. We visited with his family including a weekend trip up to Massachusetts to see Jared and Adj. We visited their beautiful house, threw back a few beers at the Red Lion, and wine tasted our Saturday away.

8. We bought our first house! It will be built by February or March and we are very excited to move into a bigger place. And, now that we will have a yard, hopefully get a puppy! Picking out everything from dishwashers, to light fixtures, to paint colors is sort of overwhelming and boring at times but we are very excited to have a place to call our own. Two extra bedrooms for visitors as well! (hint, hint).

That pretty much covers the past few months since I last wrote. As you can tell we are very ready to start settling down into our lives and routine after that summer but it was a blast. And as promised, I will work my hardest to keep this updated :)

Discovering the Wonders of the Pacific Northwest

On May 11th we left Texas without looking back and made our way 650 miles north to Colorful Colorado. We were immediately greeted with two days of snow!! Marc worked at an AF Recruiter's office in C-Springs for two weeks so that the Marmino family could enjoy last meetings with friends and family and to attend Daniel's LPHS Graduation and Beth's UCCS Graduation. During our two weeks, we filled our time with graduation parties, outings in Denver, Rockies Games, and the infamous Frelly Low Country Boil. Rocky enjoyed the company of his best buddy Boomer, when he wasn't eating or sleeping. He's become quite the traveling kitty. Although we enjoyed our time, we were anxious to begin our new adventure in Washington. We spent the first night in Salt Lake City, UT and we were both amazed by the beauty of Park City! Our next stop brought us to Boise, ID. On our third and final day, we decided to sight see along the way and discovered an Oregon Trail museum. Yakima Valley, WA brought a much needed rest stop at a local vineyard. We enjoyed a glass of wine while overlooking the endless fields of grapes. We immediately settled into temporary onbase housing and began apartment hunting. We were able to find our dream apartment (located in Downtown Tacoma, overlooking the Puget Sound, and walking distance to many local pubs and restaurants) in just one day. Due to this quick find, we were able to spend the next week and a half exploring the greater Seattle Area. We toured Pike Place Market (famous for its "fish throwing" and the home of the original Starbucks), boarded a fairy from Seattle to Bainbridge Island to see the potential new Frelly residence, watched the sailboats in Gig Harbor, strolled down Old Town Tacoma, and explored Point Defiance Park and Zoo. The Puyallup Farmer's Market has also become a staple of our Saturday mornings. All of this in so little time, we can't wait to see what the next four years brings!