Jeff and Ashley Lamb

Archive for the ‘Military Life’ Category

Well, I guess I’ve been slacking. It’s been almost an entire year since I last put my thoughts down in writing, so to speak. It doesn’t feel like much has happened but, looking back, I guess alot has happened. I can definitely say that I have grown over the last year, both from the good and bad that have taken place. I’m glad to say that things have been mostly good. Mostly.

Where to begin…I guess I’ll start with this same time last year. I started my online vet tech program in mid-January last year and am starting my fourth semester today. It’s been going pretty well so far. I started out slow so that I could get into the hang of the whole online thing and this semester will be my first full semester of four classes. I have learned so much from the classes that I have already taken and find myself getting excited as each new semester nears. I’m glad I’m enjoying it because I can’t see myself doing something if I hate it.

Jeff was deployed to Japan from June until December of last year. He was able to do and see alot while he was there, including climbing Mount Fuji. He says he hated it but I think part of him enjoyed being somewhere different and getting to know his Marines better. He came back with some new friends…well, new to me anyway. I’m glad that he has people that he can connect with and hang out with here. When he got back to the states, he had about three weeks off which we spent in Vegas, of course. It was great to be able to be back home for so long with him.

Sheridan started middle school this year. We were worried about how she would do because she’s so sensitive but she seems to be adjusting well. She’s learning the violin and has joined the dance team at school. She’s a procrastinator, just like me, and is the typical girly pre-teen.

Tristann joined Girl Scouts this year and no one could be more excited than me. I LOVE Girl Scout cookies and am helping her as much as I can when it comes to her selling them. She’s doing so well getting all of the different patches and doing the fundraisers. She was the top seller for nuts last year and was awarded a patch that only she got, and she’s the newest member of the troop.

In July, we took a trip to San Diego for Brittany’s birthday. She had planned on coming out to California to visit over the summer last year and we were going to go to the zoo and the beach, among other things. We made the trip over a long weekend and took the dogs with us. It was Patton’s first time at the beach and she didn’t seem to care for it. It was nice to get away and to do something for Britt.

At the end of August, after a visit to Vegas, I was headed back to Twentynine Palms when I rolled the Jeep. It was my first accident and was terrifying. I came out of it with minimal injuries, just a slight concussion and some stitches to my thumb, but it scared me pretty bad. The worst part of the whole ordeal was that Patton was missing in the middle of the desert and over night. I didn’t care that I was hurt, I was so scared that we would never get her back. Thank goodness we did though. I would be devastated if we hadn’t. Jeff was pretty upset but was glad that we were okay. Now we have two cars, which makes things alot easier on us. Jeff got his dream Jeep, that he’s very happy with, and I got a great little Saturn that’s perfect for me.

So, that’s how our past year has been. Mostly good sprinkled with a little bad. Overall, not so bad.

We spent the weekend in Vegas for the USMC birthday ball and we had a blast! I don’t think either of us have gotten that little sleep in so few days. The ball was on Thursday night at the Rio and was set up nicely. Jeff looked amazing, of course, in his dress blues complete with ribbons and medals. I felt like a princess, with my hair done at a salon and an amazing dress with beautiful makeup (both thanks to Summer). There were about 300 people there but it wasn’t crowded at all. The food was pretty good and there was a great guest speaker. We were seated at one of the two tables for the corpsmen with some awesome, fun people.

After dinner, Jeff and I, along with two of our friends, went to the Blue Man Group show. It was definitely interesting but I thought it was fun. We walked the strip some, stopping at a bar or two, then we headed back to the Rio where we ran into some friends who also attended the ball. We had a few drinks then ate either a very late dinner or a very early breakfast (it was about 2am). The rest of the weekend was filled with going out, going to bed very late, waking up late and some family time. I have to say, it was one of the best weekends I’ve had in a very long time.