Our First Christmas Tree

A couple weeks ago Abe had a couple of weekdays off. We decided to go into Louisville to go Christmas shopping and to find our first Christmas tree. Christmas shopping was fun. We basically went around trying to "hint" to each other the things we wanted for Christmas. We even decided at one point to split so we could look around by ourselves to see if we could find ideas for each other. We ended up running into each other and decided we would just stay together the rest of the time. We both came out with a few ideas what to get each other.
After five hours of shopping we were ready to go home, but still needed to stop at Wal-Mart to get our Christmas tree. Originally, we were talking about getting a little four foot tree that was only twenty dollars that I had seen on a previous shopping trip. As we were looking around we saw some pre-lit trees that were six footers, and then we wouldn't have to worry about buying additional lights. I thought that was a good idea. Then we saw a six and a half foot tree that was forty dollars and was really full and pretty, but wasn't pre-lit. I told Abe, "I'd still be happy with just the little four foot tree.. even though this one is pretty." We decided on getting the forty dollar tree that was big and pretty. We had to buy a lot of lights, ornaments, and all the other accessories our tree would need. When we checked out we were amazed at how everything added up. Within a couple days Abe had told some people that I was the one who wanted an expensive tree, which wasn't true at all. I had to make it clear to Abe that he wanted it just as much as I did so he would stop telling people that.. and then he finally agreed. Abe gets excited for Christmas too! We are happy with our first Christmas tree, and we are so excited to spend our first Christmas together with our family in Washington.

2LT PAYNE, Tank Commander!

For the last couple months Abe has been going through tank training school. He has really enjoyed this training so far, and usually has long 10-13 hour days. He has really enjoyed learning about all the different parts of the tanks, experimenting and doing actual hands on projects with the different kinds of vehicles, going out in the fields and shooting all the big guns on the Abrams tanks, and will soon have to go out in the field for a couple weeks, where he will be able to drive the tanks and will really get to know them. Abe thoroughly enjoys what he's doing. It's fun for him to be learning about something he really enjoys. Abe is excited for his upcoming deployment to Iraq this coming March, where he will get to go out after all these years of school and training, to work with the tanks and serve our country. I am so blessed to have Abe. He is very intelligent, knows exactly what he's doing and what he wants, has a good attitude, is brave, and I am so happy to be his wife. He is a blessing to me and is such an amazing man.

Abe's good friend, Nick, took this picture of him while working on the tanks. You can tell he enjoys what he's doing!

I have met three really good friends out here, and their names are all so similar that I'm always calling them the wrong name. They are, Natasha, Tasha, and Sasha. I do a lot with Tasha and Sasha. We usually all work out together (We've started going to water aerobics classes and really enjoy it!), take trips into Louisville and go to lunch, we have get togethers with our husbands.. they're a lot of fun! I met Natasha at church. She is from New Zealand and met her husband here in America while being a nanny.. Looks like being a nanny is the thing to do if your looking for a husband! Her husband, Jim, is in training with Abe and is actually a captain. Jim use to be in the Air Force but then was transferred over somehow to the Army. They deployed him before he could do his actual training, so he is just now going through it. Jim and Natasha have two kids in elementary school and they are cute kids. One Saturday while Abe and Jim had to work, Natasha invited me to go to the pumpkin patch with her and her kids. We had a lot of fun. We look a hay ride with some Belgian horses attached leading the way. They took us out to the pumpkin patch where I picked out two big pumpkins for Abe and me. They were heavy and carrying them back wasn't easy! But they were good looking pumpkins.
This last Tuesday, Natasha and I went to a Relief Society activity for our church. Everyone was invited to participate in a pumpkin challenge, but you weren't allowed to make pumpkin pie. I wasn't able to participate, but Natasha made a pumpkin soup. It was AMAZING. She later confessed to everyone that she used a butternut squash. She said in New Zealand they call it a butternut pumpkin, so she thought she would be fine using it. I thought that was pretty funny. I'll ask her for the recipe and then post it soon.

A few days after getting the pumpkins, Tasha, Sasha, and I put together a little Halloween party for us and our husbands, so we could all carve our pumpkins. After carving them we put them all together and lit them up.. I don't have a picture of that, so I just put up one of mine and Abe's. Abe's is on the right and mine is on the left. We are so happy to have met good friends out here. It's fun getting together with other couples and doing fun things.

Kirtland, Ohio

Two weekends ago, Abe and I took a weekend trip up to Ohio. We went to see Abe's Aunt Charlotte and Uncle Jay, and went up to Kirtland, OH to see the historical church sites there. We started the day off by going to breakfast with Uncle Jay and Aunt Charlotte, at an Amish Buffet for breakfast. The food was so amazing! Abe and I loaded our plates a couple times, and weren't hungry again until dinner. After breakfast, we then drove two hours up to Kirtland. The drive was so beautiful. All the leaves on the trees were at their most vibrant stage. We chose the perfect weekend for this trip.

When we first arrived to Kirtland, we went to the temple and the visitors' center there. The Kirtland Temple, which was built by the early saints of the Mormon church, now belongs to the RLDS(Reorganized Latter-Day Saints)church. It was a little sad, knowing of all the hard work and sacrifices that were put into building the temple, and to think we don't even own it anymore. Nevertheless, we were so happy we were able to see the first temple that was built for our church.

After going to the temple, we went to the Visitors' Center for the LDS church. As we sat down to watch a short movie about Kirtland and the early saints, the missionaries got up and announced that a very special guest had been there that same day. They said that President Monson came, and made it a point to stop in Kirtland to see the temple and to see The School of the Prophets. Abe and I both looked at each other and couldn't believe we had missed him. While watching the movie we thought in our heads, "Maybe he's still around somewhere. Maybe we should leave the movie and see if we can find him." We didn't leave, but afterward I went over to a sister missionary and asked when he had been there. She said he was there from 2:15-3:00pm. She said that he was on his way with his daughter and granddaughter, taking the granddaughter back to school in Connecticut. Abe and I were so bummed. We had gotten there at 3:15, just fifteen minutes after he had left.

We still enjoyed walking around with our tour group seeing all the neat sites. One of my favorite parts was going to the Newel K. Whitney store. Upstairs, there's a little room they called "The School of the Prophets." In that room Joseph Smith recieved many different revelations for the Doctrine and Covenants. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ also appeared to Joseph Smith in this room. It is so neat to see actual sites and to be in places where very important things happened.

Even though Abe and I didn't get to see President Monson, it was neat just knowing the prophet had been there that same day as us. We had a good time, learned a lot, and gained an even greater appreciation for the early saints who did so much for us.

Here are some pictures Abe took of the sites:






The Newel K. Whitney Store


Actual table from the Newel K. Whitney Store


The original house of Newel K. Whitney

Happy Fall!

I love living in a place that has the four seasons, and it is definitely fall here in Kentucky! One of the things I love most about fall is pulling out all of my fall/winter clothes. Another thing I love doing is going shopping to see all the new styles of the season. Luckily, this year I'm not as tempted to go out shopping. Abe and I are planning on going to the Philippines this December, where he served his LDS mission. Abe wants to go there to see all the families and people he met, and to show me all the areas where he served. We are looking forward to going, and I know I'll be happy I didn't spend money on frivolous things I know I don't need.

I have been trying to think of things to do to enjoy the fall season. Last weekend Abe and I enjoyed a nice drive exploring beautiful Kentucky. The leaves are just starting to change color and the air is so fresh and crisp. We can't wait to go on more drives when the leaves on the trees are vibrant shades of red, orange, and yellow, like they are in the east.


We also were invited to go on a double date last weekend with Abe's best friend, Dick. We went to The Field of Screams, a haunted corn maze, and it cost TWENTY DOLLARS to get in. We both looked at each other and thought the same thing, "This better be worth twenty dollars!" It turned out to be really fun! Before entering the maze I started getting a little nervous. In a past experience with my friends, I got trapped at a dead end with some scary looking creature walking slowly toward me. I was running franticly back and forth not knowing what to do. I finally was able to bolt as fast as I could right past him and got out. I try and find comfort in knowing that they can't touch you, but I couldn't help but be scared.
Actually, the first time Abe and I ever hung out we went on a haunted hay ride in Sleepy Hallow, NY. It was a lot of fun, especially since I sat by Abe and even kind of leaned into him.. I was very happy! We got to a certain point where someone dressed up jumped out and it scared me. Abe told the person dressed up to scare me more, and the guy started grabbing my leg. I started hitting the guy and told him to let go of me. I was scared out of my mind! Abe told me I wasn't suppose to hit him. I told him, "Well, they're not allowed to touch you, so he deserved it!" Don't worry, I didn't hit him too hard!
I did get scared a coulple times on the maze, but it was nothing like getting trapped in a corner, or having anyone grab me. I think the thing that scared me most was a nine or ten foot person dressed up as Satan, who seriously came out of nowhere. I ran right past Abe. Abe thought it was funny to see me scared, so he forced me to get behind him. I thought I'd be safe since we had just entered a very narrow part of the maze. I looked back just to make sure, and saw the creature STILL following me through the maze! I luckily was able to ditch him fairly quickly. There were really cool features they did in the maze. You had to go through a barn, and at certain points we were crawling on our knees in complete darkness. We had a lot of fun.. even Abe got scared a few times. Not near as much as me though!

Saturday night, Abe went with Dick to the Priesthood session of General Conference. I stayed behind and enjoyed listening to Mamma Mia and made Halloween sugar cookies. The cookie cutters were three dollars at Wal-mart, and I found some cute Halloween sprinkles to go with them. They turned out really cute and tasted good. Abe and I practically ate the whole pan in just one night.

Abe and I have already enjoyed a lot of hot cocoa, and bought some apple cider. I am looking forward to making pumpkin and apple pie. I love fall and love the holiday season. I hope all of you are enjoying fall so far, and hope you'll share your traditional and fun fall ideas!

Our Little Home

FINALLY.. Here are some after pictures. Abe and I had a lot of fun going shopping for things we needed for the house--such as kitchen supplies: A hand mixer, BRITA water filter, little decorations for the house, and lots of food! We don't have any storage space, so we've had to find places to hide things. For example, Abe thought it'd be a good idea to raise our bed up so we can hide a bunch of stuff under there. Luckily we didn't bring all of our stuff to Kentucky.
We have had a good first week here together. Abe has had PT (Physical Training) every morning. Other than that, we've had the whole week to spend together. We even went to dinner with our neighbors Monday night (One of Abe's former football buddies from West Point). It's been nice to spend the week with Abe before he starts his actual tank training on Monday.
We love having our first little home. Even though it's technically a little motel suite, we have made it to feel like a home. We couldn't be happier!




Abe playing a football game on the computer.. and I'm cheering him on!






After running some errands, Abe surprised me by making some brownies by the time I got home!



I only showed pictures of the kitchen and living room. We can't hang pictures, change the bedding on the bed, or anything else.. So everything else basically looks the same. It's nice to have everything organized, and to be able to cook and have meals together. Married life has been so much fun, and it is a nice feeling to be settled!

OUR FIRST POST

So this is a BIG day for Abe and me. After living out of our suitcases and feeling unsettled the whole summer, Abe and I made our first official move as husband and wife to Fort Knox, KY and also started a BLOG after many people telling us too.. YAY! For a long time we have wondered what kind of a housing situation we'd be in here. Well.. we got an apartment and we are actually very happy with what we got! It is as we thought it would be, a glorified hotel room. It feels like a little apartment and has an oven, fridge, a pretty decent sized living room, and nice tv's and a dvd player. The first thing Abe did after we moved all our stuff in, was set up the computer and printer. We took before and after pictures so you can see how we transform this "hotel" looking place, into our cute little HOME! It feels so good to have our first place together! Abe and I went to Burger King to get some dinner since we don't have food in our fridge yet. As we were leaving Abe put his arm around me and said, "Let's go home." It felt so good to both of us to have a place to go and to officially call "ours."

Here are some before pictures we took of our apartment:




Our messy living room.


Abe getting ready to set up the computer.


The kitchen, and a bar with two stools as our table.


Our bedroom.


A SMALL closet in our room...


..and a bigger one in the living room, most likely for me!


LLOOONNNGG hallway that leads to our small bathroom.


The bathroom.

YAY, again! The after pictures will be up shortly.. hopefully. So, since I am new at this whole blog thing.. PLEASE be patient with me as I am getting the gist of things!