Happy Birthday Quantico Style

Being apart during birthdays means having to get creative with gift giving. I must say, Danno is an expert at this, which I learned during our courtship while he was away in Law School in Hawaii. (His gift giving tactics is another story!) In 2006, his birthday landed when he was out in Quantico enduring crazy OCS (Officer Candidate School)...which of course limited the gift options since sending packages always ran the risk of drawing the wrong kind of attention to them, so I had to be careful. Tons of friends and family helped me send him lots of love. Many of you may remember when I gathered emailed birthday wishes and tons of individual birthday cards to send him all at once. It was so unexpected and it totally brightened up his day (well as much as a day in OCS can possibly be)! In addition he got birthday coupons showing his actual birthday gifts and the birthday dinner he could look forward to when he returned, and then of course a photo of myself with my truck and our dog Emo, (which was actually the only thing he asked for.)

Last year, he was done with taking the Bar exam and our big day was around the corner! I must say, it worked out that I secretly managed to get a great deal on a Hummer rental weeks before the wedding because it became part of his birthday gift. I loved his face when I pulled up in it to pick him up for his birthday dinner (he would’ve been satisfied with just the dinner of course). But come on, I definitely couldn’t resist giving him a Hummer for his birthday!

Apart from only the necessities, Danno never asks for much, and it’s never the dollar value of anything that makes a great gift to him. He keeps life simple and knows he can live off very little. A reminder of what he values and love, a memorable experience, even to just know that he’s loved and cared for, will suffice. I believe he always deserves so much more than what he ever asks…for all his hard work and accomplishments that he is always so humble about…for being the honorable man/husband that I love and respect...for just being him!

So this year, he’s back in Quantico on his birthday...out in the field as we speak. Clock will strike midnight and I’ll text message him a Happy Birthday. No need to send him packages this time since I'm here in Quantico too (yay!), but squeezing in some sort of birthday plans this year have been a challenge (boo). I’m not sure when he’ll be home tomorrow, so celebrating will have to wait til the weekend once he finishes the week out. Even planning the dinner in an unfamiliar place is tough, and for some reason everyone we talk to out here thinks the Melting Pot is an amaaazing place. (eh, for real?!) His gifts are still arriving, so maybe if they get here I can wrap them in time before he comes home?…eh we’ll see. Beginning tomorrow, I'll be playing it by ear. I know I shouldn’t stress too much. These past months of having time with just the two of us have been great. Quality and quantity time together to relax will be so valuable! Anyway, Happy Birthday Hubby and I’m looking forward to celebrating with you soon!

We See D.C.

It was a successful week of MCMAP a few weeks ago. I even got to learn some moves…so go ahead, try and choke me and see what happens! Haha. They completed their Tan Belt and will continue to work towards the remaining ones as their career progresses.

All the guys were worn out since they all got a fair share of inflicting and taking the beating…very sore neck muscles…arms…legs…bruised elbows… My weak comparison was to that of snowboarding for the first time when muscles you never knew you had ache like crazy. Yes, it’s much worse to get your body pounded, taken down to the ground repeatedly, your limbs twisted and bent for breakage, and getting pegged with pugle sticks (like the giant cutips on American Gladiator). Dan loved it of course.

Nonetheless, they wanted even more exercise so we went along with our church buddy and his friend to explore D.C. Actually, it wasn’t until later that we all realized just how much the day completely tired us out! There’s so much to see there that it’s difficult to decide where to start. Luckily one of the guys came prepared with some of his points of interests, so we focused on a variety of museums – good timing to enjoy AC while it was blazing hot and humid outside! We first stopped off in Chinatown, tried our luck with a random food place – still nothing has compared to places in Cali. Checked out the International Spy Museum, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, the Capitol building, and ended with the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. A lot of walking, looking, learning, and all was entertaining and good times. Still tons more to explore...especially in museums. Here's a glimpse of the Natural History Museum

...and passing by the Capitol...

Independence Weekend

Dan was granted a nice long 4-day weekend to celebrate July 4th…and it much needed to allow him to catch up on sleep, soak his feet and rest his body! Here’s a few more photos from the field….

Hey look, it’s Danno! That’s a whole lot of officers…with a whole lot of gear!

A view from the "Pitz" They take turns setting up the targets for the guys on the end of the field.

Danno & his BCGs in action. He passed all quals (qualifications) Woohoo!

In addition to resting, we successfully cleared out tons of boxes, making room for a new couch in our living room, which should be delivered next week. We’re very excited. Dan will no longer have to come home to sit in a wobbly dining table chair, and will no longer have to watch TV from the floor with his head propped up on a Bosu ball (Google it if you don’t know what it is). Most of all we look forward to accommodate having friends come over. In Cali we were so used to having our small group lounging at our house…they were over so often, it wasn’t unusual that they just walked in without knocking. (btw, we miss you guys!!) We definitely won’t be leaving our door unlocked out here, but we certainly look forward to having company in our house again.

Anyways, for some 4th of July fireworks, we ventured to D.C., taking the metro to avoid the inevitable traffic and parking madness – good move. We decided to stop at the Iwo Jima Memorial Park to watch the fireworks from there, rather than heading to the National Mall – another good move. It was calm, not too crowded, and a nice view of the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Memorial and the Capitol Building in the distance. But we forgot to bring an umbrella – bad move. Clearly we’re not from the East Coast, always ready for the sudden rainstorms that pass through! At least we packed a blanket, snacks to eat, and put his textbook in plastic baggy – good move!

Sure enough, we toughed out the rain…pouring off and on for a few hours…we were determined to see those fireworks! In the end, we were glad we went. Their show out here looks like a finale the whole time. Non-stop. It was great! Here’s some pics..

My first time to see the Iwo Jima Memorial in person…the rest of D.C. is still yet to be explored!

Keeping dry hours before the show....We're under a tree…that’s near an electric pole..and at one point Dan was talking on a cell phone…yes, we realize that was a bad combination if lightning were to strike.
What a good student...Danno reading while I admire the view.
Claimed our spot on the lawn. No longer dry.
More waiting in the rain.

We’ll leave the firework images to the pros, since our camera does not do justice whatsoever. Here's diff views, from the memorial and from the park.

Up next...MCMAP - Marine Corps Martial Arts Program. Danno getting paid to learn how to fight people a billion different ways. I know he's really gonna enjoy this...