Daisy Mae McNair July 28th, 2001-August 30th, 2007

I loved this dog with all my heart and she will be missed dearly. Daisy was like my child. She had a personality like no other dog. She was very smart and always happy. Everywhere I went, Daisy went too. She was my roomate all through college, my driving buddy(she sat in the front seat like a person), and my princess.

I am going to miss her SO much. She really was the best dog I ever had and will never be replaced. 50 years from now I will still miss Daisy and remember how much she added to our lives. I love you Daisy Mae, you will be missed

Wedding Pictures

Our wedding on 07/07/07
The upload thingquit working so I'll upload more tomorrow



















Some pictures from our wedding on 07/07/07

Prayer

You have to see this!!

I just had to post this because it is absolutely embarassing!! That poor girl!!
http://view.break.com/356544 - Watch more free videos

One Week Down..5 and 1/2 More to Go

It was one week today that Jeremy left and it feels like a month! I am having a great time with Grandma and Aunt Rachel but I am still missing him more every day! We get to talk once to twice a day so far. Thats pretty good I think! Today he told me that he saw a couple of jack rabbits and they were huge! They are also seeing coyotes quite frequently out there. He says he is already so sick of the desert. It feels like he is on another planet because all he is surrounded by is army everything and he misses the real world. When I talk to him he is so tired too, so at least he's sleeping at night! He has been seeing the doctor out there for headaches and his knee but the doctor only says "water and ibuprofen". Thats his answer for everything Jeremy says. Oh and I have decided to quit using my date stamp on the camera because I can never get it to set right. The buttons are always messing up and when I think I have it fixed I don't!! For example, all of my pictures that I have been taking the past couple of days have been in 2008, go figure. Thats aggravating because you can't take the date off the picture once it's taken!

So we have stayed pretty busy since Grandma and Aunt Rachel got here. Every day we leave the house to do one thing and we don't return until at least 8:30 that night. Like today(Monday) for example we left for the post office and then decided to go to Wal-Mart....and then decided to go see the condo everyone stayed at last month out at Makaha since we were out that way...on the way we got Subway...and Starbucks..then stopped by dad's resort to see if Brian's boots had turned up (they had not) and then we went to the Ko'Olina lagoons since it was on the way home!! :) We were so glad that we did because we got to swim (our bathing suits and towels were in the trunk from yesterday). Then we walked down the shore and watched the sunset it was so pretty!Grandma found some coral and it was shaped like a heart. She put it together really cute and said it was for me and Jeremy. And it was a full moon tonight so that too was gorgeous. We sat around for a couple of hours at Ko'Olina and really enjoyed the scenery.








Yesterday was fun as well! We took off to go to the east side of the island to see where the wedding was and to go book a room at Bellow's. First we stopped by Pali lookout before heading and farther.


They really liked it there. Then we headed to Bellows. The water was so warm on that side of the island, but there were jellyfish in the area so we didn't get in. Plus we were going to the Cheesecake Factory and didn't want to go all sandy and salty. Anyway it was very pretty on that side of the island and we had fun! We also stopped to show Aunt Rachel the blowhole before we headed to downtown Honolulu. When we got to the Cheesecake Factory grandma ordered a tea that was flavored with Mango and Hibiscus. It was very different but good! I have never tasted anything like it before. They really loved the Cheesecake Factory and the fact that the prices weren't outrageous. I had the white chocolate caramel latte cheesecake and grandma and aunt rachel split the lemon-raspberry cheesecake. We all slept well last night :)






The first full day grandma and aunt rachel had here (Saturday) after eating at Popeyes on post we went driving around the North Shore and the northeast side of the island. At first it was raining really hard but it let up after we got to the shore. I took them to the Mormon church and all through the greenest parts of Oahu. It was nice. We also saw this car parked in the buggy area in the parking lot of the commisary. We thought that was pretty funny!!

Today was pretty boring out here. I finally fell asleep after 8:00 a.m. this morning after I talked to Jeremy. He was surprised that I was "up that early" until I explained to him that I had not been to bed yet. I slept until about 4 p.m. when he called me again. This week they have a little more down time because the don't go out into the field until next week. He was exhausted though!! He said its so hot and very sandy. You know how annoying it is when you go to the beach or something and you get sand everywhere? Picture that only with boots, thick socks, layers of long pants,long sleeve tops, Goggles, Hat, and Very Heavy Equipment in 100 Degree Weather. He said its really dry(its the desert so that makes sense). Anyway, they had unloaded a big truck full of stuff and he was so worn out.He was waiting on the sun to go down so that he could go take a hopefully cool shower. The water they take showers in is in huge metal drums that sit out in the sun all day. I feel bad for him because he was so tired and sandy, he didn't even have the energy to take a shower really.
After I got off the phone with Jeremy I went to the commisary and Starbucks. I never had to have Starbucks until I moved out here. Now they built one at the PX and its so easy to get to! I'm staying away as much as possible though because I got a post on MySpace that really made me mad!! Here it is:

Recently Marines in Iraq wrote to Starbucks because they wanted to
> let them know how much they liked their coffees and to request that
> they send some of it to the troops there.
>
> Starbucks replied, telling the Marines thank you for their support
> of their business, but that Starbucks does not support the war, nor
> anyone in it, and that they would not send the troops their brand
> of coffee.
>
> So as not to offend Starbucks, maybe we should not support them by
> buying any of their products! I feel we should get this out in the
> open. I know this war might not be very popular with some folks,
> but that doesn't mean we don't support the boys on the ground
> fighting street-to-street and house-to-house.
>
> If you feel the same as I do then pass this along, or you can
> discard it and no one will never know.
>
> Thanks very much for your support. I know you'll all be there again
> when I deploy once more.
> Semper Fidelis."
> Sgt. Howard C. Wright
> 1st Force Recon Co
> 1st Plt PLT
>
> PLEASE DON'T DELETE THIS ... ALLOW IT TO BE PASSED TO ALL IN MEMORY OF
> ALL THE TROOPS WHO HAVE DIED SO THAT WE MAY HAVE THE RIGHT TO
> CHOOSE TO
> SUPPORT THEM OR NOT!!!

So if this is true, I really don't want to support Starbucks!!

After Starbucks and the commisary I came home and had a huge caesar salad and started some laundry and thats about it! I am proud because I finally got started on the scrapbook(at 4 this morning). I got one page done.



Tonight I'm going to attempt another one. I'll let you know how it goes! Oh and I wanted to post some pictures of the huge brush fire we had this past week on the North Shore. It was so huge it even made it on post. It was sad to see all the pretty scenery go up in flames. Helicopters were everywhere and they finally put it out after 6 days. Luckily it rained on that 6th day. You can still see the smoke from a smaller controlled part of the fire.



Then there is also a strange attitude out here on post today because everyone is pretty worried. I don't know if you saw the news but this is what we know so far:

HONOLULU (AP) - The Army Black Hawk helicopter that crashed today in northern Iraq, killing all 14 soldiers aboard, was assigned to Hawaii.

Colonel Timothy Ryan is rear detachment commander of the 25th Infantry Division. He says 10 of those killed were based at Schofield Barracks.

The military isn't releasing identities until they notify relatives.

According to a defense official, the aircraft was from the 25th Infantry Division's combat aviation brigade based at Schofield.

The four crew members and ten passengers aboard were assigned to Task Force Lightning.

The military says initial indications showed the helicopter had a mechanical problem and was not brought down by hostile fire, but the cause of the crash is under investigation.

The Beginning

So I have decided to start posting blogs as a result of the insomnia I have developed since Jeremy left...Monday. I'm not used to being totally alone all the way across the Pacific Ocean, plus we do so much out here in Hawaii. I would love to look back on the things that happened after all of this is finished. I really wish I had started doing this a long time ago but thats okay! Becca's blog inspired me to start one for our crazy life so I'm going to try to keep up as much as possible. The people that want to, can keep up with us more too! We never get to talk to everyone enough and I'm always leaving things out and forgetting things that happen. So now maybe this will help!

I guess I can start with Friday night Jeremy, Doug, and I went to Dave and Buster's then to see SuperBad. We played the games at Dave and Buster's for awhile. Jeremy was happy because he found a machine that gave out 2 tickets every 30 seconds by mistake. So he stuck with that machine and that was pretty much the extent of his games this time. We like the token toss game even though it is probably pretty rigged. We got a table and settled in for supper. Well, it was about 3 hours until the movie started and they just wanted to relax and have a good weekend before they left. We had a great time! We sat there forever just talking and it was happy hour (M-F from 4:30-7:00...Half price cocktails and $1 off beer) No one drank that much. Its just that Doug loves different beers and Jeremy loves to try new mixed drinks. Anyway I already told them I was driving and that I wanted them to have a good weekend without worries. We had the best Chicken Parmesean Caesar Salad there! I accidentally entered the wrong date on my camera so now it says September in all of the recent pictures, woops!!!
http://www.daveandbusters.com/


Doug fell asleep on our way :)
Afterwards, we walked over to the theatre and saw the movie. It was very funny but also very....I don't know how to explain it really. I guess you could say high school boy mentality uncensored! We went to the rooftop at Dave and Buster's after the movie. Its nice up there. You can see the ocean and all over downtown Honolulu. The have a radio station up there playing music and a great atmosphere. That was it for our night! We all had a great time.

Saturday we didn't do much. Just took it easy and enjoyed eachother's company while we could! :(

Sunday we had a great time at Waimea Falls. On the way to the waterfall we looked at all the different flowers and scenery. It is so calming. We took lots of pictures.


We took a crazy hike on the way back from the falls and had a great time! The trail we took was very deep into the woods and had many ups and downs literally! I did this all in Old Navy flip flops by the way. We were so hungry though when we got back to the front of the park at 5 p.m. We hadn't eaten anything all day! After we left we went to the North Shore to swim for about 30 minutes. That water was so cold because of Hurricane Flossie!! It was nice though because after hiking in the mountains thats all we wanted to do was jump in the ocean. After that we went home and got ready to go to Dixie Grill. It was really fun.They give you seasoned popcorn with your drinks (instead of chips and salsa or peanuts) We sat outside on the deck and drank huge glasses of sweet tea. Jeremy enjoyed the 6 different barbeque sauces they brought to the table with his meal and I had a great turkey and avocado sandwich (with a very good cranberry mayo sauce on it I might add) and Cornbread Casserole. Yum!


The past couple of days have really been hard for me and Jeremy. We have known for awhile that he was going to have to leave for training, but it came up very fast! Monday was just downright depressing! First, we went and got his hair cut extra short(below)
At the last minute, his troop found out they had new requirements for badges, etc. So we had to find a place off post that could do this in a rush! Luckily we found a very sweet Asian lady in Wahiawa to do it for us by 2:oo p.m. I had to have him at work at 10 p.m. Anyway, they were cheaper than the place on post too so we were very happy!! The place on post refused to do it all together because of timing. So now his bags and hats and all that other camo stuff has McNair all over it. We came home and spent some time playing nintendo (our new addiction that we both love) ate at Quizno's, loaded up his hundreds of bags, and before you knew it, it was time to go. I took him to the quad where there were about 300 people dresses and ready to go. Too bad their bosses didn't tell them it would be another 7 hours before they actually got to leave! I hugged him a million times and tried sooo hard not to cry but that didn't work. Finally, I let him go and watched him walk in :( It was like the first day of school for them. All the spouses and families dropping them off.
I really don't remember the last time I was that upset. We have grown so close and incredibly attached to each other. To be honest, I was expecting the opposite after everything I have heard about marriage in the past. My realization is that we are so blessed and this is going to be the longest 6 weeks of my life. In December when he deploys, I will probably need to be surrounded by 20 of my closest friends and family, along with horse tranquilizers, Pepto, Kleenex, and a doctor. I never realized exactly how hard seperation from someone could be. It's kind of comparable to that feeling of homesickness you used to get as a child, amplified beyond belief.

So I'm laying on the couch crying into a pillow an hour and a half later when someone rings the door bell. I'm home alone at midnight thinking 'okay I'm not answering it because no one ever comes over this late and if they were, they would call first. I really wish we had a peep hole'. I went to the kitchen to look out the window and watch whoever leave. Then the house phone rings, its Doug saying "Amanda would you be a peach and come let me in!" He got to stay an extra night. I took him to work yesterday to go catch his plane actually. It really got my hopes up that maybe Jeremy would get to come back home too!! He didn't get to though, instead they kept them all night and went to the airport at like 6 yesterday morning. So not fair! They made it to Fort Irwin just fine though. Hes out in the middle of the Mojave Desert now.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/fort-irwin.htm

I am so excited because Grandma and Aunt Rachel will be here Friday. I'm glad that I have family that can come out here and support our situation. They didn't want me to have to be alone but at the same time, to maximize my time with Jeremy and save money I had to stay out here. So grandma and Aunt Rach. are staying for over 3 weeks and we are going to have so much fun! I have a lot planned for them to see. This will be grandma's second trip out to Hawaii this summer! Way to be Hollywood!! Mom will be out here when they leave and she will stay the remaining 3 weeks with me until Jeremy comes home. That way she can see him before he deploys. Anyway, thats it for now I guess! Lets see if I can keep this up!