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Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Our Trip to the Oldest City

A couple of weekends ago was a long weekend, thanks to the Superbowl. We decided to take a day trip down to St. Augustine with some friends. It's one of our favorite get away places. It's the oldest city in the US and, as you can imagine, it's full of history.
There's this AMAZING Popsicle place called The Hyppo.  They have all different kinds of flavors and they're sooooooo good.
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Look at all the Hippos on the wall!
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Juan, a worker at The Hyppo (he was super cool)
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Cody and Juan
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Cody in front of the mustache popsicle
We went on our way with our super delicious popsicles. We headed Castillo de San Marcos. It's this beautiful fort located near the water in St. Augustine.
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Castillo de San Marcos
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This is us and some friends outside the fort. Isn't it pretty?
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The firing of the cannon at Castillo de San Marcos
After visiting the fort, we made our way to the St. Augustine Lighthouse.
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Isn't it gorgeous?!


And of Course, we climbed the lighthouse. You can't just go to one and not climb.
We even got to see a gorgeous sunset at the top.
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Cody at the top, with the sun shining on him. Isn't he handsome?
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Laura and Me at the top
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Cody and me at the top
Overall, we all had an amazing time exploring St. Augustine. If you ever get the chance, visit the oldest city. You won't regret it.

Friday, February 5, 2016

World's Best Alfredo

We absolutely love Italian food. In fact, we eat it at least once a week. We had the habit of going out to Olive Garden or Carrabba's and spending a fortune on pasta. So I had to figure out a way to make delicious pasta at home, that wouldn't cost a ton or take hours to make.
Well, I came up with this AMAZING alfredo sauce recipe. Believe me when I say, it's the world's best. I've been asked by so many people for this recipe and it's often requested by friends and family.
What you'll need:
  • 3 Tbs butter
  • 1/2 c Parmesan cheese, grated
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 8 oz of heavy cream
  • 1 pinch of nutmeg
  • salt to taste
How it's made:
  • Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
  • Add heavy cream. Stir constantly.
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  • Add in salt, nutmeg, and cheese, stirring constantly to prevent sticking.
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  • Once cheese is completely melted, mix in the egg yolk.
  • Simmer over low heat for 3-4 minutes.
  • Serve over your favorite pasta and garnish with a little bit of Parmesan
  • Enjoy!
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Thursday, February 4, 2016

A Devastating Evening

Last night a cell of severe weather cut through Georgia. It hit Fort Stewart pretty hard. Tornadoes tore through the post, tearing up houses, cars, trees, power lines, an elementary school anything in the way. Luckily, no one was injured. Sadly though, many families lost everything.
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Photo Courtesy of Christine Krause
 
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Photo Courtesy of Christine Krause

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Photo Courtesy of WTOC
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Photo Courtesy of WSAV
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Photo Courtesy of Segar
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Photo Courtesy of Segar
But our community has come together in order to help those effected. There has been so many people that are donating things, opening up their houses, cooking meals, offering rides... It's amazing how people can come together in a time of need like this.
Hold your loved ones close, you never know what could happen. Send prayers to these families. They have a long road ahead of them.

Monday, February 1, 2016

How to Survive Any Duty Station

PCS season is among us! I'm sure we've all been there. New orders come in and you learn you're going to a duty station with a horrible reputation. Now what? There isn't anything you can do to change it. So I guess you just have to deal. Right? Wrong. There are ways to make any location bearable.
  • Explore the surrounding areas
The town that the post is located may be terrible, but what about the towns 30 minutes, an hour or even 2 hours away. Visit museums, state parks, national parks, local shops. You never know what you might stumble upon. We've found some hidden beaches and an alligator habitat, simply by exploring.
  • Make friends.
At times, this may seem impossible. But you can do it. Go to spouse get togethers, join a book club, join Meetup (they have all sorts of groups with different focuses. i.e. photography, crocheting, etc), or host some get togethers at your house like game nights or a bonfire. Living anywhere gets a little easier when you have friends to do things with.
  • Have run away days.
Everyone gets cabin fever when they're stuck at home for extended periods of time. So plan run away days. Get in the car, pick a direction and drive. You never know what you'll find. You'll be getting out of town and you'll get to see new things.
  • Try local restaurants and stores.
Try restaurants that aren't found anywhere else. Shop local shops. You never know what hidden gems you may find.
  • Make the best of the time you have there.
You're only in this location for a short period of time and you'll probably never come back. So make the best of it. You may regret never going to that state park one day.

Weekend Excursions!

Over the weekend, we went exploring! We had a great time. 
On Friday (it was a long weekend), we went to Hunting Island, South Carolina. This is one of our favorite weekend trip locations. It's so beautiful. 
We got to enjoy the sound of the waves crashing on the beach and the seagulls flying overhead. It was a little chilly, but the sun kept us warm. 
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We spent the day looking for sharks teeth. We ended up finding 60, the most we've ever found in one day. We also found 2 sand dollars and saw 2 starfish in the water. 
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Cody looking for sharks teeth
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On the way home from Hunting Island, we saw the sunsetting behind these gorgeous sailboats. So we pulled off at this boat ramp so I could get a picture...or two... or a hundred. but who's counting?
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The sun hadn't set completely yet, so we got in our car and drove across the bridge into Beaufort, South Carolina. There's a cute little park on the left as soon as you cross the bridge. It's gorgeous. So I got some awesome shots of the sunset. 
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Isn't the sunset gorgeous?
Saturday morning we got up and drove to Tybee Island, Georgia. We live super close to it (about an hour and a half) but we've never taken the time to actually explore it. Well, that has changed. 
Tybee is a lovely area. There's a gorgeous lighthouse on the island that we climbed. 
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The stairs inside the lighthouse
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Us at the top of the lighthouse
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View from the top
We had a ton of fun. The island was beautiful! There's even a military museum across the road from the lighthouse. It's super neat. If you're ever in the area, you should definitely check it out. You can also see inside the light keeper's house.
On the way home, we discovered something that was pretty cool. 
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A shipwreck. Isn't it just so cool?! 



Overall, we had a pretty great weekend. If you're near Fort Stewart, go explore! You'll find lots of cool stuff!