Duty on Memorial Day

Our first married Memorial Day weekend wasn't ideal, but it was nice.

Chris called me on Friday night to tell me they should be released around 2000 or 2100, and wanted to know if I wanted to go have dinner with the gang at Pancho Villa. Pancho Villa's food isn't great, but it does the job, and the margaritas make up for it. So we went for the second Friday in a row. You can get a "Mexican Bulldog" there, which is a giant margarita with two Coronas upside-down in it. Delicious! Chris called me at the time he said he would be coming home to tell me that someone lost their gear so he would be there for a couple more hours. I was irritated...I had just drank a coffee in order to stay awake.

Chris was kidding. I believed him, though, because I thought a husband who had been away for an entire week couldn't lie to his wife like that! But mostly I believed him because someone left their pistol on their bed one day, and caused the entire company to be a couple of hours off schedule. I realize crap happens, but how do you lose a gun? I mean, I lose my keys and phone about five times a day, but I feel like a gun is an entirely different thing to lose.

I love going out to dinner with the other couples at the end of the week, because the guys laugh at us wives who have just sat around drinking all week, and we laugh at them because they have a bunch of stories about training and other Marines; we just end up laughing the entire time. It's so funny what you appreciate when you haven't seen your man all week: the way he smells, how big his muscles look, how soft his arms feel.

Swoon.

Saturday we got up at a decent time and went to Government Island with the doggies. It is a very pretty area with lots of trees, surrounded by marshy waters, with a 1.5-mile trail. We were having a really good time and enjoying some alone time when all of a sudden Chris got an e-mail explaining they were going to have two people on duty at all times over the weekend, so he was now going to have to be on duty on Memorial Day from 1200 to 1600. That kind of put a damper on our day that day, so we decided to just go have a quiet day at home instead of going to look at some historic things nearby.

We did just that until that evening. There was a free concert in Quantico and we decided to go with our friends, the Hawleys, and give it a shot. It wasn't too bad! It was band of four old guys playing old songs and crackin' jokes. When we were able to sit on the dock and listen it was really enjoyable. We actually decided to move down to the dock because we thought the guy fishing on it had caught a snake, but turns out he caught an EEL! I am just dumbfounded by all of the weird animals here!

Nalli ate another lizard today, well, half. She left me the head and two front legs to show me just how much she loves me. Thanks, Nalli. Love you, too.

We left halfway through the concert to try a restaurant between Stafford and Fredericksburg called "Grog and Tankard". The waitress tried to impress me with their beer selection, and offered me Angry Orchard, Blue Moon, and some other girly beer. I had to laugh-no thanks bub. It was an awfully awkward experience; we like country, they had a heavy metal band. They are a new bar with no specials (food or drink). It just wasn't our scene, and we won't be going back.

Sunday was great. Our friends the Masses had us over to their apartment complex for a cookout. It was nice because not only were our regular couples there, single Marines came, too. It was nice to meet the people that the boys talk about. We all brought our own stuff to grill, drinks, and sides to share. I made kabobs for the first time! Shrimp in baja citrus marinade with grapes, pineapple, green and red pepper, onions, and mushrooms. Those were brushed with garlic and lemon olive oil. They took forever on a charcoal grill but they were fabulous and SUCH a nice change from the regular old thing.

Unfortunately, a couple of our good friends had to leave early because the husband had duty that night from 2000 to 0000. Rachele and I had to send a snapchat to his wife because we missed her within minutes. And then we laughed because she missed Rachele wiping out on the cement. It might have been karma's fault, because she was trying to make fun of her husband, who was the only guy who ran over with us girls to look at fireworks. She was paying attention to her phone and not her path, and she wiped out. I didn't even know until she burst out laughing behind us. I love Rachele. She always makes me laugh.

We hung out for almost 6 hours. Chris drank a big bottle of Jack Daniels and then some, so I was able to babysit last night. The food, drinks, and company were great. The Masses actually own their own USMC Cornhole game, so in turn we all kind of teamed up and played each other. I learned the rules after the first game, which might have helped a little the first time! But it was a lot of fun and helps you get to know people. As wives, we tend to grab our husbands and push them together and tell them to be friends. Then we stand watch making sure they do well, like moms dropping their kids off at preschool.

Chris left a couple of hours ago to go back to the barracks for the week. I will see him again on Friday. I've done it once so it should be easy this time, but it feels like the weekend just began and now he's gone again. I think it would be really, really hard to be a newlywed here at TBS. Chris and I at least got to spend the majority of seven months in each other's company before coming here.

Chris is as giddy as a schoolgirl tonight because we are going to see Hank Williams, Jr. in concert in a couple of months.

I'm giddy because Arrested Development, season 4 is on Netflix.

I have lots of plans for the week! Pedicures tomorrow, LINKS class on Wednesday and Thursday, and IKEA on Friday. The boss gave me permission to get a desk and a bedside table.

Thanks boss.

Come home, soon.