Sawyer Loses His Manhood

On Thursday Sawyer went under the knife for his neuter (which should have been done months ago). Since I was a working single parent for the last couple months, I didn't have time to be with him while he recovered. So as soon as Matt got home, we scheduled his surgery. All went well and he is now at home wearing his "cone of shame".

Still sporting his bandage from the IV site

The first day he was pretty groggy and just walked around a little and slept. The next morning, Sawyer starting whimpering when Matt woke up so we assumed he was in pain and got him out of his crate. He immediately starting bolting around the house and bringing us his toys so we would play with him. Thankfully, knowing that our boy is a ball of energy, I thought ahead and requested a sedative from the vet. So we loaded him up with half a Tramadol and a sedative and he remained in a happy state of drunken grogginess. On post-op day #2, he was attempting to jump off the back of the couch (in the cone, mind you). Needless to say, he has been appropriately drugged again and we are expecting a full recovery :)

He's home!

Waiting for his daddy to come home

So I'm about 2 weeks behind on this announcement, but nonetheless...After being gone for nearly 2 months, Matty is home! After a 14 hour drive from Quantico, VA, he arrived late on a Wednesday night. He was greeted with plenty of tail wagging and kisses from Sawyer and one very excited wife. He graduated 6th in his class and received Distinguished Graduate and Squad Leader awards. I'm very proud of his hard work in Sgt's Course! We spent a relaxing weekend together just enjoying each other's company again.

My boys

The next weekend some of my classmates from Mobile made the drive to P-cola to hang out. We went to Pensacola beach and visited my two favorite places on the boardwalk: Bamboo Willies and Papa's Pizza. We got some yummy pizza and daiquiris to-go and spent the afternoon soaking up the sun.

Mimi, Me, and Abbey

That night we had dinner at McGuire's where Mimi ordered their famous Irish Wake:

Then it was on to Seville's for their dueling piano show (by now you should know I am an avid dueling piano bar fan).

Matt and fellow Marine Rasheed

Scooby Snacks for all!

My Best Friend's Wedding

The tables have turned and Justine is now the bride-to-be! She's found a wonderful fiance and I can't wait for their big day. I think the next best thing after planning your own wedding is helping a good friend do the same :) We have exchanged countless phone calls about every last detail and I can't wait to see it all come together! The grand event is taking place at none other than the Stueckle Sky Center. What else would you expect from a proud Bronco graduate?

The role of Maid of Honor has been bestowed upon me and I am SO excited! Well, technically I would be the "Matron" of Honor but I refuse to accept that title. Might as well call me "Old Married Hag." According to Oxford American Dictionary a matron is "a married woman, esp. a dignified and sober middle-aged one." WOW! Could this be any further from the truth?! I may be married, but definitely not sober, nor middle-aged. Dignified? Eh. Give or take. Depends on the day :) As part of my MAID of Honor duties, I am planning a very un-sober, un-dignified bachelorette party in Las Vegas! Although the actual event is a couple months away, my excitement is getting the best of me and I have been planning, scheming, and crafting away. Because I can't share the ultra-top-secret details here, I'll just show you these sassy invites I made up:

I suppose it's time to start thinking about the more dignified and slightly more sober event known as the bridal shower.

Celebrating 1 year of marriage in our nation's capital

When Matt got orders to go to Sgt's course in Quantico, I immediately realized we would be apart for our first anniversary...that just wouln't do! So I used some Delta dollars we'd earned to book a flight to Washington DC for a romantic anniversary weekend. It was all the more special because I hadn't seen him in over a month. In true Delta fashion, my outgoing flight from Pensacola was delayed by 4 hours. Ugh! Luckily I made up for lost time by booking my new flight into Ronald Reagan instead of Baltimore, as previously planned. We stayed at the Sheraton National in Arlington and made good use of the metro. We packed in a lot in 2.5 days:

In true Densley fashion, our first outing was to Bobby McKey's, a dueling piano bar. First piano bar we have been to that measured up to our beloved Shout House in San Diego!

Matty's thoughtful request <3

We made it to 3 of the Smithsonian museums on our short trip. Julia Child's kitchen at the National Museum of American History.

Michelle Obama's inauguration ball dress- even more stunning in person!

First stop on our Segway tour- the capitol!

Segways were soooo fun! Saw all the monuments in under 3 hours and didn't break a sweat. Kudos to City Segway Tours for putting on an excellent tour...can't wait to check out their tours in other cities.

Night #2: Dog Fish Head Alehouse. Matt wasn't going to leave DC without visiting the home of his favorite brew. Looking pretty happy here with the sampler before him :)

Cute baby gorilla at the Smithsonian National Zoo. Mama Gorilla was being uber-protective and dad looks like he has had enough! Could have watched this babe and the adorable lion cubs all day.

Last night together: celebrating our anniversary with a yummy dinner at Ruth's Chris in Arlington. The restaurant had a beautiful view overlooking the Potomac and the monuments. Lovely end to a fabulous weekend and amazing first year as husband and wife!