It's the Most Wonderful Time of Year...

It's the most wonderful time of year again...Christmas time. Dave and I got invitations to many Christmas parties this year. We had so much fun and we are so thankful for all our wonderful friends out here in 29 Palms.


Our friends Joey and Lindsey had a great Christmas party in early December to kick the season off right. Thanks for a great time Joey and Lindsey.


The SECOND holiday gathering that Dave and I went to was at Carolyn and Brandon Schroder's house. We had just a great time hanging out with great friends. All the guys were watching football as the girls stood around talking. Thanks for having us Carolyn and Brandon!



The THIRD holiday party we went to was at our friends Kate and Dave Dyer's house. Kate and Dave hosted a Ugly Sweater party. I didn't have a ugly sweater in my closet so I asked Carolyn if she had any and she did. Well, it turns out that Carolyn's sweater was so ugly I won for the females. Thanks Carolyn for the win!

The girls
The guys

The FOURTH holiday gathering was at my friend Steph's house. She had a Christmas book exchange for all the kids. All the kids brought a book wrapped up and then the kids picked out a new book. This day was a lot of fun! We all brought food to share and it even started to snow in 29 Palms. It snowed the entire day! The snowflakes were large too. It felt like the East Coast! It was a memorable day for sure. Thanks Steph for a great day!

Me, Carolyn, and Di

Steph and Maddie
After the book exchange I got a couple of pictures of the dogs and Noah in the snow...

Welcome Home LT. BREWSTER!

My good friend Diana welcomed home her husband Ben home after a 8 month deployment to Afghanistan on December 3rd, 2008. Diana and I became really close during our husbands deployments. Dave left in March and Ben left in April so we were ALWAYS together. When Ben left in April he left his 4 month old son, Levi. Now, Ben was coming home to a 1 year old. Levi never forgot about his Daddy. He would always hold his picture up and say, "Daddy!" Di and I would do everything together such as, cleaning cars, walks, dinners, and more. I am so thankful that she is in my life. God has truly blessed me not only with Diana's friendship but with all the wonderful girlfriends I have here in 29 Palms. 29 Palms is a special place and I am thankful Dave and I are stationed here.

It was an exciting day for Di! We all went over my friend Steph's house to pray for Di before we headed out to get Ben. Then we all headed to the victory field were Ben and Di would become one again! Little did we know that we would be waiting on the field for two hours for the guys to arrive. That's just how the Marine Corps rolls.

Finally, we saw them marching onto the field and it was so great to see Ben and Di back together after a 8 month long deployment!

I love you Ben and Di!

Di ready to see her man!


Ben is the first one on the left

Welcome Michelle Avery!

My good friend Erica and her husband Mike welcomed their third daughter, Michelle Avery into the world on December 3rd, 2008. She weighed 6 pounds 11 ounces , and 19.2 inches long! Congratulations Mike and Erica she is beautiful! Erica and Mike are now parents of three beautiful girls!

Home Sweet Home

We also had the chance to go home to Connecticut on Dave's post deployment leave. It was so exciting because Noah was going to be meet all his relatives! We had a really great time. We only had nine days to see everyone and let me tell you nine days wasn't enough time! The last time Dave and I were home together was last December. We were busy every second of every day. We had a blast seeing everyone. It was so hard to leave. Everyone loved Noah. Noah was held by everyone. Dave and I got to go on a date for the first time since he has been back from Iraq which was a lot of fun. We had so many babysitters we just had to take advantage. The weather change was a big shock. We go from 85 degree weather in Palm Springs to 15 degrees in Hartford. Noah only had a little cold for a day. He was such a little trooper!

Noah with his Grandpa Bouchard
Auntie Annie playing with Noah

Ruby Tuesday's with the family
Noah hanging out with Grandma Ullmann and all his Auntie's
Grandpa Ullmann playing with Noah
My Mom would always rock Noah to sleep, she still has the touch :) While Dave and I were staying at my house with my parents in the morning I put Noah in bed with my parents. He had so much fun with Grandpa and Grandma Ullmann.
Dave and I had so many people to see in the 9 days that we were home so our parents decided to have a party for us. It was a great idea! Thanks Mom and Dad!

Grandma Ullmann

My Mom, Grandma Ollie, Grandma Fuoco, and Toni-Ann (Dave's Mom)
Group Shot!
Tom, Donna, Brian, Robin, Nate, Dave, Me, Noah, Gary, Toni-Ann, Mom, and Dad
Life is all about family and friends and God has truly blessed Dave and I. We have the best family anyone could ever ask for. We have such a strong bond of love that is so great to have! I love and miss all my friends and family dearly.

Kathy and John
Papa Bill and I

Thanks Mom's and Dad's for a great party! We had such a great time seeing all our friends and family.


Noah's Great Grandpa and Grandma Ullmann
Noah's Great Grandpa and Grandma BouchardDave and I are very blessed that our parents are best friends. This year we had Thanksgiving together and we had a great time. It was held at Dave's parents house.

4 generations in the Bouchard family
Dave's Uncle Brian and Aunt Christine

My college girlfriends were able to visit and meet Noah while we were at home!
Kate, Devon, and Corissa
Thanks for a great trip home everyone. Dave and I had a great time with everyone. Hopefully, we will be back soon again to visit. Much love from California!

Hello Sunshine State!

During Dave's post deployment leave we decided to take a trip to Naples, Florida to visit my Grandparents, Paca and Helen. We were only staying for three days but I was excited for Noah to meet his Great Grandparents. This was going to be Noah's first plane ride so I was a little nervous to see how he was going to do on the plane but he did great.

Noah meeting his Great Paca

Meeting his Great Helen
Helen didn't want us to get on the plane to go back to 29 Palms :(
My favorite picture!
Helen and Paca didn't want to say goodbye to us! We had such a good time with them. Thanks Helen and Paca for a great trip! Love and miss you! XOXO