MERRY CHRISTMAS!! (said at a high screeching volume makes Ava laugh!)

Hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas as much as Ava enjoyed eating the paper on her gifts!!

John Kipp Oplinger's BMT Air Force Graduation

I started my trip off in Phoenix to visit my college roommate Allyssa. We decided to drive to San Diego and spend a few days there since neither of us had ever been there. Allyssa had never been to CA and never been to the Pacific Ocean. So even though it was cold and raining we rolled up our jeans and went in the water!!

La Jolla cove

Surprisingly the animals were still out and about even though it was raining!

I met Uncle John in San Antonio. This is at the ceremony where they received their airman's coin. It downpoured for about 5 minutes after the trainees were all in place...700 of them. They had to just stand there and deal with the rain! (I awesomely had my poncho from the zoo that I quickly slipped over myself and our valuables!)

(BMT = Basic Military Training)

At the graduation/parade...unfortunately from the rain which leads to mud the few days before graduation the graduates had to wear their fatigues instead of their dress blues. Still looks good though!!

After graduation John got to take us back to his dorm to show us some of what he has been doing the past 8 weeks. I wanted his to come repack my suitcase after I saw his locker...haha

Wait, it's almost 2012?!

Hey everyone, I cannot keep up with life right now and realized I haven't posted anything since the begining of November! So here's an update on me...I quit my job. My last official day was Dec. 2nd. I had 70hrs of unused vacation time so I got almost 2wks pay. I don't have a job in Philly yet, but I have an apartment and am working on furnishing it (Thanks for your help Kelli!!). I know this may seem backwards...usually people get the job and then they move...but I like to be unconventional!! Anyways, I did some obersavation at Thomas Jefferson Hospital, a teaching hospital, Wednesday. I am awaiting a callback to set up a formal interview. Hopefully I'll be working by February :) Here are a few pictures from Thanksgiving week. (I am going to do 2 more posts with John's air force graduation and Christmas.)

Merry Christmas!!!

Tis the day for everyone to rest a little. :)

Apparently, Cally was afraid of this Santa last year; this year, she had fun shaking her hips with him.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!!! We spent Christmas Eve at Aunt Linda and Uncle Pete's. We spent the night at my mom and dad's and enjoyed the day.

Cally & Mickey sending a message

Our new pooch " Bella "

Getting Ready for the Holidays!

Cally was brave and ran across these nets with confidence for the first time! It was great!

The biggest train set-up we've seen so far!

Thanks to Kelli, Ashley, Mikey, and Sal for our Christmas gift - a membership to the Morris Arboretum. We took part in the Holiday Hat Parade and enjoyed the viewing of the huge train set-up for Christmas!

What a ham! Maya enjoyed helping...well, I think she ate more cookie dough than anything! :)

Dec. 16th - Two gals pals came over with their kids. Cally comes back from a play break to help Summer out...while her son, Judah, kept yelling, "Cally! Come back outside!!!"

Maya needed Mommy to sit with her. She needed Cally to help open the gift so that she could keep her eyes on the Hanukkah man.

December 11th - Hanukkah Party! Cally did well sitting on the Hanukkah man's lap!

LOL!!!! Cally was such a good big sister! Maya wasn't too sure, so I asked Cally to hold Maya's hand, and it was enough to get a decent shot!!! :)

We'll be back next year!!!

The girls, Mike, and I enjoyed the scenic ride, and we got to meet Santa!

Aboard the Polar Express train ride in Jim Thorpe Thanksgiving weekend!

Lots of fun holiday activities! Looking forward to dinner at Mike's brother's to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah and going to Mom and Dad's for Christmas Eve/Day!

Mother Nature Decorated For Me! Yeah!!!

T'is the Season

It is my hope that you're all finding time to enjoy the beauty of the season.

OPLINGER

I got a letter from cousin John today. In my letter, I had told him to wear the "Oplinger" name proudly. He replied at the end...

"Last week, we got our names sewn on our uniforms. Seeing the OPLINGER name on it is badass."

:)