Hello Friends,

I apologize for not blogging in a while. Mark and I have been ever so busy with life, as I'm sure you have, too. March went by really fast! A few exciting things happened that I'd like to tell you about. First, Mark made rank! For all you civilians who aren't familiar with that term, it means that he got promoted. But the coolest part, is that he got promoted six months earlier than he was eligible. They call this 'Below the Zone'. So, Mark got BTZ and was promoted to Senior Airman/E-4. I'm very, very proud of him! He has worked so hard and has displayed more integrity than anyone I've ever met. Also, he had his big training exam a few days ago that he has spent the last eight months studying for and he made it out with a 93%! I can't tell you how proud I am. He is exceptional!



In addition to that exciting news, we also had our one year anniversary. Wow! It seems like just last week I was running around planning our Crested Butte wedding, and a whole year has gone by! Mark booked us a little trip to celebrate. So, on Sunday the 29th, we drove up north about an hour and then boarded a ferry that took us to the little island of IE. This little island is mostly flat, except for a peak that stands in the very center at roughly 1,000 feet high. Once we arrived, we were picked up and taken to the resort where we found a lovely room ready for us. It was very Japanese in the way of size. Small couch, small coffee table, teeny tiny bathroom. It was perfect. We relaxed for a couple hours and then decided to rent ourselves some bikes and ride to the top of that peak. We rode as far as the road would take us, and then we had to hop off our bikes and hike the rest of the way. God gave me a little of Colorado in that hike, it was a fabulous experience. I took some pictures, so pretend you were there with us and enjoy!



This was the view from our balcony:


Hiking our way to the top:


Our 360 degree view of the whole island and the ocean: (The land across the water is Okinawa!)