So what is new?

Hello Friends and Family:

It has been awhile since my last post and though we are settling in here, we miss you all just the same. Please forgive my bad blogging habits, I will try to post more frequently in the future. For those of you on facebook Ryan does a much better job posting pictures on his profile. Hopefully my post will fill in some of the gaps :). Quick update: I have been working at Centura for almost 2 months now. I enjoy the people there and have made a couple of good friends. Below is a picture of the state park I walk in every day. It is called Mount Trashmore and it used to be a landfill, but as you can tell it is very pretty now. I also included a picture of my cubicle. Thought I came from an office I love this little space and feel at home here.

Ryan is doing well he is finishing up his first semester and so far he has done GREAT! I am so proud of him and I know you all are too. He is loving the area and is currently shopping around for a surf board. He has taken on the role of puppy dad too. Since I am away at work all days Jazzy and Ryan hang out all day long. I often get texts of them cuddling as Ryan studies. As I was deciding what pictures to include in this post I couldn't resist a puppy pic, so here is an oldie but a goodie!

The holiday season is right around the corner. It is odd for us former midwesterners to be living in a warmer area because it doesn't seem to feel like Christmas time because there isn't any snow! I am sure that we will get to see plenty of the white stuff when we go home but until then we have decorated our apartment. Per request of one of our great moms here are some pictures. One of the pictures has been edited so that no one's Christmas is spoiled!

We love you all and hope you are well.

Big Hug,

The Masons

Out with the old and in with the new

Ryan for the last couple of years has been driving a car that has in it's old age developed lots of character. The Grand Am has lost a couple hubcaps, some side paneling, and the rear view mirror is attached with duck tape. These are just some of the wonderful features of this car! Ryan has patiently driven this vehicle while I got a new car. This last week we finally purchased a new car to replace the Grand Am. We now have a gold Toyota Highlander.

We had to purchase this new car because I started a new job last week that requires the use of another vehicle. The jobs is for Centura College's financial aid office. I will be working as a financial aid officer. So far it has been wonderful to get out of the house and meet some really wonderful people. I will write more about this new opportunity for our family in the next blog :).

These are a few of my favorite things

Hello Family and Friends, I hope that this blog post finds you all well. We made it through another week here in Virginia Beach, and though we miss you all, it is starting to feel more like home here on the East Coast. I thought I would share some of the things that we have found here that we love.

First of all, PIZZA! For those of you that know Ryan well...he loves pizza. We have made a Friday night tradition of getting pizza from a great local place called Chanellos. 5 dollars for a great pizza...mmm.

Second of all, our trail. I spend at least 2 hours on this trail almost every day. An hour by myself working out and then another hour walking Jazzy. This being the first place I have lived other than Indiana it is amazing to see this climate's wonderful plant life. I am obsessed with how the trees arch over the path. The beauty of it never ceases to amaze me.

We also love the people here in Virginia. They are all so nice and down to Earth (and a little crazy!) Below is a great example of this. We call the man who lives here Willie, because his garden is all Willie Nilly. It is hard to tell by this picture but there is a mermaid, skeleton, and flying man in his backyard! Willie caught me taking this picture...which made for an awkward conversation :).

Next we love the beach and all the wonderful free events it offers. Today we spent a portion of the day at the Neptune Beach Festival. It featured the North American Sand Sculpture Competition. Below is one of our favorite statues. It is hard to describe how amazingly intricate these sculptures were, the pictures just don't do them justice.

The last thing that we love is how close we have grown to each other. It has been great to spend so much time together! Below is my entry for the sand sculpture competition. Ryan said it would have won most romantic (please feel free to puke from all of this mushy stuff)!

Well we love you all and thanks for catching up with us. We will catch up with ya'll again next week!

Big Hug:

The Masons

Settling In

Hello family and friends. Thank you for your patience the last couple of weeks. Ryan and I have been busy adjusting to studying, working, and finding time for sleep! Unfortunately for Ryan this is just the beginning. He will have this busy schedule for the next 3 years. I on the other hand get some reprieve!

On Tuesday I took the ASTB, which is a standardized test for the Navy OCS program, I did well so I don't have to study anymore!!! Needless to say I am very happy. The next step in the application process is submitting a huge packet of information that details every last detail of my life. Then I send in my package and pray it is good enough to get in me in.

The Navy is not the only job prospect at this point in time. I also have an interview for the Virginia Beach Police Department on Oct. 2nd. If I am accepted I would start Police Academy in February. Obviously I am still pursuing jobs and applying for positions that would actually utilize my experience; but trusting that God knows best.

Ryan has enjoyed catching a glimpse at what his future will look like. He spent a large portion of this weekend grading his classes' first assignment. It was great to see what a wonderful professor he will make. He has been understanding with his students and still dedicated to teaching them the course material. I think it is a hard balance for him, but I think he is doing a great job.

This next week will be much of the same. I will share some more pics of our new home and the things that have started to make Virginia Beach special to us. We love and miss you all, but halftime is almost over and I have to get back to the game. GO MSU!

Big Hug:

The Masons

Busy

That is all that I have to say right now...because we are so busy! Tomorrow morning at 7 am I will be taking the ASTB for the Navy's OCS program. I have been working full time and then spending every free moment studying. Ryan has been doing the same, working and studying around the clock.. For those of you that have been checking this blog I am sorry for the lack of updates. After tomorrow I will have less studying to do and more blogging time. Thanks for your patience. I promise an excellent blog with pictures and updates about our new Virginian life by the end of this week.

Beach Birthday

This past weekend we celebrated my 26th birthday, yes 26. I know that for a lot of you that seems very young but I am officially in the latter part of my twenties...weird. I often still feel as if I am in college. It was funny because we were on ODU's campus a couple weekends ago and all of the students looked like middle schoolers to me...I am starting to feel my age. So back to the celebration. We spent Saturday at the East Coast Surfing Championships. There was surfing, dirt bikes, skateboarding...it was crazy. It was amazing that just a couple weeks ago we were landlocked in Indy.

A surfer...Ryan wanted to me to say this was him!

Then after that we went home and took Jazzy on a beach walk. She loves the ocean now and can't get enough of the salt water. We have to drag her from the beach every time. Finally we wrapped up the day with an economic birthday dinner! We went to Sonic...gourmet on a budget! But you can tell Ryan and I didn't mind.

Loves Sonic...especially the ordering process so fun!

mmm...cheesy tots!

All in all it was a wonderful weekend and we are excited for the week ahead. We miss all of you and hope all of you are well. Big Hug and Lots of love from the Masons.

Mi casa es su casa

We finally got unpacked and we are enjoying exploring our new city. Ryan found out this week that he has to teach 3 class sessions this upcoming semester and is starting to feel a little overwhelmed with school. On Monday I start working for Interactive remotely and hopefully we will fall back into a routine. We miss all of you guys but are excited about our new life here in Virginia Beach. Here is a peek at our new place:

Our beach that is a 5 minute walk away.

This is the outside of our building, I think Anna would love climbing all of the trees in our complex.

The loft.

The kitchen and dining room

The living room.

Jazzy practicing her surf moves :)