#latelygram

i don't blog near enough as i should. but i do instagram.
a lot.
which makes up for the whole blog posting problem i have, right?

as you see, we've been preparing for little miss a ton. [crib, stroller, baby shower planning, reading, shopping...on and on and on. :)]
loving wrangler on the daily. because, who couldn't?
eating carbs. greeeeat.
and enjoying the random bursts on sunshine this oregon winter decides to grace us with.
:)

follow me on instagram: samantha_osborne

lake tahoe

in pictures.
because, words just don't do this place justice!
[sorry to those of you who follow my instagram. these pictures won't be new to you!]

sand harbor, lake tahoe.

 emerald bay. the most photographed location in all of california. crazy!

fun times with our nephew, rowen.
he thought it was HIL-ARIOUS when he'd put my hair in front of my face and then i blow it off. :)

moving day

[you can't see it but i'm crying in this picture. afterwards i bawled like a baby off and on for a good hour. i'm going to miss home. i already do.]

whew! i actually have a little time to catch my breath and blog about our road trip to our new home!

 [the day before moving day. i shoulda' made a fort with all our boxes! what was i thinking?!]

 [nooo, we didn't need a 75 foot truck for all of our belongings. this company was also picking up 2 other families' crap stuff.]

[i can't even tell you how much i cried and cried over not being able to take my beloved roxy girl with me :( she just turned 14 last week- far too old for a big move like this- and i didn't have the heart to rip her away from everything she knows. i'm a little a lot jealous that my parents get to love on her everyday.]

[everything i need for a roadtrip! holding my man's hand. diet coke (my guilty pleasure), open roads, snacks and a little entertainment.]

[for those of you not familiar with west coast freeways, follow this baby aaaalllll the way up california and sooner or later you'll get to canada. but in the middle is where we now call home.]

 [pastures as faaaar as the eye could see.]

[sorry for the smudges. cars get dirty on a roadtrip. :)]

[last california sunset i'll see for a while. :(]

finally, at 4:30 am- we made it!

and so the adventure begins...

stagecoach

this past weekend [april 27-29th] me, charlie, and our good friends teleatha and her husband, bryan all headed out to stagecoach.
with our cowboy boots & hats, and giant belt buckles packed we were ready to go! [in order to be fully prepared for a three day country fest- you gotta bring the right gear.]

[these giant windmills remind me of driving out to visit my grandparents growing up. they're still mesmerizing to me to this day!]

we headed out to the [nasty] california desert to a rinky-dink town called Indio.
never heard of it? you're not missing much. [i can't express how much i hate, yes hate, the desert. i wore pants the first day to stagecoach...BAD IDEA. almost passed out. multiple times. husband gave me the go ahead to wear my bathing suit underneath my beach shorts and tank top from then on. thank you for saving me from heat stroke, babe! ha.]
unless it's stagecoach weekend. then you're definitely missing out.
it was a BLAST!

every single country artist we saw were amazing. sounded even better in person than their albums.
favorite of the weekend?

luke bryan. definitely. [we HIGHLY recommend seeing him in concert. charlie and i both agreed we'd pay a pretty penny to see him again. but next time up close and personal. he's THAT great!] luke had us up dancing, singing and laughing the entire time.
but let's not forget about all the other singers..
eli young band, sara evans, alabama [charlie's favorite], jason aldean, justin moore, blake shelton, miranda lambert [and she brought along the pistol annies, too!], the band perry, martina mcbride, aaron lewis, sheryl crow, brad paisley and many more!

[the "mane" stage. get it? get iiiit??]

[eli young band]

[justin moore]

 [brad paisley]

 [blake shelton]

 [alabama]

 [jason aldean]

[sheryl crow]

[miranda lambert-shelton]

day and night photos of the fair grounds. never had to guts to see how much money it was to ride the ferris wheel...

i was in awe when i saw this humungous american flag. love this. for everything it stands for.

^this was before charlie got rid of his farmer's tan. hehe

 bryan, t, charlie and sam.

 i just adore this photo.

 us bein' us.

 and again. :)

such a fun, long weekend.
we're sure going to miss the Allens. they move to south carolina next week.
:( <---see the sad?
but we are so happy we were able to spend this quality time with them before the big move.
we love you, bryan and t!!
p.s. thanks for driving! you guys are the best.

and we of course love country music, too.
:)

*photo cred: some of these photos were taken by teleatha allen. thanks, lova! 

finally. ♥

213 days after charlie left for war in afghanistan, he was finally back on american soil and i was finally back in his arms.

words can't possibly ever express the amount of joy, excitement & nervousness i was feeling the days leading up to his homecoming. [not to mention all the butterflies in my stomach! haven't had that feeling in a while.. :)] i can't imagine how anxious charlie was feeling!

my parents, charlie's 2nd mama, a few of our friends and i came to welcome our hero home. 

since he was supposed to be arriving around 12:30am, and we wanted to be there a couple hours early, we arrived at camp pendleton around 10:30pm. 

and of course, with the craziness of over 1,000 family and friends waiting for the 308 marines coming home, the time got pushed back a wee bit...

to 3am.

but man, he is SO worth the wait. :)

i can't describe how amazing it feels to have my husband safely home. 

all my [and all of our friend's and family's] prayers and faith worked. 

and i am SO thankful.

i just keep thanking our heavenly father every time i look at him. 

we've been enjoying each other's company to the max!

lots of cuddles

lots of laughs

& lots of loving has been happening the past two days. 

we just can't get enough! 

charlie and i are looking forward to finally starting our life.
outside the marine corps.
:)

 my amazing friend teleatha and i cuddling in the cold waiting for our husbands.
i can't imagine what i would have done during this deployment if it wasn't for her!
sad we'll be living on opposite ends of the country in a couple months.. :(

 the freedom riders [marine veterans] escorted our men from the air force base they landed on all the way home. patriotic doesn't even begin to describe the vibe they brought to the atmosphere.

our giant neon arrow signs that made our husbands find us worked like a charm!

[don't mind my horrid hair. the salty ocean air cramped my style. big time.]

this is the few seconds that i was looking for charlie through the crowd. luckily he knew where i was the whole time and found me in no time!

my expression when i laid eyes on my husband after a long 7 months..

our first kiss since last summer. ♥

didn't want to let go. it's safe to say separation anxiety was in full effect. haha!

♥

[looking for his gear.]

photography by Jenna of Operation Cherish Photography. 

when we got to our hotel room, charlie was welcomed with this..

welcome home gifts!

one last deployment package filled with presents. :)

and some of these! chocolate covered strawberries with some filled with cheesecake filling. 

he was a happy boy.

YAY!