Staycation

Since Cameron graduated A school, he get 10 days of leave (time off). So we've been doing the tourist stuff!

Last Saturday we went and visited Fort Sumter and Patriots Point.
Patriots Point has a sub, a destroyer and an aircraft carrier that visitors are allowed to go tour. Cameron went once with his class at the beginning of A school, and when we went on Saturday, he was able to tell me what a lot of the stuff was in he Engine Room. It was really cool to see all those things up close, but I would never want to work on a sub or an aircraft carrier! I'm not claustrophobic, but I was getting uncomfortable with how small some of the stairways and walkways were!
The sub we went on was very very old, and the subs today are much bigger.
Fort Sumter was awesome! It was fun walking around and seeing the history that was there. There were bullets still in some of the walls! it was crazy!

Fort Sumter used to be as tall as the flag just above my hand

Yesterday, we got to go to Carowinds!

Carowinds is an amusement park here in South Carolina. What's really cool about the park is that half of the park is in South Carolina, and the other half is in North Carolina!

We had a blast! It was our first time go on a roller coaster together :)

We rode all kinds of roller coasters. There was one where you are laying down, and you go backwards. That one was our favorite! There was also one where you were standing up, another one that had your feet dangling. We also went on one water ride and we didn't get too wet, but it was a lot of fun because the ladies that were with us had us laughing the whole time!

 We also enjoyed a yummy funnel cake with chocolate syrup, carmel syrup, strawberries with sauce, powdered sugar and whip cream! YUM!

But what really made the day enjoyable was Cameron. If we went on a roller coaster that wasn't as crazy or intense, he still managed to make it fun. He would scream and yell like it was intense and it made me laugh the entire time! 

It was the first night of Scarowinds for Halloween, so we decided to stay for that. For those who don't know, I don't like scary stuff! I don't like getting scared, I don't like scary things, I don't like it! If I watch a scary movie, I have to watch a Disney movie afterwards so I wont have nightmares!

So, we went to Scarowinds, and I told myself that I could handle it and that it wouldn't be that bad, and to suck it up because Cameron really wanted to do Scarowinds. We went through our first Haunted House called Last Laff, and it was freaky. You could pretty much tell who was real and who wasn't. I got scared but I thought I handled it pretty well. I didn't like it, but I did it. Then we start heading towards a haunted house called 7th Ward. I then realized we would be going through haunted houses all night and I wasn't ok with that. We got through the line and I teared up a little because I was getting scared. Cameron suggested that we could leave but I told him I wanted to be tough and do it. Then we started walking up to the door of haunted house and I lost it. I grabbed Cameron's arm and said as I was frantically crying' I don't want to go in, I don't want to do this, I don't want to do this.' He felt really bad that it scared me, and I felt horrible that I was scared of everything. So we decided to go home. I felt horrible but Cameron comforted me and made me not feel as bad.

This staycation has been the best!

We also got to go to the Columbia, South Carolina Temple on Wednesday. We always enjoy going to the Temple :) 

A School Graduation

On September 19, 2014, my husband graduated A school, and because he had the 3rd highest GPA in his class, he graduated with Distinction.

I'm so proud of him for getting through the first part of his schooling! Even though it's nice that he doesn't get to bring his homework home, he still has to make sure he gets it done in the time that he is given, along with studying. There were weekends that he would have to go in for 2-3 hours on Saturdays and Sundays.

His schedule for A school was Mon-Fri, he would leave between 5:45-6, and he wouldn't get home until 6 pm, then be in bed by 9. Sometimes he wouldn't get home until 8. Plus studying on the weekends. Most Fridays he would get off early, which we looked forward to every week. 

I also had to have a schedule while he was in A School. Mondays I needed to have laundry done so he would have his PT (Physical Training) clothes ready for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; eventually it was just on Wednesdays. Then Thursday nights we had to get his dress white uniform ready for Friday. Every 2 weeks we had to cut his hair to make sure it was within standards. I made breakfast and lunch for him everyday so he wouldn't have to get up as early, and every night I made sure dinner was ready when he got home so we would have more time to spend together.

I'm very excited for him to be done with A school! He will be starting Power School in November, and until then he will be on T-Track, which is basically doing work on base, like Watch( making sure people who go in to study are students and not civilians), cleaning, etc. 

I've heard from the other wives that Power School will require Cameron to be gone more, and his schooling will be more intense and more in depth, so I'm going to do what I can to help lighten his load so he doesn't stress out. He's so excited to learn more in Power School and to continue his education in the Nuclear field, and I love seeing how excited he gets about it.

I'm so proud of my honey! :)

South Carolina

We have been living in South Carolina for a little over 3 months now. At first it rained a lot and we LOVED it! It hasn't been raining as much lately. A couple weeks ago, there were a few days when it was kinda chilly outside, but it's been in the high to mid 80's and beautiful!

We've been able to go to the beach quite a bit, and let me tell you, we are loving every minute of that!

There is so much GREEN here! I don't think I've really seen gravel anywhere except on dirt paths. There are big green trees, some with moss on them. There are so many squirrels here, it's insane!

Cameron graduates A school next Friday. I'm excited that he's finished with this first part of his schooling, but the next couple parts are gonna make his schedule crazy.

We've made lots of friends, and we have BBQ's almost every weekend :)

It's been interesting getting used to the new terminology, and I feel like Cameron speaks another language sometimes with all of it. I'm even learning about it while he's sleeping. There's been a couple times when he's fallen asleep before me, and he will start talking in his sleep about torque, turbines, folding things and anything else he may have learned that day. I just laugh, go along with it, write it down and tell him about it in the morning and we get a good laugh out of it.

In our ward we are Primary teachers to a cute CTR 4 class. We have 4-5 kids that consistently come every week, and they make us laugh each week with the things they'll say. But it's amazing to see them learn a new concept and to help them understand Heavenly Fathers teachings.
This last Sunday was Fast Sunday, and the kids get Tootsie Rolls from the Primary Presidency if they are good during sharing time. The teachers hold onto them until they get to class. We'll, our kids wanted their Tootsie Rolls real bad. But we explained that we were fasting, and we encouraged the kids to fast for the class hour and not eat their Tootsie Rolls. And they did it! They were so proud of themselves! It was awesome to see them do that.

We are loving every minute of being here. I can't wait to see what the other seasons are gonna be like :)

Move to South Carolina

Welp! We have officially moved to South Carolina! We left AZ June 5th and got to SC 3 days later. The driving wasn't too bad, it was just kinda noisy in the cab of the truck. We got to see such beautiful country on the way there.

Our first night we stayed in Abilene, Texas. We stayed the night with my Great Aunt Elaine and Great Cousin Brandi. Those two are some of my favorite people on this entire planet! Elaine is my grandma's sister, and if anyone knows anything about me, it's that I loved my grandma very VERY much. She was my best friend. She passed away 11 years ago, which was and is very difficult for me. Elaine has always known this and I've had a special connection with Elaine. While we were visiting them, Elaine gave me one of my grandma's crocheted blankets, which was very sweet! Elaine and Brandi are always such a joy to be around. They always keep us laughing and always make sure we are taken care of. I also got to see one of my grandma's brothers while there too.

The next day we drove straight to Mississippi! We stayed in Meridian, Mississippi. On the way there we stopped in West Monroe, Louisiana. Right after entering Louisiana, Cameron moved over to the far left lane and within a second after he did that, there was a 15 car pile up in the lane we had just moved from. One car almost turned into our lane. I'm so grateful that Cameron listened to the spirit and moved out of that lane.
We are Duck Dynasty fans so we stopped by the Duck Commander Warehouse to take pictures and look around. It was really cool. We also passed over the Mississippi River which is HUGE!!

On Sunday, we made it to SC. We stayed in a hotel up the street from where our house was. The housing office wasn't open until the next day so we weren't able to get our keys until the next day.
We finally have everything that we need unpacked, but there are still a lot of boxes to go through.

It's beautiful here! We have been to the beach twice already. It has rained about 5 times since we've been here and there are thousands of squirrels running around everywhere! I love it! And I now know why people say southern hospitality is the best. It really is! Some people are rude, but a lot of businesses we've gone to around here, the employees are so nice and so positive!
Can't wait to see more of the South!

Answered Prayers

Well, tonight was interesting to say the least. At about 9:20 pm. I was laying in bed, and Daisy was on her bed, ready to go to sleep. My mom knocks on my door. I throw on my pink robe and open the door. She asked me of I had seen Zoey. I said I had seen her not too long ago. I see the panic in her face and head down stairs with Daisy to look around the house. We quickly find that she is not anywhere in the house or backyard. I start heading outside to check for her and I see our neighbors, the Jacobs, start getting in their car to look for her.
I quickly go change out of my pink robe and put Daisy on a leash and go look for Zoey. After I've looked down 3-4 streets I felt the need to go down another street, I thought to myself 'someone probably already looked down this street, but I can see our neighbors car at a park nearby so I'll head towards them'. Soon after making the decision I see a lady walking down the street toward me, and I again think to myself 'I should ask her if she's seen a black schnauzer'. As I was about to ask her, she asks me 'Are you looking for a dog?' I was like yea, I am. She asked if I was looking for a schnauzer and I said yes. She asked if I lived on the corner nearby. We were about 5-6 streets away from my house and I told her where we lived. She then told me that she knew a neighbor with a black schnauzer and was wondering if it was them looking for one. I then told her that it was hectic trying to find her cause she didn't have a collar.
Then the lady said she saw a facebook post about an hour ago that said someone in Sossamon Estates found a black schnauzer. She pulled up the post on her phone and there were pictures with the post, and they were pictures of Zoey!! The was a number with the post so I called the number and I told the lady on the phone we were missing a schnauzer. She asked if it was a boy or girl. I said a girl and she answers to Zoey. I found out that they are located 4 houses down from ours and she had Zoey for about an hour! I called my mom, dad and brother and my dad rushed over to get her.
My mom said she pulled over in her car twice to pray that she would be found.
It's incredible how the spirit works through us! My testimony has grown through this experience! So grateful that Zoey was taken care of and I'm grateful for Heavenly Father's guidance. And I'm especially grateful that I listened to the Holy Ghost!

Gilbert Temple Cultural Celebration

Tonight Cameron and I had the opportunity to watch the cultural celebration. It was amazing to see over 12,000 teenagers perform all different kinds of dances. Many dances were centered around Indians, Mexicans, Samoan, as well as western theme dances. We watched a young women from our ward perform a song with some other girls. Her name is Belle Lyon. She is the choir director for our ward right now. It was so cool to see the kids we know perform for our Prophet Thomas S. Monson. Camerons younger siblings, Chris, Rachel, and Katie got to be a part of this as well. It was great to be reminded that we are the children of Abraham, as well as listen to the story of the courage Shadrak, Neshak and Abendago. So glad I was able to watch it!

Job at Smith Jr High

In July I was let go from City Accommodations Network, where Cameron also worked. August I had put a post on Facebook saying I needed a job, and my friend Heather Villagomez said she knew a lady she worked with who needed an assistant at Smith Jr High. I interviewed with Cyndi Galvan, and started working with her in September, the week after my niece Brynlee was born.
I have been working here for about 9 weeks and I love it! It is a special needs class and the kids in the class are so much fun to work with. You have good days and bad days but you get through em.
Working there had taught me so much patience!

But those kids have taught me how to love a child. Some of those kids are unaware of their condition, and it's incredible to see the love and happiness they have for everyone around them. I've learned to look on the inside of a person and see who they really are. 

I love working with these kids!

One of the girls is partially deaf, so myself and the two other teachers I work with, have started to learn sign language and I am so excited! I've always loved sign language and I've always wanted to learn it. Now I get to use it everyday. I only know a few words but it's a start. I can ask her if she needs help, thank you, you're welcome, water, yes, no, please, more and bathroom haha those are the most important right now.

ZUMBA

So I recently started doing Zumba which is a fitness class that I go to 3 times a week at Elite Fitness where my mom teaches. We have a blast doing a mix of salsa, merengue, regeaton, cumbia, and many other types of dance. We have a little zumba family and we have a party in every class! I loved it so much that I decided to get my instructor license so I can teach while Cameron and I are in South Carolina. Here are some pics of our class!

Brynlee Mae Parent

My sister and her husband have been married for 5 years and have been trying to have a baby for 3 years. To our surprise, Tasha found out she was pregnant and was already 15 weeks along! On August 27th, 2013 she gave birth to our beautiful niece Brynlee. Tasha and Jimmy couldn't be happier with their beautiful daughter! We are so happy for them and excited for this new joy in our family! Tasha is doing well and is taking in every moment of being a mom! Jimmy is such a good dad and loves to show off his beautiful girl.

The United States Navy

We have told our family and friend but I never put it in my blog so here is the update on the Flewellen crew.

Cameron has made the decision to join the United States Navy, and more specifically will be in the Nuclear Program. Cameron scored so high on his tests that he was qualified to go into the nuclear program to become a Nuclear Engineer. We are both very excited for this opportunity! Although it will be hard to live away from family we are excited and ready for this next step in our lives.

Cameron made the decision to join the Navy for many reasons. One because it was a way for him to be able to go to work and school and know that his family is taken care instead of worrying about paying for school and working enough hours to pay bills. Two, he had the incredible opportunity to become a Nuclear Engineer in 2 years, which I know would have taken longer outside of the Navy. Chandler Gilbert just wasn't a good fit. Don't get me wrong, Cameron excelled in his classes but it felt like he was stuck on a plateau. It was so stressful on him, because his number one concern was his family. Making sure that Daisy and I had food, clothes and a house to live in. He worked so hard and to see him stressed wasn't fun for me. Spending countless hours every weekend doing homework instead spending time with me and his friends. He sacrificed so much. That's why I am extactic to see Cameron join the Navy, and do what he wants to do, and love what he does.

Cameron reports for boot camp March 26th and will be gone for 9 weeks, then we will be stationed in Charleston, South Carolina for the next 2 years :)

Here are some pictures of Cameron taking the oath and signing is contract

2 Year Anniversary

For our second year anniversary Cameron completely surprised me and took me to Carlsbad California! I thought we were going to work that day and he took us straight to California! I was so excited! We stayed across the street from the beach and it was beautiful! We stayed on the beach all day soaking in the sun, boogie boarding in the water and riding our bikes up and down the road next to the beach! I couldn't believe how beautiful it was. Cameron is such an amazing husband and these last 2 years have been the best 2 years of my life! I can't wait to see what the rest of eternity brings us!

Brownie Points

Well, this is gonna be one of those gushy posts so get ready!!
Earlier today I was telling Cameron that I was gonna have a spa night and pamper myself. He later told me he would have a surprise for me when I got home, you can see where this is going...
Well, when I got home from zumba, my sweet husband opened the door for me, took off my socks and shoes, led me to the bathroom were there was a hot bath, flowers, candle burning and country love songs playing... he out did himself and I'm so grateful that he does those sweet things for me to help me relax and make me feel amazing!! I love my husband very much and am so grateful for him!! He takes such good care of me. So glad that I get to spend eternity with him :)

*Crash*..*Boom*..*Bang*!!!!

  Well, this week started out as a great week with family enjoying the Easter holiday... To REALLY stressful. Most of you may know already but in case you were wondering, here's what happened..

  Monday, Cameron stayed home from work cause he wasn't feeling well. So during lunch I thought I'd stop by our house to see how he was doing. On my way back to lunch was when this all happened..

  I was driving west on ocotillo getting ready to turn south onto Ellsworth. There was a lot of traffic so I thought I would go around the traffic and get in the turning lane early. There's a circle k on the northeast corner and someone had stopped to let a lady pull out of there, with all the traffic I did not see the car stopped letting the other lady out and she didn't see me on the other side of that car either.

Our bumpers hit but mine got the bad end of the deal. Her front driver side looked like it had been in a typical 'fender bender'. Mine looked like it was hit head on going 50 on a freeway...

  My car had steam coming out of the engine and through my a/c, my radiator fluid was all over the road.. It was a mess!!

  I was still in shock for a while and Cameron was very sweet and calm about the whole thing

  My car was totaled and we spent the next day seeing what we could get for 3/4 of a car and looking for another.

  Lucky for me I actually knew the girl that hit me... She was a day student at my beauty school. She was a year older than me, and I knew she was LDS. Her husband showed up later like Cameron did, and they were very sweet and very understanding about the whole thing.

  It was a blessing in disguise, as weird as that sounds. I truly think it was :)

Time for change

Today Cameron and I had the opportunity to attend Stake Conference. We had some questions in our hearts and I had them answered in a way that I wasn't expecting. I quickly realized that I needed to allow Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ to guide Cameron and I in the direction we need to go in our lives. I received answers that I knew I needed but just didn't quite have that ah-ha moment yet. The spirit was able to speak to me through my faith and willingness, and through the power of the men who spoke today. My hearty is filled, and I plan to do all I can to imply those teachings in my life so I can teach my children and show them that I have a testimony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I now have a better understanding of Heavenly Fathers plan for me and I know that if I do those things, to prepare to be a mother one day and to be a better wife to Cameron, that I will have the guidance and strength I need to endure it. I love the enthusiasm you feel when you receive revelation and you feel like you can take on the world. I want to feel like that all the time!  I had to share my love of my savior and the faith I have in him that he is preparing me to be a mother in zion :)

Our Start..

Ok, so I've never really had the time to sit down and write down how Cameron and I started out, and since this has kinda turned into my diary, I thought it was an appropriate place for it :)

   Thanksgiving weekend of 2010 I was at a bonfire at Max Peterson's house with some friends from my singles ward. As we sat around the fire singing songs, max said that his friend Jordan was coming with a friend. I didn't think anything of it except that hopefully one of them was cute and maybe will ask me on a date. I had been a little hard on myself for months cause I thought my personality was scaring boys away from me. So I was hoping for just one guy to be able to put up with me and love me for who I am. Well, Jordan and Cameron show up to the bonfire. I sat by Jordan first to kinda get to know him, and I saw Cameron and he was playing it cool sitting across from me. He had that laid back, skater, gentleman kinda look that is my weakness. He gets up cause the smoke was blowing in his face so I told him to come sit by me, little did I know, that was his plan all along :) We get to talking and I felt like I could talk to him for hours, but I had a curfew and went home. I was upset I didn't get his number but Heavenly Father was looking out for me and allowed us to see each other the very next day. We were at a church Christmas concert and I invited for a game night at my house later that evening. We exchanged numbers and as he went down the stairs to leave, I looked at him and thought in my mind, I need to smile at him, to let him know I'm interested. As soon as I thought it, he looked at me and we both had a big smile on our faces.

   A week later we went on our first date. We ate at Costa Vida, played laser tag and had yogurt jungle for dessert. December 24th, was the night that we 'officially' were dating. I gave Cameron a box that I had decorated and started to keep notes of things we had done together and when we did them, as well as our favorite things. Cameron would come every friday to my work to have lunch with me. One day as he was leaving, he told me he loved me, for the first time. I said it back, because I meant it, I knew I had loved him for a long time. I excitedly ran into the office and told my mom, she of course freaked out a little bit. The next morning she came in my room and asked me how I felt about Cameron, and she was worried about him going away to school. I told her that he already made plans to stay, and I showed her our box. She was surprised and finally realized that I really did love Cameron. So, Cameron and I decided to get married in October, that way we had time to look for a place to live and I would be done with beauty school.
   Feb 12th, we looked at some homes in the morning. Then we made breakfast for Cameron's family, played at a park with them and had lunch together. Cameron then took me up to the rim and we watched the sunset. As we were getting ready to leave, cause I was really cold up there. He pulls out the box, it was very full with things we had done, and he says that he added one more thing. I open it and notice that he starts to drop to one knee. A picture of two hearts was on top, on the back read 'Feb 12th...the day I asked you to marry me...' I started crying and I looked at him and said OF COURSE! haha

   The wedding date was obviously moved up to May 27th! We closed on our house at the end of April and we made plans for the wedding. Two weeks before the wedding, I went through the Temple for the first time, and I couldn't have been more happy to have my parents, brother, sister, brother-in-law, my fiance and his parents there to share the experience with! :) May 27th, was the best day, thus far, in my life. It was the best decision I have made. There was a time when I had some doubts. One day I had walked up behind Cameron while he was one the computer and gave him a kiss on the cheek, he turned to me with a big smile on his face and I knew he was happy. I had a dream that night I wanted to date other people. I did the same thing to a guy I was dating, but he didn't turn to me with that big smile that Cameron had. I then told that guy that it wouldn't work and that I wanted Cameron back. It was such a simple thing to look at me and smile after a kiss, but it was the fact that he smiled back with sincerity that he loved each and every kiss I gave him no matter how little or simple the kiss was. From then on I never doubted that I was marrying the right man. :)

Love his kisses!

On our honeymoon!

  My life has been so blessed with family and friends. These last 2 years have been so incredible! I love my family! I'm so grateful not only for the support and love my family, but from Cameron's family. They accepted me and welcomed me with such open arms, and still are so helpful and love to help Cameron and I in anyway they can. I gained so much on May 27th. I gained 1 incredibly loving and caring husband, 2 new wonderful parents, 7 incredibly amazing new siblings, and 5 sweet nieces and nephews! I have so much to be grateful for and I love being married to Cameron!! He has helped me grow so much and has helped me find the Chelsea that I want to be. To be a good caring wife to him, and a great mother to our future children. That's our story! Hope you enjoyed it :)

*New Year*

 Cameron's mom took these pictures of us and I just LOVE them! So here are some updated pictures of us :)

Welp! It's 2013 and 2012 was very eventful! Christmas was great! I ended up getting new workout shoes, which I'm very excited about and a sewing machine! I have a lot of projects that I want to work on, but I wanna start simple and work my way up :)
   Even down to the last few hours of the year, my husband and I decided to get a puppy!! Her name is Daisy and she will 8 weeks old this week. She is a black Miniature Schnauzer, and she was the runt of her litter. Her mom was 11 lbs and her dad was 14 lbs so she wont get bigger than probably 11-13 lbs. We love her so much!! It's kinda like having a baby, she is having to get used to a schedule. At first we would only get a couple hours of sleep a night then she would let out a little bark to let us know she had to go to the bathroom. But now she sleeps about 5-6 hours a night. She LOVES to play but she only plays for about an hour or two before is worn out and takes a nap. She loves snuggling with Cameron and I. But when she does play, it doesn't take much to make her happy. Cameron turned a cardboard box into her toy box and she absolutely loves playing in there, even though it's only big enough for her and her toys, but she'll figure that out one day :) She is the sweetest doggy and the perfect addition to our family. Cameron didn't like me being home alone while he's at school, so being the sweetheart that he is, he got Daisy for me. Everyone has been so helpful with her too! My sister let us use some of her training supplies, and her and my mom gave me some toys that Daisy loves very much!
   Cameron is getting ready to start another semester at CGCC, he wishes he could be home with us but he has to go to school. It's hard, but it'll go by quick!

Here are some pictures of Daisy :)

Halloween 2012

This year for Halloween Cameron and I dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf! Cameron loved scaring people with his costume, but was very hot in it haha I loved being Little Red Riding Hood!

   Our friends Kiersten and Daniel throw a Halloween Party every year with Homemade Chili and Homemade Root Beer! There were other yummy treats as well. Kiersten was Cat Woman and Daniel was Batman. It was a lot of fun! We always have a good time with Kiersten and Daniel

What gets me goin!

Ok here it is! Here are my running shoes, for now. I'm able to run longer cause they are way more light weight than my other bulky shoes.

Here is my protein powder, it's vanilla flavor, and the sugar free pudding mix I put in my shake. It tasted GREAT!! Totally makes me want to keep working out so I can have more!

AND I made Turkey Burgers tonight from scratch! With ground turkey, 1 egg, finely chopped oats and some seasonings. It tastes great!

 

Run like the Wind!

Tonight I went for a jog and I was able to run longer than I have ever run before and it felt FANTASTIC! I was so proud of myself! It felt great to have that much endurance and to push myself a little more. I wore a different pair of tennis shoes than I normally do. They're just simple sketchers ones but they aren't as bulky and they are really light weight, which I think helped tremendously! Thursday will be a week and I'm already down a pound! It is REALLY hard to eat healthy snacks throughout the day at work but I try to stick to fruits, but I had the last today so I gotta figure something else out. I also did some crunches and leg exercises with weights about 30 minutes before I ran too. I just felt like I had to do more, like I owed it to myself since I'm trying so hard. My brother gave me an idea to use in my protein shakes cause my vanilla flavor gets old after a while. SUGAR FREE JELLO PUDDING MIX!! BRILLIANT! So I have chocolate in my mix for tomorrow and I will let ya'll know how that goes! Til next time! :)