Happy Birthday Ball

Well, I guess the biggest news from over here is that Yogurl and I got to go to our first Marine Corps Ball together! Last year I was on duty and Yogurl was in the wrong state anyway. This year we got to go together and have fun though. You'll notice that I am now Corporal Manburger and no longer Lance Corporal Manburger. It kinda sounds like a demotion since the title got shorter, but I assure you it is a promotion. Conveniently in the picture below, my arm is blocking my belt buckle. You see, when you become an NCO, you are supposed to get the buckle with an Eagle, Globe and Anchor on it. Oops. I knew I forgot something. Lucky for me, a Marine that I work with showed up with an extra NCO buckle not too long after, so I was able to change and not have to walk around with my cover in front of my belt all night long. Yogurl got to have lots of fun, too. She's eager to tell you all about it, so I'll let her write now.

It was fun to pretend to be fancy grown-ups for a night. Lots of pretty dresses and lots of alcohol. Fortunately, we didn't have to get smashed to enjoy ourselves ;) The food was pretty good, it was at a Marriott hotel. I guess Manburger and I are getting pretty old because we were back home by 10:30pm, sheesh! I'm looking forward to next year's event and seeing if it runs the same or if they change things up a little and maybe let us eat some MC birthday cake. I was pretty bummed that they used a huge cake for the ceremony, but we didn't get to eat any. What's a birthday without birthday cake? Oh well, we did have a yummy lime cheesecake instead.
I loved seeing all the different uniforms for the officers and the Staff NCOs. I definitely am a fan of the Staff NCO mess dress. Talking with Marines and their wives, whom I had never met was a bit of a challenge, but I think I feel better prepared for next year after floundering a little this time. Manburger was praised quite a bit by his senior officers and it just made me so happy to think I'm the one that got to marry him. What a stud!!
Here's my final ensemble after much advice from family and friends. It's fun having my own fashion consultants. I felt elegant and so mature, not at all like I felt for prom. And yes, this was about 6 million times better than prom. My date didn't have to go home at curfew ;)
Manburger: Thursday, Yogurl and I went to Knott's Berry Farm. It was free for active duty and a dependent. I guess they are doing it for Veteran's Day. Since we went early on a Thursday, there were almost no lines at all. It wouldn't have been worth full price, but for the price of parking, it was sure worth it. We were reminded that we aren't as young anymore after riding a spinny ride that made us, me especially, quite nauseated. After that ride, it was just easy gentle rides the rest of the day. Yogurl kept saying how she wished Knott's Berry Farm were still a berry farm and how free admission to an eat-all-you-can-pick berry place would be the coolest thing ever. The best thing all day was when I got to eat my first funnel cake. Yeah, I can hardly believe I had never had one before either. Needless to say, there will be plenty more in my future. Yogurl says, "Yummmm!"
Today we went to a little fall festival thing at a local ranch. It was pretty fun. Yogurl got to try different chilis for the chili cook-off, which made her day. I was a little disappointed that there was no Cincinnasty chili there. I'm sure it would have won "most unique." I also decided to try a pepper eating contest and almost died. It burned so bad and I had nothing to eat so I just wandered around gasping for a while as my nose dripped all over. Good times.
Exciting news from my side of the family is that we have a nephew now. We haven't gone out to see him yet, but we are going to go in a few weeks for the baby blessing in Lancaster. How exciting! That's all for now, take care.