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Stephanie Howell

reading, organizing, shopping, momming too close to the sun. Home is wherever the Army sends us.

playing dress up

warning: all of the following pictures are VERY grainy. but a DSLR just doesn’t fit in a clutch. hahaha! there was an “official” (olan mills-esque) photo taken there, and it should be verrrrrry interesting. hahah!

we had an AWESOME time! here are some iphone pics of the night:
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see the photo of the crowd above? the guys were reciting (yelling) the ranger creed. it gives me goosebumps every.single.time. such an amazing thing to see and hear.

i took the photo during that portion of the evening and how great to be in the room with so many heroes. such a privilege.

as i said, we had a wonderful time. we dressed up, went to the ball, and then hit the town.

drinks+ dancing to a cheesy 80’s cover band+ late night five guys=a complete blast.

but man…i can’t do that like i used to be able to. i was hurting yesterday. HAHAH! but completely worth it.

we woke up (i was missing the girls SO much!) and had quick walk down river street and ate a delicious brunch before we headed home.

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that was the first time we’ve ever spent the night away from our children! and i have to say i think it was good for all of us.

it gave us a night to be “us” and they had so much fun with the amazing sitter. 🙂

and really…it’s been WAY too long (six years!!!) since i put on a fancy dress.

hope you have a beautiful week!

xxo

Comments

  3. You look gorgeous, Steph! And you both definitely deserve the time to be alone.

  4. I think the grain gives the photos character! 🙂 What a treat – and you are both soooo deserving of the respite! So glad to hear that you had such a good time!

  6. So glad you enjoyed your night! The dress looked perfect. You two certainly are a stunning couple.

  7. I love your dress, and your husbands dress uniform, looks better than the Canadian one (shhh!)
    You both look so happy, its so nice to have some time to ‘recharge’ and let your hair down! As much as I love the kids, I’m looking forward to a few hours away on the 23rd!

  8. you looked beautiful! love the dress and the neckline is so pretty!
    glad you had such a great time..you two totally deserve it and glad the girlies were having fun too.

  12. I hope you get a night away like that again soon! it is VERY Good for a marriage! we have only ever been away from ours for 2 nights, our 5th anniversary and our 12th Anniversary and I SURE wish we could get away more!
    glad you had a GREAT time!! well deserved!
    tara

  13. Wow. Just read the Ranger’s Creed and felt chills. Not everyone could do this work, for sure. Not everyone could say those words and mean them to the depth of their soul. God Bless your husband and his men.

  15. I can just sense the AWESOME time you had from these photos and your emotion in your writing. What a delightful night you two had! So happy for you that you had a night away…you deserved it, for sure!!!

  17. I bought a dress a year ago and still have not worn it. Sigh. But you do not look like you have twins and four children. Keep up the good work!

  19. Beautiful!! Glad both of you made it out w/o girls.
    Have self time with man!
    Love that snapshot of your man’s name tag!

  20. You and your husband both looked awesome – thanks for sharing!
    But Stephanie, I hope you can help out a fellow Army wife. I also have not been to a ball in YEARS, but my husband is now teaching ROTC and there will be a ball in the spring (that, yes, I’m already thinking about!). It looked to me in your photos that you ladies all had short dresses? Are long dresses not “in” anymore? Should I go for short too? ANY advice you could give would be great! Thanks!

  21. wow! sounds and looks like you had an amazing time!! HOw lucky to spend a night by yourselves, I think we all need that from time to time 🙂

  22. dina- there were LOTS AND LOTS of long dresses. i actually initially ordered a long dress from jcrew, and it looked HORRID on me when it came. 🙂 there was a nice mix of both!!!

  24. You look lovely in those photos. I love the photo of J with the coffee cup. Great angle.
    So glad you had a great time out. You deserve it. I hope you will work to make a night away a reoccurring thing. I absolutely agree that it is a wonderful gift for you and J as well as for the girls. One of the best gifts you can give your beautiful girls is a mom and dad who truly love each other, and in order to do that, you have to put your marriage first. God bless.

  25. You look gorgeous!! I love your dress!! You two deserved a night out alone. Looks like you had a blast!

  28. You looked amazing! I love the picture of the two of you together…so happy and in love! Awesome!

  29. love the photo of his name tag.. i bet that will be scrapped.. you looked Beautiful! our 11th anniversary is tomorrow and we haven’t spent the night away since our 5th… 6yrs for us too… i think it’s about time..

  32. Your dress was awesome! So classy, modest and hot! lol. {Do all those go together??} I read the reveiws on the website and it seems like that is THE dress to get! 🙂 I think you both looked amazing! J is smiling so much {as compared to his normal — is this my wife? look! lol.} Thanks a million for sharing.

  34. you looked beautiful and what a special night for you and your husband.
    this holiday season and always know how proud and thankful we are for all of you. god bless america and your beautiful family. wishing you and yours a merry christmas and a blessed 2012!!!!!

  42. I am so happy for you and your husband that you had a night to yourselves!!! It is So needed, even though I know you can’t help missing your kiddos!!! You look amazing too by they way! 🙂