R&R

Another blog that I started and never posted! Haha!!!!

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Oh...but Wait! That's not the best part of the summer even! End of August rolled around and it was time for something BIG! It was time for R&R! John told us he was coming home sometime at the end of August, but we didn't really know when. I had a round' about date...but with the Army, things can change at the last minute. So I didn't want to get too excited just to be let down. When he called me on a Friday, I was like "OK...see you in a few days". Hmm...maybe see you Tuesday since I'd heard it could take almost 5 days for travel. That Sunday morning we got a call from him saying he was arriving in 2 hours! For Realz?? Holy Cow...we need to get our butts in gear and get ready to go to the airport! It was actually nice to get a phone call a couple hours in advance. You see, the year before, he did not have a layover and I ended up being late to the airport. But this time, I had plenty of time to get there, go to the check in and get our little blank gate passes so that we could meet him immediately after he walked off the plane.

We made it through security and waited at the gate. There was another lady there with a small child. I could tell they were waiting for a soldier too because she was pumping the little girl up. Telling her where her daddy was going to come out from and that she could run up and hug him. They had a video recorder and camera ready to go. The doors opened and people started coming out. I wondered why they didn't let the military people off first. That would be nice dontcha think? I don't think anyone on that plane would oppose to allowing a soldier coming from overseas the privilege of leaving the plane first in order to hug his family he hasn't seen in who knows how many months. But we waited patiently by a Jack Daniels Barrel. Hahaha! I saw a few soldiers come out. Some that didn't have family to great them (which I felt bad for, but then remembered my situation last year). A tall soldier came out...the woman and her friend/whatever squealed in excitement. The small girl ran to him and hugged him. He picked her up and swung her over his shoulder. It brought tears to my eyes. Then I remembered that I was waiting for my soldier too. My focus drew back to the doorway and finally I saw that tall, dark and handsome man of mine. He came over and hugged me. Aidan was not enjoying me being the center of attention so he jumped on his back. What a goob. We walked hand in hand through the airport and back to the Durango (which he thoroughly looked over before we headed out). You know...since I made that purchase on my own.

I thought we'd keep Monday as a resting day, but he wanted to head out to our vacation destination immediately. So Monday afternoon we were headed to Disney World!






Oh what fun we had! We celebrated my 32'nd Birthday with friends who live there. They cooked us dinner and even made homemade cupcakes. It was nice to see them after so many years (4 I think).

We even made a little pit stop at Universal Studios.



The new Harry Potter attraction was amazing! Aidan really loved the butter beer!

After Florida, we just kind of vegged for another week until it was time for him to go back. Seriously...15 days is not enough time. It goes by way too fast. I think they should get 30. Especially since they deploy so often. But I guess I'll have to make do with my 15 days and be happy that I had it. But then again...saying goodbye twice is pure torture! I am one of those people that starts getting upset about a week before. So I really only get a week of happiness before I turn myself into a wreck. It's not something that I can control...it just is. I constantly tell myself...enjoy it while it lasts. But all I can think about is that he is leaving me, yet again for who knows how long because we don't get dates to look forward to.

And that was r&r in a glance :). More disney photos can be viewed over on my facebook page. The countdown is on for our next homecoming!!!

Summer Fun!

I started this blog post back in Sept...but never got around to adding the photos. So now that I'm back...here it is!

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It's been a while since my last update. So to those of you that do like to check in with us every now and then, I apologize. Let's see...where did I leave off? I think it was somewhere around when Aidan was at his big summer campout. I did promise a photo from his trip so here are a couple.

This is a portion of his troop.



And here we have the little thing I like to call my spawn. The guy who can cheer me up in an instant or break me down in one too.


Anyways, he had a great time. But I have to tell you about his very first night there. I had already arrived in Gatlinburg for my girls trip with Reisa and was snuggled into my bed. It wasn't too long before I drifted off and then I hear the phone ring. I looked at the clock and it was 1 in the am. I thought, "who in the world would be calling me at this hour". Several things jumped into mind. Aidan with a severe burn from falling into the campfire? Or hmm...something broken. I answer and say "Aidan"? No answer. "Aidan...are you there"? Finally I hear this tiny little voice on the other end. "This place sucks" (insert sad little boy voice). I asked him where everyone was and he said they were all sleeping. He said it was too hot to sleep and he didn't want to sleep outside of his bag because a spider might get him. Haha! That was enough to worry me for the rest of my week. I tried calling him several times to see if that spider ever got him, but he never answered his phone after that. Come to find out, he had a great time and didn't want to come home!

That was June! What's next? July... nothing wild and crazy for July really. Other than the normal Independence Day festivities. We met up with Reisa and another friend Amy and her son and went out to post to enjoy the fair and the annual fireworks show they put on. And boy do they put on one hell of a show. A small fortune is spent on those fireworks. We parked a spot on the lawn and let the boys run free around the fair. I figured Aidan is old enough that it is time I give him a little responsibility. And it was just too hot to stand around watching him ride that darn sky scraper looking thing over and over. I just told him to be back to our spot when he saw the fireworks starting. Needless to say...the boy was grounded for a week. Oh...and did I mention we all had to have our very own funnel cake!



In August, April and I tackled one more Wedding together. It went well and we got some great photos. But we decided that Weddings were not right for us anymore. They are soo very stressful, and take alot of patience. Maybe it's just me being hard on myself, but there is always that one moment that gets missed and it just makes me feel horrible. I have had the greatest brides though and have been soo lucky thus far. But I don't think I am ready for it quite yet. I still want to improve my skills before I can commit to another one.

Aidan's 11th Birthday was in August also. I didn't want to have a whole bunch of cleanup, so we had a bowling party the weekend before his actual birthday. It was awesome and he had a great turnout! The bowling alley provided food and drinks, and a whole room for his party. I think he had a wonderful time!




In the middle of August, I completed my first semester at Academy of Art University! It was only two classes, but they were compressed into 6 weeks. The regular sessions are almost 4 months. I got both A's! Yay Me!!! The next semester just started last week, and I have a full course load to include a couple of history classes (eek...if there is ever a class that I am horrible at, it's history!). Wish me luck! The writing itself is going to kill me!


Anyway...I think that is enough catching up for now :). But stay tuned for more!!!