Now, alot of you know that Corey is gone right now. He left a little over two weeks for some military training. He comes back at the end of July and, I shouldn't, but I've started a countdown and we're not even half way yet. Oh well. It helps me get really excited!
After a breakdown on the phone with Corey, I made a resolution to do an activity, something fun outside of the house even if it's in our yard, everyday to help me pass the time and have something to get ready for. It also helps Nathan and makes him happy which makes me happy! So, incoming!, lots of pictures because I have to document everything so Corey can see when he comes back!
We are not residents of Nibley, nor are the friends who invited us, but we went to the Nibley parade. Nathan mostly just didn't know what was going on during the parade and just stared at everything as it passed, hence the blank look on the bottom left. After the parade was a mini-carnival type thing. We went to the petting zoo and Nathan wasn't quite sure about that. Leah and Nathan rode the 'train' and I thought that was definitely worth my $2!! They liked it. I think.
I bought a mini-blowup pool and we tried to go swimming. I didn't really think about it, and next time I will do much better, but filling it up with hose water and not having a heater like a real pool made the water SO cold. It was starting to numb my feet. So we would put our feet in for a minute and then take them out for 5, and so on. Nathan did get better and better, or maybe his feet got colder and colder, and he would stay in for longer periods. Next time, I will be more prepared and fill up the pool in the morning, right in the sun, so the sun warm up the water all day until we swim later in the afternoon. Oh, learning experiences.
Nathan has become a huge fan of the slide and parks in general. Thankfully, right in our backyard, is a playground that is just his size. He loves it and we play there almost everyday for at least a few minutes. In just the two weeks since Corey has been gone, he's learned to climb the stairs while standing, climb into the covered slide, get his legs around, and push himself off to go down the slide. Kids can change so fast.
On this particular day, we also went to the Willow Park Zoo in the afternoon. We went with my friend Katie. Her husband is also a cadet and is gone right now as well, doing similar things as Corey. The best part of the zoo was feeding the ducks. And if you've ever been there, you know why that's the only thing I took pictures of. But, the very best part of the day was getting snow cones after. They really were the best I've ever had. Seriously, Natalie, they give the Snowie in Garland a run for their money. Next time any of you are in the mood for a snow cone, visit the stand in the parking lot of the Willow Park Zoo. I'm serious. And call me cuz I'll go with you.
Friday night into Saturday was our ward campout. It was a different experience doing it all without a husband.....fun, but not one I'm dying to do again. The campout was also bittersweet because our bishop was being released on Sunday, so this was his last activity with us.
I actually let Nathan have a marshmallow after roasting it a little. I know, what a mess. But, cute pictures, huh?
He started to get mad at me because I wouldn't give him the other marshmallow on the stick because I was taking pictures. Geez, they figure things out pretty quick!
"Running" through the "sprinklers" at my parent's house. I didn't bring swim stuff, so we just let him in his diaper. It worked because he wasn't being submerged in the water. He was quite timid about it at first, but didn't take long to warm up to having fun!
I was so glad I got this picture of the water going right in his face (top left). The timing was perfect. That really caught him off guard and he ran away right after. It was funny.
I went to my parent's for a couple of days after church on Sunday. I was aleady planning on doing this, but it was even more perfect when Sunday turned out to be a very hard day for me missing Corey. Sundays are hard with kids anyway and Nathan was being particularly difficult and these are the days when it's great to just keep passing the kid back and forth between mom and dad so that you get a break and get re-energized for another fight to keep them on your laps. Thankfully, I have really great friends and when I was at my whit's end, he was taken out into the lobby. But, that was my breaking point. I didn't just spring a leak, I broke right in half. I went out and cried in the lobby, then cried outside, then realized if I stayed there much longer I was going to miss the only reason I stayed to go to my ward, to sustain a new bishop. So I went back inside and felt like I could handle things a little as long as I didn't really think about my aching heart. Corey got called to the bishopric a month-ish before he left and was being released and called again into the new bishopric. Having them call his name and him not being there didn't help my emotions. And then, along with all of the other wives of the old and new bishops and the other counselor, I was called up to bear my testimony. I was already trying not to sob and was managing only some tears and this just made it a little bit harder. Somehow the Lord helped me through and I don't really know what I said, but it doesn't really matter. I was able to talk to Corey a lot on Sunday and Monday and it really helped. I now won't be able to talk to him very much unless he gets a chance to call, in which case they will be 5 minute conversations. So we are looking forward to writing letters again like we did during basic training.Being apart like this is of course very hard. I hate him leaving and I hate him missing out on what we are doing here. But, it brings our priorities back to where they should be. The most important thing between us is our eternal marriage. The little things that bother me on a daily basis just plain don't matter. People probably haven't told you that before and that you should keep an eternal perspective, but sometimes it's really hard. Look at it this way, you'd rather have him around and doing those things, than not have him around at all. As hard as it is, it brings us closer together because we realize how much we mean to each other. I realize how important he is to me and how much I really love him. I'm sorry to get all sappy, it's just on my mind because the last couple of weeks have been a roller coaster of emotions.
I'm so grateful for a husband who is so good to me. And for trials that indeed make us stronger people. Looks like the Lord, once again, has proven that he knows what's best.
