Aloha Paradise

Well the time came, Robert and I left Hawaii but with an awesome adventure on the horizon. God has gone before us and blessed our journey 110%.

   We landed in LA, the first thing we did was eat at Chipotle, then we picked-up our car before spending the day with Amanda (Robert's sister) and Sean. We attended CrossFit Riot which was pretty cool to see, not so cool to get killed by their WOD.
   The next morning we set out towards Las Vegas. While on the strip we saw Cirque Du Soleil show, Ka, walked the entire strip, hung out at the pool, went to a comedy club, won 21 dollars and 8 cents and decided Vegas was worth doing once but probably wouldn't ever be high on our vacation list to visit again.
   We set out in the morning, stopped at the Hoover Dam, did the tourist thing then continued to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The South Kaibib trail was tackled while it was still dark so that we could see the sunrise in the Canyon. Truly breathtaking to see the magnitude of what God can do. We have quite a few pictues, non worthy of a National Geographic but definitely filled with memories. The rest of the day we saw the entire South rim, either by shuttle or hiking.
   The next morning we left the Grand Canyon NP and headed northeast for 4 corners. This was fun to say I've been in 4 places at once but it was in the middle of nowhere so it was a "take pictures and keep moving" kind of attraction. Which is exactly what we did, we continued on until we hit a town called Moab, Utah.
   In Moab we had some really good barbeque, went rafting on the Colorado River, and drove through Arches NP. Again it was awesome to see God's handywork but after a long day we were tired of looking at rocks. :)
   The next morning we set off towards Kansas, we made it all the way to Colby, KS which doesn't have much to boast about. They do however have a really good Mexican restaurant and comfortable beds which is really important.
   From Colby we finished the first leg of our transcontinental trip with a week-long stay in the KC area. It was great to be somewhere a little more permanent, even if it was only for a week. It was a week full of family time and we finally got to see our Roxy girl again! YAY! We missed her so much and couldn't bear to leave her behind so when we took the final leg of our journey Roxy was in tow.
   So here we are, new location, new job, new life, new routine. God makes all things new.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
 ~2 Corinthians 5:17

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.  ~Ezekiel 36:26

He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." ~Revelation 21:5

long time no see

So it's been a little while since my last post. Here's the rundown of whan happened.

Robert came home

Easter

We went to New Zealand for leave

We've also been trying to do things on the island

4th of July

Military Working Dog demonstration

Fireworks in the rain



Let's see, what else?! Oh yeah, we're PCSing (Permanent Change of Station) to Fort Benning. We'll be leaving the island soon and we plan to fly to LA then drive from LA to KS making stops along the way, hang out with fam for a few days, then finish with the trip from KS to GA.

Almost done

So Robert will be coming home in less than 2 months. Yes, I am extremely excited for so many reasons...

• I get my cuddle buddy back
• I'll get and get to give tons of hugs
• I'll get at least one 'real' meal a day :)
• I won't have to drive all the time
• I'll have someone to come home to and tell about my day
• We get a second honeymoon
• I'll have a reason to get a little dressed up every once in a while
• We'll try to complete our bucket list for HI
• I'll finally be able to breathe

There are so many reasons to be glad this thing is almost over but as other military wives can confirm, the end of a deployment is just as bad if not worse than the rest of the deployment. The range of emotions experienced is astounding, I find myself extremely irritable one second and rediculously happy the next. I am anxious and just ready to close this chapter of our lives. I always feel like I'm forgetting appointments or other important things, like shoes. I daydream about the homecoming... it usually resembles a scene found in Nicholas Sparks novels :) Let's not even get into what I'm going to wear to the ceremony. Feeling overwhelmed sets in quick and I start thinking about everything else...

• Will he mind that I rearranged the furniture?
• Does this mean I have to keep the house a lot cleaner?
• What? Cereal's not okay for dinner?
• I was really enjoying only doing laundry twice a month
• He better notice all those hours I put in at the gym

Oh the rollercoaster that is the end of a deployment.

society says be skinny

   This is a topic that is near and dear to me. I've never felt an overwhelming pressure but there are many girls out there who have. The world tells girls that we're supposed to be skinny, so what do we do, we kill ourselves to be skinny. Why doesn't the world instead impress upon us the need to be healthy. Not only does it look way better (in my opinion) it would solve so many other problems.
   I know some people take the need to be skinny to an extreme, then there are those who don't seem to care at all. I'm saying be healthy no matter what size that comes to. The number on the scale doesn't mean anything.
   Like I said I've never felt much pressure, but then again I've always played soccer which has kept me in pretty good shape and now I CrossFit which has me feeling and looking better (in my opinion) than I ever have. Personally, I'd rather wear a size 8 and be able to claim what I can do rather than claim my size 0 figure.
  What I'm trying to say is... stop defining 'fit' by how tiny you are!

Rest and Relaxation produces sleepless nights and stress

So Robert and I are getting closer and closer to his R&R dates. For those of you who may not know, R&R is a 15 day break in a deployment where the soldier gets to come home, most people try to put R&R right at the 6 month mark so it evenly breaks up the deployment. Robert and I decided to aim for a later date, at a little over 8 months.

Anyway, we're both extrememly excited to see each other for the first time in 8 months, obviously. However, while I am excited about seeing my husband, I am suffering the stress of making sure these 15 days really count. Just imagine seeing your spouse for 15 days out of the year. Would you want to share them with anyone? No, but you can't be selfish so you have to. What are you going to do for 15 days? It's up to you to figure it out because chances are your soldier just wants to not go on patrols, sleep in a bed, and take a break from giving/taking orders.

I know he'll be happy with whatever we do and I know it'll be perfect because we'll be together, but I can't help but make sure things get done while he's home. You think my face looks like I have chicken pox? No those are just tons of pimples from the stress. You have gift suggestions for Christmas? Well too late, I had to have that all together by last week so I could ship everything home in time for Christmas. You would like to know our schedule while we're home? Yeah, so would I, I'm actively trying not to plan so my husband doesn't feel rushed around. You want to pick him up from the airport? To Bad. Sorry, there's like Army law or something that says all spouses get their soldier for the first 36 hours... at least.