Disney!

A few months late in updating, but time to finally share more about our Disney vacation!

Our entire trip was amazing!  I don't know that we could have planned or done anything better, because it was all absolutely perfect.  Gorgeous (hot) weather, not as many lines or waiting as we had anticipated, and only a few minor meltdowns (and only because of heat and exhaustion, which was understandable).  We had a basic itinerary for each day, FastPasses set up, and we just winged it the rest of the time.  It was the perfect system for our family.

Our first day was the Magic Kingdom.  I really wanted the girls' first Disney experience to be walking through the gates and seeing Cinderella's castle.  There is just something so magical about that.

We did lots of rides that day.  The girls favorite was the Barnstormer, a smaller Goofy themed roller coaster.  I'm fairly certain we rode it at least 6 times.

And we did the classic rides- Dumbo, tea cups, It's A Small World.

 After a full day of all that Disney magic, you can get a little silly!

 Day two we spent at Animal Kingdom.  We started off on an safari which was pretty neat.  The girls got to see lots of animals.  There were a few shows and rides.  Emily was the only one who wanted to meet Pluto and Goofy.

Day three we went back to Magic Kingdom.  The day was planned around meeting the girls' favorite princesses.

Haley finally found Cinderella's horse on the carousel.  Pretty sure that made her entire trip.

We went back to our hotel and rested for a while before going back to Magic Kingdom that evening.  We stayed up past bedtimes so that we could watch the Electric Parade.

Day four was a resting day.  We knew that we would be pretty exhausted from the first three days, that we planned to have a down day of swimming at the hotel and just taking it easy.  That evening we met up with some of our fabulous Key West friends for a luau. 

 Day five was Epcot.  Having our friends there was great, and they showed us the ropes of what we should see and do. 

Haley even got to meet her most favorite princess of all.

Our last day was Hollywood Studios.  We got to spend another fantastic day with our friends.  There were incredible shows and a few rides. 

Eventually it was time to say goodbye to Disney.  So we ended our journey right where we started, at Mickey.

Getting Ready for Disney

When we found out that Zach had deployment orders, we talked about taking a super fun family vacation when he got home.  We ended up deciding on Disney World.  Months of planning led to an absolutely perfect family vacation.

We didn't tell the girls about the trip until a few days before.  I'm not sure we could have handled all the "When are we going to Disney??" asking.  I really wanted to wait until we were about to walk through the gate at Magic Kingdom to tell them, but then that didn't give them the time to enjoy all the anticipation of going.  So I came up with a scavenger hunt to let them know.  

It took a minute to catch on to how it worked, but once they figured it out they had so much fun. They would get so excited once they figured out where the next clue would be and run to go find it. 

Once the girls found their box and the end, they opened it up and found this (along with a few other goodies).

Emily promptly yelled out "We're going to Disney!!", while Haley was too busy opening up her goodies.  Once the gifts had been opened and it sunk in where we were going, the girls were so giddy and couldn't wait.

A few days later it was time to head to the airport.  Zach and the girls waited by the window just watching to see if our plane was there yet. 

Eventually it was time.  The girls were so well behaved on the plane and we only got one "are we there yet?".  

When we arrived at our hotel, the girls were thrilled to see this giant Mickey in the lobby.  We had officially started our Disney vacation!

 

Home

It finally happened!  Zach is home!  

Even after almost two weeks, it still feels surreal and like he never left at the same time.  It's crazy.  His homecoming day is one we will never forget.

The day started pretty normal.  Both girls went to school, just like they always do on Tuesdays.  I ran all my errands and got the house ready.  After both girls got picked up, we started getting more excited.  We had an early dinner.  The girls got the hair all curled (since this was such a special occasion).  Then it was time.

As we headed to the airport we talked about all sorts of things- what was the first thing we were going to say to Daddy when we saw him, how much we missed him, and how excited we were to see him again.  It was a fun car ride.  Lots of smiles and giggles.

Once we got to the airport, we were able to get gate passes so that he would see us as soon as he got off the plane.

Then we waited.  It felt like forever.

We saw the plane land and then it was time!  I felt like I had my emotions in check up until the moment that they opened the door to let all the passengers off the plane.  Even now I get emotional just thinking about it.

We knew that there were a few guys coming home on the same plane, so we just had to pick him out of the crowd.  It is a good thing he is tall, because we spotted him before he walked through the gate door.  I told the girls that I saw him and to get ready.  As soon as Haley saw him, she yelled "Daddy!!" and ran into his arms.  I had to give Emily a little nudge, but she ran over to him and gave him a big squishy hug.  Then it was my turn.  I just wanted to hug him so hard and never let him go.  It was, and still is, such an overjoyed/emotional experience.  Tears come to my eyes every time I think about it.

We are so happy to have him home.  Our family is complete again.

Almost There!

It is finally April!  April probably means lots of different things to everyone.  Birthdays, anniversaries, tax day.  But for us, it means we get Zach back!  It's hard to believe that we are almost there.  It feels like the longest, shortest six months ever.  We managed to stay fairly busy to keep the time going by, but at the same time, it's been almost half a year!  Half a year!!  It's just crazy to think about.

It's been hard.  It's been challenging.  It's been rewarding.

It certainly gives you some perspective.  I can't imagine being a single parent.  Doing it all.  All day, every day, by yourself.  Thankfully, my time was on a temporary basis.

I tried to make the most of all my one on one time with the girls and plan lots of fun/special things.  I might have even spoiled them a little to try to make up for the fact that Daddy has been gone.

There might have been few more trips to get ice cream.

Maybe a second ride on the carousel.

Possibly a few extra lunch dates.

There might have even been a few more movie nights than usual.  Lots of wonderful memories have been made.

And boy, have I learned a lot.

I can't do it all, and that's ok.
I can still do all those things that I used to do when I was single, like pay bills, change an air filter, and lock myself out of the house.
I can even learn new things.  Like learning to use a skill saw or jump start a car.
It's ok to ask for help, because people want to help.
It's ok to let people do something nice for you without expecting anything in return.
I'm not invincible.  I can get sick too, even when my babies get sick.
It is possible to do 12 loads of laundry within 24 hours.
I am stronger than I thought.

I have to say, I am pretty proud of myself and even more proud of the girls.  Going in to it, I wasn't sure what to expect.  Were there going to be extra meltdowns?  Lots of "I miss Daddy!" moments?  But looking back, I think we've done pretty well for ourselves.  Sure there were the normal break down moments and we definitely missed Daddy, but it was nothing a hug and a kiss couldn't cure. 

As for now, we are counting the weeks and days until Zach comes home.  I get emotional just thinking about it.  But we are ready!  So very ready.

One More Month

Here we are, five months down and a little more than one to go. 

On a good day, the time seems to be flying by.  On a tough day, it feels like forever until Zach comes home.  Thankfully, there are many more good days than bad.

I did seem to hit a wall about a month ago.  We had a pretty rough week and a half/two weeks.  Nothing seemed to be going right.  The girls were always arguing, wouldn't play well together, there were sleep issues, bad attitudes, bad mommy moments, you name it.  I was really struggling.  Things started to turn around thanks to a few acts of kindness from friends.  I'm not sure that they know how much a simple lunch invitation or offer to hang out meant to me.  But it really helped us get back on the right path.

We've managed to keep pretty busy since the holidays.

Emily and I try to have a lunch date with Haley at school once a month.  She loves it because it means that she gets to eat in the cafeteria with the big kids.  And that she gets a slush from Sonic :)

 

  
We also went to the rodeo.  The girls had so much fun seeing all the animals and going to the carnival.  We even got to see some barrel racing.  Haley just thought that was pretty awesome. 

Valentine's was fairly low key.  We had heart shaped donuts for breakfast, a real treat.  It was a half day for Haley, so we ended up having a lunch date at a restaurant.  They got to wear their fancy dresses and got quite a few compliments.

 

There have even been a few pajama days.  Haley requests these often.  They usually consist of crafts, movies, picnics, and whatever else we can come up with.

I've also managed to sneak away a few times to enjoy some grown up time.  It's been wonderful to step away from mommy duties for a few days and come back refreshed.  I am so thankful to family for offering to watch my babies for me.

 

Zach is still doing well.  He moved locations about a month ago and will head back to where he was before too long.  His job isn't too demanding, so he has been able to continue to take classes while deployed.  We talk almost every day and the girls get to Skype once or twice a week.  Hopefully we'll have a concrete coming home date in the next two or three weeks.  But, it's the military and anything is subject to change at any moment.

There is one thing we do know for sure- we are all ready to be back together again.  We are beginning to see the light at the end of this tunnel.

Halfway There!

Today we are three months down!  Halfway done and on the downhill side of this deployment.

All in all it hasn't been awful.  We have our routine and the girls are pretty agreeable about 90% of the time.  I'm not going to say that everyday has been perfect, because it certainly hasn't.  I have had my share of bad mommy moments.  The stress of doing it all has been a little much some days.  But we just try to get through it and know that tomorrow is another day.  The girls will tell me every few days that they miss daddy and I let them know that I do too.  I tell them that Daddy misses them too and he will be home before they know it. 

I usually talk to Zach every day, whether it be just a quick text message or a long e-mail.  Some days I will get a phone call.  I send him photos and videos from home so he can see what is going on here.  We try to Skype as a family once a week. The girls get excited about seeing Daddy on the computer for a few minutes and then they are off doing something else.  The connection isn't always the best, but it is so nice being able to see his face and hear his voice.

About once a month we'll get a card or note in the mail from Zach.  The girls enjoy getting a letter in the mailbox.  He sent a Christmas package with a few goodies that was actually delivered on Christmas morning, talk about something from the movies.  He even sent flowers right before Thanksgiving.

 

And speaking of Christmas, our elf Holly made a special trip to see Daddy.

Enough about us.  Zach is doing well.  He is keeping busy working and continuing to take his college classes.  He's almost got two out of the way and is about to start two more.  He tells me that he really enjoys getting cards and packages from everyone.  (So thank you if you have sent him something.)  Even though he is keeping busy, I know that he is ready to come home.  He told me the other day that he had to shower with bottled water, which was a pain.  His roommate snores.  The weather has been a little abnormal and it affects the living conditions.  It's just not home.  I know being away during the holidays was hard on him.  He never said anything, but I could see it on his face and hear it in his voice.  We do what we can on our end to let him know what our days are like, but it's not the same.  He's not here. 

But three months down.  Halfway there.

The holidays definitely kept us busy the first three months.  Now it's time to get creative to fill in all these upcoming weekends.

I've been told that arrangements are already starting to be made to send his team home, so we have a rough idea of when that will be.  The girls will continue to put an x on the calendar every day until he comes home.  And boy are we ready!

Catching Up

The holidays somehow came and went and now it's practically the middle of January.  And not one single post!  So here is what we have been up to the past two months.

Thanksgiving (which already feels like forever ago) was at our house.  I didn't feel like traveling, so I was very thankful that family came to us.  I loved every moment being in the kitchen and preparing the feast with my Grandmom.  I truly cherish those memories.  We had a lovely time with everyone here and apparently I was so busy enjoying myself, because I didn't take a single picture!

After Thanksgiving, we moved right into Christmas.  The girls helped decorate the tree.  We didn't put up a whole lot of decorations this year, but simple turned out to be fabulous.  We had lots of fires in the fireplace and cozy nights on the couch.

We also went to Sea World and enjoyed all their Christmas shows and had a picnic dinner in Candy Cane Forest.

 

The girls also got to see their first performance of the Nutcracker.  Emily fell asleep in the first act, but did wake up in time to see the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Emily and Haley also performed in their very first school Christmas productions.  Emily was an angel, of course :)  And Haley stole the show as she sang carols with her class.

 

We made Christmas cookies.  

 

Our elf Holly came back and was up to her usual mischief.

There was also a trip to see Santa.  This was definitely our best year yet, as you can clearly tell by their excitement.  Haley did tell Santa everything that was on her list.

 

Christmas morning was wonderful.  I was so happy that the girls got to have Christmas at home.

My brother was able to come and spend the day with us, which was really the best present.

 

We then left for Oklahoma, where we spent a few days with the Hintens.  The girls always enjoy spending time with their cousins.

Then we were off to Santa Fe to spend a few days with my mom.  It was our first trip out to New Mexico and it was so much fun.   

So there was the short version of what we have been up to lately.  We certainly missed Zach during the holidays, but more on that another day.