Reunited

What a crazy two weeks we've had. B went to China for work, and it was the longest we have ever been apart. I can't even imagine what the families of soldiers go through when they are apart for over a year at a time. It just makes me that much more thankful for their sacrifices.

Technology can be a pain at times, and sometimes I think it can make life more stressful. But in this case, technology became our best friend. We were able to Skype with Daddy every single day, and it made being apart sooo much easier. Just being able to see his face made the distance seem shorter. To think he was literally on the other side of the world was almost too much to take in!

Here are the girls skyping with their daddy one night before bed...he was just getting ready to start his day.

We picked him up from the airport on Tuesday. We ended up going to the wrong baggage claim, so we met him on our way back down the hallway...I was able to pull my phone out really fast to take a picture!

The girls made a sign for him that morning. We were supposed to be holding it up when he walked into baggage claim, but we improvised since we got lost :)
The two weeks went by quickly because we had lots of things planned. The day after he left, the girls and I went to the zoo with my sister Jess and cousin Meghan who was visiting from Iowa (Hi Meghan!)

First stop at the zoo is almost always the gorilla exhibit. Usually they just sit off to the side eating their breakfast.

I think the heat must have been getting to him, because this time he walked right up to the glass and pounded on it. We quickly left and went to the next exhibit :)

The baby giraffe was running with his mommy! So cute!
The white tiger did the same thing as the gorilla. He swatted the glass with his enormous paw. The size of these animals becomes very apparent when they do things like that! His paw was HUGE!
Standing by the aquarium with Aunt Jess and Meghan. It was about 102 degrees at this point, so we were happy to go inside and look at the turtles and fishies!
The girls (and I!) touched this "milk snake". Obviously non-venomous. I was proud of them, but even more proud of myself!

Sweet Allie!
That weekend we drove out to Aunt Jessica and Uncle Joey's house so they could take the girls fishing! Lauryn has been asking to go fishing for months, so she finally got her chance.
Barbie fishing pole!
Unfortunately this was the only fish we caught. And it's a purple, plastic one that came with her fishing pole.
The girls still had fun, and it was a neat experience for them.


We are so glad to have Daddy back at home and for things to get back to normal!

If anyone out there is still reading this blog, I just wanted to go ahead and give you fair warning. School starts in a little over a week and my baby turns five tomorrow.

It could be a rough week for this mama.