So completely devastating funny story... I wrote this post back at the beginning of August and it was long and beautiful and from some blogger fluke was COMPLETELY ERASED! 😫 I cried bitter tears, shut the computer, and didn't sit down to write again until now... #FullCircle
It just didn't feel right to not write about our summer because it was so full and so busy, so even though the thought of having to rewrite makes me upsettingly anxious, I'm going to do it! For you. Well, really mostly for me, but also for you... 😘
So our summer vacation really didn't start for US until the end of July because of Taylor's class schedule... What was that? You want a detailed explanation of our school plan again? Well fine, since you asked for it... If you recall our original plan (like...pre-Livee original) we planned on just busting through all of our school and settling/having kids once Taylor was finished with his PhD. We were honestly on track to go through with that plan, even after having Olivia, until Taylor's second semester here at CGU (Spring 2016 for those of you doing the math). It became pretty clear that school was no joke, and that Taylor wasn't the only one making sacrifices to earn his degree (sacrifices we were happy to make, but still sacrifices nonetheless). He came up to me one night and told me he had been thinking and feeling impressed that maybe we should consider modifying the plan and then proposed something he'd been considering: getting an additional masters degree here at CGU and then putting PhD plans on hold until further down the line. At first I was hesitant, how much time would this add to our schooling, what would Taylor's new career path be, would he secretly be super bummed to not be getting his PhD when he wanted to? But the more we researched, the more we realized what an awesome plan this was! And more than that, we realized that there were certain things that were important to us that were worth compromising for...and thus the new plan was born! Instead of blowing straight through school at once, we'd stop at his graduate degree (for now) and add a second degree into the mix - instead of just Religious Studies, he'd also be getting a degree in Education with an emphasis in social studies and world languages. One thing that I was nervous about was how much time this would add to his schooling (and in turn, our debt!) but since the schools of education and fine arts were willing to cooperate, there were a good number of credits that transferred between the two degrees, cutting back a huge chunk of time, plus two of the semesters would be during the summer...so in the grand scheme of things only one semester would be added onto our total time here (unless we decided to stay for one more, but that's a whole other story)! Plus, not only would teaching give us opportunities for loan forgiveness plans, but it would also give Taylor a lot of different job opportunities besides just teaching at the university level...plus he loves working with teenagers, so it's a win win! 😉
So that brings us to May... Taylor's education classes started pretty quickly after his spring semester was over and the work load was intense. Nothing he couldn't handle, or that he hadn't experienced already in his past two semesters, but just so so BUSY. But that didn't stop us from having some fun because for Memorial Day weekend, Sydnee, Warner, AND Grant drove up to visit us and spend some time at the beach! It was so much fun to see them, and it was so much fun to show them around Claremont a little bit...it's nice when you've told people so much about where you're living and then finally getting to actually show it to them! We ate a lot of baked goods thanks to Grant, Taylor, and an ENORMOUS block of cream cheese, watched a lot of Glee, and had so much fun being beach bums (Warner was literally beside himself with how much he loved the beach, and he was COVERED in sand by the end of it 😂). The babies were so so good, considering they went the entire day without napping, and it was so much fun getting to see them finally starting to play together and be friends.
Another thing that happened in May was that I tried (emphasis on TRIED) to put together an awesome birthday celebration for Taylor's golden birthday (turning 25 on the 25th). I had the most incredible plan laid out... The whole theme was crossing items off of his bucket list, so first we would drive out to the Great Park in Irvine to ride on the hot air balloon, then we would drive to a women in religious studies museum, followed by lunch and the beach. Then I'd surprise him with a whale watching tour, and on our way home we'd stop and ride a giant Ferris wheel at the fair. These are all things he's never done (except for the museum... I needed a free time filler and I knew he'd love it) that I knew he'd be on board for, and I even planned it all for the weekend before his birthday so he wouldn't suspect a thing! Turns out, keeping the whole thing a secret was the only thing I succeeded at for the whole day! 😅 I woke Taylor up, we got ready, our babysitter arrived, and off went went! We arrived at the address I had programmed into our GPS and showed up at the completely wrong place. The Yelp website had the wrong address! So I quickly re-looked it up and found the right address and sped down to where we needed to be...all with Taylor still guessing where it was we were even going. So we pulled up and it was such a magical moment where Taylor saw the balloon, gasped, and yelled "Are we going on a hot air balloon?!?" I was so excited to have pulled this off and that he was so happy about it but when we got up to the balloon there was an ominously scarce amount of people there... We walked up to pay for our ride and were informed that the balloon was grounded all day due to windy weather conditions... Nooooooo!!!! 😫
I was so disappointed but I wanted to make sure that Taylor still had a good time so we headed down to the museum... Which was also closed and turned out to not even be a museum at all, it was a weird religious venue that you could rent out to host religious events at! So here we were, both beginning activities completely fallen through, and I figure it's cool...more time for beach-ing right? But I quickly realize that the big lunch I had packed for us had gotten left at home! Argh!!! So we redirect and stop at an IHOP... 😅 Once at the beach, everything seemed like it was working out again. It was super chilly and windy, but the crowds weren't bad and we didn't have a baby to worry about...so we napped! 😆 Ha ha ha, if that's not the epitome of parent life I don't know what is! So after about an hour of the most relaxing nap of our lives we decided to take advantage of our kidlessness and swim in the ocean! Despite how cold the water was, it was actually a very enjoyable experience, we laugh about how wimpy we were with the coldness of the water, we'd jump into oncoming waves, and we'd quickly learn the most important lesson in beach going: never turn your back on the ocean... Because the moment we did, a huge wave came out of nowhere and caught us off guard, knocking both of us down into the water. I felt my sunglasses slip off my face but quickly grabbed them and stood back up to look for Taylor. I was laughing and could hear Taylor yelling "It knocked off my glasses!" Me, being an idiot, laughed and yelled "I know, it knocked mine off too!" gesturing to the sunglasses I had saved... But I quickly realized that this was a little more serious because my poor sweet husband (who is legally blind without his glasses) was standing there de-spectacled frantically searching the water for his glasses. My heart sunk... The rest of this day was going to be a complete bust if Taylor couldn't even see it! We got straight to work at a useless search for his glasses in the water, feeling the send with our feet, and searching the water with our hands... At one point I kneeled in the sand (once again with my back to the ocean) to pray for Taylor's glasses to just turn up when another big wave snuck up on me and knocked me face first into the sand... I kind of took that as God's way of saying "f*** off"... 😅
So here we were, faced with a choice. Taylor wanted to drive to the nearest Walmart and pay for a basic eye exam where he would be given a free box of contacts at the end...but what Taylor didn't know was that our whale watching tour left in an hour and the closest Walmart was 20 minutes away! I decided to ruin the surprise and tell him about the tour and we decided to take the chance and drive to Walmart. We packed up our things and started running to our car (which was parked on the other end of the ferry!) when I reached into my bag to put my wedding ring back on. I had taken it off and stuck it deep inside my bag which I then wadded into a tight ball to keep my ring safe, but as I was searching for it now it was completely gone! I stopped running to the car and started frantically searching through the entire bag, turning it inside out for good measure, and indeed...it was gone! 😫 Taylor noticed I had stopped running with him and came back to see what was the matter...and this, ladies and gentlemen, was the first time in the whole day that I had finally lost my cool. After an entire day of disappointment after disappointment, this was the last straw. Taylor asked what was the matter and I shakily told him I couldn't find my ring. He asked where I put it last and I couldn't take it anymore... I broke down and sobbed "Taylor, this is the one thing in the world I can't replace!" There is no physical possession I own that's more precious to me than my wedding ring, and beyond the sentimentality of it that could never be replaced, it was also a one of a kind design that I could never truly replicate. We both went back to the spot we had been at on the beach and started searching in the sand. I honestly thought we would never find it but sure enough, Taylor (the blind one! 😂) found it laying right there where our stuff had been! How it didn't get buried or stolen is beyond me but the moment that Taylor found that ring was the moment the ugly crying commenced... And it was at this point that we had another decision to make...still try to make it to Walmart or go on our whale watching trip blind. Taylor wanted to try and get some contacts so that's what we did. We drove to the nearest Walmart we could and ran into the store literally just as they were closing down their eye center. I was so done. Taylor spent the next little while explaining our situation and trying to convince them to let him just get something to help out but I just walked back to the car and cried. I was just so crushed at how the day had turned out! I had been planning this day for weeks and had worked so hard to put it all together and literally not one single thing had worked out (except finding my ring...but losing it in the first place was pretty traumatic in and of itself). I wanted to just call our babysitter and tell her we were coming home early but Taylor convinced me to just go back to the beach with him and watch the sunset. It was pretty tragic watching our tour boat pulling out of the harbor as we rode the ferry across, but in the end I'm glad we went back. It felt like we weren't admitting defeat by going back to the beach and ending our evening on a good note.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the biggest birthday fail in history!! 😅👏🏼 I'm lucky Taylor is such a good sport and had fun with me anyway... Gosh do I love that man!
I was so disappointed but I wanted to make sure that Taylor still had a good time so we headed down to the museum... Which was also closed and turned out to not even be a museum at all, it was a weird religious venue that you could rent out to host religious events at! So here we were, both beginning activities completely fallen through, and I figure it's cool...more time for beach-ing right? But I quickly realize that the big lunch I had packed for us had gotten left at home! Argh!!! So we redirect and stop at an IHOP... 😅 Once at the beach, everything seemed like it was working out again. It was super chilly and windy, but the crowds weren't bad and we didn't have a baby to worry about...so we napped! 😆 Ha ha ha, if that's not the epitome of parent life I don't know what is! So after about an hour of the most relaxing nap of our lives we decided to take advantage of our kidlessness and swim in the ocean! Despite how cold the water was, it was actually a very enjoyable experience, we laugh about how wimpy we were with the coldness of the water, we'd jump into oncoming waves, and we'd quickly learn the most important lesson in beach going: never turn your back on the ocean... Because the moment we did, a huge wave came out of nowhere and caught us off guard, knocking both of us down into the water. I felt my sunglasses slip off my face but quickly grabbed them and stood back up to look for Taylor. I was laughing and could hear Taylor yelling "It knocked off my glasses!" Me, being an idiot, laughed and yelled "I know, it knocked mine off too!" gesturing to the sunglasses I had saved... But I quickly realized that this was a little more serious because my poor sweet husband (who is legally blind without his glasses) was standing there de-spectacled frantically searching the water for his glasses. My heart sunk... The rest of this day was going to be a complete bust if Taylor couldn't even see it! We got straight to work at a useless search for his glasses in the water, feeling the send with our feet, and searching the water with our hands... At one point I kneeled in the sand (once again with my back to the ocean) to pray for Taylor's glasses to just turn up when another big wave snuck up on me and knocked me face first into the sand... I kind of took that as God's way of saying "f*** off"... 😅
So here we were, faced with a choice. Taylor wanted to drive to the nearest Walmart and pay for a basic eye exam where he would be given a free box of contacts at the end...but what Taylor didn't know was that our whale watching tour left in an hour and the closest Walmart was 20 minutes away! I decided to ruin the surprise and tell him about the tour and we decided to take the chance and drive to Walmart. We packed up our things and started running to our car (which was parked on the other end of the ferry!) when I reached into my bag to put my wedding ring back on. I had taken it off and stuck it deep inside my bag which I then wadded into a tight ball to keep my ring safe, but as I was searching for it now it was completely gone! I stopped running to the car and started frantically searching through the entire bag, turning it inside out for good measure, and indeed...it was gone! 😫 Taylor noticed I had stopped running with him and came back to see what was the matter...and this, ladies and gentlemen, was the first time in the whole day that I had finally lost my cool. After an entire day of disappointment after disappointment, this was the last straw. Taylor asked what was the matter and I shakily told him I couldn't find my ring. He asked where I put it last and I couldn't take it anymore... I broke down and sobbed "Taylor, this is the one thing in the world I can't replace!" There is no physical possession I own that's more precious to me than my wedding ring, and beyond the sentimentality of it that could never be replaced, it was also a one of a kind design that I could never truly replicate. We both went back to the spot we had been at on the beach and started searching in the sand. I honestly thought we would never find it but sure enough, Taylor (the blind one! 😂) found it laying right there where our stuff had been! How it didn't get buried or stolen is beyond me but the moment that Taylor found that ring was the moment the ugly crying commenced... And it was at this point that we had another decision to make...still try to make it to Walmart or go on our whale watching trip blind. Taylor wanted to try and get some contacts so that's what we did. We drove to the nearest Walmart we could and ran into the store literally just as they were closing down their eye center. I was so done. Taylor spent the next little while explaining our situation and trying to convince them to let him just get something to help out but I just walked back to the car and cried. I was just so crushed at how the day had turned out! I had been planning this day for weeks and had worked so hard to put it all together and literally not one single thing had worked out (except finding my ring...but losing it in the first place was pretty traumatic in and of itself). I wanted to just call our babysitter and tell her we were coming home early but Taylor convinced me to just go back to the beach with him and watch the sunset. It was pretty tragic watching our tour boat pulling out of the harbor as we rode the ferry across, but in the end I'm glad we went back. It felt like we weren't admitting defeat by going back to the beach and ending our evening on a good note.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the biggest birthday fail in history!! 😅👏🏼 I'm lucky Taylor is such a good sport and had fun with me anyway... Gosh do I love that man!
With the month of June came my birthday, Taylor's student teaching, and lots of sad goodbyes with friends who had graduated and we're moving on. That's the saddest part of having school friends...every year there someone graduating and leaving you! 😭
But the upside is that with graduation comes new students and so there's also always new friends moving in too! We've been lucky enough that while we lost our dear dear friends Randy and Heidi, we have gained so many more amazing friends that honestly make being crazy busy with school bearable.
But the upside is that with graduation comes new students and so there's also always new friends moving in too! We've been lucky enough that while we lost our dear dear friends Randy and Heidi, we have gained so many more amazing friends that honestly make being crazy busy with school bearable.
At the end of the month Olivia and I flew out to Arizona to meet up with my family who were all driving up to Blanding for Sydnee, Tony, and Warner's sealing! It was seriously so special, and so fun to take a road trip with my family. Taylor drove up a few days later and got there the night before the sealing and then drove right back home to California on the 4th of July after the parade (where we saw Randy and Heidi!!! Next year we need to coordinate better, we completely forgot that they also have family in Blanding, of all places!)... Also, remind me never to let him do that again. 😅 But anyway, I digress... Sydnee's sealing was so special and I felt so privileged to be there. There honestly wasn't a dry eye in the room! It was also nice of Sydnee to plan it up in Monticello so that nobody would have to suffer through the Arizona heat for pictures afterwards...because let's be real...ain't nobody got time for that!
We got to take some wonderful updated family pictures, and then it was nice that we were able to just stay up in Blanding for the 4th of July. We all drove back down to Arizona and then Travis flew back home to California with me and Olivia and spent the weekend with me and Taylor. It was so nice to be able to spend some one on one time with him before he left on his mission. He and Taylor got to do a session together in the Redlands temple, and then we all went to the beach.
SIDETRACK - I had one of the scariest mom moments of my life while we were at the beach...
We got to take some wonderful updated family pictures, and then it was nice that we were able to just stay up in Blanding for the 4th of July. We all drove back down to Arizona and then Travis flew back home to California with me and Olivia and spent the weekend with me and Taylor. It was so nice to be able to spend some one on one time with him before he left on his mission. He and Taylor got to do a session together in the Redlands temple, and then we all went to the beach.
SIDETRACK - I had one of the scariest mom moments of my life while we were at the beach...
Taylor and Travis were out swimming in the deeper water, my Olivia and I were wading in the shallows. The water was barely up to her knees. We were playing the "jump over the waves" game and splashing in the water when it got deeper after the waves passed when a big bunch of seaweed washed up next to us. I didn't want her to get tangled in it, trip, or worse get scared by it and not want to play in the water anymore (she had just warmed up to it) so I let go of her hand (mistake number 1), grabbed it, and turned to throw it behind me (mistake number 2). It was literally only two seconds that my eyes were off her! While I was turned a teeny wave came in (nothing that would even register in my own mind) and when I turned back she was gone! Luckily Taylor was just coming back in as it happened and as my panic started setting in he got my attention and pointed to a spot in the water. I saw her little body being pushed by the water and her poor little scared eyes as she was trying to get her bearings to stand up again. The tiny wave must have been strong enough to knock her off balance and make her fall into the water and once she was under she got pulled around by the current. I ran over, scooped her up, and ran back to the sand where I could assess her and thankfully she was alright. She must have instinctively held her breath because she wasn't coughing or sputtering, just taking deep breaths, shivering, and softly crying. We walked back to our spot on the beach so that I could change her out of her cold wet clothes and cry for a minute. I was so embarrassed and shaken up about the whole thing and in my mind I just kept thinking "What if I had lost her? What if she had hit her head? What if she had aspirated water? What if Taylor hadn't been there to help me find her? What if a shark had been in the shallows and snatched her?". It was honestly the scariest parenting moment for me thus far, but luckily after a few minutes she was 100% back to normal! This picture was taken probably 5 minutes after it happened, and as you can see she's pretty upset about it, lol.
It just goes to show you that shit happens to ALL moms. Kids roll off the bed, they'll bonk their head as you walk through the door frame, you'll nick their finger as you clip their nails, and they'll get knocked down by waves at the beach... it doesn't make you any worse of a mom when things happen, it just makes you a regular mom like all the rest of us!
Phew, sorry about that, *steps off of soapbox*
Where were we...? Oh yeah! Travis spent a little time with us in California and then flew back to Arizona. After that we had a week to ourselves while Taylor finished up his classes and then we vacationed with the Kerbys (mwahahaha, you thought this was almost over didn't you? Believe me, it's only just begining), and at this point we finally began OUR summer vacation. No classes, no assignments, just good ol' fashioned vacation time. Taylor's family drove up to California (including Emily and Andrew who flew down from Idaho) and we all stayed in a beach house RIGHT ON THE BEACH at Dana Point. We debated whether or not we wanted to spring for the actual house on the beach or a hotel by the beach and we concluded that the house would be the most condusive to family time, whereas in a hotel we'd all have seperate rooms and most of our "down time" would be spent apart that way. And boy were we right! Not only was the house GORGEOUS and literally... right on the beach (even writing about it just now makes me "homesick" for it), but it was so incredible to feel like you were actually vacationing at home. When we had nothing to do, Olivia and Austin could go play on the balcony while Taylor and I napped in the patio chairs, or everyone could gather around the table and play a few (or maybe more than a few) rounds of Bananagrams and Exploding Kittens. It was just so cozy and amazing, and having the beach as your "backyard" meant that we got to have lots of little trips to the ocean instead of one big all day beach trip that left you hot and tired. I really can't praise this trip enough, it was incredible. We did a lot of fun things while we were there like Knottsberry farm and the Mormon Batallion Museum, but I think the activity that stole the show was going deep sea fishing! We were out on the ocean for about five hours and we probably caught about 40 fish (21 of which we got to keep)! Now, don't get too impressed with our fishing abilities, because we owed all of our success to the awesome crew who took us out. They knew exactly where to take us to catch the most fish and our deckhand even caught a good number for us (he let Austin reel them in every time he caught one on the line so that Austin would feel like he was catching some, it was actually very sweet). Some of us enjoyed it more than others though, and Olivia struggled a bit the entire trip... she was such a trooper!
We drove back to Arizona and spent the next week and a half-ish there so we could be there when Travis left on his mission (cue ALL the tears!) It was honestly amazing to be able to be home during that time, and it was also so much fun staying with Taylor's grandparents. I think it's just so important to be able to spend time with them, and not only that, but to make sure that Olivia can spend time with them, especially her Grandma Ruth whom she's named for. It was really sweet on the night that Travis was set apart, we all went to get his last "American meal" (Mugsy Dogs... oh my heck, I still have dreams about those hot dogs! Next time you're in Gilbert AZ man, do yourself a favor and grab a dog from Mugsy), and then spent the hours leading up to the stake presidency coming over packing up his suitcase just the two of us. We laughed and joked around, and then it hit us that we only had about five minutes left before he was set apart as a missionary and he had to pick out his "last song"... he chose "Scenes From an Italian Restaraunt" by Billy Joel... I have to say, he chose wisely. And I swear to you, as the last chords were fading out, the stake presidency knocked on the door and it was so effing perfect that we all had to just take a minute and bask in the moment! Travis' setting apart was understandably emotional, and I of course cried like a baby. It was nothing compared to the airport though. Sydnee, Mom, and I all bawled when we were hugging Travis goodbye but he honestly couldn't wipe his huge smile off of his face! I think that was a good sign. :)
Mom and I spent the rest of the day just hanging out and trying to keep busy enough to not dwell on the fact that we missed Travis and were worried about him... you never really think about it but it's terrifying sending your missioanry off without being able to have them let you know they made it to their gate okay, or landed safely. Luckily Sydnee knew how to track his flight and sent us frequent updates. ;) The rest of our Arizona time was spent just catching up with friends and family and spending some un-rushed time back at home with the people we love. For instance, Grant and I had time to have an official "Bob Ross day" where we just sat and painted all day and watched Bob Ross... It was amazing!
We also got some pretty amazing news right before we got there that Taylor's job offer at a local high school had officially gone through and he was officially a contracted high school teacher... which honestly just set an incredibly optomistic mood for the rest of our summer vacation!
And that just about wraps it up for our summer... and as for now we are just enjoying beign back in a routine, the cooler weather, and eagerly anticipating the holidays. Taylor has an exciting conference this weekend in Kirtland (that I'm so jealous of, I wish I was goign with him!) that is going to be amazing, and he is absolutely loving teaching high school... I honestly think he's found his calling. I've never seen him so excited about going to work. Olivia is getting huge and her speech is completely exploding! I feel like every day she has new words that I never taught her.
Really at the end of the day, life has it's challenges that we are not immune to, and Lord knows our life is absolutely crazy right now, but it's honestly so good. I love my Taylor, I love my Olivia, and I love my life!
PHEW! Can you see why it was so devestating when all of this freaking content was erased??? If you made it this far, congratulations. You're a trooper, and I hope your stay was enjoyable. Remember to be nice to people and have a wonderful day/night/morning/afternoon/middle of the night feeding (I see all you moms scrolling through Facebook & blogs to stay awake during your 3 am feeding... I know that life)! Until next time, lovelies - which will hopefully be sooner than later, but no promises!
It just goes to show you that shit happens to ALL moms. Kids roll off the bed, they'll bonk their head as you walk through the door frame, you'll nick their finger as you clip their nails, and they'll get knocked down by waves at the beach... it doesn't make you any worse of a mom when things happen, it just makes you a regular mom like all the rest of us!
Phew, sorry about that, *steps off of soapbox*
Where were we...? Oh yeah! Travis spent a little time with us in California and then flew back to Arizona. After that we had a week to ourselves while Taylor finished up his classes and then we vacationed with the Kerbys (mwahahaha, you thought this was almost over didn't you? Believe me, it's only just begining), and at this point we finally began OUR summer vacation. No classes, no assignments, just good ol' fashioned vacation time. Taylor's family drove up to California (including Emily and Andrew who flew down from Idaho) and we all stayed in a beach house RIGHT ON THE BEACH at Dana Point. We debated whether or not we wanted to spring for the actual house on the beach or a hotel by the beach and we concluded that the house would be the most condusive to family time, whereas in a hotel we'd all have seperate rooms and most of our "down time" would be spent apart that way. And boy were we right! Not only was the house GORGEOUS and literally... right on the beach (even writing about it just now makes me "homesick" for it), but it was so incredible to feel like you were actually vacationing at home. When we had nothing to do, Olivia and Austin could go play on the balcony while Taylor and I napped in the patio chairs, or everyone could gather around the table and play a few (or maybe more than a few) rounds of Bananagrams and Exploding Kittens. It was just so cozy and amazing, and having the beach as your "backyard" meant that we got to have lots of little trips to the ocean instead of one big all day beach trip that left you hot and tired. I really can't praise this trip enough, it was incredible. We did a lot of fun things while we were there like Knottsberry farm and the Mormon Batallion Museum, but I think the activity that stole the show was going deep sea fishing! We were out on the ocean for about five hours and we probably caught about 40 fish (21 of which we got to keep)! Now, don't get too impressed with our fishing abilities, because we owed all of our success to the awesome crew who took us out. They knew exactly where to take us to catch the most fish and our deckhand even caught a good number for us (he let Austin reel them in every time he caught one on the line so that Austin would feel like he was catching some, it was actually very sweet). Some of us enjoyed it more than others though, and Olivia struggled a bit the entire trip... she was such a trooper!
We drove back to Arizona and spent the next week and a half-ish there so we could be there when Travis left on his mission (cue ALL the tears!) It was honestly amazing to be able to be home during that time, and it was also so much fun staying with Taylor's grandparents. I think it's just so important to be able to spend time with them, and not only that, but to make sure that Olivia can spend time with them, especially her Grandma Ruth whom she's named for. It was really sweet on the night that Travis was set apart, we all went to get his last "American meal" (Mugsy Dogs... oh my heck, I still have dreams about those hot dogs! Next time you're in Gilbert AZ man, do yourself a favor and grab a dog from Mugsy), and then spent the hours leading up to the stake presidency coming over packing up his suitcase just the two of us. We laughed and joked around, and then it hit us that we only had about five minutes left before he was set apart as a missionary and he had to pick out his "last song"... he chose "Scenes From an Italian Restaraunt" by Billy Joel... I have to say, he chose wisely. And I swear to you, as the last chords were fading out, the stake presidency knocked on the door and it was so effing perfect that we all had to just take a minute and bask in the moment! Travis' setting apart was understandably emotional, and I of course cried like a baby. It was nothing compared to the airport though. Sydnee, Mom, and I all bawled when we were hugging Travis goodbye but he honestly couldn't wipe his huge smile off of his face! I think that was a good sign. :)
Mom and I spent the rest of the day just hanging out and trying to keep busy enough to not dwell on the fact that we missed Travis and were worried about him... you never really think about it but it's terrifying sending your missioanry off without being able to have them let you know they made it to their gate okay, or landed safely. Luckily Sydnee knew how to track his flight and sent us frequent updates. ;) The rest of our Arizona time was spent just catching up with friends and family and spending some un-rushed time back at home with the people we love. For instance, Grant and I had time to have an official "Bob Ross day" where we just sat and painted all day and watched Bob Ross... It was amazing!
We also got some pretty amazing news right before we got there that Taylor's job offer at a local high school had officially gone through and he was officially a contracted high school teacher... which honestly just set an incredibly optomistic mood for the rest of our summer vacation!
And that just about wraps it up for our summer... and as for now we are just enjoying beign back in a routine, the cooler weather, and eagerly anticipating the holidays. Taylor has an exciting conference this weekend in Kirtland (that I'm so jealous of, I wish I was goign with him!) that is going to be amazing, and he is absolutely loving teaching high school... I honestly think he's found his calling. I've never seen him so excited about going to work. Olivia is getting huge and her speech is completely exploding! I feel like every day she has new words that I never taught her.
Really at the end of the day, life has it's challenges that we are not immune to, and Lord knows our life is absolutely crazy right now, but it's honestly so good. I love my Taylor, I love my Olivia, and I love my life!
PHEW! Can you see why it was so devestating when all of this freaking content was erased??? If you made it this far, congratulations. You're a trooper, and I hope your stay was enjoyable. Remember to be nice to people and have a wonderful day/night/morning/afternoon/middle of the night feeding (I see all you moms scrolling through Facebook & blogs to stay awake during your 3 am feeding... I know that life)! Until next time, lovelies - which will hopefully be sooner than later, but no promises!
No comments:
Post a Comment