This past week, we have said a lot of "goodbyes." After a wonderful Summer, we left our family and friends and headed back to the midwest. Less than 24 hours later, I drove Colby to the airport and said the hardest "goodbye" of all. For the past 3 1/2 years I have been (apprehensively) waiting for this day to come. Colby's fourth year of school is now in full swing and as part of his last year of formal education, he is required to do a lot of traveling. This means that I am currently living in Iowa with the kiddos while he is over 1,000 miles away enjoying mama Frost's pot roast and laundry service. He has been gone for three days and we are already missing him like crazy. I would like to say that I am coping like a champ but I'm not going to lie; I cried my eyes out at the airport, I spent the last two nights watching chick flicks and going through boxes of dating/wedding pictures and I have spent an inordinate amount of time surfing the Internet. I have had many people tell me that this will be worth it- all I can say is, "I hope so!" The good news is, I have these cute little kiddos to brighten my days and GREAT memories of all the time we spent with family this Summer.
Those are my boys: always super creative!
I love this cute little face.
Ice cream and Goodbyes with Grandma and Grandpa Stewart.
I love these girls! Our last Girl's Night Out of the Summer.
Grandma Stewart and Abbi on the carousel at the zoo.
Temple night with the Frost family.
Oquirrh mountain temple open house.
Kenecott Copper mines with Grandpa Stewart.
Cousin Time!
One of the best parts of the being in Utah for the Summer was being able to spend LOTS of time with cousins.
Carter and Megan.
This picture cracks me up! Could it get any worse?
Abbi got to meet Henry for the first time,
and had lots of fun playing with Barrick.
We had much better luck getting a picture with the Stewart cousins.
Salamanders
When I asked the boys what their favorite part of our visit to Utah was, they both replied, "finding salamaders." Our last week in Utah, the boys spent a lot of time in Grandma's window well, they found a grand total of 5 salamaders and 3 frogs. These little creatures kept them entertained all day, for about 3 days straight.
Showing their little "pets" to Abbi and Colby.
These little critters got a lot of love!
Although we had a great time on our trip, I was very excited to see the beautiful midwestern landscape. We had a hard time saying our farewells, but it's good to be home.
6 comments:
Welcome back! I am sorry you are missing Colby so much right now. Your kids have grown so much, I especially can not believe how much Abby has grown.
Oh Shauni, it was nice to have you guys here. You will be missed. I love the pictures of the boys with their "treasures". I remember getting down in the windowwells when I was little to find salamanders too. I was down there all the time! If only I had known about all of the freaky spiders down there along with the salamanders I assure I wouldn't have even stepped a toe in there. I love the picture where Carter is giving the 'thumbs up'. You know he must have been pretty happy.
Good luck with the next few months. I don't blame you for feeling sad or shedding tears, it's a LONG time to be without a husband. I'm sure it will go by fast and then it will be over. Love you guys!
shauni.... you know i get it. i'm so sorry you are going through this. it is so hard. i wish i was there to watch chick flicks with you... i did the same thing when nate was gone.. looked at old pictures & cired some more. i just love ya & i hope you find things to do to keep busy. call me any time to vent.. i mean it.
xx oo xx oo
p.s. you look so cute in every picture. you & your mom are so cute1 :)
I'm sure it's really tough being alone while your husband is away. Hopefully the time passes quickly. But yeah, I think it will be worth it in the long run. Otherwise no one would do it, right? I love that you stayed up watching chick flicks. It's a girl's best coping mechanism. :) Hang in there! By the way, your kids are darling! My boys' favorite part would've been the salamanders too. :)
I'm glad Carter and Ammon didn't get bit by any black widows as they were down gathering those salamanders -- it's definitely not a remote possibility. We were really glad to get to see you guys for at least a day or two before you left, and to finally get to meet Abby. As for missing Colby, one day when we're over at your house enjoying your pool and your indoor movie theater, and you offer us a rent-free spot in your second home in Barcelona, we'll all look back on this time as well worth it.
Good luck.
I am so happy for you that you got to spend the entire summer lovin' it up with family - I know I'm jealous! You definitely took advantage and did a lot of fun things! I got all teary-eyed reading about you crying at the airport. Tad is gone for the next 2 nights and here I am spending hours on the computer... You are an awesome mom and I know you'll be great over the next year. You know, you can CALL ME anytime. I bet your friends in Iowa are glad to see you again! Miss you and wish I was there to hang out with you!
Post a Comment