Four Day Pass and Deployment...

So I'm finally posting an overdue post, but I'm just now getting around to it. The third weekend in June I had the opportunity to see John before he left for Afghanistan. We had the got to spend 5 nights and 4 days together and it was absolutely perfect!!! I left right after my final to go run some errands around the Sapulpa area before I finally left at midnight to drive to Mississippi. It was about an 11 and 1/2 hour drive there, and I probably could have made it in less time if I hadn't had so many potty breaks. I drank tons of water and Gatorade to keep myself awake while I was driving. It also didn't help that about 45 miles into my drive I got pulled over and got a warning for speeding so I lost my nerve to speed at all the rest of the trip down. I know I know speeding is bad, but I was just so stinking excited to get to John.

After the long fairly uneventful drive I made it to Gulfport, where we stayed. By the time I got to the hotel John had called to say that he was going to be released early. So instead of being able to take a quick nap I had to rush and get all dolled and shower in 40 minutes, which I was able to accomplish but did result in some small cuts on my legs from shaving really fast with just water and a razor from the hotel (not a good idea). Once I had my hair and makeup on and heels I basically flew to where John was to pick him up. I was so nervous to see him which was silly, but I had butterflies all over like when we first told each other we liked each other. Well I had 35 new medic bags in my car for all the guys going over to make them more agile and effective. It took me, John's dad, and mom about 15-20 minutes to load them in my car, but when I got to John he was so excited/ready to leave he pulled the Sergeant card and had like 7 other medics helping unload the car so he could get the heck otta dodge. Once the bags were unloaded he pretty much ran out saying bye to the guys over his shoulder. When we were about 30 minutes away he remembered he hadn't packed anything. Fortunately I packed all his clothes etc because all he had with him was military uniforms, but he didn't even pack his toothbrush because he was so excited to leave with me. It was pretty cute because then he remembered he didn't have soap or deodorant. Even though he was completely unprepared it was sweet that he was so excited to see me that he forgot absolutely everything.

So the first night we were both so tired that we just stayed in and watched American Pickers on tv. It was really nice to just be in the same room doing something normal. I had decided before hand not to plan anything that way we could do whatever John wanted to do or nothing if he didn't want to do anything. The only thing we knew for sure was that we were going to go on a fancy date for our 3 year wedding anniversary since we were blessed enough to spend it together. So the first actual day we had together we woke up went to breakfast and then took a nap. John was so funny he loved all the naps for two reasons 1) they were longer than 15 minutes and were uninterrupted 2) he got to snuggle with the "prettiest girl in the world" (according to him). After the nap we read our scriptures together for about and hour which was really nice to do that as a family again. We pretty much just relaxed all day and then went to dinner. The next day we slept in super late which was awesome for John who had been getting up at 4:30 or 5 every morning during training. After we ate breakfast we took another nap then decided to explore the beach. Our hotel was seriously just across from the beach, so after our nap we decided to go for a stroll and check it out. So we put on our swim gear just in case. It was a little cloudy so being the brilliant person I am when John asked if we needed sunscreen I said, "Ehhh we won't be out here that long." Bad bad bad idea to get sunburned on the second day, but we did of course. After meandering the beach for about an I hour we decided to go jet-skiing. I had never been, which is crazy since I live in Oklahoma and we have more coastlines from all the lakes than either the East or West coast. It was a blast!!!! John of course being him threw me off intentionally a few times which he thought was just hilarious. I did manage to throw him off, but I fell off in the process so I say it counted John said it didn't. After a day getting burned to a crisp and jet-skiing we went on a double date with another couple that was staying in the same hotel that we are friends with. We went to see Thor which was pretty good. Before the movie John was noticeably starting to show a sunburn while I was not; which was weird because I'm way more fair-skinned than him. During the movie however I started noticing my legs and arms feeling really hot through my clothes. So after the movie we decided it would be wise to stop and get some aloe vera on the way back to the hotel. I was as red as Rudolph's nose by the time we got back to the hotel. Poor John was also burned, but he helped me put aloe vera on because I couldn't reach every where I was burned. So most of that evening and night was spent applying aloe vera to each other. My sunburn hurt so bad that even when John tried to warm up the aloe vera in his hands it still hurt to rub it on. We were both pretty miserable and shaky because the aloe vera cooled off the burn and made us chilly. Even though we were both hurting we were miserable together it was definitely better than being miserable apart. After applying aloe vera all night we slept fairly late the next day. So late in fact that we ate lunch instead of breakfast. The third day was our anniversary and John called and made reservations for dinner at a restaurant called Thirty-two. He also said we could do whatever I wanted to do that day, and even though we were sunburned we bought SPF 110 sunscreen and decided to go jet-skiing with the earlier mentioned couple. It was even more fun the second time around!! The second time we escaped sunburn thanks to the SPF 115 haha. After jet-skiing we went back to the hotel to get ready for our fancy date. I thought John looked quite handsome even with the sunburn. Our dinner was amazing. When John called to make the reservations the lady asked if it was a special occasion and John told her it was our anniversary. When we got to the restaurant, which was at the top floor ie the thirty-second floor of the IP casino, they had reserved a window seat for us. It was so romantic being able to look out and see the ocean. Our waitress was so nice and first told us happy anniversary. Then she handed us our menus and inside there was a personalized note saying happy anniversary. The chef even had a special small appetizer that was on the house just for us. Everything about the dinner was amazing the food was delicious, the service was friendly, and of course I had the best date most handsome date a girl could ask for. After the date we went back to the hotel and changed out of our fancy clothes and went to see Xmen first class, which John was pretty impressed with. He was into the comics as a kid. The fourth day was his last and we spent it getting things he needed and just spending time together.

I had to take him back by midnight and he wanted to be back a little early to make sure all his guys got back in time. I had to drive back to the hotel all by myself and sleep in a huge king size bed alone, which was lonely. The next day I went back to take some quick pictures of the guys with their new bags for the sponsors that donated money to buy the bags. So fortunately I did get to see John again for an hour or so. John had some things he wanted me to bring home and mail to him because he didn't have space to take it with him. In the process of loading his few things four other guys shyly asked if I could take some for their stuff home to their wives and girlfriends. I thought I was going to come home being able to see out of my rear windshield because I couldn't see driving down because of all the bags. So I became a carrier service which was ok, but involved a list so I could keep track of what belonged to who. After a lot of hugs and kisses and a few tears from me I finally had to leave. It was awful and so much harder to leave him again. I did get text him for a few days after I got back because they didn't leave right at first, but now he's in Afghanistan and the phone calls are intermittent and sporadic.

So far the deployment has been as expected, it stinks it's no fun and it's lonely. I have heard from him a few times and I have gotten an email from him, but while he's has been in transition it has been hard for him to have reliable phone access or Internet. We are both just ready for this to really get going and be over so he can come home. He did have a stop over flight in Ireland and his comment with a slight country accent was, "The people here sound funny." I was dying laughing. It was just one of those you had to be there for it to be funny kind of thing. So now I'm counting down days, weeks, and months until I have him home with me again.

Getting ready to go Jet-skiing

Movies and the first signs of sunburn

Anniversary Date

Our personalized menus

The dessert plate

Dropping him off

My car after five guys brought me their left over stuff