Homecoming, Brad Paisley, and a Guessing Game

Welcome Home sign I made for Zach

I'm BAAACCCKK.....and my husband is home, too!!! I know I have been slacking, but I haven't been on here in a while because I have been enjoying having my hubby home! For some reason, the month and a half that he was gone felt like FOREVER.I think it's because this was his first deployment and it was a lot to get used to. He has been a part from me before, but that was for training. If you would've told me that him being gone for training would be vastly different from him being away for deployment before he left, I wouldn't have believed you. From an outside view, they don't look any different. Actually, his "A" school was 3 months long and this deployment was a month and a half, so the deployment should be easier, right? No! It is so hard to explain and in many ways I don't even understand why it was so different, but it was.

I have so much more respect for military wives who have deployment as part of their routine. At this unit, I will become one of those wives and I am nervous about it. For instance, My brother-in-law's cousin's husband has been gone for a while, since before Zach was in "A" school I believe, and he is going to be coming home soon. I really don't know how her, and others like her, do it. I really admire how you girls get through it. I imagine you have to grin and bear it sometimes, but you still get through it. After all, they do say that being the spouse is the hardest job in the military, right?

Well, I know I promised that I would fill you in on all the exciting happenings of Zach's birthday weekend. Don't worry.....I haven't forgotten!

Brad Paisley In Concert



It all started with the Brad Paisley concert. This was my first country concert and it was probably the best one of any genre of music I have been to. I did see N'Sync when I was a teenager....this was WAY better! He is such a layed back guy (from what I could tell) and i didn't realize just how many of his songs I LOVE...I just didn't know he sang them. Like I put on my Facebook status, I think Zach is turning my into a country girl!!! Hey, I'm not complaining!

The next day, Friday, I started to give Zach clues for everywhere we were going to go for his birthday. We spent the day in Jacksonville. We went to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch, then to Adventure Landing. We raced go-carts (I won!), played putt-putt (He won...), and laser tag. Now seeing as he is the one with all the military training, I am proud to brag about the fact that....I beat his tail at laser tag!!!! The score was 500-50. Yes, I am gloating! :)

Our Hotel

That night we stayed at a hotel called Aloft in Jacksonville. It's a really nice and modern hotel. I definitely recommend staying there! It had a nice pool and a lounge with a pool table downstairs. I got him chocolate covered strawberries and sparkling grape juice. It was delicious! We stayed up playing pool until 10:00 that night. It was fun...but he won every single game!

 

Trying the Water from the Fountain of Youth

The next day we went to St. Augustine and went to the Fountain of Youth Archeological Park. We got to drink from the fountain.....it didn't taste good. Then we went to the Ripley's Believe it or Not museum. They had some really interesting/creepy stuff in there! We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the city. That night, we went on a walking tour of the city called the History, Mystery, Mayhem, and Murder tour. It wasn't a ghost tour. They told us about the darker side of the cities history. Our tour guide was Dion and he was awesome!

Our Tour Guide

It was such a fun weekend and we definitely want to go back to St. Augustine soon. Since then, we have just been getting into the swing of things and enjoying being together. As of right now, Zach isn't going on anymore deployments for the rest of this year. I am really exited, but I know not to get my hopes up. I really hope it doesn't change! I am starting back on my diet because I have gained some weight since Zach got out of "A" school. I wasn't at my goal weight either, so I will try to get there. I am at 135 right now and my goal is to be at 125 pounds in a month. I will keep you guys updated on my progress. Also, I just want to thank everyone who takes the time to read my blog and invite me into your life for a few minutes. I really hope you enjoy it. Have a great week!