President's Day Weekend

On Valentine's Day, George informed me that he would not be able to come home and see us President's Day weekend like he had suggested just a few days before.  We were all bummed and in tears because separation is hard and when you get your hopes up for something, disappoint is a little harder to bear.  So instead, we decided that I would drive the family 13 hours to see him.  My gracious sister (one week away from delivering her fourth child) offered to watch our kids at her house in Utah, but the kids were missing their daddy, so we visited with her and her family instead on our way to and from Las Vegas.  We just happened to come while my mom was in town preparing for another sister's wedding.  It was a mini-family reunion and was so refreshing to visit with them.

We arrived early Friday evening only to be disappointed again.  We would not be able to see George until late that night.  After 49 days of separation, two days driving, and telling tired, hungry children that they wouldn't see their daddy until the next day, we were not a happy bunch.  To add to our misery, when I arrived at the hotel, I was informed that I would not be able to check in because the reservation was under George's name.  Imagine the scene: three children in a hotel lobby, all of whom were tired, hungry and out of the car for the first time since the last potty break and an emotional mother just trying to hold it all together and keep her children from climbing on lobby chairs and running out the automatic doors.  The guest services manager was just performing his job for "security reasons", but did I really look like a threat?  Was I going to load my children into a $100+ room/night and go on a shooting rampage? After he refused my plea to make an exception, I was silent and began to cry (normally I'm not a crybaby, but under the compounding circumstances there was no stopping the flow).  After a few awkward moments of me looking around trying to figure out what to do, he finally made an "exception".   Next challenge of the night:  bringing our luggage, blankets, pillows, cooler and other junk up to the second floor and down two very long hallways by myself with three kids.  I was really beginning to regret my decision to come see George.

A happy reunion.

I saw George just after midnight MST and he was gone the next morning by 6, so the kids finally saw their daddy around 1:30 on Saturday.  We just hung out in the hotel room all day waiting and anticipating the happy reunion.  It was worth it and all my doubts were cleared up once we were all together again.  Though it had been extremely difficult the day before, we were happy, whole and all of our recent trials were forgotten.  We went to lunch on cloud nine and then came back to the room and took naps together. The naps were heavenly! Later that evening, George and I were even able to go on a date by ourselves thanks to the Nelson's, a family that we knew at a previous base.  The kids had fun swimming, playing and watching TV while we toured Pottery Barn, ate at an authentic pizzeria named Settebello's, and walked around outdoors until it was too cold and we decided to sit in a warm café and sip on hot chocolate. 

The next day we went to church and then afterwards we drove to see the Las Vegas temple.  Las Vegas is huge and it takes about 20-30 minutes to get anywhere, so while we were driving I had to keep George in check because he was getting drowsy (in his defense, others who have attended weapons school have fallen asleep in drive thru's because of sleep deprivation).  We made it alive and in one piece to the temple, but just barely.  Walking around the temple grounds was just what we needed to wake up and also to take in some of the beauty all around. We then jetted over to the base to check out George's living quarters. Of course, once we finished touring the room, we went back to our hotel room to take naps again.

The rest of our time with George flew by. We were gone the next morning. Was it worth it? Absolutely! But I hope next time we're together, George is the one making sacrifices to be with us! Love you hon! :)