But let's go over the fun things we did before the final "see you later", shall we?
We left Fort Benning bright and early Friday morning and headed to Fort Stewart to spend 48 hours with this handsome man right here. I mean seriously, how did I get so lucky?
We made a pit stop at the PX for lunch and then checked into our hotel. Of course, my little fish needed to hit the pool immediately. And this little lady loved soaking up some Daddy time :)
After some fun in the sun, we headed into Savannah for dinner at The Pirate's House. The kids were being absolutely wild but the food was great and downtown Savannah is just to die for. And speaking of dying, apparently The Pirate's House is haunted but we didn't discover that until the next day. Haunted Pub Crawl? Sign me up next time I'm there and kid free...
We headed back to the hotel after dinner and put the kids to bed so we could spend some time together. And lucky for my husband, The Notebook happened to be on. So wouldn't you know that's what we watched :)
We woke up the next morning and got ready to head back into Savannah for some exploring and lunch. And I captured this adorable little moment here. I love this but it also makes me so sad to think that he will miss out on so much the next 9 months. And that when he gets home, she will be SO big and hard to hold like this. I just really feel so bad for him :(
First, we headed to River Street and walked in and out of the stores. Of course, River Street Sweets was a must and we were literally kids in a candy shop. Pralines, Fudge, and Salt Water Taffy OH MY!
The kids fell asleep on the way home so we picked up lunch to take back to the hotel. And then, more pool time. And if you've ever seen Home Alone 2, please tell me you know why this picture is so funny...
After pool time day 2, we headed to the mall and made a Build-A-Bear so Z could record a message for the kiddos. Not going to lie, I may have shed a tear or two when I heard the recording.
A trip to the mall wouldn't be complete without a ride on the carousel, train, or little mechanical rides so this time, the train won. And little lady was just as happy as could be with her Daddy.
We headed back to Savannah and decided on Wet Willies in City Market for dinner. I chose one of their famous Daiquiris as we enjoyed live music and Nolan dancing for entertainment. We shopped around a little and then headed back to the hotel. The kids zonked out and we watched Taken 2 before passing out.
Z packed the next morning and these little cuties tried to sneak into his suitcase. I know they're too young to know what's going on but the look on Nolan's face just gets me. Makes me think he knows what was happening when really, he was just saying "cheese" and sick of smiling for my pictures.
The rest of the day was really hard. My original plan was to stay until 6 or 7 pm when he needed to be back but as the day progressed, it just become harder. I wear my emotions by ugly Kim Kardashian crying and Z just gets really quiet and doesn't say much. We had breakfast, went to the Splash Park, got lunch, and then once the kids fell asleep around 3:30, we decided it was just better for me to leave then.
I wanted to capture one of our last kisses because looking at it makes me sad and happy at the same time. Sad to know I won't get to kiss this man for 9 months but happy to know our love is strong enough to make it through anything. We've done it before and we will do it again. My heart hurts but I know that there's literally nothing we can do about it.
Watching him say goodbye to the kids was even harder. It was almost better that they were both asleep because he didn't have to see their reactions or smiling, naive faces. A clean break, so to speak.
I wanted to stay there forever; either that or throw him in the car and take him with me. I kissed him as many times as I could and made him promise he would come back to me. He told me he loved me over and over and promised me it would be okay. When I finally drove away, I tried to avoid the rear view mirror because I didn't want to see him watching us pull away. But luckily he was walking back inside and I knew that was it. I contemplated turning around for one more kiss but knew that it was just going to make it harder...
I cried on and off for the first hour of the drive. But then I hit terrible storms and had to really focus on the road. It was literally down pouring and at one point, I thought I was going to have to pull over and stop driving. But then all of a sudden, the skies were clear and the sun began to shine.
Call me crazy but it felt like a metaphor; I felt like God was telling me that it's going to get rough and it's going to storm, but it will always get sunny again. This too shall pass.
I know we are going to be just fine; I know that he's going to be safe and he's going to come home to me. And that he will be home before we know it. But it doesn't mean I don't miss him and that I'm not going to worry about him every single minute of every single day.
Love is a wonderful thing. You can say it everyday and feel it all the time but when you fall in love over and over again, it's magical. My husband may drive me crazy and I'm sure I drive him crazy as well. But one thing is for sure; when it's the two of us, it's like no one else is in the room. I fall more in love with him everyday and I absolutely cannot imagine my life without my best friend at my side.
These next 9 months are going to be a challenge for both of us but we hope to stay busy, talk as much as we can, and be strong for one another. I'm so thankful for technology and the fact that we will most likely get to "see" each other on a daily basis. And now that we've officially said our "see you laters", we can get the countdown started.
There may not be a rainbow everyday and sometimes, the storm may last a little longer than I'd like. But eventually, it will clear up. And the sun after the storm makes it all totally worth it.