Swimming Lessons!

Last week I took Kenneth to the pool at the gym that I work at and he really liked it... after he gave it a chance! He cried for about 10 minutes because he was scared of it, but then calmed down. And then some nice old lady came and gave us advice about how he could feel better in the water. Shortly there after she told me that because I work there that I can put him in Swimming lessons for 17 bucks instead of the 35 everyone else pays. So I did.

He started his lessons on Monday and it is so cute to see how excited he gets when he sees the pool and his teacher! He has mastered getting in and out of the pool. That's his favorite part... well that and the free time after class on the kiddy waterslide that they have. He walks over to it himself and then he climbs the steps and slides down. He's such a big boy now! He loves the water. If only I could get him to float on his back, that would be great! He'll do everything else, just not that.

I think that more than anything else I put him in the swim lessons for the next two weeks because I needed something to fill my schedule. Paul has been gone tons of times but he's never been so miserable while TDY, and I'm not used to him hating it, so I in turn hate it too. Swim lessons fill an hour and a half of every morning. And he likes it, which is great!

Paul is staying in a hotel in Florida that hasn't had internet since he got there. He's having to share a car with a Msgt... guess who gets it the most... and today he found himself dropping off dry-cleaning and then for no apparent reason just driving to WalMart. He thinks that Iraq was easier that this TDY... even if it is only 1/6 the length of time. At least when he was in Iraq he was over seas, not 6 hours away from the closest family, while not able to go and see them, not stuck around Spring Breaking College students who drive him crazy because their lives consist of nothing more than drinking and acting like idiots with no real responsibility. In Iraq everyone had a common purpose even if their jobs were different. But he's stuck state side in a hotel room when he's not working wishing that he could see family, wishing that he could see Kenneth and I. I really feel badly for him. Maybe this is a sign that our love affair with the military is winding down? Who knows? Only the next 3 years and a phone call to Church Security will tell.

Oh so many things!

Alisha has given me a hard time on occasion about not updating my blog page! Well, simply put it has been too exhausting at home to add one more thing to do! But tonight I felt like sitting down and typing so here goes!

It's hard to believe that Paul has been home from Iraq for 5 months now. In some ways it feels like he just got home, in others it feels like it has been an eternity since he has left for an extended amount of time. He's been gone for a week out of 4 1/2 now, and suddenly I'm realizing that deployment 2 which is beginning to stare us in the face is going to be much more difficult to get through. We should find out any day when he leaves and where he is going, we are expecting August, but hopefully it will be later in the year. WHen he left the first time we had an infant, not really sitting up yet, most definitely not the kid that I have now who has suddenly surpassed the toddler stage and gone strait to little boy! He runs all over the place now, he jabbers all the time, and has the funniest personality! He dumps out the garbage cans, and tries to clean my toilets... accept with the toilet brush and the holder if I don't keep those darn doors closed! He is using a fork and spoon pretty well now, and refuses to sit in a high-chair that has a tray on it. He wants to be up at the table with his own plate like Mommy and Daddy! No other way will work. On weeks when Daddy is away I really wish at times that I had the infant back, the one that would just let me hold him when he slept, the one who just sat there and didn't keep me running all the time! But at the same time I wouldn't trade a moment of the memories that he makes for my mind every day! It is truly precious time.

We FINALLY bought a house! We love it! It's in South Ogden, UT and has the most beautiful hardwood floor in the front room that I've ever seen! It has a great back yard with room for a garden, and lots of room for Kenneth and Luna to run! AND Paul and I have a master bedroom! In all the houses that we've been in it's been a shared bathroom between the bedrooms, but not here! We have our own! We've been in it about 3 weeks now and everything seems to be just the way that it ought to be, now if only the boxes could unpack themselves right? That would truly be the life!

We've decided to finish this enlistment in UT if the Air Force will let us. And depending on how things pan out I don't think that Paul will re-enlist, if he does it will be for the bonus, but then will get out after that 6 years. We really love it here in Utah, which I never thought that I'd say... I expected to hate it here! But I find myself falling in love with the people, the land, and weather! If we could just up the humidity a LITTLE bit I would be completely sold to stay here forever! Paul has talked a lot lately about his desire to work for the Church someday. He never knew where he would fit in to that spectrum when we first got married but knew that after he retired from the military that that was where he wanted to be. Now he is trying to get his foot in the door with Church Security, working to protect the General Authorities of the Church. It's a secure job, the only thing that we are looking into is the pay, with military we are given a housing allowance, 100% insurance, and a GREAT retirement, but we don't know what the Church pays in those areas, and honeslty we feel terrible for even considering that side because he wants to serve the church, but to serve it as a career there would have to be monetary pay... just feels weird thinking that we would be paid by the Church... so we would in essense be paid by the Lord, yeah? Anyway, it's on our mind, and we'll see. If that ends up going through we'll probably try to move to Draper or somewhere around Jordan.

Over all we are doing well, I'm missing Paul like crazy since we haven't been apart for this long in months I'm finding it a lot more difficult than before. But we are making it, and we are keeping ourselves busy... as busy as we can, but the nights are definitely still lonely. But thanks to cellphones we are able to talk to each other each night and say our family prayers together. That helps us both a lot.