2 Months

2 months down, 10 months to go... or 62 days down, 303 to go. Yes, I have a countdown going on. In fact at my work I have a little white board I update every single day. Monday will be the best because when I go in, I'll get to change it to 299 days and we'll officially be out of the 300's. It's the little things that matter these days. Some days I sit back and think about how fast these 2 months went by and the next 10 should (cross my fingers) fly by just as fast. Other days I think, my God, it seems like 6 months should have gone by now, not 2! Regardless of the days, months, and weeks that go by, we miss Ed more and more every day. Layla and I have been keeping very busy though. When Ed first left, we couldn't sit still for a second. If we did, Layla would end up thinking about how much she missed Ed and start crying and just not be her perfect, happy little self. Things are a bit different now, we talk about Daddy all the time and the things we miss about him and that we can't wait until he gets home but we do it in a happy way rather than sit here, cry, and be depressed about it. We know he will come home to us, it's just a matter of time and we cannot wait until that time comes. Thinking about it gives me butterflies!

I promise that I am going to start updating my blog more regularly. It's been two months since my last posting and we have done SO much over the summer. It has actually been a really good summer for us, we've done and experienced many different things. I will say that the one good thing about Ed being gone is that Layla and I always get so close. We always are, don't get me wrong, but the bond that her and I share because it's just the two of us is amazing. She is my little best friend and we do everything together. We don't have any family here so it is literally just the two of us. I guess that could be construed into a bad thing but I look at it as a positive and know I will treasure this time the two of us had together when she is older.

The day after Ed left Layla and I went to the circus at the World Arena. We had a great time and it was the perfect way to get our mind off of Ed leaving. We really needed it! We ate lots of junk food and Layla just loved the elephants and meeting the clowns. Before the show started they had everyone from the circus on the floor and we were able to go meet them and watch an elephant paint a picture. It was a really fun time. I know circuses can get a bad rep but we really enjoyed it and will most likely go again in the future when they come back. We bought season passes to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. It is a great zoo and only about 20 minutes away. I figure even if we wanted to go there after school one day we could. But definitely on the weekends we'll be there lots to feed the giraffes. That's the good thing about having the season pass, if we want to go just for an hour to feed the animals and then go home, we can. Layla loves going too, we always have such a great time there. In fact, we're going to go this weekend too. Got to get in some good zoo time before it starts getting cold over here (so not looking forward to that). We spent 4th of July with our great friends the Achee family. We had a great big feast and went to Iron Horse to watch all the pretty fireworks. Made me miss Ed a lot hanging out with them, they're our weekend buddies for sure, we're always together and now we're missing a part of our little group. Layla and Payton get along so well, they are so cute together and do the funniest things. They put on some great shows for us! Ed and I celebrated our 7 year wedding anniversary on July 10th. I am going to be cheesy for a moment, so try not to gag but I love how he can make me feel special all the way from across the world. He sent me a huge love bug cookie bouquet and tulips (he's good, he knows my favorite flowers!) to the house and I got a dozen roses sent to work too. I felt so special having all that sent to me. He's so great! I feel so lucky to be married to my best friend. He supports me in everything I do and is always there for me and I literally tell him everything, I can't imagine being married to anyone else! He's the best! We were able to webcam that day too, perfect way to spend our anniversary if we have to be apart for it. Layla and I celebrated Christmas in July by going to the North Pole! It's this great little amusement park located on the slopes of Pikes Peak. I had wanted to take Layla last year over Christmas but just never had a chance. One of my co workers had said it was better to go now during the summer when all the rides are open and it's nice outside, it gets too cold during the winter and the snow makes all the rides shut down. Makes complete sense. So we went to check it out and I haven't seen Layla have that much fun for awhile. She absolutely loved it. And where did I get such a brave little girl? She made me go on all these scary high, horribly fast, sickeningly spinning rides. I about died, but no, she wanted to go on them over and over and over again. I couldn't believe it, she has never wanted to go on them before. So I sucked it up and tried not to puke on just about every single one of them. Thank you, Layla. My best friend Jessica came to visit! Her inlaws live up in Denver so they were headed up that way but stopped and stayed with us for the weekend before heading up. I cannot even tell you how good it was to see her and Ana (and I guess Andy too). It has been a year and to see someone from back home like that really lifted my spirits. We had such a great time. Layla and Ana acted as if no time had passed and went right back into best friend mode. We went to Garden of the Gods and got poured on, went to Fargo's and had yummy pizza, played super fun games, and laughed till our bellies hurt, stayed up late laughing and talking about nothing and everything, went shopping, and went to an awesome little indoor water play area in Denver. We definitely squeezed as much in as possible but it was well worth it. And of course I saved the best for last! My parents came and stayed with us for a week! They left on Monday and I cannot even describe how much it hurts to see them leave. The week they were here was definitely the best week we've had since Ed left. We had so much fun and shared so many laughs and made tons of memories that we'll never forget. We went fishing and Layla caught her first fish, well, actually 7 fish. She did so good! She loved casting and reeling in her little pink Barbie fishing pole. We watched movies, went shopping, hung around the house doing nothing but talking, went to the Melting Pot and got so full we about died, etc. etc. etc. Gosh, we had the best time ever. I am so lucky to have such amazing parents and Layla is lucky to have them as her grandparents. They are so amazing with her, spoiling her rotten with attention and presents! It went by way too quick but I am so thankful for the time we had together. Couldn't have asked for a better trip! Now they must come back again and SOON! While my parents were here Layla started Kindergarten! She had her first day on Thursday the 4th. Seemed a bit early to me but hey, she had to start sometime. She is going to a Charter school where she has to wear uniforms and I am so thankful for that! Even for Pre K she would fight with me every single morning about what she wanted to wear... she's 5, can you imagine how high school is going to be? Lord, help us! She had such a great first day and was so excited to go back the next day. She is a little smarty pants and doing amazing with her numbers and letters. Mommy and Daddy could not be more proud of her! And if Ed couldn't be here to see her on her first day, the next best thing was Grandma and Grandpa. I am so thankful they were here to share such a special day with my little princess. Wednesday is full dress day, meaning she has to wear her dressy uniform. How flippin' cute is this? I just want to squeeze her! So there is our last two months in a nutshell. September we're off to San Diego for a few days, October we have front row, ringside tickets to WWE's RAW World Tour, and November my love comes home for 2 weeks! Many good things to come and I cannot wait. I hope August hurries and flies right on by, I cannot wait for the beach! Much needed.