103 days

No matter how you add it up its been a long time for everyone since Chris left for both adults and for kids. 103 days to be exact since he left for Afghanistan and we are a little over 1/3 of the way through it. The schedule and the routine of the days gets easier but it doesn't make him being gone any easier. I cannot imagine being away from Audrey for 3 days let alone 103 days. I do not know how our military men and women do it. I guess Chris trusts me quite a bit :) I mean how can one leave for this long and just expect everything is taken care of at home. Audrey, work, school, swim class, bills, Hudson, house cleaning, car repairs, grocery shopping.... the list literally goes on forever. I mean as I am typing this Hudson scarfed down his breakfast and just threw up all over the floor...Really?! A friend said yesterday I don't give myself enough credit and I don't need credit but when everything you do on a daily basis is shared between two people then suddenly one person is just pulled out of the picture it gets overwhelming. But the fact that Chris trusts me and knows that I will get all of these things done is definitely motivation to keep going. And ya know, sometimes maybe I don't give myself enough credit. I am going to school full time, working, training/running my first FULL marathon!! While keeping things in order here with a wonderfully smart little girl and taking care of 100 pound dog. But Chris gives me so much support and motivation even from Afghanistan. I think we get each other through our different but difficult days. Yesterday I took on a whole new adventure. I took Audrey her bike and Hudson out to Maumee Bay...by myself! Hudson is really good but he is really big and he is still a puppy so he is REALLY spastic. I try and get him out for a walk nightly (weather permitted) normally around our house but I figured we take him out to the bay so Audrey could get some practice on her new bike. This was going to be an adventure but I was ready to do it. We spend a lot of our summer at Maumee Bay as it is so close to our house and it will definitely be a lot different this year with out Chris.

This was a trip last year shortly after we got Hudson

And this was the crew yesterday! What a difference a year makes!

She wanted play on the beach and with a nice spring evening it worked out well. We did not even get her bike out of the car.

"My Dad says there is snakes over there."

She doesn't forget anything!

And Hudson still hates the water...

Attacking waves maybe?

Love these two so much

Check out the sand in her hair.. Love it!

We Miss You!

Someone left this toy on our windshield. They must have seen Audrey's bike in the back and left it for Audrey... Of course, I cried. It was just one of those stuffed toys out of a claw game maybe but she was so excited and I have no idea who left it! Thank you for making her day!

So all in all it was a great night. Audrey simplified my life by not wanting to get her bike out and just walk with Hudson and I. I mean really how would I have been able to wrangle Hudson and still try and help Audrey with her bike? Well, I would have figured it out.

These days when we have to do things without Chris are the hardest. The daily routines I can get through but doing things we generally do as a family is the hardest. When people used to ask me how I do it... ya know being married to someone in the military and him always being gone, I would reply "It's all we know" and that was true a few years ago. But he hasn't deployed in almost three years so it is not all we know now. All we know is him being home, that's all Audrey knows. So this will be a very long summer without hime but I am excited to get it over with! Over 100 days down, about 200 to go!