Leaving Alaska...

It was sooooo incredibly hard to leave TJ/Daddy in Alaska. He begged for us to stay with him until August and I felt absolutely terrible for not planning to. I just felt like there was so much to do and take care of at home, I felt unsettled. But then, I felt like I was ripping our family apart and all TJ kept telling me, was that as long as we were all together who cares about anything else. Well yes, true, however, we all know what a stress case I can be and I just couldn't do that. I knew I'd be lonely when he was at the field and Grandma could only stay for so long to do things with us and venture out with us while Daddy was at baseball. We pretty much cried in the airport before going through security and then I cried all the way through security. I am sure people were staring at me like what is this woman's problem, but I didn't care! Thank goodness for Grandma being there because she pretty much put all our stuff in bins, 9 to be exact, that is how much crap we had, while I stood there crying and doing nothing to help her! :(

I just felt awful, torn, sad, and already missing TJ like crazy.

However, looking back at all our pics now, the ones I posted are seriously just a few glimpses, I am so happy that we were able to go, make a vacation out of part of it and see and do so much. We really did do a lot and I grew to love Alaska. It is a beautiful state, with so much nature, friendly people, no sales tax :), and just an awesome place. It reminded me of our childhood camping days, traveling the states with my parents, it reminded me of being in Europe with the weather and all the green around you. It was just a great trip. I wish the sun came out more that last week and a half we were there, but we made the best of the weather and didn't let it stop us!

We can't wait for daddy to get home, but we are so proud of him and what he is doing. Everyone loves him out there and the locals of the team were all begging us to move there! :)

Keep following your heart babe, you are an amazing dad, husband and coach and have truly learned how to balance it all. I was so proud sitting at the games each day watching you coach.

We have been home almost a week, and lil miss Rhowan's sleeping schedule is still all out of whack. You'd be surprised how much daylight 24 hours of the day really throws you off. Even though its only an hour behind our time here at home, we all got totally messed up. Rhowan some nights goes down by 9 now that we are home and does pretty well, but sleeping in til like 11 am, yes, 11 am, can you believe that. However, other nights she is wide awake past midnight, ready to play, take baths, etc. Not to mention she is teething and I think ready to cut her top two teeth, so that hasn't helped the sleeping cause much, but we are dealing. I am for now, letting her just get as much sleep as she needs and will worry about a bed time later, she is still good with her routine, its just the times that are way off, but I figure as long as she is getting her ten plus hours a night, which she is doing about 10-14 hours, then all is good! I am not working this summer, so we will adjust slowly back into it and let her get back on track on her time for awhile.

Well now that we are home, we are getting ready for a weekend Vegas trip for Auntie Kate's 21st! Then its time for park days, beach days, and some fun in the sun at home for the rest of the summer. Oh and the 101 things to do on my never ending list that I'd like to accomplish this summer, but hey, enjoy each moment I have at home with Rhowan is number 1 on that priority list!

Keep the prayers coming for TJ to get a coaching job when he gets home and a job for me would be great too! We love and miss you all and hope you've enjoyed our Alaska pictures and updates.

Love,

The Bruce's