Our travels all began early in the morning on January 27, 2015. Let's be honest, traveling with a baby is sure to stress anyone out, now pair that with someone like me, and I was a ball of emotions and worried how sweet baby A was going to do. We got to the airport at about 4:30 a.m with a baby who decided she didn't want to sleep on the way up there, through check in, or through security. We boarded the flight at about 5:45 only to wait on board for our flight to leave at 6:15. Once the flight took off, I started to feel better, and Adysin was an angel. She didn't sleep much the way there, nor did she want to sleep at our 3 hour layover in Colorado, but she didn't fuss. We arrived in St. Louis at about 2:00 P.M and shuttled to get our rental car. Now, if you drive with Adysin the first 6 months she was born, you know she wasn't a fan of cars. It started to get better, but that didn't make me any less worried knowing we had a 2 and a half hour car ride ahead of us. Low and behold, she was perfect. She fussed a little, but who wouldn't with traveling that long and not sleeping.
That next morning, I have never woke up in a better mood. I knew that within the next few hours I got to see my soldier and finally spend time with him. For breakfast, before we found our way on base, we went to a waffle house, and let's be honest, if you have ever been to one, they have the best customer service and food that there could be for breakfast. WELL, not this one. I was so sad! The worst part is, I was bragging to my in-laws that the service was awesome, and it wasn't, and the food was less than great. Not just that, in Missouri, if a place seats less than 50 people, it is not considered a public place and you can smoke in them. Being born and raised in Utah and having a daughter, I didn't even realize it would be any different. So, we ate our food quick and made our way out of there.
We made our way onto base a half hour early to ensure we weren't late, but we had no idea where we were suppose to go. Rookie mistake. The flyer I had didn't say where to go and I just typed in the address that was on Facebook. So that whole half hour, we ended up driving from one end of the base to the other, and finally found an MP to ask who led us where we needed to be. We left early, but were still late. Luckily, Dylan's platoon was the last to go so we didn't miss them. After that, I finally got to hug my soldier and meet all of his battle buddies, who made his time there just a little easier on him. We spent the day on base, eating, bowling and just enjoying each others company with our daughter and his parents. Only to have to see him go at 7:50 PM so they could go back and prepare for the next days events.
The next day, Thursday January 29, we got up early and we actually knew where we were going so we wouldn't be late. The ceremony was nothing short of amazing. Seeing all of this hard work and time away from each other finally pay off. To see how proud Dylan looked of himself and how everyone around him felt. You could just feed off of the energy going around the room that day. Since Dylan graduated, we got an off post pass, but, if you have ever been to this part of Missouri there really is nothing to do. We went off and got something to eat, but just ended up right back on base to check out a museum and go bowling once again. Honestly, I can't complain. I got to spend all day with the people who mean most to me. That night, unfortunately, we had to let him go again, same time, same place. But this time, it was full of too many emotions. I had to say goodbye to my soldier for a third time in less than 6 months, and sweet Adysin had to say goodbye to her Daddy. Not to mention, we missed our 1 year anniversary by a day. So that's a bummer.
I just want to end this post by saying how grateful I am to have had this opportunity to go out and see Dylan and to meet all of these amazing people who are all fighting for the same cause, our freedom. I am so blessed to be married to such a strong willed person, who despite all of the challenges that come with joining and leaving our little family so early into our marriage and into our daughters life, wants to come out on top and support us as much as he can. This is just one of our many adventures that are to come, and I can't wait to see where this journey takes us.
My heart rests in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri (for now)
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