Bittersweet

R&R was definitely bittersweet - as we both knew it would be. Oh so sweet to be together again. Oh so bitter to taste the harsh reality of being separated again. Was it worth it? Absolutely. We had a wonderful time reconnecting and fellowshipping as a family again. Luke remained Chris' shadow the entire time he was here. Will definitely started warming up to the idea of daddy being around by the end.

We are glad to be on the last half of this long separation. Chris's departure this time was not nearly as daunting as his initial departure in April. Now we just have to get through the rest of the deployment and the mandatory stabilization time in Germany. After that - we'll finally be together again! YAY! So we're still looking at a rather significant chunk of time - more than 6 months - less than a year (sorry for being so vague - but I'm a bit hesitant to give out too much info for security reasons)...which still seems like forever - but at least we're closer to the end goal! =)

Though I could fill up many more paragraphs about things we did over R&R and how nice it was to be together, I'll upload some photos so you can see for yourself!

I think this is where we left off from the last blog I wrote about our R&R...

We were able to take the boys to the zoo - we had a blast checking out all the animals and playing on the playground afterwards.

Luke was in a Caravan program - he loves the stage! It's really funny to watch him because he's fairly shy otherwise...put him on the stage and the boy shines!

Chris was able to go to a fight with his brother Randy. From the sounds of it, it was a pretty cool experience. The fighter they went to see was Fernando Guerrero - who hails from around here! The rest of us watched it at home! Everyone was excited when Guerrero won!

A family picture before church...

We turned Will's carseat around last week. Though he wasn't sure what to think at first - he's loving it!

The boys!

Visiting the horses...

Awwwww!

Mom and Dad Scott walking our cute little furry pups!

Wagon rides are fun!

Throwing rocks in the river...

Heading home...

We decided to take the boys to see the ocean one day. Though it was a might chilly - we all really enjoyed the day!

Will was quite perplexed by the sight before him...so much water!!!

Luke loved having a giant sandbox at his disposal!

Watching the waves...

Mommy and Will!

Daddy and Will playing in the sand...

Sand is fun...until you track it into your house...

The boys at the beach...

The family together!

More sand castles!

Smile!

Playing in the sandbox at home...I guess they just can't get enough of playing in the sand!

Riley - my sweet dog!

On the back patio is a slab of cement that has Chris and Randy's hand imprint from when they were kids. Here Luke is measuring his hand with Chris' imprint - how cute!

Hey batter batter batter! Saaawiing batter batter batter!

We celebrated Chris' birthday with a very small get-together of family. Fun was had by all!

I let Luke pick out a present for his daddy - and he picked out some Cars...what else is there? =)

Go Phins!

More presents!

I have been working on a scrapbook of all the months Chris has been gone. I've made it up to September...so I gave him what I had completed and will finish the rest over the next few months. It was pretty fun to see how much the boys have changed over the last 10 months...

Luke trying out his new T-ball set...let's just say it didn't last inside very long...it was moved outside about 5 minutes after Chris gave it to him. =)

Will's gotta try too!

Happy boy!

T-Ball Rocks!

Vrroooommmm!

Chris and Luke playing Candy Land...

Chris leaving for the airport...

And lastly, we took this picture today. Luke was dressed in his sweater vest and tie for church...and here he's rocking in the chair leafing through the Bible. Will he be a preacher someday? Maybe!