Summer of 2005

John came home from Iraq on June 12, 2005. It was such a wonderful feeling of relief to finally see him back on American soil! I drove out to Kansas about two days before he came back. In April, my friend Kate signed the housing papers for John and I to have a home on post in Kansas. I was able to drive out to Kansas (with Charli- the shih-tuz John has "given" me as a wedding present) and move in to our future home.

John was obviously very tired after the long trip home and it took him a few days to adjust. Charli wasn't too fond of John at first either. But, over time she would come to love him very much! John's mom and sister were able to fly in to Kansas to be there to welcome John home.

After several weeks of sleeping on an air mattress, our household goods arrived in Kansas. We worked very hard to get everything unpacked in just 2 days. Then we left for our trip to Alabama. We visited friends in Florence and Birmingham, and then left our puppy with my family for a week and took our long overdue honeymoon to Jamaica.

we stayed at the Sandal's Whitehouse, at the time it was the newest of the Sandals resorts. It was immaculate and so relaxing and fun. We made friends with another young couple on their honeymoon as well. During our stay in Jamaica, the island was hit by Hurricane Dennis. Fortunately we mainly just had rain and strong winds, but they closed down the whole resort and asked everyone to stay in their rooms. It was a pretty boring and yucky day. They had some entertainment at the theater, but only kept one restaurant open. The good news is that the storm passed quickly and the next day we were able to enjoy the resort again. They gave everyone there a three day hurricane voucher, which means that we can stay at any Sandal's resort at any time over the next year for free (for three days).

We made the long journey back to Kansas after finishing our trip to Jamaica and began to settle in to a normal routine, finally! John would go to work each day and I would do the grocery shopping, cook dinner, and keep the house clean. For the first few months John was home I would even get up and cook him breakfast every morning. But, the "honeymoon" wore off quickly and he was left to fend for himself with Toaster Strudels and Eggo's! :)

I began to make friends with some of the military wives up and down the block and found plenty to do with those ladies to keep myself busy during the day. We didn't know at the time how long we would be in Kansas and so we decided I would not teach/work that year.

We enjoyed that lazy summer. We played with our dog and worked in the yard. We even planted some tomato plants. It was so nice to finally be together.