What a Weekend

We had decided to ride the bike to Idaho Falls for date night Friday. I had to ask a couple times, but I knew AJ would never turn down a bike ride and I was stoked to get to spend some time at the temple, even if it was just a walk around the grounds. I'm sure AJ enjoyed that too, but the motorcycle ride didn't hurt my case. We ate at Subway for dinner and then spent some time on the Idaho Falls Temple grounds, taking pics with our fantabulous camera. We even ventured to the other side of the river for some of those shots with the river and the temple in the background. I was excited that I got to play with shutter speeds on the waterfalls. It's really quiet neat what you can do if you know how. We watched the sun set over the river with the temple in the background. We are really excited for February and hope, pray and work so that everything will be in place so we can finally be sealed. What a relief and blessing that will be.

AJ is one of those people that hops up outta bed, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, as soon as dawn cracks. I, on the other hand, am not so fond of any hour before 9am... especially on a Saturday. So, he went out and ran some errands while i caught up with another hour or so of my beauty sleep. Eventually, we both were outta bed and running a few errands around town. AJ had the bright idea to call a couple friends and see if they wanted to come to Craters of the Moon with us. It's about 100 miles from Pocatello. I had never been and it had been about 10 years since AJ had. We met up with them around 1pm and set off on our little road trip.

The scenery was so unique it was breathtaking. As AJ put it, "it's not somewhere I'd want to live, but it definitely makes you stop and look." We walked a couple trails and hiked up this huge cinder cone. This is the part where I fess up and admit that AJ carried me the last few hundred feet. I was already sore and my legs started cramping so my knight in shining armor whisked me on to his back and carried me. I consoled myself by telling us both I was helping him train for his PT test. Lol. And don't worry we've already worked out the argument of telling our kids they are too big to be carried when they get older, especially when they see daddy carrying mommy. =]

The cinder cone caught my interest and was one of my favorite parts. The rocks were black, but they had this glittery look. I don't really even know how to describe it, but it was very intriguing. I'm a girl through and through, all sparklies draw my eye and this was no exception. This doesn't look so bad and that's exactly what I was thinking... what you don't know is that it keeps going up another few hundred feet that you can't see. And by the time you can see it, you're already panting for breath... or getting muscle cramps as was my case.

We went and walked around the spatter cones. AJ had a picture taken the last time he was there in the spatter cones and we got a similar picture of him and then the two of us. I had scrapbooked the picture of AJ in our scrapbook I did for our wedding (I did a scrapbook instead of a slideshow, like some people do). It was fun to take that little step back into the past. And to take one of the two of us... kinda a glimpse into the future. Can you see us?

AJ's favorite part was the caves. The first cave we went into we actually took quite the claustrophobic climb in. I don't suffer too bad from it, but I was really glad I am as small as I am. I figured if my 6'3" husband could make it through that little corridor I probably could too. It was an adventure, partly 'cause I didn't have a flashlight. There was one in front of me and one behind me, but when they both turned away it stopped me dead in the dark. The parallels of light and dark vs. the gospel and apostasy didn't escape me. I am very grateful for that amazing blessing in our life. It was quite a workout and I'm still a little sore, but what's that they say? No pain, no gain? Well, it was definitely worth it.

So, we had quite the weekend. Ok, it wasn't really anything super spectacular or anything but when your husband has been glued to the army for three out of the last four weekends (not to mention the two out of three weeks he was gone in August...) just having him home is quite something. I never knew I could miss someone so much. I know I just set off the gag reflex of nearly everyone with that. It has made me think though. One of the reasons we got married when we did was so that we would have time together before AJ deploys. I wanted to kinda get a handle on being a wife before I have to be the wife of a deployed soldier. All this time he has been gone lately has made me just that much more grateful for the time we have had together. I am so very glad we got married when we did, I'm glad we'll have a spousal relationship to fall back on while he's gone and not just a dating relationship. It'll be hard enough as it is and I''m glad we have those deeper bonds to rely on.

It has also made me want a forever sealing more than anything in the whole entire universe. I can't imagine losing him, losing part of me. The part that makes me happy, beautiful and whole. I always thought it was dumb when people would say their spouse made them whole or completed them. It wasn't until I got married that I realized I don't necessarily need the love of my life to live, but he sure makes things a million times better. I'm happier and life is better with him here. In a way, he does complete me.

We sometimes joke that he's my other 2/3 because of our height differences. I don't believe in 'soul mates' being that one person somewhere in the world that is your perfect match, but being that person you chose to build a life with, the one that makes you happier than you've ever been. The one that you never want to leave, even for just a short time. The one you love to come home to, that you tell all your secrets to, that you're always thinking about. AJ may not be my perfect match, but he is my soul mate. I sure love this man.