Riley's BootCamp update.

well last week i didn't really post anything of his letter on here. Cause it was a 4-page super mushy one! it was insanely perfect, however, it was meant for me and not for all my adoring blog stalkers :) he seemed really homesick though, luckily this week he seemed much less homesick. i got a letter PLUS a survey back. he loves that i send him surveys, i'll leave out a few things that are only between the 2 of us, but HERE YA GO!!!!! once again the only thing i'm adding in are the things in the ( )'s

Survey number Three
Date Sent: January 4th------- Filled out Sunday Jan 17th (Mail is really slow in phase two!)
I Heard Your main DI is friends with Worthen? yupp kinda wierd!
On your 10-day leave i've asked Lauren to do pictures. you cool with that? Where are we gonna be?
1st thing you wanna do at the hotel after grad: (he circled) Eat pizza, me, sit in the shower, snuggle and watch a movie.
You think i'm funny huh:) ?! Very :)
Do you save my letters? Yes i want to keep them!
Are you happy phase 1 is over? cause i am!!! Very and almost done with phase 2 :)
do you graduate in your Dress Blues? no i think service alpha's, the green (the sexiest uniform of all!)
Do you miss my camera? actually yes i miss everything (that is huge, if you know Rye you know how irritated he gets of my camera :) he can deal with it though!)
do you have your weapon serial number memorized? of course! 7307930
do you wish you partied with me on new years? YES YES YES YES
have you filled out your dream sheet? nope
do you remember everything about me? yes and miss every bit of it!
are any of your buddies infantry? a few
do you know alot of guys from other platoons? nope not really allowed to talk to them, they are competition
Zack says your platoon is full of idiots, do you like most of the guys in your platoon?we have a few people that NEED TO LEAVE but i think we are ok. i think we are the best platoon in our company
i'm glad you like my stamps, envelopes, and stationary. did they notice it was a picture of your wife? i don't think anyone did till i showed everyone :)
do you miss me alot tonight? Sav, no joke i miss you all day, all night, and all the time. you are the only thing helping me get through this.
p.s. i'm glad you're still the same awesome guy i love. :) but alot cooler now :) 

5 weeks left babe :) when you get this it will be close to 4 weeks. and i will be back down at mcrd for phase 3. :) read letter for more info:)

and then here is his letter. it wasn't really mushy at all... mostly just info packed. so i will type the whole thing in cause you're interested. and just in cause you were curious. i only post things i know he wouldn't mind being shared. i post on here so his friends and family members can see how he's doing, it saves me alot of time on the phone with people reading it over and over!

Weekly Letter

well babe sitting here in church like always when i write you. So here is your weekly letter :)

well i love the survey's you send, makes answering questions very easy. well i made

it though rifle qualifications. i was really worried about it but i passed :)

found out Steven's is a pretty good shot, but i am glad thats over. i have completed

the 3 mile 5 mile and 8 mile hikes, the sucked but i got through it. well you booked the hotel

already eh thats cool but scary all at the same time i hope i don't get dropped for anything or that would suck. i think the only thing that can stop me now is the prac test which you know i am 

scared of :) but i will get through it :) i was going to tell ya don't get your patriarchal blessing yet, lets get them together i think that would be a good thing to do together. 

you were asking me about a kid in my platoon that has been dropped from being sick. yes we had one, he overheated and i guess right now he is still in medical his body won't regulate his heat so he might be going home. but we actually had probably 4-5 people dropped for different reasons you also asked me about being sick. and i didn't want to tell ya but i actually have been sick since the end of week one. so i have been sick for a while :) but i am still pushing through so don't worry about me for that, also on your survey you asked me about weight i think i have lost muscle mass so that really sucks. i am excited to get home and start working out again :) i have decided i am more fit at home than here. remind me when i see you and i will tell you why. well thats my weekly letter i love you with all my heart you are keeping me going babe

love 

Cute Bum

so there you go! if anyone is wondering anything about bootcamp, let me know and i'll throw it on my next survey!

San Diego!

Alright so i haven't posted in a few days, so i thought i would throw an update up here.... it's been a very very very busy week. Thursday was Riley's birthday. and as hard as i thought it was going to be to not have him around, i think the week leading up to his birthday was harder. his Birthday was the halfway point so it was actually a somewhat o.k. day. i had to drive down to San Diego with my older sister Britt (love you babe!) but we both had Dr appointments that morning, so we weren't able to leave until about 3 p.m. so we were in the car until about 2 a.m. we stopped at Curt and Shellee's in St George to say hi and grab a quick bite to eat. i saw Ozzy! and Bobby and Michelle came so i got to see Bobby and Jaxon. everyone else i was able to see around christmas, so that made me really happy! and so as the Gardiner family we were able to have dinner together for Riley's birthday. so after a VERY long drive we finally arived in San Diego (too close to Riley!) the next morning we got up early. i went down to the gym at the hotel. ran a mile, came back up, showered and got ready. we had to be at the church by 9am for the viewing, and the service was at 10. The service was good. and they had the most gorgeous flowers. we went up to the cemetery, and then back down to the church for a luncheon. while there, i mentioned to my cousins that i wanted to head down to the beach later to get some pictures. what i thought was going to be a small group turned out to be about 11 of us grandkids and my grandpa. my cousins mom is Irish so one of there cousins was in town as well. and i have to tell you, that girl is absolutely  adorable, she's 17 and a i would type her name but i would butcher it... ok let me try... Realtein... i know for a fact that is probably wrong but whatever. so the beach was awesome i got some pretty cool shots... i haven't edited them at all but i'll put a few up. all things considered, it was an amazing evening. i'm really glad all the cousins decided to join me, and that we kidnapped my grandpa. it was nice to just hang out at the pier, i know a few of my cousins were having a really rough time after their sister's funeral. but it was a much needed distraction, i think so at least. and it was a much needed family gathering, horrible circumstances, but it was nice to have so many of us together. we went to sea world the next day. but i'll post about that later, when i'm able to import the pictures. cause i'm driving home right now. and my laptop battery is not as awsome as i wish it was!

 

Rye's Birthday cake.

so i'll post an explanation in my next post.. but i'm WAY sleepy tonight.. since i didn't sleep at all last night :) but anyway i did get a letter from Rye today. he is really homesick... well mostly just homesick for Sav... i won't go into much detail now. but he mentioned that he wanted me to make him one of MY birthday cakes. i have this thing with decorating cakes... i just have fun doing them. and i have yet to make him a birthday cake... so he requested one, and although his birthday for some reason is hitting me super hard this year... i did it. just for him though. it took like 3 or 4 hours... anyway.... here are a few pictures :) enjoy!

 

Dear Riley

it's been a week since your last letter... and that is the longest i have had to wait since i started receiving letters.i hope to find one in the mailbox today (wednesday) because usually you write me on Sunday and then i get it by Wednesday... but that is still such a long time! soooo i'm really excited for you to be in phase two... BUT I'M SICK OF THIS!!! I am ready for phase 3 so i can go back to getting 2+ letters a week.. i love you.. Be Safe.
Your Sav

Life goes on...Letters, Testimony, Ben Wille, Death

so... this has been a really weird week. after my last post i was hoping for a letter. cause i usually get letters on Wednesdays... I GOT ONE! YAY!!!! it was probably the least mushy one so far, he was trying to answer questions that he hadn't yet. let's see... what was important, hold on let me look over it quickly :)
-Pugil Sticks went fine. "there were 3 of us fighting. i got the one guy, but then the other got me GOOD across my helmet :) it kinda hurt" i've always loved that he can appreciate when someone else does something good. i mean really how many guys get hit in the face and are like "dude, good job. that was really awesome" well thats my Rye!
-He lost 6 pounds but gained them back.. THANK GOODNESS. that kid didn't have 6 pounds to lose. he has like 8% body fat, or he did when he left. and everything he had was muscle. he was the one at the beach in cali in JUNE who was cold... so i'm glad he gained it back.
- he said he's getting stronger, physically and emotionally. that makes me happy.
-He doesn't get yelled at. usually the WHOLE platoon gets yelled at. i guess the day they got to Camp Pendelton they got in trouble for not being loud enough, so they had to walk around bear-hugging their C-bags for a long time. which are huge and were full. "and pretty much, welcome to Pendleton!" i laughed at that :)
last Saturday when i received the 2nd survey back, he told me that his platoon was in 2nd place for honor platoon. and Zack's letter to kat said that they had lost initial drill by 1 point!!! Rye said the DI's were NOT happy, they had to move everything around in their house and make their beds like a million times.

so there are the Riley updates... now here are the Sav updates :)
I've been doing really good about my new years goal. which was to read my scriptures and pray everyday. and i haven't missed a day. J told me that if i fall asleep reading my scriptures it still counts. so YAY. but he did say that i should pray BEFORE i read, so that in case i DO fall asleep i have that covered already... and thats why you're so smart J :) so i've been reading them like crazy and trying to get as much out of them as i possibly can. but as anyone who has read the scriptures knows... there is alot of crap in there that is hard to understand. so last sunday i started marking down a bunch of verses that i needed help with. and asked J if he could help me with them, since he's a returned missionary. so this week was kinda touch and go with him because he was so busy. so we decided that Sunday after church i would drive down to his house and he would go over anything i needed help with, and in turn i would teach him how to make Riley's famous almond butter.. so i drove down at like 3... went to Laurels house, had lunch with her J and Elijah, and we talked book of Mormon and such. then Elijah had to head out. so i got out my scriptures and asked the questions that i had, J, Laurel and Robert did AMAZING at explaining things i didn't know. and sometimes i think that there are so many simple things that i SHOULD know. but i just don't... and i know in high school i wanted everyone to think i was a better member than i really was so i was too embarrassed to ask anyone... but now i'm more humble... and also more confident... i'm a walking contradiction :)

so after our scripture discussion J needed to go home to see his family for a few hours and invited me. so i went over there, met his dad ( I REALLY like his dad... FYI) and saw his Brother, Sister, Mom and Cousin. they invited me to play a game called hand and foot... ever played? it's awesome. J disappeared for a while to go help his sister and left me with his dad brother and cousin. so his dad walked me through the first game... WHICH I WON!!! and then when J came back for the 2nd game his dad stepped out. well i didn't win any other rounds, but we found out later that J was cheating by stealing cards from another pile... THAT LYING SACK OF CRAP!!! So after that we headed back to Laurel's, they were having an Acting Up testimony meeting. and i haven't been to one of those since like 2006 before i got married. it was more of a discussion/Q&A thing so i totally could have saved my questions. but i'm glad i didn't.

The spirit is seriously soooo strong in those meetings. and as the night wore on more and more showed up. Ben Wille and A.J. showed up. Ben sat next to J like right across from me, and it was hard to even look at him because since Xandra left this last week, it's a reminder that Riley is gone. so after the AMAZING testimony meeting everyone was mingling and i went over to say hi to Ben, because all week i've been asking everyone how he's been doing. and it seems like no one really cares as much as i do. maybe it's because i'm one of the few that can actually relate. so i went and asked how he was holding up. and it's kinda funny, he gave me a look that i know TOO much about, and i just knew, until you are away from the love of your life for an extended period of time... you don't know. he said he looked over at me at some point and just about started crying "because you're like the only one who knows what i'm going through, but it's so much worse for you." well Ben Wille.... IT STILL SUCKS!!!! and i would never wish it upon anyone. i'm really HAPPY that you two at least have cell phones. i'm for sure not one of those people who's gonna be like... "oh that sucks that your Fiance is gone for a long time.... but i win"... and since i've been praying everynight, you find that you're more likely to pray for the people in your life that need it. i think before when i did pray it was more of selfish prayers. God help me with this and that, but now it's deeper. i honestly pray for anyone in my life that i know needs it. So i hope everyone has been getting extra blessings this last week... CAUSE I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE BIG GUY TO GET THEM FOR YOU :)

so last night was amazing, and i really needed yesterday. it strengthened my testimony of so many different things. which i think is somehow making today a little easier. this morning at about 9, my mom called me. She informed me that my cousin Tara had died about 20 minutes prior. we knew she didn't have long left. they told us the week before Christmas that things didn't look good. her kidneys and livers had failed and dialysis wasn't working. so they pulled her off of it and sent her home to be comfortable. I grew up with this cousin... she was one of the closer ones. so i'm having a bit of a hard time. Kat called and i'm going out to lunch with her, because she knows that right now... i just want Riley back. and so now i'll be traveling to San Diego for the funeral later this week. and it's going to be absolutely the hardest thing i've done. to be only a few miles from him... and NOT try to go check up on him. to know that we're in the exact same city.. and i can't call or see him... And i've never lost a family member before... i've been pretty lucky. i mean distant relatives yes. but not really anyone i knew well. and since high school i haven't lost any close friends. so to have to go through this without my rock is hard. so anyway....

those are my updates for the last few days... things will get easier.. I hope.

With faith we can cope. In faith we can endure. And buoyed and sustained by faith, we can move on. “Weeping may endure for a night,” wrote the Psalmist, “but joy cometh in the morning” - Elder Ballard

New Year.... New Life!

So it's 2010... i'm really excited for this year. alot of changes were put in motion in 2009 and most will come about this year. Including the addition of a Marine into my little family. No time is not flying by like some people have claimed... maybe it has for you, but when you're husband is gone, and you can only talk from letters... it drags on! I live by mailtime. yesterday i actually met my mailman, he's retired Navy. he was super nice. he said he gets excited whenever he sees a letter from Riley to me, because he knows how much letters mean in the Military. There was no letter yesterday, but usually there aren't any letters on tuesdays but i am hoping for one today. He started Phase 2 this week which means less time to write. not that he had that much time before.

I did receive a letter on saturday. he was returning the second survey i sent him. You can tell that he is still the same ol' Rye... he was cracking jokes through the entire thing. on of the questions i asked was a would you rather. it was between A.) Taking me to a Josh Groban Concert OR B.)Receiving extra attention from the Drill Instructors for a week. now anyone that knows me and Rye... Knows that Josh Groban is my favorite musician in the world, and Riley DESPISES him. well Rye picked the Drill Instructors and on the side wrote "There not THAT bad :)" The next question was "If you picked the Drill Instructors are you sure your confident about your answer?" he wrote "OH YEAH!".... He said Swim Week was Easy. which is good because he was stressing about that before he left, so in turn i was stressing about it till it was done! so ya i'm really glad that is done.

He talks alot about Graduation, and missing me. He said he doesn't get in much trouble, cause he's pretty good at what they want him to do. that made me really happy. so this week and next week they are out in the field, working with their Rifles. he has Rifle Qual day next thursday.. which is also his birthday... so it would be an awesome birthday for him if he qualifies really well. And his birthday next thursday is the OFFICIAL half way mark! YAY YAY YAY!!!!!!!  yes all you people who think time is flying by. i'm not even half way yet! LAME!!!

anyway, i'll update later if i get a letter today, which i am REALLY hoping for... i could really use a letter today. on another note... The Flu can go suck a lemon! it's making me miserable!!!