Friday, February 19, 2010

My Marine!!! and my last bootcamp letter

ok boys and girls... the day we have all been waiting for arrived... my amazing husband... IS A MARINE! as of 24 hours ago. he finished the crucible. that is 54 hours of no sleep and 3 MRE's which is NOT alot of food for 3 days. he humped (hiked) the Reaper... and came out... A United States Marine. Government Issued and everything. and i am SO proud of him. He is Absolutely Amazing. he set off to do something. and he DID IT!!!! and so now boys and girls... i present to you... my last letter i will receive from this part of our journey. i laughed, i cried... it moved me Bob... :) but really it was tender... and funny. have i mentioned lately that i Love Riley Gardiner! you should all be jealous.. cause he's MINE!!!!!!!! ok i'll quit bragging and just show you his letter.

2-14-2010
Hey Babe/ Lethanial A. Smith
well Sav today is the day i leave up to the crucible :) a little nervous for it. The packs are pretty heavy. but i will be ok :) soo close babe so so so close :). well i passed the prac, it was pretty easy. i got 72 out of 80. well this will be the last letter you will get from me since i will be gone all this week and then next week you will be heading down here :) YAY i cannot wait.
This week really sucked. it went by so slow, we didn't do much so it gave me time to think which is never good. so i was pretty depressed this week. well when you get this the crucible will be pretty much over. YAY. i will be getting the warriors breakfast, being called a Marine :) 
Well just so you know, in my platoon i am in the second squad the eigth person back, so you can find me when i come marching out :)
well it's valentines day today. Another great day i cannot spend with my better half. you don't really think all of that is a big deal until it happens and you are in a place like where i am and it's rough. less than 2 weeks we will celebrate all of these holidays that i have missed!
Hey in the hotel we need to get: A Toaster, a box of eggo's, syrup, and peanut butter. so we will have to go to the store and get that stuff :) DON'T GO TO THE STORE WITHOUT ME!!! :)  well babe that is all i have to say, nothing really interesting happened this week. this week sucked. anyways i will see you very soon babe. i would say wish me luck this week. but i will be pretty much done when you get this :) so i Love you babe. less than two weeks i get to hold you again. you are going to be my strength to get me through this week. 
 Love,
The Nugget

Yes boys and girls you read right... HE GOT A 90% on his prac test. which is the written final he was freaking out about!!! once again... he's amazing. only 6 more days until i get to see him again. i miss him so much. we're almost done with this... YAY!!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Happy Valentines day.

well this weekend marks the LAST big thing that Riley will miss while away at bootcamp. and i am getting so excited with how close it's getting!!!!!! we are now only 12 days away from me getting to see my husband... AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH i miss him sooooo much. but yesterday their platoon video got uploaded online. they filmed it yesterday morning, and i got to see it at 6 pm last night. so thats about as real time as it can get! heres the picture of Rye, he looks sad.. probably cause he didn't get his freaking phone call home!

 

isn't he handsome!!! so then after i saw the video, i got to open my valentines present from Rye, he had his parents send it to me. kat got a box delivered yesterday too. it was from Zack, it was 2 dozen roses, and they were gorgeous! but Riley grounded me a few years ago from getting flowers... (i accidentally left some flowers in a vase for soo long that they got moldy, and we couldn't figure out where the smell was coming from for like a week haha) anyway, he picked out something PERFECT for me... i got all teary eyed...
so he wins :)

 
Isn't he adorable!!! i LOVE it. he did good, as usual. he's always been the most thoughtful guy i know, and he has definitely lived up to his reputation. MY HUSBAND IS AMAZING!!! and in 5 days... he'll be a Marine. and then i'll see him 7 days later! I LOVE MY LIFE

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Cause you had a bad day!

so, i've been sitting here for 30 minutes, trying to put words to my thoughts. i don't think i will succeed.. but i can try i suppose. 2 days ago, i received a not on facebook from a friend (Recruit GF) and she informed me that she had missed a call from her Recruit, and didn't want me to miss it, so to keep my phone close to me. so for the last 2 days, other than having my phone with me at all times! (including at the movie theater, turned up on load to make sure if it did ring i wouldn't miss a call from him because it was on vibrate.) i also had to dangerously close to the shower this morning luckily it didn't get wet. and i watched the recruit message boards, watching as each platoon's parents proudly posted that they talked to their son, and he sounded sooo mature, and he was so excited to talk to us, and i just cried i was so excited! and i was SOOOO happy for everyone. these are a group of people i have gotten to know these last 3 months. through the message boards and chat nights. and i can't wait to meet them all in less than 2 weeks at the meet & greet the day before family day.

so me and Kat were LIVING by the phone. we didn't want to be in a building without signal for more than a minute or two, JUST IN CASE they called while we were there. so today we went up the canyon to take some cool pictures. and we don't have signal up there. the pictures turned out REALLY cute... but right before we left i texted Sgt Worthen (rye's recruiter, read previous posts to get the back story on that whole thing) and i asked if there was a way to find out what TIME the boys would be calling so we could plan accordingly, cause i knew if i missed his call... i would BAWL and be completely inconsolable. so we got done up the canyon came out of the canyon, got back to Kat's moms house, and i got a text back from Worthen... here is our exact conversation, i'm not editing a word.

me: hey, i know you're probably super sick of me, and i know you probably can't give me an exact answer. but is there anyway to find out what time they would get phone calls?
Worthen: i sent my boy a message, hoping to hear back from him soon
me: thank you so freaking much! lemme know as soon as you do
Worthen: Just talked with him. phone calls are not mandatory and they are not getting one. so the platoon much have done bad at something or messed up pretty bad. sorry

now by this point. i've had TWO days to look forward to this conversation. i had it all planned out in my head, and was NEEDING to hear the sound of his voice. i almost thought Worthen was joking.

me: are you f-ing kidding me?! that sucks ass (yes i really typed f-ing... i don't have a sailors mouth)
Worthen: yeah, sorry
me: Do we know how they did in Final drill or anything
Worthen: i'm taking it they didn't do so hot
Me: well thank you so much for checking. and putting up with me
Worthen: Ha trust me, had way worse than you!

soooo that just about sums it up. if i wasn't expecting a phone call it would've been ok. but the thing that kills me even more. is that i'm sure RILEY is furious. cause i'm sure it wasn't him or Zack that caused it. so, that pretty much ruined my day. and week. but tomorrow is another day, i'll get through this. but for today at least. i'm going to wallow in self pity, and not feel guilty about it at all. i'm babysitting right now, but afterwards, i'm going home to lay in bed and watch pride and prejudice... and bawl. if you call or text. don't be offended that i'll probably ignore you, cause i'm not really in the mood to talk to anyone. oh gosh... these 2 weeks will not pass quick enough.

 

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

most likely my last survey... we're getting close!!!

ok so i got my weekly letter from Rye today. it was pretty quick... cause he's in finals week now, so he's spending much more time studying!. now this survey that i sent him is the same survey that he filled out in 2005, i thought it would be kinda cool to compare answers with the 5-year gap and everything! i love my husband!!! well here is the survey, from today of course!

FlashBack Survey (we'll compare answers in a few weeks :) ) he underlined a few weeks a bunch of times!
Last good kiss? Dec 1st when i left my BEAUTIFUL wife
Last cry? Today, your birthday I AM SAD I AM missing it
Last Movie Seen? patriot Dec 25th Christmas
Last book read? D&C 84
Last cuss word spoken? I think I said Damn
Last food consumed? Breakfast :) pancakes, cereal, cream of wheat, muffin, lots of fruit, cottage cheese (HOLY CRAP THATS A TON OF FOOD!)
Last phone call? Don't like that day. Dec 1st, calling you when i got here
Last time showered? Last night
Last shoes worn? My circa's or my combat boots on now
last item bought? Fang Paste i think
Last thing drank? water, as always
Last thing written? what i am writing now :)
Last Key used? probably key to the hotel, where we stayed
Last words spoken? "Lets go sit down there" to Zack, we in the back of the class
Last time dancing? Last night :) (ummm why the crap was he dancing?)
last show attended? up north (camp pendleton) we had a christian rock band perform, does that count?
last time you were called hot? never (THATS BULL CRAP!)
current thing you should be doing? listening to people bear their testimony's
favorite animal? the Ozz Paws :)
favorite food? pizza, chinese food, I Greeme (ice cream) :)
Favorite month? December
favorite sport? running, i know this one won't match up :)

oh and hey, how's shaving? it sucks, i have to do it every night!

well it's your birthday today and i am very very sad and depressed that i am missing it today. i hope you are having a good day today. and you get to have a good party and get good presents and eat yummy food. i am so excited to be with you in just a little bit longer. this three months have sucked being away from you, i am ready to come hope 19 days left from today, and by the time you get this and by the time you get this i should be done with the prac test that i am stressing about. so hopefully i pass it so i don't get dropped back. i am also supposed to tell you when you come to the graduation :) you need to wear red, the DI's told us that we need to tell our families to wear red. so make sure you do :) it's getting so very close babe, i love you so much. have a good birthday.
love, Riley

Monday, February 8, 2010

Graduation outfit... whatdoyathink?!



 
 

Happy Birthday to Sav!!!

alright ladies and gentlemen, my birthday is officially over. all yesterday i was a bit sad because i hadn't heard from Riley about my birthday at all. and to be honest, i was a bit upset that he hadn't thought ahead of time and sent me a birthday note or anything. sooooo here is what i did on my birthday. i made some super bowl cakes, which turned out DANG cute if i do say so myself!
 
so i finished the cakes and then Kat came over and brought me flowers :) that made me happy! we helped Paula get ready for their super bowl party. and Lauren was going to come over while Dal was watching the superbowl in Lehi, so we (the girls) planned to make headbands. so we ran to the store to pick up some stuff. when we got back, Paula had set up to do a birthday cake and presents for me. so i had told Jenny that i didn't want a birthday cake, and joked about just wanting a birthday Kiwi... so Paula took that and made a fruit pizza for my birthday.. so Kat was like aww thats cute you get a birthday Pie... which anyone that knows Riley knows that he's the only person to do a birthday pie instead of a cake. and for some reason those two words actually made me cry... i'm a bit emotional these days :) anyway so we had my birthday pizza pie and it was delicious. here's some pictures.


  
  
 
so ya that is what my birthday looked like. all things considered, it was a good day! so here are a few pictures of the headbands/clips i have made recently... i like them along!

 
  

anyway... so today i knew that my inlaws were sending me a card so i made the quick drive down to my moms house to check the mail this afternoon. after i was super sad that Rye had forgotten my birthday, i got out to check the mail. grabbed a bill for me, my package from Curt and Shellee... and then i grabbed the rest of the mail to bring to the house so Phil could get HIS birthday cards that were in there. then i saw an envelope that had my name. bigger than a bill. i grabbed it without thinking. and then recognized the handwriting. and i started to bawl!


what was inside you might be asking yourself.... 


and i won't read you what it said... but it was DANG sweet... ok maybe i will type it... cause it's nothing too personal. and i had to read it like 3 times.. cause i couldn't get my eyes to dry! he wrote this on a short break on monday. so it's messy, and PERFECT! and yes i've edited out certain things that are NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS :) 

Hey babe, i kinda have to write this fast so sorry if it's short. i just wanted to tell you I Love You so much. I can't picture my life without you. you are my strength that is keeping me going. everytime i feel like i can't run or get over something, i think of you and it gets me through it. i have 24 more days left and counting till i get to hold you in my arms again, THAT IS SO SOON :) It's coming up soon babe. i hope you have a wonderful birthday and i am sorry i can't be there. when we get together again we will celebrate all of the things i have missed out on.
I love you babe, i will see you very very soon
Happy Birthday Sweet Thang

♪ listen up cause i love you babay we go back like 1980, you know you're the one who changed me, you love me cause i'm so crazy :)

I love you so much Always and Forever
Riley
did you get teary eyed... cause i still do reading back over it... i love my husband... he is AMAZING!!! anyway i also got a survey in my birthday card as well.... so here is the latest Riley Update.

The Rye & Sav Survey (cause i lost count :) )
Date Sent: Jan 28th 
Date completed: Feb 1st 
 Favorite thing to eat at Boot: everything breakfast :) waffles + peanut butter :)
can you believe i'll see you in 4 weeks?! NO I CAN'T WAIT!!
how does it feel to be an Elder? I am actually gonna get ordained on Family day :)
are you excited to get a high & tight? (thats the haircut they are allowed to get after the finish!) sure
anything other than buzzers & clothes you want me to bring?  My hats (ok i already knew that one!)
Any food requests for Family Day? i dunno, just the stuff i have previously mentioned 
do you think you could hump (it means to hike) angels landing with your gear? Easily. (now i might make him prove it :) hahahaha)
any friends without family wanna join us on family day? nope, i asked 
how are you doing at PFT(physical fitness) fine i guess, i am one of the best :)
what t.v. show do you miss the most? American Idol, Biggest Loser, Top Gear actually king of queens, and home improvement
have the DI's given you better manners? :) i dunno you will have to let me know
I Miss YOU! (i know, sorry it's not a question :) ) I Really Miss You
Do you miss carbonation? cause i dont! not really, but excited to have it
did you have an o.k. birthday? no
do you wanna go to church on or off base that 1st sunday? off
was the rain horrible? you have no idea :) i will tell you about it
Is your bunkmate cool? yeah, but he farts alot :) Bunkmate says "HI"
is it nice to be back home(MCRD)? kinda i guess
do you still miss me? :) (i know this answer) very much so
is your bed comfy? no not even
as always here's your space to write me a little note :)
my bunkmate wants me to add that he is short :) don't really have anything to say cause i am writing this on my short break so you will get another one again here soon when i write on sunday. 
I love you Ridawg

so there you go boys and girls! that is the Riley update for today :)

Friday, February 5, 2010

Brothers.

so this last weekend, i was a bit stressed with moving and such. and needed to get rid of some frustration. so i decided i would grab my camera and head up the canyon. i invited my brother Paul to come up and model for me. and on our way out the door, Phil got home and wanted to join us. so the three of us hopped in the car and went for a drive. it was A TON of fun. i got a bunch of great shots. I have two of the coolest brothers in the world. they both make me laugh. and Phil has to be one of the funniest people i've EVER met.  i'll post a few but none of these are edited.. just so you know. but here ya go. :) enjoy

 

 
 

 

Thursday, February 4, 2010

guilty confession and update from Riley

let me start out by saying this... If Riley comes home wanting a divorce, it'll be because of what i did yesterday :)

got ya curious huh?! ok so here is the quick background of the story. Riley's recruiter grew up in Alpine, he's a year older than Riley and they have known eachother since elementary school... that being said, Riley thought he was a douche all throughout school. in fact when we first walked into the recruiters office last February and Riley recognized Worthen, he told me that night that he was going to ask for another recruiter cause that kid was such a douche growing up. but the next time we went in SGT Worthen actually acknowledged that he was a Dick in high school, Riley agreed and they laughed about it. so then for the last year i've been in and out of that office dozens of times for different things. so i've gotten to know Worthen, Heart, and most of the other guys in the office.

so when Riley left Worthen gave me his number and told me to call him every week or so, that way he knew i was doing alright. well at the begining of January i was talking to Worthen and he mentioned that one of Riley's DI's (Drill Instructor) is actually a good friend of his, they've known each other for years.


so now you know the back ground.... ok now... here's the story :)

I got a letter yesterday, and i was expecting it to mention my upcoming birthday... well no such luck. so then i went down to Kat's work to hang out with her. and she has YET to receive a letter. it's been 2 weeks now since her last letter. and needless to say, she's a bit upset. so i was sitting at her work, and decided to call Worthen to see if he had any recent updates. here's how our conversation went :)
W "so are you getting lot's of letters?"
S "ya i get a letter every wednesday."
W "YOU ONLY GET ONE A WEEK?!"
S "ya he uses all his extra free time to study, so i'm totally fine with my one letter a week. but i have to send him stamps, cause i guess he's about out."
W "he's out of stamps? what the H*** . i can call his DI and tell him to let the guys go buy stamps."
S "haha won't that get them in trouble?"
W "eh... they are going to get IT(extra attention) anyway, might as well make it worth it."
S "well in that case. Kat hasn't recieved a letter from Zack in 2 weeks now."
W "WHAT are you freakin kidding me. well tell her if she wants i can get her 5 letters in one week!"
S "hahaha she's giving me the look like "umm maybe but what's it gonna cost?" "
W "just some IT."
S "oh man, they are going to KILL us haha"
W "probably, but they are almost done, so you might as well"
S "ok. well then while you're at it, tell him to harass Rye and make him write me a birthday letter, OH and tell him to harass him and try to make him take a leadership role"
W "oh i will, cause he is getting frustrated that Riley hasn't tried to take a leadership position yet. because he's got everything it takes, he just needs to take it. he's a bit more timid than i expected him to be. but he's doing awesome, and there is still time for him to become a guide and be an honor grad, because i know he can do it."

so there you go... hopefully he doesnt kill me. :) i'll give you an update as soon as i get one :)

anyway in case any of ya care.. here is the latest Riley update. this is the latest Survey that i sent him. once again the only thing i'm adding it will be in ( )

Survey Number 4 All Things Phase 2
Date Sent: January 19th Received i don't remember but it's Jan 31st today :)
Best Thing about phase 2: I liked the table 2 shooting quals, it kinda felt like a video game :)
Worst thing about phase 2: the rain. it was way bad we were on field week. we got flooded out so we didn't sleep in our tents, we had to hike back down
Are the DI's nicer in phase 2: Nope
are the days longer in phase 2: no it went by way fast
have you gotten stuck on a duty that you hate: just fire watch every other night (fire watch is just night watch that they have to do)
i heard there are no stall doors... everyone REALLY knows what you're doing! public bathrooms will be nothing for you now right: hahaha yea we have conversations while we're going haha (i laughed pretty hard at that!)
have you gotten injured at all: no knock on wood
any leg pain: nope :) again, knock on wood
Have you gotten sick: been sick since second week :) (not sure why he's smiling at that, but i guess attitude is everything huh?)
did you get a ton of mail when it caught up: maybe five or six i think
do you get the most letters? from one single person, probably (THAT'S CAUSE I'M AN AWESOME WIFE!!!!!!)
do you feel Bad-ass yet? to tell you the truth, i feel the same (my husband, the humble one)
how was the rifle range: i didn't really like table 1 but  table 2 was cool
do you still stress about your shoes getting dirty: actually yes, but i keep it to myself :)
are you becoming a stronger runner: no i think i was stronger at home, i can't wait to get home and run on my trails :)
how was the gas chamber: we do that on the crucible
are you ok at memorizing what you need to: i don't really know yet, i am sure trying though
are you freakin stoked for family day/ Graduation: Freaking stoked is an understatement :)
was the rain miserable: it was so bad, we got so muddy and it was freezing
do alot of people write you: not alot, i have you, my parents, Michelle, and 2 from Carl and Debie
you said you have to write in all caps. do the DI's read everything you write: no just when we have to turn in writing assignments.
if they DO read everything. HI! drill instructor hope you've enjoyed this survey, sorry it wasn't more mushy. Steven's needs to do more push-ups :)
if they don't... well you thought i was funny. it's cause i am babe. that's why you're homesick cause you have the most awesomest wife in the world. you don't know how true that statement is. well team week kinda sucked it went by really slowly and it gave me time to think. which is bad cause all i was thinking about is being with you (awwwww) so i was really depressed all week, so it sucked. i was kinda bummed that you went to sea world, i wanted to be there for your first time but oh well ( he forgets that i went years ago... but it rained and we had to leave a bit early) it seems like you are doing ok on everything and having a good time. i am jealous but happy for you :) I think thats pretty cool that you can know how i am doing trhough Worthen (he might regret that now :) )  i am so freaking nervous for the prac test. i need to pass it and you know how i am with tests. i am kinda freaking out about it so i hope i get through it ok (he'll be fine... i know it!) well when you get this i will be a Marine in about two weeks :) little over (two weeks from today he'll be a Marine) i love you babe with all my heart. keep the letters flowing like wine :) (where the crap he got that phrase from.. i have no idea)  Love always and forever Ridawg


So there ya go... if you have any questions, there are still a few weeks left before i get to see him! 3 weeks from today to be exact!

Monday, February 1, 2010

another month come and gone!

So it is officially February and i could NOT be happier! that means i will get to see my amazing husband THIS MONTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! granted it's still about 4 weeks away but STILL!!! ok can you tell i'm a bit stoked! so lets see what have i been up to. i moved... again. this is the 3rd time in 5 months. my family is crazy... scratch that my sibblings are amazing! but my mother and her husband are CRAZY. so i bailed. these last 2 months have been about finding myself while Rye was gone, and it was going amazing... until i started getting stressed about things at home. it's a long long long story and i'm not here to slander anyone, so thats all i'll say about it.
So now i'm staying at Zack's parents house. Mark and Paula are AMAZING! and it's only been 1 day, but i can already feel the refocus... so i am confident that i will lose the 10 pounds i want to by Riley's Graduation. i'm down about 20 right now. and he has NO IDEA! he'll try to put in his letters that he's curious if i'm working out or eating right. but i COMPLETELY ignore him :) buahahaha it'll be worth it to see his face on Feb 25th. but then he'll regret it when i go and spend all his hard earned money on new clothes. cause nothing fits me anymore. which is a good thing! so ya, Kat's birthday was last tuesday. Zack arranged before he left to have flowers delivered to her work on her birthday. it was SOOOOOO sweet. and he sent her a card from boot camp that said don't open till your birthday. and it was SUCH a sweet card. i was sooo jealous it was wierd. cause i KNEW that it was her day and she deserved everything that she got. but it still made me jealous. cause my birthday is coming up real quick here, and Riley is usually sooo thoughtful, but i have a feeling we're just doing my birthday and valentines when he gets home. which i'm fine with. i just can't wait till graduation. well anyway, here are some pictures from Kat's birthday dinner. and from game night we had last night... which was awesome!