How it all started

Caleb and I got married May 8th and afterwards we settled into our two bedroom house on post at Ft. Riley. We scheduled our honeymoon for his block leave. He left shortly after we got married for NTC in California, and I graduated from Mizzou May 16th. After he got back on June 9th, we spent lots of time with our puppy, Sookie. Then, we left for our honeymoon in Antigua on July 5. I was so excited! I was our first big vacation together, and it was the first time we flew in an airplane together.

So, July 5 we left Ft. Riley and flew out of Kansas City. In Kansas City, however, we had some bad luck. First, we saw the sign that had the restricted items on it and one of them was Mace. I couldn't remember if I had left my Mace at home or not, and sure enough, it was in my purse! I had to throw it away (sorry Kim)! Then, when we went through security, they had to do an extra search of our carry-on bag. When they did the search the bag, they found 2 tubes of sunscreen. I was not happy! We had just bought that sunscreen! Apparently, since it was in the same bag as our snacks, Caleb had forgotten about the sunscreen and just put the whole bag into our carry-on. Luckily, only one tube of sunscreen was over the allowed 3 ounces of liquid, so we got to keep one of them!

We flew in to La Guardia Airport in New York City that night. We took a cab to the hotel that we were staying at near JFK Airport so that we wouldn't have as far to go in the morning. Now, our cab was no regular cab as we were soon going to find out! As we walked out of the baggage claim area, a man with a black suit jacket asked if we needed a cab and, of course, we said yes. He walked us out to the road and went to get his cab. His cab wasn't a yellow cab, it was a brand new black suburban! When we went to put our luggage in, the police pulled up behind him, so he didn't put it in at that time. This made me feel a bit uneasy. But, he explained later that, since he was in the road, he could get in trouble for holding up traffic. Luckily, I had Caleb with me, so I felt safe. The ride was pretty awesome! We ended up going 75-80mph in a 50mph zone! Thankfully we didn't crash, and we got to the hotel REALLY fast!!

The next day, we boarded the plane to Antigua. It was a 4 hour flight, and on the back of the seat in front of each passenger, there were TVs. We played games and watched new releases. (I watched I Love You, Man for the 2.5 time. You will have to ask me for that story some other time!) When we were starting to get ready to land, I started to feel sick. It was not a fun landing, but I didn't throw up or anything. I just got really hot and nauseous.

Once we got to Sandals, it was AMAZING! We spent every day in the pool, ocean, and relaxing. The food was great! There were 7 restaurants and we were able to eat at all of them except for 1. At night, we would play pool... a lot... or go swimming in the pool right outside our door. It was a great vacation!

This was the door and patio of our room at Sandals.

This is the pool that was right outside our door.

We had a fully stocked bar in our room. The alcohol was on top and there was beer, juices, sodas, and waters inside the fridge.This is the main pool that we went to everyday. There was a swim up pool that we went to frequently! The water in the middle (on the right side) was a gigantic hot tub.This is the view from the beach.

The day we left we had some more bad luck! Before we left Antigua, we had to pay departure tax. The tax was $20 per person (cash only), and Caleb on had $20 in his wallet. We thought we were fine until we were told that the ATM at the airport was broken. So, we went to the nearby bank, and that ATM didn't work either. At this point, we saw some other people that I had seen at Sandals walking back to the airport from the bank. We asked them if they had found an ATM that worked and they had, but they said that only Visa cards worked. All Caleb had were Mastercards, but I knew that my separate debit card was Visa. However, walking across the parking lot I realized that I had just gotten a new card number and I had not yet memorized the PIN number! Unfortunately we were flying out on Sunday, so the bank branches were closed and when we tried to make a call to the 24/7 bank line, it could not be made since it was toll free!

I walked back to the airport in tears! I didn't know what to do! Caleb had already said that he would stay behind and let me go home, but I didn't want to leave without him. Back at the airport, I ran into a couple that I had seen at Sandals. I ran up to them asking if they were going to New York. (We had the plan that we would find someone going to New York, borrow $20 from them, and pay them back when we got back to New York and could use the ATM there.) This couple said they were going to Miami, so I broke out in tears explaining what had happened. The couple was so nice that they just gave us the $20 that we needed! I was so relieved!

Later on, they needed a pen to fill out their customs papers, so I ran to them and gave them the one I had in purse. And, after we went through security I found them and asked if I could have their address. They said no. All they wanted us to do was pay it forward. I started crying again at his generosity and I thank God for providing for us!

The plane ride back was just as bad as on the way there! And, after we got back to Kansas City (we stayed another night in New York between flights), we started driving home. But, I felt so car sick! It was the most horrible feeling, and I made Caleb pull over a few times. I could not have been happier to get home!

Upon getting home, I checked my email and my Facebook. Then, my very good friend texted me and told me that, after trying to get pregnant for almost 2 years, she finally was! I was so happy and excited for her! But, I started to think about the pain I was having. The fact that she was pregnant made me jealous (with her pregnancy, that meant that all of my friends were pregnant and I felt left out). So, without Caleb knowing, I went upstairs and took a pregnancy test. I kept thinking to myself as I was waiting that it would be Not Pregnant, and that would be okay with me. At least I took the test! But, to my surprise, it turned out to be Pregnant!!

I ran downstairs to tell Caleb, but unfortunately he was on the phone! I told him he needed to get off the phone, but he didn't. He was worried because of the look on my face since he knew the pain that I had been going through on the way home. So, I told him! He just kept hugging and kissing me after that! I ran upstairs so that I could get service to call the hospital to make my first appointment (at 8 weeks). I also texted a few of my friends since I just couldn't hold it in! I was so excited, and looking at Caleb, so was he!

This one speaks for itself! This was the first one I took.