january through july. one house, one dog, one couple...two lives. while alissa was living her life in north carolina, mike was deployed in afghanistan. though it was a LONG absence, it sure did make the hearts grow fonder!
he was circa 7,500 miles away
shirley showing her pride all by herself. the week before mike returned, she grabbed this out of the flower pot and trotted around with it. a few days earlier while watching the 'surprise homecoming' show on military homecomings, shirley grabbed a pair of mike's military socks and brought them to me!
displaying support for our troops
on base for the homecoming. their cargo and gear just arrived.
they are here!! slight feeling of deja vu as that morning two white busses passed me while i was on my run twice (how many times do you honestly see a white school bus?)...i thought maybe they were surprising us super duper early but then my senses got the best of me when i realized there was no reason they'd be out on emerald isle, let alone meandering through a neighborhood. mike came back on the first flight with about 10% of the battalion. advon (advanced party) had 3 busses worth of marines, and mike was on bus #3!
reunited after oh so long!!! he saw me first and darted around people, and then we embraced. longest. hug. ever.
soaking in the moment.
quick photo op care of our good friend katrina, the dubbed camera girl.
where's waldo! it was tough to keep track of him amidst the sea of identical cammis and sea bags as he picked up his own.
ready to go back home!
surprise!! he was greeted by banner #1 at our neighborhood entrance.
close-up of the bonus banner. you can't really see it but it's us on road bikes with shirls and her "cigar" (beef bone)
banner #2!
close-up of the main banner. i think i'll keep it hanging up for a while to embarrass him :)
his welcome home gift!! mike said he had a hunch of what it was when he spied the bonus banner...oops. what he didn't know is that he got two more mini surprises also (road bike accessories and some new coastal shirts).
he was circa 7,500 miles away
shirley showing her pride all by herself. the week before mike returned, she grabbed this out of the flower pot and trotted around with it. a few days earlier while watching the 'surprise homecoming' show on military homecomings, shirley grabbed a pair of mike's military socks and brought them to me!
displaying support for our troops
on base for the homecoming. their cargo and gear just arrived.
they are here!! slight feeling of deja vu as that morning two white busses passed me while i was on my run twice (how many times do you honestly see a white school bus?)...i thought maybe they were surprising us super duper early but then my senses got the best of me when i realized there was no reason they'd be out on emerald isle, let alone meandering through a neighborhood. mike came back on the first flight with about 10% of the battalion. advon (advanced party) had 3 busses worth of marines, and mike was on bus #3!
reunited after oh so long!!! he saw me first and darted around people, and then we embraced. longest. hug. ever.
soaking in the moment.
quick photo op care of our good friend katrina, the dubbed camera girl.
where's waldo! it was tough to keep track of him amidst the sea of identical cammis and sea bags as he picked up his own.
ready to go back home!
surprise!! he was greeted by banner #1 at our neighborhood entrance.
close-up of the bonus banner. you can't really see it but it's us on road bikes with shirls and her "cigar" (beef bone)
banner #2!
close-up of the main banner. i think i'll keep it hanging up for a while to embarrass him :)
his welcome home gift!! mike said he had a hunch of what it was when he spied the bonus banner...oops. what he didn't know is that he got two more mini surprises also (road bike accessories and some new coastal shirts).