company = bliss

When Karl & I came back from Little Rock Emma flew back with us- I had been looking forward to her visit ALLLL SUMMER LONNNG and having her come back with us made it so much easier to leave Texas, which is always tear-evoking.  Well, I had an absolute blast with Emma... despite the fact that she was deathly ill for 98% of the time she was here.  The first day she came she felt decent so we spent the day at the pool where Emma got a nice big taste of base-life.  She asked if more military people have tattoos than civilian people after really taking in her surroundings at the base pool... ha... yes, Emma, yes.   We also grocery shopped at the commissary- it's so fun to get to show my family all the things that I have adapted to and learned about, military wise, since marrying Karl and moving here.  I feel so proud of how far my knowledge and base-savvyness has come... I did that on my own- we all know that nobody shows you the ropes around here (I mean, remember the countless breakdowns about this?).  Anyways, fortunately, going to the pool is about all there is to do here in Sumter because after day 1 we were pretty much house-ridden because Emma felt absolutely MISERABLE.  Because she was sick we had to cancel our plans to go visit Amelia Island & The Johns' and similarly, any ideas I had of day trips to the beach or Wake Forest were definitely out of the question.  However, it was just so nice to have somebody to sit around with all day.  It made the days fly by and basically be awesome.  It was heaven to have someone to eat lunch with, watch TV with, introduce "Clueless," and "Corky Romano" to (yes, she has never seen either), and just take care of.  I felt horrible that she was miserable but I was just glad she was here.  On the day she left, we decided to get out a little bit so we did ANNND we took a few pics (basically the only pics we took which is why we are in the same outfits in all of them) and I pushed Emma around a store and Karl gave her curbside service everywhere we went.  It was a GREAT week and I'm hoping (for her sake) she gets to come back and have a do-over when my parents come in a month or so to help Karl & I pack & move out.  Please excuse my iPhone pics...

SUCH a fun week with Emma!  Now preparing for Callie's arrival THIS SATURDAY!  We cannot wait!  Her stay will be short but sweet, we LOVE having company!