When Bradley was six weeks old, Matt went TDY for four weeks (aka Temporary Duty, aka he went away for a short period of time). Since I was still on maternity leave and didn't want to spend all that time alone with the boys, we packed up and flew back East to spend two weeks with my family. It worked out kind of perfectly because Candice and Matt were flying home from Clovis, so we didn't have to travel alone (at least to get to Maryland) and a lot of my family got to meet Bradley earlier than they would have this way, which was cool. Here are some pictures from the visit (in no chronological order at all):
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| Gigi and Pop sharing their Rita's Italian Ice with Ethan and Jemma, lol |
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| Candice and Rifat on the porch |
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| Pop and Ethan playing with the Lincoln Logs |
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| My grandmother meeting Bradley for the first time <3 |
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| My Dad with his brother and sister and their spouses |
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| Both my boys on my lap (Bradley is hidden in the wrap) |
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| Gigi helped Ethan build a fort on the porch |
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| Sweet sleeping baby |
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| Bradley hanging out on the porch |
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| Ethan and Jemma |
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| Ethan ate the first meal on Gigi and Pop's new porch |
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| Alexa and Ethan |
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| Alexa meeting Bradley |
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| Becca's Baby Shower |
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| Jemma, Kayla and Ethan in the sandbox |
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| Aunt Lauren meeting Bradley |
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| Uncle Mike meeting Bradley |
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| Cousin snack time on the porch |
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| Puzzle fun at Gigi and Pop's house |
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| More sweet sleeping baby |
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| More Lincoln Log fun |
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| Snoozing on Aunt Candice |
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| Pop and Bradley |
Then on our return trip to New Mexico (which I was incredibly stressed about because I was flying alone with both boys), the coolest thing happened. I ended up knowing the man sitting next to me! He was an old co-worker of Matt's that I hadn't seen in probably five years, but he actually recognized me. He was super nice and when we landed he not only pushed Ethan in his stroller to baggage claim, he also helped me get all my luggage off the conveyor belt and proceeded to escort me to my car (pushing my 4 large pieces of luggage) and then loaded my car. It was the best thing that ever could have happened that day. Once to our car, we still had a 3.5 hour drive from Albuquerque to Clovis, but instead of making the drive right after our flight, I called a friend who lives in Albuquerque and at a minute's notice she took us in, fed us dinner, and let us crash at her house. Another huge blessing. It's pretty amazing how life takes care of you when you need it most. :)
