I'm a Survivor...

Go ahead...you can continue singing Destiny's Child...you know you want to.

I always say that the first day of an extended separation or deployment is always the hardest.

You go from a home that's alive and full of laughter, happiness, and two adults working in unison to keep the kids alive to a home that just feels empty and lonely.

To top it off, it's Monday...

Seriously, who likes Mondays?!

I knew that in order to keep my mind off of the emptiness in my house, I needed to A) get out of the house, and B) stay busy.

I can happily say I accomplished both tasks.

I went to the gym this morning and had a killer work out sesh....and realized the week I took off of lifting (because Nick was on leave) made me super weak sauce....yes...I said weak sauce....don't judge.

As soon as we got home, I showered, put Mattis down for his morning nap, fed the kids their lunch, and went on a walk around the 1 mile loop in our neighborhood.

This is the shirt I wore today...

I bought this shirt at a cheesy tourist gift shop when we went to the cape last weekend.

I bought it because I knew Nick...my fisherman...would love it.

I wore it today cause it reminded me of him :)

Dannika rode her Razor all around our neighborhood on our walk, up hills, down hills....

And because my child can not resist a good photo op...

Once we finished our walk/scooter ride, she played soccer (by herself) for a little bit.

She's got a pretty impressive kick, and check out that form!

After Mattis' afternoon nap, we went and checked out a new park that we had been meaning to go to with Nick, but just never made it.

My "babaloo" had a blast on the swing, and I met some other cool parents...

Just chillin'...not a care in the world...

Dannika made lots of friends too.

One of the moms actually came up to me to tell me that Dannika was the sweetest and nicest little girl that she had ever encountered.

She went on to say that she was so impressed with her ability to just go up to a kid, introduce herself, and make friends.

It always puts a smile on my face when people tell me that about her.

And the last photo Nick sent me when he was picked up on the airport...

Looks happy, huh?

Based on the training schedule, it looks like we won't be hearing from him until the 21st...bummer.

I'm just happy that we're finally on the countdown!