Take my Hand, Take my Heart: September 2010

A few months ago I decided to pursue the idea of having LASEK before I got married and became "poor". I had the consultation and it was determined if I wanted a procedure to have my vision corrected, I was going to have to have PRK which is a more evasive surgery that requires more recovery time. I decided to go ahead with the surgery and asked Mike to get the day off to escort me there and home. Mike gladly accepted and picked me up at 1:15 sharp on Thursday. While at the doctor's office Mike was very attentive and curious, he helped me with everything, took pictures, comforted me when I needed it and made me laugh to keep my mind off the inevitable.

While in surgery Dr. Hoopes asked me who the guy was with me and I told him it was my fiance. He laughed and said "I thought he was a reporter with all the pictures he was taking. He is acting like this is the first PRK ever done in Utah" We laughed and went on with the surgery. As we finished, Dr. Hoopes told me "You are lucky he is still only a fiance, all the "husbands" head down to the bowling alley and come back when the surgery is over" I guess I am glad we haven't had the wedding yet or I would have been on my own!

We left the doctor's office with many instructions and items to buy to help me recover. Mike has been a great nurse. He has picked up my prescriptions, bought me cold packs for my eyes and kept me on schedule with all my drops. I just want to thank him for all his support and love throughout this recovery. It has not been easy and I have not been pleasant! I love you very much!

PS. I wrote this post blind, so if there are mistakes I will correct at a later date when I can see!

On Christmas morning I was pleasantly surprised with 2 airline tickets to Virginia Beach, Virginia from Jessica. Jessica had secretly arranged with my best friend, James to fly to Virginia to visit him. Jessica and I flew into Virginia Beach, Virginia on May 12, 2010. James met us in the airport. After not seeing James for so long, my first comment to him was about how he had joined the "fat boy club." It was great seeing him and introducing him to Jessica. We talked about life and other small talk while we waited to get our rental car. While following James to his place Jessica and I admired the beautiful countryside. What a gorgeous place.

When we got to James' house we introduced Jessica to Wendy, James' wife, and his kids, Jeremy, and Kendel. We all hung out and talked for a few hours. James told too many stories about our high school days. We all finally went to bed about 1:00ish.

The next morning we woke up about 9:00 and made plans to go see the lighthouse at Cape Henry. We climbed to the top. What a spectacular view. We played around at the top for a while and took some great pictures. After seeing the lighthouse we spent a few hours walking on the beach. It was great just the two of us walking down the beach hand in hand. The beach by the lighthouse was incredible.

When we returned back to James' place we got ready to go to dinner with the family. We went to a seafood place and it was awesome. James, Wendy, Jessica and I stayed at the restaurant for a couple hours talking, of course, more of the high school stories. When we got back to James' place we told way too many stories and talked until about 2:00 before heading up to bed.

Friday morning we woke up and Jessica and I decided to go to the beach. We spent the whole day there. It was a blast. We took a few dips in the water until something bit Jessica and then we were a little nervous to get back in. We both got a little bit sun burnt. We also enjoyed the great activity of people watching! After trying to get a tan and lying on the beach for a few hours we decided to rent some bikes and ride up and down the boardwalk. It was really fun getting on the bike and riding beside Jessica. I thoroughly enjoyed spending a carefree day on the beach! Which I hear is what I will be doing on my honeymoon so I should get used to it!

After we decided we were done with the bike ride we went back to James' place and got ready for dinner. James had been talking up a sushi place for months. Although I am not much into sushi, Jessica is so we headed out to give it a try. I ventured out and tried some but I am still not a fan. Jessica loved it and I like some of it. We lounged at the restaurant for sometime and enjoyed the company. It was great spending time with James again.

When we got back to James' place we decided to take a dip in the hot tub. The sunburn made it a little uncomfortable for me. We stayed in the hot tub talking for about an hour and then played around in the pool for a while. When we got tired of the getting wet we went back inside and talked some more. I really did do some stupid things when I was younger. No details available.

Saturday we talked James and Wendy into to going to Jamestown with us. It was about an hour drive and we got to sit back and take in the beautiful countryside. It was an awesome drive. When we arrived we found out that we only had a couple hours to see the sites before it closed so we kind of had to rush. It was really cool seeing the historic Jamestown settlement. A learning moment for sure. We enjoyed spending the day with James and Wendy.

When we returned to James' place we made dinner. Actually Wendy did most of the work, I sat and talked to James and kind of watched. Dinner was very tasty. After dinner we sat and chatted. It was really fun talking and catching up with James and Wendy.

Sunday was James' Birthday and Jessica and I made breakfast. I actually did help. I stirred the syrup.

Breakfast was great, buttermilk pancakes and syrup. We sat around for a little while and then went to a BBQ at some friends of James and Wendy's. It was fun. After the BBQ we headed to ice cream to finish off the celebrating of James' birthday. It was a long day and we returned tired but finally got a chance to take a few pictures of the four of us.
We woke up on Monday to the last day in Virginia. We had to get our stuff packed and get ready to go. I was hoping to say our goodbyes to Wendy, Jeremy, and Kendel but they were gone before we awoke. James was nice enough to escort us to the airport because without the GPs we borrowed from James we would have been lost. We followed James to the Harley shop to exchange his birthday gift. We had given him that was disappointingly too big. The Harley shop unfortunately would not exchange the gift so off to the airport we went.

When we got to the airport and turned in the rental car, we met James on our way into the terminal. We talked about how much fun we had over the last 5 days and how we definitely needed to do it again. Next time James and Wendy need to come to Salt Lake.

Overall, our trip was really fantastic. I have to say a great big THANK YOU to Jessica for the tickets. And another great big THANK YOU to James and Wendy for their hospitality. Virginia is one of the most enjoyable trips Jessica and I have taken together. We always manage to have a great time on our little vacations.

To all who are reading this, Jessica gave me one tip about writing this post…