Father's Day kinda stinks...

Only 2.5 weeks into this deployment and here it is, Father's Day. That sucks. Two years ago Brian was deployed on Father's Day too... This year I decided that I need to get the heck out of town and avoid all the other wives and children who would be able to be with their husbands/fathers. We needed a little trip. So I planned to take the kids to the beach for 3 days. 

I struggle with the beach because I don't like sand. Or to be hot. Or to sweat. Or to swim... But my kids LOVE IT ALL! And so does Brian. So I knew we would feel close to him there. And I could dig a little deeper and plug in (and play/swim in his absence) and it would be a great weekend. 

Two years ago while he was deployed I took the kids to the beach solo and it was FANTASTIC! I loved the ease of it, the fun of it, the escape to the hotel- from the clean white hotel sheets and bitter cold air conditioning in our room, to the oceanside outdoor after dark (and outdoor pool too) and sitting on our balcony that overlooked the ocean with a glass of wine and my book while the kids slept- so I knew this is what I would need to get through another Father's Day weekend without Brian. 

I always try to stop at Chic-Fil-A for a pitstop while traveling solo with the kids (and/or dogs...) and this Chic-Fil-A will go down in McCullough history as the most unusual ever- because in the parking lot, there were two ALLIGATORS! Not kidding-

Here they are-

They were well contained, but still- alligators in the middle of Virginia??? I have googled it a bunch and confirmed what my own eyes saw that day, but no real history behind them...

We got to the beach (after a crack-of dawn swim meet Saturday morning might I add...) and were pretty psyched up with the view from our room-

Macy brought along her Daddy doll- so here is Brian, with our killer view-

School got out on Thursday, and the first swim meet kicked off this morning, so this was the best way to kick off our summer- and for me to relax! They quickly wanted to head down to the water. Okay! said fun-loving Vacation mom Farrah....

 I also needed to be very careful (not too relaxed) vacation mom this weekend because of the dangerous waves-

Tate was pretty psyched up for his beachside dinner-

Macy was thrilled with the extreme playground right outside of our hotel-

 Here is our beach gear.... Thank goodness my kids are warrior sherpas who don't complain much!

Certainly could have used Brian's muscles to help keep my umbrella buried all day... 

Oh the sand...

I DID IT! I played in the ocean with the kids. I didn't like the ocean even as a kid- so Im pretty sure that this is the first time I'd ever been bounced around by the waves- and killer waves they were.  I was scraping sand off my scalp for days...

 Brian was never far from our minds...

We decided when Brian left that the kids and I would pass the 52 weeks by buying a lottery ticket each Saturday night. If we win- we go see him. If we never win, we win big when he comes home and is our grand prize! Here is our first ticket that we bought at the beach-

 we didn't win.

Brian and I share photos, so it's always neat to see what pops up from him and when. These were the ones that came across over Father's Day weekend-

Next year we will be together. He left June 1. It is a year long deployment. 12 months. 52 weeks. Father's Day is always mid-June. So, I have built in a 2 week cushion and expect him back in my arms by Father's Day 2018.... because Father's Day without him sucks.