The Move

Moving all our valuables across the country was exciting. We put all the breakable stuff in my Subaru and the rest on the trailor. My view the whole way to Texas was of Bryan's trailor. It was actually a little nerve recking. Every time he went over 65 mph, the whole trailor would shake back and forth like a see-saw. It was miserable watching our stuff rock back and forth every time we went down the slightest hill or Bryan tried to accelerate. Thank goodness we took the New Mexico route. I honestly might have had a heart attack. Plus, I don't know if Bryan's truck would have been able to haul 9500 lbs of furniture up the Rocky Mountains. We are definately blessed.


San Antonio is definately busy. I guess I haven't been in a real big city since St. Louis. Salt Lake doesn't really compare; it is confined by the mountains. There are so many highways/freeways- really easy to get lost. Before Bryan dropped me off we went to the famous Riverwalk and the Alamo. Very nice.


OBLC (officers basic leadership course) has been quite interesting. Some of the students have
never been in the army before, ever. So, this course is very basic. I have been sitting in classes for 3 weeks straight learning everything I learned in ROTC. The most difficult part is trying to keep my eyes opened and my head from nodding. I am actually excited to be out in the field (camping) and doing hands on stuff.

Bryan and I are separated by about 9 hours (he is in Tulsa). We have met "half way" once and I will be headed to his place on a three-day weekend. I haven't been too lonely. It's actually fun to be everyone's designated driver and do "single things". I still love being married though.
Bryan is having a hard time, however. He has to hang out with his mom all day. Just kidding. He is just the one being left, which I think is a lot harder than the one leaving. I love him dearly and it is sure nice when we get back together.

Hopefully this up dates every one a little bit. If you get the chance, leave me a note or call me. Hope everyone is doing well.

We made it--written by Bryan

I have been instructed to put something on here so that everyone will know what is going on in our lives. After a two day drive to Fort Hood, Texas we rented a storage unit and backed the trailer into it. Immediately we went to Kerrville Texas to visit my grandma for a day before Rebekah had to report to Fort Sam Houston. After dropping Rebekah off-Easter Sunday- I drove to Owasso Oklahoma to live at my parents and work construction and tile here. Rebekah has been doing great at OBC. She has been assigned the Platoon Leader of all the nurses. I guess these first few weeks are briefings and classes about what Army life is like and learning what paperwork she needs to fill out. I finished a tile job this week and worked on some of the rent houses my parents own. Well, that is about it. Even though Rebekah would probably say a lot more...I don't have anything else. I would put a picture to the truck/trailer but Rebekah has the camera. Oh, Rebekah is not posting this because the computers do not allow personal websites, ie. blogs/facebook, and she doesn't have her laptop with her. Maybe I will drop that off when I go visit next week.

Moving?

Yeah and soon! The army gave us a little less than two weeks notice to get to San Antonio. We are having crazy fun trying to pack up all our junk and haul it down to Texas. We don't have a ton of stuff to benefit from the Army moving us, plus I don't like the idea of them storing it for 3 months while I am at officer's basic course. I don't even know if the packers would have been able to pack us on such short notice. Anyways, Bryan really wanted to buy a 16 foot trailor and haul our stuff across the country. Apparently, we will profit off the move and basically get a trailor out of the deal. His other soul purpose in purchasing the trailor is to transport our future ATVs. Keep dreaming babe.

As for now, I just finished my last night shift at work and Bryan is finishing some last minute tile jobs. We are stressing out about finding boxes that will fit our irregular/bigger items and the truck being capable of pulling our stuff across the country. Does anyone know where I'd find some good-sized boxes? How about some moving tips before we head out (5 days)? This will be one heck of an adventure, thats for sure. Keep our truck in your prayers!

Congrats!

On Wednesday I took my nursing boards or the NCLEX-RN. I felt like I had prepared fairly well for the exam; I read through old notes and finished all the questions in a NCLEX prep book. Most of the nursing professors drilled the word "NCLEX" into us poor little nursing students as a means to terrify and make us study harder. And so I studied my little butt off for two months...and passed that stupid exam! It really wasn't as bad and as terrifying as those professors put it out to be (that or I am just really ridiculously smart). Well, as of today I checked the results and I am officially a Registered Nurse! I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers!

Practice

As many of you know, Bryan and I will be commuting back and forth between San Antonio, TX and Tulsa, OK and Houston, TX and Killeen TX. We were kindof in a bind as Bryan only had 12 options for optometry school. Luckily, I was stationed in Fort Hood (Killeen), which is about 2.5 hours from Houston. I will be in San Antonio for Officer's Basic around June while Bryan works for his parents up in Tulsa (about 7 hours).

Over the past three weeks, we have sortof been "practicing" separation by distance. Bryan got a job tiling the Ogden and Bountiful Temples and has been working 14-16 hours a day. Fortunate for him, he has been staying at one of his siblings house (as he has one in every large city in Utah). It hasn't been too tough. Sometimes I get bored. Sometimes I get scared at night. But I am able to get much more accomplished throughout the day. I have been able to study for the NCLEX more because he isn't here bothering me and distracting me from my studies.

It will definately be a trialing time for us during his 4 years of medical school. However, I am grateful we are as close as we are. I could have been stationed in Washington DC or Fort Lewis Washington. I know Heavenly Father will help us along the way if we to listen to His counsel.

This is Bryan's last week of tiling and it will be nice to have him home again. He has other odd jobs lined up with this manager, but he won't be working those crazy 15 hour days. I don't know how he can do it Monday through Saturday. I guess he is just one of those crazy Ahlborns.

Disney World

Bryan's parents took us to Orlando, Florida as a graduation present. The weather was perfect- 70-85 degrees during the day. It was more warming to hear that Utah was receiving inches of snow everyday while we were gone. We stayed in one of Bryan's parent's time shares for 8 days. The back door walked right outside to a swamp with small alligators, turtles, fish, and all types of birds. Unfortunately it is against the Florida State law to feed the wildlife. There were signs posted everywhere saying, "It is against the law to feed or harass the alligators." It would have been fun to throw meat into the swamp and watch all the gators sworm and attack the meat. Bryan's mom found this out the hard way. She started feeding the birds "healthy bread" and some neighbor rudely informed her of the state law. The taller birds remind me of dinosaurs- they certainly made noises that sounded like the dinosaurs from Jurrasic Park.



The first night we went to Medievil Times, a dinner and entertainment show. We ate without any silverware because it hadn't been invented yet. We had 1/2 a chicken and ribs too! The entertainment consisted of dancing horses, sword fighting, and jousting. The dancing horses was my favorite part. It is truly amazing how a horse can learn different steps and keep with the beat.

Our Disney adventures consisted of Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Disney's Quest. We were able to do everything at Epcot because it was hardly crowded. Plus, the Fast Passes come in handy if the wait is over 40 minutes. Animal Kingdom was pretty crowded, but I think it may be a little more popular with the kids. We went on a Safari ride. It was kindof cool to see all the animals living together in one area (well, except for the cheeta and lions). We also went on Everest Extravaganza, which is in the background of the picture. That rollarcoaster is pretty cool. The tracks change and you are in the dark for most of the ride. It was hard to tell when the ride was upsidedown, turning, and twisting- very different from other rollarcoasters we've been on. Definately a must when your at Animal Kingdom.

It was hard to say goodbye, especially since we had to go back to freezing Utah and go back to our boring life. Don't you wish everyday were a vacation? Thanks Debbie and Robert for playing with us!

This one's for Katie

This song came on the radio and my thoughts turned to you. Everytime I hear this song, I cry. I am so grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ that makes it possible to return to our Heavenly parents and loved ones once again. Bryan and I pray for your family everyday. We love you guys. I love you!

I can only imagine
What it will be like
When I walk
By your side

I can only imagine
What my eyes will see
When your face
Is before me
I can only imagine

Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine

I can only imagine
When that day comes
And I find myself
Standing in the Son

I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever, Forever worship You
I can only imagine

MercyMe