One of the hardest things I've done in a LONG time - Sammy's first work trip as a father...

Age of Lady Kaitlyn:  almost 4 months!

Family,

The newest patriot - and NO, that is NOT
a weird strand of hair coming from JT's head.

And a good evening to you from the Queen City, where the Bull, Striker, and Munchkin have had a VERY productive day!  Since arriving back home from Raleigh (we'll get to that in a minute), Team Taylor has been on the go, and I'm VERY pleased to report that many a task - ranging from freezing milk to mowing the lawn to buying a portable hard drive to digging up a dead bush - has been knocked off!  But I get ahead of myself, let's rewind to talk a bit more about the title of this blog.

This past week offered two firsts for Sammy the Bull.  The first new experience was one that I'd been looking forward to for almost a year - my first work trip to Costa Rica.  I've been working with the team down there since early 2012, so it was great to finally get the "all clear" to book the trip.  The other first, however, was NOT something I was looking forward to - my first night NOT being under the same roof as my little girl.

I was fine all weekend leading up to it, and Jenny was great to let me do a lot of the feedings (my favorite time with her).  But when Sunday rolled around, I could tell I was getting a wee bit down.  The tidal wave of emotions really hit on Monday morning before I left for the airport.  I'm not sure I've posted this yet, but now once I day I'm whispering the "Three Truths" to Kaitlyn:

1. Daddy loves you more than you will every possible know.

2.  Daddy will love you no matter what - remember that.

3.  Daddy will ALWAYS be there for you.

The Bull getting some quality time in over the
weekend before headin' to Pura Vida - nice hair.

Well, Monday morning I was having a tough time getting through that little speech without tearing up.  But then, holding her and singing the "50 states and their capitals" song, I genuinely started crying.  For some reason, I had this horrible fear that Kaitlyn would completely forget who I was and would cry when I arrived home on Friday.  And yes, I realize that a) she probably doesn't really have a concept of who I am and b) kids can't forget that fast anyway, but at the time I was a very real concern.

It was SO TOUGH walking out that door and driving to the airport.  I didn't want to walk away from the nursery.  I didn't want to stop kissing my wife.  I didn't want to let her go.  I didn't want to see the garage door close and my girls vanish from my field of vision.  And I certainly didn't want to go to sleep alone in a foreign country.  But hey - there were tasks to be done, and so we all sallied forth to do what needed doing.

The work week was GREAT, and I can't say enough good things about the people, the country, and the work going on down in San Jose.  I got to spend some quality time with a work buddy of mine and his family - I got to meet his little one (2.5 years old), his wife, his sister, and his mother, and the last night I even managed 3 hours of dinner conversation in Spanish.  The trip was actually a GREAT confidence booster for my language skills, and the progress made on a lot of work items certainly made the trip feel like it was worth the sacrifice.  But what really made it all work was Jenny, who sent me a picture of Kaitlyn the first night, kept me abreast of everything via email during the day, and then chatted with me every night to give me a status update (total consumption, nap routine, poopy size - you name it :-)).  As always, my wife is my rock, carrying me through whatever tough time I'm experiencing with that same quiet strength I found in her so early on in our relationship - I LOVE YOU, WIFE MUFFIN!!!!!!

I got back home on Friday about 8:50, cleared customs, and had the first bag of the conveyor belt (that actually happened when I landed in San Jose as well - and did I mention I got upgraded to 1st class both ways?  OH, YEAH, BABY!!!!!!!).  I made it home about 10 PM, where the munchkin was passed out but SO CUTE.  It was SO GREAT to be back under the same roof with my girls, and few things in life are better than curling up with someone you love after a long week, listening to the sound of a little munchkin breathing steadily on the monitor.

The weekend was busy but great, as we drove up to Raleigh on Saturday for a 4th of July bash, hosted by our friends Martin and Sara.  They've been putting this shindig on for 5 years, but this was the first time we were in the state and able to make it.  It was AWESOME - homemade decorations, a food truck bringing in barbecue, a bee bee shooting competition (not sure if that's actually legal :-)), a 2002 revival New Belgium Beer (Loft), and a CUTE little 4 month old in a 4th of July outfit - who could ask for anything more? :-)

The Munchkin paraded around in an outfit from Grammie, and she also tried on her first swimsuit (ALSO courtesy of Grammie).  And whilst the 4th of July outfit went over well, K's first trip into a kiddie pool was, well, suboptimal.  Not sure if it was the temperature or just the fact that she doesn't enjoy a hot pink two-piece, but that girl was NOT happy. :-)

Not reeeeeeeeally excited about a) the arctic water or b) the fact that her suit was tight enough to stop bleeding.

But with a spirit more intrepid than Shackleton, Munchkin braves the icy depths...

And has NEVER been happier to be in mommy's arms than in the .00007 seconds after exiting the pool...

Team Taylor and the Warf clan - complete with Pepper.

We had some coffee with them today before getting back on the road, where we made a stop at IHOP in Burlington before rolling on home to do about 2 weeks work of chores.  It's funny, the actual drive time from here to their house is only 2 hours and 40 minutes, but that is just WAAAAAAAAY too long to go between feeds.  We're going to Asheville on Thursday, and who am I kidding - we'll stop at LEAST once on that drive.  But hey, the pace changes, but Team Taylor is still going strong.  In fact, as I was sitting on the screened porch with the missus tonight, I had the quite content thought that, "You know, this is all working" (knock on wood).  We're starting to travel again.  Different speeds and different locations, perhaps, but we're LOVING both of those changes.  The speed change lets us go at a slower pace and guarantees that we'll have some fun meals along the way (who can say no to IHOP, let along the Tipping Point Brewery?  Um, HELLO McFLY!!!!), and the locations are great new adventures, all of which have been loads of fun so far.  Next up is Asheville in 96 hours, but that, dear friends, will be another blog for another time.

Okay, it's after 10 and I'm old, so this guy is going to bed.  Chat soon!

Love,

Sam and Jenny