San Diego Trip

We had a great trip in San Diego California. I'd love to write all about it but I'm hitting the delirious stage of the flu...what a crappy souvenir. Anyway, it was so nice to have a week off together, just relaxing for a real vacation. First off, I just want to thank Jordan & Blake for letting us use their flyer reward thing so we could fly for free! We stayed at the Hampton Inn, which was nice. And we had a rental car, which made our lives much easier. Driving in CA wasn’t even bad…I guess cuz it was San Diego. It’s worse in Salt Lake in our opinions.

We got there on Thursday August 20th...after settling into the hotel we headed for the San Diego Zoo. It was nice and all, but it wasn't as great as I thought it'd be. We saw a whole lot more plants than we did animals. I actually thought the Hogle Zoo was better when it comes to seeing animals up close.

On Friday we went to Sea World. Larry had gotten passes for free at work. At least his work has its perks! We loved Sea World. In fact, it was our favorite part of the trip...for me at least, and probably Larry too. We especially loved the shows. We saw all of them while we were there. The Shamu Show was fun, but kind of cheesy..they even do a Shamu Chant to worship the great killer whale...the dolphin show was fun, those dolphins are so cute.

We saw Sea Lions Live which was really funny. Later that day we saw Sea Lions Tonight which was even funnier. I laughed so hard it hurt. They made fun of their other shows that we had seen that day and it was just hilarious. We also saw the Pets Rule Show which was really cute and funny. It was just tons of fun and totally worth it...wait, it was free, but still. We wrote their Journey to Atlantis ride which is like a mix of the log flume and a roller coaster. Larry loved it...I did too. So we spent a bit of the day wet but it was fine. To end our day there we went to the Shamu rocks show...I loved these cute whales that totally smiled...after the show there were fireworks to top it off.

On Saturday we went to the San Diego Temple which was beautiful. Later that night we went to Coronado Island. The beach was stormy looking and overcast but it was still fun...just cold. Sunday we went to Church...then we went for a walk at the Mission Bay Beach. Of course, in our attempt to keep the Sabbath Day holy, the weather was beautiful and it was so tempting to go swimming. But we didn't. We just walked along the shore together until we got to a nice spot to sit.

Monday we went to the Wild Animal Park. We weren’t all that impressed with it. It was just a lot of walking...and I saw more animatronic dinosaurs than real animals. There were cute baby cheetahs though. As we were walking my knee slipped and semi dislocated yet again. Then it was sore and I couldn't walk anymore. So we rode the Carousel. Larry rode a fierce Panda and I read a majestic leopard. Afterwards we headed back to Mission Bay. We had tons of fun playing in the waves.

Then Tuesday we went to this Science Center called RH Fleet. It was alright but we really weren't impressed. It was a lot like the Clark Planetarium. We saw a free IMAX under the sea movie...something like that. And we wasted our money on this virtual dinosaur thing; forget what they're called but it was really lame. We did this thing where you sit down and a machine takes your picture and then shows your age progression up to the age of 75.

Needless to say, Larry is now contemplating suicide and divorce. I don't trust the dang thing. We Campbell's age young and nicely...and I think Larry will too. Of course he claims he won't live long. I hate when he says that. Way to crush your wife's heart hun. Larry spent most of his time there being upset at greedy little children. We were playing with the exhibits and kids kept running up to them and stealing them right out of our hands. Anyway, enough about that. We headed to Mission Bay again and went Boogie Boarding. Tons of fun but kinda scary to get thrown off in those serious waves.

I don’t quite remember if it was Monday or Tuesday, but one of those days we went to Old Town San Diego and looked at the cute little road side shops. We just got bracelets for me…Larry said he didn’t want anything but later gave me a hard time that he didn’t get anything. Sheesh. Then Wednesday the 26th, we flew home..back to life…back to reality.

All in all we had a blast. It was an event filled trip and we came back with tans. Yay!

We really didn't take a lot of pictures on our trip for the following reasons: 1-we didn't want to get our cameras wet so we didn't always bring them, 2-we didn't want them to get stolen while we were playing at the beach, 3-I forgot to change the stupid batteries, and yes I brought plenty, just left them in the hotel room, and 4-one of the cameras didn't work & only took blurry photos..until we got home of course. If you want to see more photos go to Facebook. I'm getting kicked off the computer so I'll add pics later :D

Megan's Daycare for Babies

Well, after months on the job search I decided that it was time to go back to child care. I actually really enjoy it and I'm looking forward to doing it again. I'm especially happy that I'll be working from home! Larry's been really supportive of it...I think he's happy as long as I have some sort of a job. I feel good about it :)

Here are some pictures of my daycare room...I still have more stuff to add to it but this is it at the moment.

Life's Experiences

We attended Shelby's funeral today. I was very moved by the Spirit I felt.

I've just been thinking a lot again...imagine that. I've been realizing more and more how content I am with the experiences I've had in my life. I'm grateful for those experiences and how they all tie in together. I seriously feel like I have nothing to complain about and everything to be grateful for.

In the past few months I've been able to know two babies that have inspired me tremendously. I think about baby Gracie who has been through so many difficulties in her five months of life. And I think about baby Shelby who has returned Home to Heavenly Father after an amazing life of triumph over her struggles. It all brings everything into perspective. Life really is so precious.

Witnessing others experience trials has enlightened me and brought a deeper reverence for the relationships we have in this life. Not only in this life but through the eternities. I love the friends and family I have with me on the journey. I'm not trying to sound cheesy...I really feel these things deeply.

I'm grateful for the struggles I've had in different aspects of my life. It's always interesting to realize what their purpose is. For example, the miscarriage that I recently wrote about after one year. There were different things I learned but one of them in particular really stands out. I have learned to be sensitive to the unseen pains and sorrows of others. And I've learned to bear each others burdens. Having just a little taste of loss and longing has helped me be a better friend. We each have trials in our lives that others don't know about. We all have our crosses to bear. When we help each other carry those crosses, the greatest miracles happen.

In Memory, One Year Later

I feel uncomfortable talking about the miscarriage. Sometimes I feel like I'm pretty open about it...and other times, I feel like I hardly talk about it. No matter the case, I feel like I'm just trying to fill a void I can't understand. I just want to remember. I know what I felt before our angel left us. I loved them. We both did.

Yet many times, in the back of my mind I hear "you weren't that far along, and you were so young, it doesn't matter, stop mentioning it, you weren’t entitled to a baby now anyway." But none of that’s true. The only way to begin to understand is to go through it yourself. But even then, everyone has a different situation. For me, it's hard that we lost our first baby.

I think one of the hardest parts is not knowing exactly how it works; If the baby is now our guardian angel that we'll see on the other side or if the spirit never came and the baby will come again. All I know is that everything really does work out for our eternal welfare.

I really am doing well. I accepted what happened and I know God has a purpose to everything He does. It's just that longing that never leaves. I want what I had to come back to me. That's just how it is. I have my moments where it's a real struggle. But usually I just feel like my mind is paralyzed. I can't even find the emotions I felt for so long. My mind is just numb. It is definitely a roller coaster. I'm sad...then I'm numb...then I'm trusting...and so on.

I wrote this poem to describe how I feel.

Why is it that my heart is still aching?
It’s subtle but certain, my heart is just breaking.
The pain isn’t fading with each passing day.
My mind is numb, but I kneel down to pray.
I ask God to help me, to offer His care.
While something within me cries “this isn’t fair.”
I tell Him I trust Him, I trust in His plan.
I just can’t do it; I’ve done all I can.
I’m looking for answers, what is this I feel?
I’ve accepted the loss but I still need to heal.
Taken so soon, there was no goodbye.
Then He answers so softly, I’ll hold you...just cry.

Just Some Thoughts...

So I just felt like blogging a bit today...been up for two hours and still sitting here in my pajamas. I use my blog as a bit of a journal...but usually not too personal. Today I feel like writing though, hopefully not to my regret.

As some of you know, we are approaching the one year anniversary of the miscarriage. Father's Day was hard. We found out about the baby the previous Father's day. (Of course, Father’s day is hard anyway because Larry misses his dad.) Some people think that when you have a miscarriage it was nothing, you should just get over it. I'm still surprised at what it's really like to go through. How much you long for what you've lost no matter how much time passes. The only way to understand is to go through it yourself. I’ve moved on but it will always be in my mind. That’s just how it is. Anyway, I'll talk more about that later.

Things are going fine with us. We've just been stressed out because of my not working. I have at least one job prospect/interview a week and they don't pan out. The office job I had planned on doing wasn't right for me, so it fell through. I have two leads right now though: A veterinary reception job (which I really want) and going postal (which scares me)-I applied for Heidi's old job at usps…pays well though.

I've been trying to get my business going but haven't been able to market it much. So I haven't made any money doing that. I'm just feeling overwhelmed lately because I thought for sure I would have a good job by now. I'm a really good employee, educated, and have great customer service. I just can’t get anything. The jobs I could get pay beans. I'm collecting unemployment though, which helps a little.

Larry has been working a lot lately...not fun. Since he's a salaried employee, it doesn't bring us any more money. I feel confident that we'll be okay. We pay our tithing and do what's right. The Lord will come through for us. My optimism doesn't overshadow the burden that Larry feels. (He has a lot of medical bills on top of everything else) I just hope I can help Larry feel less stressed in the mean time. I think it bugs him that I’m so optimistic and honestly feel like things are good, because the stress is on him. I just feel like we're very blessed and everything will be okay.

I'm so happy that I'm married to him. There are times when we have difficulties, but who doesn't. It doesn't last long though because Larry has a way of making me laugh and turning things around in no time. I feel like things are going well for us and I'm happy. It's just been boring not doing much. And it kinda overwhelms me to realize that I could have gone to school this summer and graduated. Of course, I didn't because I thought I'd have a job.

So there ya go, a little insight into the life of Megan. It sounds kinda depressing. But in reality, I'm happy...just bored...and wondering what life has in store. I feel iffy wondering if the Lord will keep us in Utah or bring us to Kansas. I know that whatever happens will be right. Thanks for reading my ramblings! :)

K, these are just random photos...

Rain, rain, go away...(Kodi has a rain coat, and that makes him awesome)

"Please, no more pictures"

Larry serenading me with his guitar

I'd smile, but I still have braces and don't want to get all shimmery on you :)

For Father's Day, I got my dad a tie...since it was an obvious father's day present, I thought I'd wrap it as obvious as possible. How cool is that wrapping paper...it's even wearable. Don't worry, the tie underneath was nice.