who, me?

catching up

i've been pretty bad about updating the blog lately. i blame this partly on such things as homeschooling, cleaning, exhaustion... but mostly, i blame it on jane eyre.

i've been hopelessly absorbed in 554 pages of exceptional british literature.

and now its over.

sigh.

i miss jane.

but to catch you up on other news...

in celebration of our big 10 years of marriage, we had ourselves a little romantic getaway. it was a spontaneous family trip to santa barbara and while it did not involve sunset walks on the beach, leisurely dinners, gazing into each others eyes over candlelight, or sleeping in, it was still super fun.
the highlights:

• beachfront bike rides
• sea life spotting on the pier
• the never ending bowl of completely amazing salsa at dinner
• observing a drastic transition in our perspective during a beach front vacation: "why don't we spend the morning at the pool. after all, we can go to the beach anytime."

• convincing ella that my sweater looked perfectly stylish on her as a substitute for the one i forgot to pack and experiencing dreaded glimpses of what life will be like with a teenager as she constantly (and very dramatically) exclaimed "this is so embarrassing!"
• my favorite part was the knock on the door, the bottle of wine "compliments of the hotel" and the wonderful, yet hesitant "happy anniversary" greeting from the bellboy as he curiously took in the 3 children jumping happily on the bed.

for sure in another 10 years we'll actually have a quiet, relaxing, kid free get-away.

even if we have to take turns.

10

ten years ago today, i was riding in a horse drawn carriage in a beautiful dress, walking down a rose strewn aisle and saying "i do" to my best friend.

and continuing with the "walk down memory lane" theme, here's some reasons i'm glad anthony chose me for happy ever after:

• we make gorgeous children. (this statement may sound a little conceited. that's because it totally is.)
• he listens to me and all my ramblings and usually comes to the natural conclusion that i'm brilliant and always right.
  
• he's super handy. he can fix anything. like when my blow dryer got stuck on low or whenever our car makes some sort of crazy noise or any of the obnoxious loud toys we have strewn about our house.
• not only can he fix anything, he can make anything. like when i say, "i think it'd be fun to make the kids room into like a surf shack..." he makes surf boards and a loft and all sorts of fun stuff. he's pretty spectacular.
• he enjoys my cooking and even fakes enthusiasm at leftovers.
• he encourages me to have time away with friends or weekends with my family or a nap or a break of any sort and does super fun things with the kids.
• he's thoughtful and fun. one time on a camping trip, he packed the tv and the generator and we had a midnight movie under the stars. (this was ages ago when there wasn't a such thing as portable dvd players)
• he makes really, really good pasta sauce. and in large quantities. i find great comfort in the tupperware stacked in the freezer that tells me there is always a dinner option waiting at my fingertips.
• he's a great dad. in so, so many ways. one which i greatly appreciate: he not only taxis the kids to their activities such as soccer and awana, but he actually volunteers his time as a coach and cubbie's leader. he does these things because he loves his kids. and i love that i get to stay home and vacuum and wash dishes and read people magazine.
• he's so helpful around the house. all i have to do is make some comment about how i need to clean and he's getting out the comet and the mop and the vacuum.
• he's my favorite person to laugh with. after 10 years we've developed a similar sense of humor. we can be somewhere that it totally isn't appropriate to laugh at something in particular but we know its funny for some random reason and we'll just kinda exchange a look that says something like "we are the funniest people ever." it feels good to have someone know you so well.
• he's a hard-working, godly man who is full of integrity, loyalty and honesty.

happy anniversary. i love you.

and now i leave you with the worlds most ridiculous wedding picture: did our photographer hate us or something?

happy birthday, dad!

my dad turns 60 today. SIXTY! its crazy. that used to be so old. but when 33 became younger than it once was, so did 60. my dad is awesome and here's why:

1. he loves Jesus. for real.
2. he loves my mom. a lot.
3. he loves us kids. (how could you not?) (poor chad)
4. the grandkids are so awesome to him they practically walk on water.
5. one time, back in the years when the entire solar system revolved around being cool and accepted my dad actually took my sister and me into the guess store and bought us a pair of GUESS JEANS! it was huge. we didn't exactly have the money for such excessive frivolousness. yet, he knew how important it was to us to have a triangle on our rear.
6. he didn't make us eat our brussel sprouts. in fact, he'd secretly let us empty them in the trash when mom left the kitchen.
7. he did really fun rides when we were little and all 3 of us could hang on one arm.
8. he made us pancakes every saturday morning for breakfast. he still does when we visit.
9. he makes fantastic strawberry preserves.
10. he makes the worlds greatest homemade ice cream.
11. he used to take us driving when we were younger out on this deserted dirt road on the weekends. it was SO much fun and i always wondered why mom didn't come along. i'm now a mom and i wonder this no more.
12. he is a very disciplined person. examples:
13. he got up very, very early to read his bible and pray for his family... every day. he still does.
14. he runs 6 miles a day. and never mind that he used to do this in bright pink shorts when i was young and easily humiliated.
15. he made us cool stuff. like this spectacular barbie house complete with wall paper and carpet that matched the rooms of our house. (of course i'm not bitter that they didn't keep it for me to force my daughter to enjoy just as much as i did.)
16. he would have flowers delivered to us on valentines day. a bouquet for mom and a single flower for angie and i.
17. he told us all the time we were beautiful. even in the 80's when we could possibly have posed for an aqua net hairspray ad. (don't judge)
    
18. whenever we are visiting, he always gets up early with my kids and insists i go back to bed. and then when i get up he serves me lattes.
19. one time, i got to chose between a spanking or not having a cookie all weekend. i chose the latter. on sunday, he snuck me a cookie.
    
20. he's super easy to please. every year on his birthday (and i do mean EVERY year) all he asks for is a bag of peanut m&m's.
    
21. he did all the errand running for us growing up. he'd even go to the store and buy those "girl" things for us. and didn't seem to care when we teased him about coming home smelling like the latest cologne sample from walmart.
22. he let us be a part of whatever he was doing. we were such great little "helpers."
23. he finds joy in the simple things. growing up, i had countless far side jokes presented to me by a giggling dad, and i would always look back at him a little puzzled, like... i don't get it? and he would just laugh hysterically and walk off to the next sibling.
    
24. he loves football. and nascar as of late (as of late meaning i didn't actually have my growing up years listening to race cars barreling through my house at top volume) but one time, during a really important football game, the bionic woman was on and she was trapped in this underground tunnel and angie and i were dying to see how she would get out and he actually let us watch it and missed the end of the game.
25. he let us climb on the roof when he worked on the air conditioner. as a mother, i now understand why my mom would come out yelling at all of us. i mean, we were really, really little. it totally wasn't safe. (but it was SO much fun!)
26. he's passionate. about certain things. for instance, just say to him something like, "there should really be more gun control" or "i voted for obama" or "save the whales"

dad, i love you and wish i could be with you to celebrate your big day. but since i can't, i'll eat a bunch of junk food in your honor.

happy birthday.