8 years ago today...

I married someone who made me laugh,

who turned my insides to mush at the very sight of him,

and who caused me for the first time to want to turn my whole self over to someone else.

Eight years later and he still makes me laugh like nobody else,

my insides can still get mushy in his presence,

and I have no regrets of becoming his.

I love you John, even more than ever.

Happy 8 Years!

Simpsons

Oh, we love our neighbors and their Halloween party. But, the best part of going to the party was my kids' faces as they watched us get dressed up. They loved it.

Daddy Time

John and Andrew went to the baseball game Friday night. Andrew was thrilled to be going somewhere with his dad. They put on their matching hats, went to the game, sat for one inning watching the game, played on the playground at the ball park, and came home. Andrew had his hands over his ears the entire time they were watching the game. You might say he is hypersensitive to noise.


Natalie was less than thrilled that she was not going anywhere with her dad. So John told her that Saturday would be her day to go with him. When the time came to leave with dad on Saturday, Natalie ran and found a baseball hat for her and a baseball hat for John and insisted that they wear them to......... Chuck E. Cheese.

Yep, the daddy-daughter outing was to Chuck E. Cheese (shout out to Steve who WAS Chuck once). She loved it.
These kids LOVE their dad.

Happy Birthday John

John just celebrated his 35th birthday and in honor of his special day, here are the top ten things you should know about him:

1. He likes chicken. (That is what he said to me when I asked him a semi-serious question when we were dating.) And he can fold his ears.

2. He remembers small details that people tell him. I am always amazed how he can ask somebody about their sister, their mom, their dog, or whatever, in detail. Even if it has been months since he last talked to them. He remembers little things that people tell him and asks sincerely about them.


3. He loves to water ski, run and play games. That is three-in-one. He also is up for anything including skiing, golf, and tennis.

4. He is very funny and is so quick. He makes me laugh and laugh and laugh. I'm usually still registering what somebody has said when he comes up with his witty response that is right on. I love it.

5. His senior class picture was a picture of just his eye. Yes, when he went to get his senior pictures taken, the photographer was trying out a new lens and took a picture of just John's eye. That is the picture that John chose to put in his yearbook. And when we showed up at his 10 year reunion and everybody was walking around with name tags with their senior yearbook picture on them, John was walking around with an eye next to his name.

6. He is a very hard worker and takes his responsibilities seriously.

These aren't his famous moves, but hula is almost as good.

7. Nobody dances like he does. Seriously. I can't even describe his moves, but you will not forget them once you've seen them. It takes some major coordination and style to do what he does.

8. He makes people feel comfortable and at ease around him. He just has a knack for this.


9. He has a very healthy sense of self. One of the things that I was so attracted to when I met him. He is fine with who he is without being egotistical and never tries to be something or someone else. He does not usually care about what he is wearing (hence the 1985 bright yellow polo rugby shirt that he still wears. Ok, maybe it is 1990. And it does look good on him.) and is never wrapped up in himself.


10. What a great dad and husband! I know he really wants me and the kids to be happy. What more can you ask for. The kids cannot get enough of their dad. Even when he was dunking Natalie. She loved it.

Happy Birthday John!!

Those lucky kids

To: James, Natalie and Andrew

I hope you know how lucky you are to have a dad like yours.


A dad who plays trains, who throws you up in the air so high that mom can't watch, who tells mom every night how much he loves each of you and how great you each are,


who teaches you how to be responsible and pick up the toys, who makes work seem so fun that you follow him around on Saturday helping him as he goes, who has fun nicknames for each of you (Cap'n James, the Pickle, and the Pup to name a few), who is patient, fun and silly.


Boy, Mom is lucky too.


What a dad!!

Happy Father's Day John!!

Fathers and Sons

I'm embarrassed to admit , I wasn't all too keen on the Fathers and Sons camping trip this year. I'm not sure why, but I just had a little attitude about it. Nothing vocal, nothing major, just something inside.

Until I started explaining to Andrew that he was going to be going camping with his dad. Just to make sure because it had been a while, I asked, "You know what camping is?" "Camping is wif a tent!" And he was so excited. He really couldn't talk about anything else. "I'm going to sweep in a tent with daddy!"

Natalie of course wanted to go too. "I go too?" "I sweep in a tent too, mom?" I felt so bad for her when I explained that only Andrew was going with dad, but that we were going to do something REALLY fun at home.

Andrew was sweet and said, "Natalie can come too mom! James can stay with you."

The departure time was pretty much heart wrenching. Not for Andrew, who was grinning from ear to ear sitting in daddy's car waiting to leave. But for Natalie, who was also sitting in daddy's car waiting to leave and who sobbed like I have never seen her sob for a good 20 to 30 minutes after we pulled out of the driveway and left daddy's "filfer" (silver) car behind.

She was devastated. She wanted to go so badly. And I thought, what about Fathers and Daughters?! Or Fathers and Kids?!

I arrived at our girls' night destination and finally got her to calm down a little bit and soon she was smiling, eating pizza, painting her toenails pink, playing with the other kids, and swinging on one of the best tree swings ever. And I realized that I was on "Mothers and Daughters" and that that was just as fun and just as important. The only reason she will feel like she is missing out is if I feel like she is missing out.

And then there was the return from Fathers and Sons. My son came home a very happy boy. He loved every minute of it. And I realized how important that Fathers and Sons experience really is.

John and Andrew came home in time to get Andrew on the soccer field about 10 minutes late for his game (John came running from the car with Andrew in his underwear to where I was on the field with Andrew's uniform waiting) and it was his best game ever. He was actually in there kicking the ball! And I couldn't help but think that the father-son time had been a part of that.

**I would post a picture of Andrew and John at Fathers and Sons or of me and Natalie hanging out with friends that night, but I gave John the camera to take so I didn't have it and he came back without one picture!

And another note--too bad I missed almost all of Andrew's best game ever. I got to the game and realized that I had treats for the game. I ran and got some, but missed the game. I did get to see some of the action before I left. Note to self--write treat assignments on the calendar when you write the game times down.

He's home!!

John walked in the door late Sunday night from a 9 day business trip to Holland and I couldn't be happier! And from the group gathered on our bed this morning, I'm not the only happy person around here.

Natalie could not stop smiling and told John she loved and missed him about 4 times. Andrew was snuggled up to me, but was all smiles for John. And even James couldn't keep his eyes off his dad and was ready with a huge smile any time John glanced his direction.

The week actually didn't go too badly and except for some pretty rushed bedtime routines by the end of the week, I held it together pretty well until Sunday morning ;-) Thank goodness for a lovely lady at church sitting in front of us who after hearing Natalie and Andrew arguing back and forth within the first few minutes just reached back over the bench and plucked Natalie up and onto her lap where she stayed for almost the entire Sacrament meeting. All the craziness from the morning and probably from the entire week came pouring down my face in the form of tears. Note to self: remember to help frazzled mom alone with young kids at church. Most importantly, don't ask, just do.

Absence is always good for appreciation and I am definitely appreciating John. I am so glad he's home!

Always carry a key...

Last night I went to book club, stayed a while and talked and got home at about 10:30pm. I pulled my car into the garage, got out, walked up to the door that we only lock when we go to bed that leads from the garage to the house, turned the handle.....it was locked.

And I don't carry a key.

Don't ask me why I don't carry a key. I just don't. I should. It would have been helpful when we got locked out and John ended up accidentally breaking a window to get in.

But it was only 10:30, so I went to the front door and rang the doorbell. And knocked. And rang the doorbell. And knocked. Nothing. Not a stir from inside the house. So I called our house from my cell phone. It rang, and rang, and rang. Nobody answered. So I called again. And again. And again.

I was getting nervous now. But...we keep a spare. I went to where we keep the spare. It was a very dark night and I couldn't see the key. So I felt around with my fingers. Nothing. Where was the spare?!

So, I went back to the front door. Knocking. Calling. Ringing the doorbell. Sometimes all at once. I even started kicking the door--partly out of desperation and partly just because it was louder. Nothing.

I was really starting to get nervous by now. I figured I could just sleep in the car, but I was really worried about the baby. If John couldn't hear me, how in the world would he hear little James when he woke up. And he would almost certainly wake up.

I checked for the spare again. Still nothing.

I got back into my car and pressed the button that turns on the panic horn. I was so nervous I would wake the neighbors (it was now after 11pm), but I was certain John would hear this. I did it and then called. Horn then phone. Horn and phone together. Horn and phone. Horn and phone. It was so loud, my ears were hurting. But still nothing from inside.

I started wondering if John was ok. Had he slipped and hurt himself; was he lying on the floor unconscious? Why else could he not hear me? He is the self-claimed light sleeper. He wakes up at the slightest noise (unless it is a baby or child screaming or crying) and at the slightest light.

Back to the front door, etc. Still nothing. Now it is 11:45. I have been at this for over an hour. I'm crying, I'm praying, I'm worried about the baby. As I call again I suddenly realize that the phone lights up. Wait a minute....I use the phone as a flashlight to check for the spare key. Don't see it where it normally is, but I move a little debris and there it is!!

I open the door and walk in...at midnight. An hour and a half trying to get someone's attention. I walk upstairs wondering what I am going to find. Our bedroom doors are shut. I open them. It is very dark, but by the light from the hall I see that John is out cold. Not unconscious, but in a deep sleep in our comfortable bed. Earplugs in, ceiling fan on, upright fan on loudest setting. He couldn't hear anything.

I was frustrated, tired, maybe even a little upset. But I didn't wake him. I figured what was done was done and I didn't need to ruin his sleep too.

But I did tell him this morning...

And found out he went to bed early because he had a big meeting today and really needed a good night's sleep. And he felt really bad about locking me out. But I guess I should just carry a key.

This one is for you, John

The kids and I picked John up for lunch yesterday. The kids were squirming in their seats, kicking their legs, grinning from ear to ear and squealing when they saw him come out of the building toward the car. It was so fun--for me and for the kids. It felt like I was somehow cheating by getting to see him during the day.

I had my camera and took a few pictures. John gave me a look and teasingly asked if I was taking some pictures for the blog. Well, so be it...this one is for you John ;-)

As long as I'm on the subject, I just have to say how amazing John is and especially how great he has been since James has appeared. He is so great with the kids. They just love him. Natalie cried after we dropped John back at work, "Daddie." He calls to check in with me and make sure we are making it through the day ;-) and he has even made an effort to get home earlier. Yea! That one is my favorite. He is always so even tempered and can make anything fun. I am so grateful for him!