Dad's Day 2009

The boys and I have had fun taking care of Connor today. It is HIS day after all.

First, a huge breakfast with all the fixins. This means extra bacon for Connor. Never have I met a man who loves him some bacon more than Connor.

Then we all went for a long walk around the neighborhood and through the forest.

Next, while he was happily playing a game on the computer we ambushed him! I told him he was being kidnapped and strapped a blind fold around his eyes. WHAT? Yes, that's right, we kidnapped him. We carefully showed him the way to the passenger seat in my car and then we were on our way. The only hint I gave him was there would be snakes where we were heading. WHAT? Snakes? "Are we going to the zoo?" "Will there be monkeys?" "What in tarnation is going on?"

He tried to keep track of the car's movements, but before long he was totally confused. Just like I had planned. A few extra twists and turns was all it took.

We finally made it to our destination. Sadly, my driving skills in the big city are lacking and I had to have Connor remove his blind fold before I parked in down town Seattle. But he sure seemed happy to see that Safeco field was within walking distance. Yup! We had a fun afternoon in the Safe watching the Mariner's BEAT the Arizona Diamondbacks (Hence, the snake hint...).

It was a great game. We all had so much fun. Of course, we ate way too much and whooped and hollered till our throats were sore...but that's just what you're supposed to do, right?

Hopefully this Father's Day surprise will live in his memory for many years to come. Happy Father's Day to the most wonderful dad on the planet! Your boys and I adore you more than you know Connor!

He didn't marry me for my feet.

I know I've said a few things in the past about my totally retarded looking feet. I inheireted my father's gnarly, high arched, freak-show sportin' feet. It's not something I'm proud of, but hey... There's nothing I can do about it. Well, besides being uber thankful for footwear to hide them.

So the other night, Connor and I were sitting together just chit chattin' the evening away. I don't even recall what the topic was. (I do know it wasn't about onamotopias though.) Connor ended the conversation by saying he loved me. Awwww, how sweet. I said "you do?" That's when he proceeded to tell me "yes, I love you from your head to your ankles."

Am I offended? Nope, not in the least. I make fun of my feet more than anyone else. In fact, I think I even laughed louder than Connor did at his little comment aimed at my expense. It's moments like these that make me glad I'm married to this guy. He is continuously cracking me up and catching me off guard with his witty comments. I love it.

Thanks for keeping me in stitches honey, I love you!!

2009 School Carnival

I have fond memories of my grade school carnivals. They were always a highlight of the entire kid year. I loved playing those silly games in the gymnasium that almost always won me another smelly eraser to add to my collection. Remember those?.... Root beer scent was my favorite! I also recall riding ponies and bouncing in the "moon walk" inflatable dungeon with my pals laughing til it hurt.

But one of my favorite memories was dunking my oldest brother, Scott, in the dunk tank.

He had agreed to sign up to be one of the unlucky soggy victims that sits anxiously awaiting their wet doom to someone else's delight. Our elementary school had to look high and low for volunteers to sit in that tank. Mostly high school kids and adults that didn't know better would agree to be dunked.

It was great seeing Scott sit helplessly as I whirled balls towards the target. Finally, revenge for all the years of never ending teasing. Seriously. Never. Ending. Teasing.

Well, Nick and Nolan's school do things a little differently... They ask the 6th graders for volunteers. It's almost a rite of passage for these kids to sit upon the dunk tank platform while their classmates laugh uproariously at their impending dunkage. Everyone loves it!

I have to admit it's a genius idea to have the kids in the tank. Friends and family members line up with their purchased tickets just waiting for their big chance to dunk. The school must have made a ton of cash on the dunk tank alone! (It didn't hurt that they had two fave teachers getting dunked as well.)

So... Nolan has fond memories similar to mine of his school carnival... Check it out!

Oh. Sweet. Revenge.

Aunt Shannon, Marianne, and Connor each tried to dunk him to no avail. Leave it to the kid brother to come through. He was dunked probably about 10 or so times by his classmates and loved every minute of it!

My Sluggers

What better way to spend a warm sunny evening in June than to watch my boys play some baseball?

We were lucky to get Nick and Nolan on the same baseball team this year. Because there were not enough kids in Nick's division, they moved the players down a notch into the younger division and now both Nick and Nolan are proud players of the Strikers team.

This not only means more brotherly bonding, it also means a less hectic schedule for moi! I'm not running two kids around in a million different directions to get them to different practices and games. Sweet.

At first, I didn't know how Nick would feel having to play on the 9-10 age team. He is almost a teenager after all (I hear that sentence quite frequently from his mouth). But he hasn't complained once. If fact, just take a look at this video and you'll see the brotherly bonding has been going strong!

NOLAN'S FIRST HOME RUN!!

Don't 'cha just love the celebratory "chesting high five" they gave each other at the end.

I have a feeling that this is the memory they will have of their time playing baseball together on the same team. I'm sure they wont recall losing the game by one measly run. In fact, they didn't even mention the loss while walking back to the car or even on the drive home. Nick congratulated Nolan on an awesome game played. And Nolan returned the compliment by telling Nick his pitching skills were awesome too.

It'll be fun to see what the next few remaining games have in store for us. I'm hoping for more sunshine and high-fives.

Older Does Mean Wiser

I've got nothin'.... nothin' earth shattering to share on this here blog. So today I have resorted to use someone else's words. I received an email today that was chock full of good advice written by a little old lady who has lived a lifetime and can share her wisdom with those of us who think we know it all...but don't.

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, Cleveland, Ohio. To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me.

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone..
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first pay check.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion, today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

I can learn a lot from this list.

I especially liked #37 and #38... so true.

Here's to 45 more!

Forty Five years and counting...
My parents are celebrating their 45th wedding anniversary today!

Just saying that sentence makes me happy.
In this day and age, it's quite an accomplishment.
I'm so proud of you and thankful you were always a strong unified front all my life.
Thanks for always showing me how important it is to stick together, be supportive, LAUGH at one another, make compromises, and love your spouse!

You are inspirational and I hope Connor and I are lucky enough to wake up one morning and say "Happy 45th dear!"

Have a wonderful day... I hope you spend it doing what makes you both happy.