FORR...EH...VER

Today is a big day for us.

To my husband:

HAPPY 10TH ANNIVERSARY!!

Thank you for 10 years of your love, your jokes, your hard work, your patience, and your hugs & kisses. 

When I think back to this...

I smile.

(just after Brian proposed on Christmas eve, 1999)

And ten amazing years since this...

(Our wedding day...March 24, 2000).

I can't believe it's been a decade.  It doesn't seem like it's been that long, and yet it also feels like FOREVER (not in a bad way). :) 

When I think back on our 10 years as a married pair, I try to imagine all we've accomplished.  Mostly, these are what come to mind:

First there was...

one.

Then, there were...

two.

And along came...

three.

Three amazing blessings.  Precious gifts.  I am scared to think how much my little angels will change in the next 10 years.  I wish time would pause for a while so I could enjoy their little-ness just a little longer.  I am so thankful for all that this past 10 years has taught me.  I count myself so blessed and lucky to have made it this far and hope that our humor will get us through the next 10 years. :)

Thank you, Brian. I love you so much!

XOXO,

wifey

Camera shy

I took the camera out the other day to take a couple of snapshots of Sloan.  These are the first few shots:

When she saw the camera, she immediately began twirling side to side to pose.  Oy vey.

Next were these shots:

So...I guess we can conclude that she is NOT camera shy.  Yep.  That's my girl.

My sweet Sloan, gotta love her.

MONKEY on the court

Kimball is almost done with basketball season.  He is in the Kindergarten Coeur d'Alene city league.  He is doing so well!! When they started the season, the team got off to a rocky start - but over the last 6 weeks, they have gotten so GOOD!  I am so proud of Kimball!  He not only has gotten so much better, but he also has SO much fun playing!  He laughs and smiles through the ENTIRE game!  He really LOVES playing sports.  And although he isn't always the best on the team, he is definetly the happiest!  Last spring in soccer, his coach (in a thick German accent) said "Kimball, don't be a monkey - be a soccer player!!"  (Kimball was laughing so hard during practices, that he sounded like a goofy, out-of-breath monkey...it was hilarious).   His coach might not have appreciated his joy & enthusiasm for having fun, but I do.  He is only 6, afterall (and 5 at the time of the soccer monkey incident).  I love that he has so much fun.  I hope that as he continues to play sports and pick one that he really loves, that he will have as much fun with it then.

What a stud!

My no-so-little-anymore boy taking the ball down.

Coach and 6 of the 8 players on Kimball's team - The CDA Kiwanis Dribblers!

From left: (Top) Coach daddy, Corbin, Kimball

(Bottom) Michael, Ryan, Caden, Gabriel

(Parker and Brady are not pictured)

Go Kimball!!

Top O' the Morning to ye!

A leprechan snuck into our home early this morning and turned our food green!  The eggs were green, the milk was green, and although there was no ham to go with the green eggs, there was green butter for the toast.  Kimball was the first to discover the trickery and immediately went on a search of the house for the little guy.  He has promised to catch him by days end.

Looks pretty appetizing, huh!! :)   It's amazing how the flavor of the eggs didn't change with the color, but because they looked "different" my brain was trying to convince me that they tasted "funny".  They didn't when I closed my eyes.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Where has this been all my life???

Today was my first shift of Co-op.  I'll assume that most of those who read my blog will have NO idea what that is, so I'll explain.  It is, no less than one of the BEST ideas in the history of mankind.

Co-op is actually Babysitting Co-op.  It has been going on around here for a while, and I was able to weasle my way in and secure a shift for myself as one of my friends who participates is moving away.  (Sorry Sara, I'll miss ya...but yay for me!!!) 

So, here is Co-op in a nutshell:  There are 10 SAHM ladies who participate.  Each one has 1 shift every week.  The same shift every week.  The shifts are M-F 9-12 and 12-3.  I have Tuesdays 9-12.  People can email or call atleast a half-hour in advance to secure their spot.  You can have as many kids over as you feel comfortable with and the moms pay you in Co-op coupons - - 1/2 or 1 hour laminated cards.  I had 6 kids come over and earned 12 1/2 hours of free babysitting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  AMAZING!!! So, during the week, if there is an appointment I need to go to, or a workout class I want to go to, or need a moment of kid-less serenity time, I can take my kids to the other Co-opers and pay them with coupons.  And, with all those kids they really keep themselves entertained, so it was super fun and really quite easy.  For a mere 3 hours of my time, FREE BABYSITTING.

I wish I could reach through the screen and shake you by the shoulders to tell you how AWESOME this is.  And you might be thinking 'whoopdy-doo for you' (or any number of other "I could care less" phrases)...but wouldn't it be amazing if you could organize a similar program back home in B-town, or wherever you dwell?  I seriously wish I had been doing this for years.  How much skinnier would I be (since I could have gone to those aerobics classes I couldn't ever go to since I couldn't afford the child-care @ the gym), and how much easier would grocery shopping have been, etc.  FREAKING amazing.

So, thanks to my new friends up here who welcomed me into the club, so to speak.  I am looking forward to many kid-free hours in the near future...starting Friday in fact, when 3 of us are doing Zumba @ the Kroc. 

This is one happy mom, signing off!

Who is.....isn't that....argh....

Don't you hate when you're watching a movie and you recognize a face but cannot remember their name?  When their identitiy is on the tip of your brain and just out of reach.  HATE THAT.  Last night, I went with some friends to see "Dear John" (Not bad.  Not awesome...but not bad.)  During this movie, I saw two such faces.


One was this guy:

Oh my gosh...drove me crazy.

Turns out, it was this guy who I've seen at least 100 times during my boys obsession with this particular movie:

Rex Racer from Speed Racer.

The other one was a little different.  About an hour into the film, the name came to me.  I was certain.  You don't just forget a face like his.  My friends whom I was watching with weren't so convinced.  It bugged me until this morning when I finally was able to get on the computer and confirm my suspicions.

Here is the movie pic:

 

Any guesses???  Think back about 25-30 years.  It's coming to you, isnt' it.  He hasn't changed.

It is:

Elliott from E.T.  Holy cow.

 In searching for just the right picture of Elliott (most were tiny and really blurry), I got a major craving to watch this amazing movie.  I haven't seen it in probably 15 years.  I miss it.  I think I'll go find it this weekend and buy it.  I don't know why we don't already own it.  In all our movie purchases over the years (which are many...probably over 200 DVD's...silly, I know) I can't believe I don't own E.T.  What a classic.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed my little bit of Guess-who movie trivia.  Totally pointless and, in all reality, a complete waste of the last half-hour of my life, but fun nonetheless.  I think it's important to keep a good balance of spiritual, emotional, intellectual and non-sensical moments in life.  You can quote me on that. :)

Peace out.

Coconut Heaven

What a wonderful husband I have.  Look what he will do just to please me (or shut me up):

We had to rent 14-foot scaffolding to finally complete the Coconut painting project that has consumed my life for over 3 months.  And, due to my slightly paralyzing fear of heights, I convinced Brian to climb up and finish the job for me. :)  What a good man.  The BROWN IS DONE!!  I love my Coconut Shell walls.  They are magnificent!