A Long Time Ago...

Today I watched Penn State loose spectacularly to Georgia in the Gator Bowl. (Because I refuse to call it the Tax Slayer Bowl. What an asinine name.) By spectacularly I don't mean that it was a horrible loss. I mean it was actually an exciting game to watch where you actually thought they might come back to tie it and go into overtime until those last 5 seconds or so. Good job, Penn State. I look forward to next season.

After the game is the important part though, because we took the littles out to the mall for some special family time. Eleanor and I wanted to see the new Girl of the Year at American Girl, (You laugh here, but she gets just as excited as Mommy to go look at the dolls, and ran around with her mouth wide open saying "Wow! Wooooow! Wow!") and the boys had gift cards for Build A Bear that were burning holes in their pockets. Parker had been sitting on his two since last Christmas as a matter of fact, so he was more than ready to cash in. (You laugh, but the boys are just as excited as Mommy to stuff fluffy bears with plush hearts and love.) 

I sort of love that my littles are into some of the same things Mommy is into. 

Bash really wanted a Storm Trooper bear. A Storm Trooper bear with a blue light saber to be exact. Of course, the Storm Trooper bears were the only ones they were sold out of up in Denver. While he tried to make another decision, bravely looking over Darth Vader bears as a second choice, Daddy made a phone call to the mall down in Colorado Springs to find out that they had "more than enough" Storm Trooper bears to go around. Of course they did. Back we trecked to The Springs, which was in our direction anyways, and Bash very quickly selected the very first Storm Trooper bear he saw. It's darn cute too.

Not so, Parker. Much like a little girl long ago, and a grown woman most days now come to think of it, he agonized over his decision. First there were four possibilities, the three, then four again, down to two, back to four...The two women who worked there started turning off lights and tapping their toes even though we still had a half an hour before they were supposed to close. I glared right back at them and hovered about as he went back and forth and back again. It was quite an ordeal, and it took all of our half hour, but he made a choice. It's pretty freaking awesome too!

Look at that! I just made it with two minutes to spare! Two days and two entries! I'm on a roll! 

Flashback Friday: Happy Anniversary!

Tomorrow is my 6 year wedding anniversary. With material like that, it wasn't hard to decide what I was going to flash back to this Friday. I've known my husband for 11 years and in January we will have been together for 10 of those, but tomorrow, May 28th, marks the anniversary of the day I became his Mrs.

Of course, this year it is bittersweet because he is gone. When we got married he wasn't in the military yet, so it never crossed my mind that we'd be spending anniversaries apart. The trend started early though, as he left for BMT on the day of our 2nd anniversary back in 2007. So it's kind of a double anniversary for us every year since. 6 years ago he became my husband, 4 years ago he became a hero. I am so proud and blessed to be his wife.

A Few of My Favorite Things

Parker, Daddy, and "O Boy"

I love having Michael on Day shift. Since he joined the USAF he has been on Swings, which didn't leave much "Us" time...or even Parker & Us time...so Day Shift is a wonderful change for us! Of course, just having him home is a wonderful change too. 

Him being on day shift also provides us with the opportunity to take unplanned trips to Boise in the evenings if we so choose, which we did yesterday. Michael and Parker both had unused gift cards from Christmas (I had used most of my Barnes & Noble card, though I still have a little money left on it) and they both ended up using those cards. Michael's was from Best Buy, of course, and he got a new router. Please don't ask me anything else about it, because I would be unable to tell you much more than its color and how many lights are on the front. (Seven, in case you were wondering...and they are blue.) 

Parker's was from Build a Bear, which is also Mommy's favorite store! We were there for Parker though, and I patiently held up each and every animal until he picked which one he wanted, a black and white Portuguese Water Dog that Parker named "O Boy". (Daddy & Mommy: "What's his name Parker? What's the dog's name?" Parker: "Dog. Dog. Oh Boy!" Daddy & Mommy: "Yes, 'Dog'. What is his name?" Parker: "Oh Boy! Oh Boy!") So, O Boy is now a part of our family...the easiest pet we have to care for.

The ladies at Build-a-Bear remember me from when I was pregnant, so they always show Parker a good time when we go in there with him. He got to step on the peddle to stuff his dog and the lady spent a long time talking and playing with him, despite the people waiting behind us. It's a fun place...even if Michael calls it Satan's Playground. He is not a Build-a-Bear fan.

On the way home, with Parker asleep in the back, O Boy in one arm and Tiger in the other, Michael and I got to talk. I love it when we talk in the car. We're not watching TV, or trying to feed Parker dinner or clean the house...We just get to drive and talk. We talk about politics, (which can actually be enjoyable when you're not talking to idiots) God, (which is something I love talking about with my husband!) Parker, (one of our favorite subjects) our future plans, including children, (Yes, we are already discussing more children, but because we want them to be as planned as possible, and with some of my health problems that can take a lot of advanced planning...we are not TTC yet!) what we might do and where we might go after the military...It's just some of my favorite conversation time with him! 

So, between a trip to BAB, dinner with my amazing husband and wonderful son, and the great conversation on the way home (we have decided that we must try to give Parker a little sister, not right away, but eventually), it was a very good evening with several of my favorite things in it.

Thanks for reading!