"...take me for a ride on your big green tractor..."

A couple Saturdays ago we headed over to a local Christian school that was having a "touch-a-truck" fundraiser. It was a nice way to spend the late morning/early afternoon as a family.

 

 There was a bunch of farm equipment (and even some goats), a fire truck, ambulance, some buses, a semi and this little tractor train while Levi loved! It was cute to watching him try to steer the little car around the turns.

We arrived just in time to see one of the hospital's medical helicopter land.  The wind from the propellors blew a small tent over and sent the napkins from the snack stand flying....and that's what Levi talked about the rest of the day!

A few weeks back Seth's dad and stepmom were in the area on a tour with a group from their church.  It had been quite a while since the last time we had seen them so we wanted to make sure we got at least an afternoon and evening visit in. 
Levi and I drove out to pick them up at their hotel and had a chance to go swimming in the hotel pool with the two of them before coming home.  We introduced them to their new "hairy" grandson and had some dinner together.  Levi tested out his little monkey chair and new pair of monster feet that Grandpa and Bema had given to him for his birthday and enjoyed hanging out with them for a bit before he headed off to bed.  Seth drove them back to their hotel after Levi went to bed so when he woke up in the morning he was excited to see them again...poor Little Man! 
Georgia had mentioned that they were gonna be at the hotel for a few days so we were welcome to come back to use the pool.  I comforted Levi with the fact that we might be able to go back to see them and possibly swim in the pool again...and of course, he was pretty pumped about that.
We headed back down to the hotel a couple days later. Unfortunately it didn't work out to meet up with Seth's dad and Georgia again, but we did manage to sneak into the pool for a quick swim. We were gonna pass a Chick-fil-a on the way home and I couldn't pass it up (I always crave it when I'm pregnant).   I figured I'd get a treat for the two of us and ordered some fries for us to share on the way home.  Apparently Levi was exhausted from our dip in the pool.  I tried to keep him awake by handing him fries, but at one point the sleepiness won out.  I looked in the mirror and saw something sticking out of his mouth...

The Little Man fell asleep midway through one of his fries...with ketchup all over his face and fingers!  Such a precious boy!

"who let the dogs out?"

A month or so ago I was walking Fonzie around the block with my mom when a neighbor's dog came tearing across their front lawn right towards us. Fonz, being the protector that he is, got between us ad the dog and went back after the dog that was trying to attack him. My mom and I walked as quickly as we could down the hill while I tried to pull Fonzie along and screamed toward the house for someone to come and get their dog (of course, no one showed up because they weren't home). Needless to say, the both of us were pretty shaken up.

When we got back to the house I told Seth about it and he suggested that I carry some pepper spray along with me.  There's no way...I would be too afraid to spray Fonzie with it, plus if it happened while I was pushing Levi I wouldn't exactly have an extra hand to use the stinkin' stuff.  I just hoped it wouldn't happen again...what in the world would I do if I had been pushing Levi in the stroller?

Unfortunately a week or two later I'd find out...not once but twice! After the second incident I spoke with the owner to let her know that the dog was getting out. She pointed to the fence where she tried to board up the holes and told me that she was going to get him a harness or something. Apparently she hasn't gotten around to getting the harness. This morning as we turned the corner and made our way down the hill I heard the dog barking and saw him tearing across the front lawn once again. I tried to run down the hill while holding onto the now screaming Levi in the stroller with Fonzie behind me, but Fonz went into his "tecting" mode and was standing up for us!  In the middle of the whole mess I lost my flip flop on the wrong side of the street (praise God no one was coming over the hill!) and had to limp the rest of the way home.  As we turned the corner to go home Levi kept asking me why I was sad about the "crickin' dog" (Levi heard me call him a frickin' dog, oops!)...I was so shaken up I couldn't help but cry. 

Since Levi and I were on our way out I decided to swing by to pick up my flip flop in the road.  Thankfully I stayed in the car so I could lean out the door and pick up my now slobbery shoe...next thing I knew Cujo came running out into the road once again and tried to attack the car!  Good grief...as if walking the dog isn't challenging enough!

"The sweetest days I've found I've found with you...through the years..."

With looking forward to our big anniversary, I've spent some time over the past couple of weeks thinking back on the past ten years.  I thought I'd make up a little list of things for every year we've been together...here goes....

One adorable, funny son (and another little one on the way)

Two quirky canine boys

Three homes that we set up together

Four times we've loaded our stuff together on a moving truck to relocate (half the times in the rain!)

Five different jobs (between the two of us)

Six fun cruising adventures (and Lord willing more to come)

Seven weeks apart while Seth worked away and came home on the weekends. (so thankful to have Dubs to keep me company!) 

Eight different people we went to see in concert

Nine cars that we've bought over the course of our marriage (man, that sounds like a lot!)

Ten incredibly, wonderful years together!!

Hoping the Lord grants us with many more years to count our blessings.

"The very thought of you makes my heart sing...my one and only love..."

Ten years ago today I woke up early on a very cold and rainy May day. My sister helped me put on a beautiful white dress...

I was surrounded by family and some of my closest friends...

We made our way through the rain to the church....

where I walked down the aisle and stood next to this man....

...and we exchanged rings and vowed to love, honor and cherish each other as long as we both shall live.

and then we danced (much to Seth's dismay!) and celebrated with friends and family...a wonderful start to our new life together!

It's amazing how quickly the past decade has gone by.  What a blessing it is to share life with such an amazing man!  Looking forward to many more decades together!

This past weekend we had our annual visit with Seth's best friend and his family. Last year
the two little ones got along so well and thankfully they did the same this year.  They had fun playing with chalk, going down the slide, playing in the sandbox and giggling whenever Fonzie stuck his head inside the Thomas tent to say "hello"!

Friday morning while Seth was slaving away at work I took everyone to the local gymnastics center to jump around on the trampolines and bounce house. I think Chris and Andrea might have had just as much fun as Savannah and Levi.

 

 On Saturday, the guys were nice enough to hang out with the little guys while Andrea and I went to get some pedicures. Later that afternoon we enjoyed the incredible spring weather by going to the local zoo.

Later that evening Seth and Chris grilled some steaks and then built a fire in the firepit on the deck so we could make some smores...much to Levi's delight!

Savannah had a blast with the Fonz and they did really well with each other. It was cute to see how she would come up and hug his big neck and kiss his head. Fonzie was also very appreciative of Chris leaving the door to the garage door at one point so he could have a lovely race around the neighborhood. The neighbor's Yorkie tried to attack him...thankfully our neighbor was able to snag him before Fonz got a hold of him. A few seconds after, her little Pom chased Fonzie around the yard...wish I had a video of that! It looked ridiculous!

I managed to get one picture of Levi and Savannah together...sitting on a little stool that they argued over a little bit. I couldn't help but think of their first picture together. Amazing to see how much they've changed in three years!

It was great having them here. If only we could convince them to make their visits more than once a year...or maybe even move closer!