anniversary countdown

I had this great idea to do a TOP TEN countdown of funny, memorable stories from the dating/newlywed archives of Janet and Aaron. We're about to celebrate our ten year anniversary and I wanted to share stories that I love, but ones that aren't significant enough to be written in my journal. I was going to start on June 6th and post one story every day until our anniversary. Well, June 6th came and went and now it's only 8 days until our big day. Maybe I will do a top 8. Maybe I will do a top 3. Hopefully this won't be the only one.

This past week, I had one of my most embarrassing moments ever. My cheeks are flushed and my heart is beating faster just thinking about it. I would write about it here, but I just can't. It's too soon... and I would ruin my impeccable reputation. What I will say is that I was on the phone with my husband seconds after it happened. I tell him anything & everything. He laughs at me, but he doesn't judge me. We have a good thing going, he and I.

From the first second I met Aaron, I felt incredibly comfortable around him. In fact, I probably felt too comfortable. It took me a long time to realize what we had was LOVE because it was nothing like I had read about in books or seen on movies, and it was far from anything I had experienced from dating relationships in the past. I never felt nervous around Aaron. I didn't need to impress or try to be someone I wasn't. I believe that I fell in love with him gradually, until one day I realized that being with him meant that I was the best version of myself. I could talk to him about anything.. and honestly, this was the #1 reason I was afraid to take our friendship to the next level. I needed him in my life and I would have been devastated if I jeopardized our relationship for a 2-week romance.

One thing that set Aaron apart from any other guy on campus was the random conversations we had in between classes. We never had a class together and didn't really meet up to study or hang out-- but we ran into each other often. I loved randomly bumping into him. He never had books or a back pack. He usually had a pen behind his ear and he wandered around without a care in the world.. (some things never change.) But from the beginning, our small chat was never small chat. We didn't shoot the breeze talking about the weather. We got into the habit of sharing random bits of information that, if pieced together, would never make sense to anyone else. I grew accustomed to expecting the unexpected from him and he made it easy for me to express my random thoughts.

Although there are hundreds experiences to share (many of them written down because we emailed often) one random meeting sticks out in my mind. I had known Aaron for a few short weeks when I ran into him off campus. It was a crisp afternoon in the fall of 1998. I was on the way home from a jog and he was hitting the tennis courts just behind my apartment. I saw him across a busy street and he motioned for me to slow down. I waited for him to cross and I thought to myself that there was no way I had a crush on this guy... if I did, I would be stressed about my sweaty hair, my grungy outfit and my lack of makeup. But I wasn't. I was genuinely happy to run into him and I could tell he was happy to see me too.

As I jogged in place, I remember Aaron telling me how much he loved tennis and how he wished he could do it for a living. This led to him talking about his high school experience on the tennis team, which led to the time he was 12 (or so) living in Texas where he met a kid named Sparky. I still can picture the expression on his face as he told me about how he and his friends would stay up all hours of the night playing ping-pong until they could play no longer... and they would drink so much Tang that they would make themselves sick... and then they would lay down and listen to the Tang swish back and forth in their bellies. I have no idea what I said in response to this information, but I distinctly remember jogging away from the tennis courts, waving goodbye and shaking my head in bewilderment. I was smiling as I said to myself, "WHO is this guy and why on Earth did he just tell me that story?"

Years later, I find myself listening to random stories by this same weird guy. Sometimes we are jogging next to each other. Sometimes it's while at the park with our kids. Sometimes it's next to him in bed-- and it's SO ridiculously late that I curse him for being a night owl. Sometimes it's over dinner at a quiet restaurant. Sometimes it's while loading the dishwasher together. Most recently it was on the way home from a fun, spontaneous road trip. Oh how I love taking road trips with him-- it's hours of guaranteed good conversation.

Ten years of random stories can really teach you something about someone. The more I learn about him, the more I love. He continues to surprise me and he always goes the extra mile to get a reaction out of me. I often find myself shaking my head in bewilderment and asking myself, "WHO is this guy and how did I end up with him?" And then I smile because I know that I'm so lucky I did.

fun with Cindy Lou

Summer has officially arrived... and we are having way too much fun in the sun. Cindy has been here for a week and we've been busy playing games, cooking, watching movies, swimming, hitting our favorite museums, etc. I've said before that the reason why I blog so often is because I am lonely-- it's my way of reaching out to my family members who live so far away. But with a sister here, I don't feel so lonely anymore. Aaron had a busy week at work and called a few times to say, "I'm sorry... I won't be home until late." And I reply happily, "What do I care? Cindy is here to keep me company!" We'll see how long it will take before she gets sick of us.

One fish. Two fish. Dead fish. Blue Fish.

Do you remember our pet Lizard, the fish that we just welcomed into our family? Well, Zack tried to murder him. I guess (for those of you who speak in legal terms) it was more like involuntary man (fish) slaughter. We had him a total of 2 days when Zack confessed that he had squirt liquid hand soap in his fish bowl. We found him alive, but barely. He was missing a fin and not moving-- at all. I wanted to flush him right away (because I can't stand looking at a fish whose dying a slow, painful death) but Aaron said we should change the water in his bowl several times and see if he can survive. Turns out, he's a fighter! After five days of laying on it's side without making the slightest of motions, he flushed out all the soap from his system. Unbelievable. He is now happy and swimming around in his bowl-- minus one fin. I was seriously writing his obituary in my head. So glad he made it through his first Zack-Attack.

And because one fish wasn't good enough (or because we need a back up just in case Zack's attempt to kill the fish is successful) we now have a second fish. Our dear friends, the Baileys, moved away :( and gave us their beta fish. He came with the name Blue, but has since taken on the name Puff Daddy. This cool beta puffs up his face when you approach his bowl. I believe it's some kind of defense mechanism to scare off unwanted onlookers. And honestly, it really does scare me! Thanks Ashlee for being such a wonderful friend, for giving us your scary fish and for allowing me to steal the picture of him off your blog....

You may or may not have noticed that I replaced our side tab photos. Over Memorial weekend, we ventured out to a little ghost town about an hour away. The plan was to take a few pictures and explore the town. It turned out to be more frustrating than we hoped, but I am still so glad we went. Kashina and Todd almost ran out of gas so they piled in our car... Zack fell asleep on the drive and would NOT cooperate for the pictures. And Simon-- our happy-go-lucky baby pooped like he's never pooped before all over the only outfit we had for him. We spent the first 30 minutes at the Ghost Town trying to clean off his shirt and shorts with only a few wipes. Aaron was SO happy about that. The rest of the time we were all avoiding holding the poop-stained baby. But all in all, we got some fun pictures and will know better what to plan for our trip next time. Kashina has the pictures posted on her blog. She is such a fun friend and I am so glad she moved to Vegas! I'm really looking forward to updating the old photos in my home... after 7 months, it's time that Simon becomes an official part of our picture wall. And if you live in Vegas, this Ghost Town is TOTALLY worth the drive. My friend Azy had her incredible family photos there and we just had to check it out!

fun at the drive-in

We could not have picked a more perfect night to hit the drive-in theater. Last night was breezy and beautiful. We invited friends and took the kids to see Shrek and How to Train Your Dragon. I would give a couple of movie reviews, but I did more talking than watching. And that's the beauty of being at an outdoor theater. The kids had a great time eating junk food, running around in the dark (there was hardly anyone else there) and laughing at Shrek burp and fart... that's all he does, isn't it? No-- I caught the last minute or so of the movie and it was rather cute.

Check out Zack's powdered-face in the picture above. He came to me with that face and said, "Mom, is there another bag of donuts?" His favorite part of the night was finding the highest mountain, reaching up into the air and yelling, "I'm king of the world!" A big thanks to Ben for capturing it on film.

In between shows, we played at the park. Because going down a slide is fun, but going down a slide at 10 PM is so much better.

The only adults left for the second show.. love these women. We fit perfectly on the air mattress bed we made in the back of the van.

And because we must take advantage of EVERY second that Cindy is here, we were crazy and moved our car to watch a 3rd movie... Letters to Juliet. Loved it again. It was so worth staying until 1 AM. There's nothing like watching three movies for the price of one... rather 50% of the price of one. I paid $6 for my family to see these movies. That's what I am talking about, Willis! I wish the drive-in could be a regular summer activity, but any day now, it's gonna be too hot to be outside, even at midnight. One of the joys of living in this God-forsaken city.

Memorial Day 2010

We had a great weekend... we cleaned, shampooed carpets, did LOTS of laundry, organized closets, unpacked our summer clothes, BBQ'd, gave the boys (& the dad) a haircut, hit the pool and found a little time to relax. I love having my man around and wish he didn't have to go to work ever! Making a living ruins all our fun!

This is what happens when your husband gets a hold of clippers. Am I upset? Never. I will buzz the mohawks off before Sunday. Hair is optional in the summer. I tried to talk Aaron into sporting a mohawk too but he opted out. Poor sport.

The highlight of our Memorial weekend was MOST DEFINITELY the arrival of Auntie Cindy!!! We are so happy to get her all to ourselves this summer!

We celebrated our first day with Cindy by picnicing at Spring Valley Ranch and hitting up Bonnie Springs.

Ben wanted to lay in front of train and pretend he was going to be run over. It's not often he will be spontaneous, lay on the ground and risk getting his shirt dirty. The mohawk has turned him into total rebel.

I don't need a mohawk to make me feel crazy and spontaneous. Sometimes I get the urge to make out with someone and I do it! The cowboy seemed rather stiff during the kiss (if you know what I mean.)

I can never get my kids to come into the women's bathroom with me when we're out in public. Imagine how difficult it was to convince them to enter a room with a ginormous brazier hanging on the door. Zack was the only one brave enough to join me. It takes a mighty secure man to enter this ladies' room.

We fed ducks at the green fish pond and Cindy was being adventurous and was willing to risk her finger for our entertainment. This turtle had a mean bite!

Just seconds after the above picture was taken, the turtle totally attacked (bit) a duck. It was awesome... I got it on video, but because the screen on my camera is broken, I got the turtle's back and not the actual fight on film. Must get my camera fixed soon.

I still can't believe how cute my baby is. I want to eat his face for dessert. Or possibly just lick it.

One of the best things about having Cindy here is the fact that Aaron and I can train early in the morning for our 1/2 marathon without worrying about the kids. I gave Simon a bottle before we left this morning and just loved watching him wrap his leg around his pillow while he drank. He totally gets his cuddling talents from me.