A Valentines Tag...about ME and MY VALENTINE!

I got this from my totally awesome friend, Abby! And I thought it fun and appropriate for the Valentine Holiday!!

1.) Where did you meet? Technically, at my sister Ann's house, but I didn't remember that until I'd gone to Montana and met Mckay. He'd mentioned meeting me there one time and it all came back to me (he'd been there with Lane helping my bro-in-law, Brian) But, that was like an in and out kind of thing so when I first really laid my eyes on him he was getting greased up working at good ol' R and S Automotive with Brian. As I recall, he even bumped his head on the hood of the car he was working on. he he he

2.) Where was your first date? We doubled with his roommate Aaron and his girl, Lindsey. Ate at Winger's, played pool at Cajun Bobs (i think that was the name of the place), where I'm pretty sure he cheated. We then headed to Edwards but just missed the last movie playing so we all headed over to the new super Walmart and played in the shopping carts. now, if I could only get him to hang out at walmart with me now.

3.) When was is that you knew you were falling in love? Honestly, just after I shut the front door after that first date I thought, "if I keep dating this guy, I'm going to marry him"

4.) Who kissed who first? I tried putting off that first kiss for a while. I knew he wanted to quite a few times. So when it did happen it was equally both of us.

5.) What are a few things that you adore about your significant other? Lots of things! One of the first things that attracted me to him was how laid back he is. I'm a stress ball, and he is a very grounded person with an amazing perception of how the world really is. I love his ability to play with the kids, and for how long he can last. Not even with just our kids, but our nephews and nieces as well. He's a favorite. He is quite a funny person. He's a hard worker, and has a strong desire to serve. He'll be the first to sign up to help someone move, or if he sees someone needing help he's quick to lend a hand. I really admire his ability to get up everyday and go to work. Seriously, there is so much that he hates about his job...traveling and its side effects, the FAA, and even some of his alcoholic coworkers, but he sees it through. Most of all, I love how he loves me. How he's always loved me, even when I do stupid things or make stupid mistakes.

6.) How long have you been together? Married for 5 years and 13 days and together almost 6 years ago.

7.) Do you have nicknames for each other or a special song? More often when we were first married, he was "punkin" and I'm "baby cakes". When we were dating he'd always start singing "you spin me right round" (totally fitting), which for this post I have playing. so turn up your volume!

8.) What is your favorite thing to do together? An appropriate answer would be that when Lane's out of town we get on Skype, so we can see each other and chat. They also have a ton of games we can play together, like backgammon, battleship, or bowling. Last night we were trying to play hangman but it wasn't workin. We usually just like all things fun.

9.) What is something you look forward to doing with this person? Living a celestial life, free from all our earthly and mortal fears, pains, and setbacks.

10.) What is one thing that only they can do for you? He is my comfort and my sanity. When Lane's out of town I feel parts of myself crumbling. He holds me together.

Now, if you read this post, consider yourself tagged! And of course, have a great Valentine's Day!!

About time...and it's a long one!

We're back! Well, we have been for almost a week! We had a great time! We ate yummy food, we took naps (when we WANTED), watched movies (no interruptions), spent a good chunk of time in the spa, we snorkeled, and toured Nassau (think Atlantis,pirates, and the place where Anna Nicole Smith had her baby and where her older son died- according to our local informant). The weather was only OK. Out on the deck I was cold even with a jacket on. Maybe that was mostly due to the wind. Which, because of it our first stop at CocaCay (an island privately owned by Royal Caribbean) was cancelled. But that was the day I'd planned on spending in the spa so I wasn't too bummed about it. I went in and got myself lathered in some seaweed stuff (it was a sort of detoxification process) and the full body massage, which I was soooo in need of. Lane even went in and did some manly facial massage and shave. Lane ate some weird stuff too (since becoming the world traveler he has quite the "mature" sense of dining) New things for him on this trip...caviar-didn't like, escargot-he did like, along with duck and lamb.
Snorkeling could have gone a little better for me. Because of the wind we didn't have very calm water. They took us out over the coral reef and gave us these bib-like life jackets that you can adjust how much air is put into them, and had us dive into the water. The water was only 77 degrees but when i got in I didn't even notice the water being cold as I was trying to figure out how to breath and at the same time I felt like I was sinking (remember the windy wavy water...) By the time I got to Lane I was getting a little panicky. He told me just to stick my face in the water, so I did, for about 2 very long and exaggerated breaths. I was a little shocked at seeing so many fish so close, it wasn't scary like I thought it'd be. But I was back to breathing and I swear I was sinking, well, it didn't feel like I was floating very well. Lane thought I had too much air in my jacket and started to let some of it out, and of course that made me freak out, so I gave up. Swam back to the boat and felt pretty proud of myself for at least getting into the water and giving it a try, as this was something that I had no desire to do, was way scared of and only signed up for because I knew that it would be the only thing that Lane would really want to do. So, having tried snorkeling, if I could do it again on a nice, hot, and calm day, I'd try it again. I think.
My mom survived and so did the kids. They each took a turn being sick, and each time I talked to Evelyn she started to cry, and then so did I. It was really hard to be away from them. Needless to say, I've been getting a lot of "Mommy, I want you" and some extra cuddles. But, it was nice to have a few days with just Lane. I think we (or maybe it was just I) didn't know what to do without the kids. There were quite a few times that I'd say to Lane, "Aige would love that!" Anyways, here's a few pics...don't look too closely as some aren't that great.

Bon Voyage!

So as you all look at how nice and warm my background is, I'll be enjoying it FOR REAL!! Honestly, I really should be packing and getting us ready to go, but here I am blogging! I'm super excited, and a bit nervous since we'll be going snorkeling, but I'll expand on that later. Have a great week everyone, and I'm sure I'll have lots to say when we get back next week!!

EDWARD MEETS BELLA...IN REAL LIFE

This is for all you Twilighters...I stumbled across this and thought it was cute and fun to read. Hope you enjoy!

Dear Kaleb,

So up until about two months ago, my Twilight knowledge was limited to mocking any girl I saw for reading "that apple book".

But when I moved across the country to live with my uncle, swapping into a co-ed high school with my cousin, out of nowhere there were apples, flowers, ribbons and chess pieces everywhere there was estrogen, including the desks of some of my teachers! It roused my curiosity a bit more and I asked my cousin about it, worried I'd find out she was as crazy obsessed with it as all the other girls were. To my huge relief, she informed me that she wasn't. She was just starting the first audio-book a friend had lent her. It was supposed to be this epic love story. Bleh.

Anyway, Liz got me invited to a friend's party later that week since I was the 'new guy'. Just after I got there, I spotted a girl across the room chatting up with some friends. The most conspicuous thing about her was that she was wearing casual clothes at a Halloween party.

I asked Liz about her and she kinda did a double take when she saw who I was talking about. Told me that was Bella, the girl who'd lent her the Twilight audio. I felt weird just walking up to her out of nowhere so I asked Liz if she'd introduce me and she obliged.

"Hey, guys. This is my cousin," she told them casually, "Edward, this is Bella."

And the girls totally flipped, especially Bella. Scared the crap out of me too. They squealed and giggled and I turned beet red, feeling like an idiot since I'd always hated my full name.

"Just Eddie," I corrected with a glare at my cousin as I shook Bella's hand.

Out of nowhere (again) the girls decided to unanimously ditch the two of us with some lame 'dying of thirst' line, leaving Bella and me alone. So in an attempt to make small talk, I asked her about her outfit and if she couldn't find a costume. She blushed quite obviously and told me she was dressed as 'Bella Swan'

Logically, I figured that meant she really COULDN'T find an outfit. When I told her as much, she gave me a LOOK.

"Bella Swan? From Twilight?" she asked me, like it was supposed to be clear as day.

"The apple book?" I asked, not having any idea whatsoever what that had to do with anything.

"You really don't KNOW?" she said, almost laughing.

This exchange led into a long and detailed conversation which started with explaining (to my embarrassment) about the novel's characters EDWARD Cullen and BELLA Swan and why my introduction sent her and her friends into fits of hysteria. It lasted pretty much the entire party, about vampire baseball and how transformed human blood makes vampires stronger, the whole deal. When the party ended, she tattooed most of my forearm with websites to check out if I was interested, including this one. Thrown somewhere in the middle was her number.

So before my uncle came around to pick us up, I asked Liz, casually as I could, if I could upload the audio book to my MP3 player. She rolled her eyes, as she pulled out her iPod and lent me a headphone.

Three weeks later, we'd gone through all four audiobooks and I was starting to follow the movie news (was I the only one who NEVER saw that proposal coming?). Liz's crowd, including Bella (who I'd been talking to since Halloween) invited me to go to the midnight movie.

As we were walking out, I figured now or never and asked Bella if she wouldn't mind being my stupid lamb. Ignoring her friends who awwed and cheered behind us, she just laughed and told me that she was glad it didn't take me 90 years."

Submitted by Eddie

dEcEmbEr!

December sure came and went fast! Aige turned 4 on the 18th!! We took some cupcakes to playgroup the day before and Aige asked for a Speed Racer cake(and since most of you have girls and know nothing of the world of boys, obviously, it's about a race car driver with a car that can do all sorts of stuff, Aige has recently been hooked!) I was a bit nervous to make this car/cake, but it turned out better than I thought it would, and Aige was so excited the entire time I was "carving" and frosting the cake. We did make it to Montana for Christmas!! (Won't even discuss those roads) I made the kids pjs this year (a first!) and most of that was really fun. It was great to get to spend some time with Lane's family. It seemed too short, but we're so glad we went!

Now Boarding....

So it's final! Our flights are booked, babysitters (aka, my Mom and Dad) set up to watch the kids, and the cruise is paid for!! We're going to the Bahamas for anniversary #5!! We head off to Miami on January 29. Board ship on the 30th---and hopefully have a super fun anniversary on the 31st!! We are both super excited as this is going to be the honeymoon that we never really got. I don't know how I'm going to act with just Lane around and no kids (does anyone ever have a hard time not talking about your kids?). And I wonder how Lane will act with having me sit next to him on the plane. My prediction, he'll be rolling his eyes at me the whole time. I love to travel, and now that he's been doing it regularly for so long he hates it. So yeah, I definitely see rolling eyes in my direction while I'll be jumping out of my seat with excitement. I have a little bit of hope that since we're flying first class and that it is for fun (not work) that he'll enjoy the flight too. I'm almost as excited to fly in first as I am to go on the cruise. From what Lane has told me it is quite the experience. So now I'm thinking I should REALLY go tanning, and kick up my workout. I only have 8 weeks till we leave!

Pro-Life

A friend e-mailed this to me and I thought it important. I guess it's time that we all get really vocal and stand up for what we believe.

If you are against the FOCA (Freedom of Choice Act) that Barack Obama has promised to immediately sign into action, please go to this link and sign the petition. This act, initiated in 2004, would overturn any state legislation to limit abortion and would, in fact, legalize abortion through the 9th month of gestation. This would re-institute partial birth abortions in states where it is now illegal.
Since fewer and fewer doctors are willing to do abortions, FOCA would allow non-doctors to perform abortions. Safe?
Further, necessity for parental notification would be null and void.
And no institution, regardless of their beliefs would be allowed to turn away someone who wanted an abortion. That means, for instance, that Catholic hospitals would be required to allow abortions to occur on their premises. Catholic Bishops will have to decide whether to discontinue operation of their facilities or choose to break the law. Catholic hospitals comprise a good chunk of our current health care system. What kind of freedom of choice is that?http://www.fightfoca.com