a milestone: 25th wedding anniversary

grow old with me, the best is yet to be.
- william woodsworth

-

today, christopher and i are celebrating 25 years

together - 25 years.  it seems IMPOSSIBLE, but

only from the aspect that it doesn't FEEL like that

long. i guess that's a good sign? 

it's not all been wedded bliss. we've gone through all

kinds of things, and i have no doubt there will be bumps

in the road ahead too as that's the nature of life, BUT

we're committed to each other and our marriage, and
i have no doubts we will grow old and wrinkly together.  

i'm so glad we met on the beach in florida all those years ago.

he caught my eye immediately and it wasn't because he drove

a very cool italian car when all the other boys his age drove

muscle cars.  it was his confidence, his intelligence and the
conversation we had that drew me towards him. 
{he was also pretty darn cute}.

when i ran into him again at a party and got to know him better,
well i knew we were kindred spirits and that life with him would
be an adventure.  

we've had so many adventures, i can't begin to list them all,

but i'll name a few that come to mind. we moved to the desert

just a few short months after we married to start a new life as

grown ups. we worked, played, learned to rock climb,
made lifelong friend, learned to swing dance, surf, snowboard
we ran our first half marathon together, made lifelong friends,
and i fell in love with c's family.


i told my mom i hit the jackpot when i married into his family.
the warmth and love they've showed me from the very beginning
is truly phenomenal.
i am fortunate.
i am grateful.
i'd marry him all over again.

Scout's Fall Exhibition Night: 4th Grade

it's been a whirlwind two weeks. i'm ready for vacation now...i think we all are.
c is back from hawaii which is wonderful!  i think i may have been more excited than
the boys when he walked through the door with his signature whistle indicating he was home.
{he's been doing this since we were newlyweds}.  anyway, he was missed...ALOT!!
he shared all about his trip, showing us beautiful photos of island and several of trevor
competing in the xterra triathlon. since it was an off road race, spectators were limited
to transition areas.  i'll try to post later and share some when c gets them on the home server.



while c was away, scout was busy preparing for his class Exhibition Night.
tonight, the family all met at the school and got to see the fruits of all his labor.
this included seeing the physical skateboard that he built in class, and all the writing
and documentation surrounding it. at the end of the evening, all the kids put on all their
safety gear, grabbed their skateboards and went out on the school's blacktop.
the kids skated while their parents watched and tried to take video and photos which
didn't turn out as there wasn't enough light. scout has grown exponentially in his abilities
and it's been really fun to watch.  he's working on 'dropping in' to bowls and would
love to be able to perform an ollie someday.


i found a sweet poem in scout's notebook that he wrote at the beginning of the school year.
it has nothing to do with his skateboarding project, but it has everything to do with who he is.
it shows one of the most beautiful qualities i find in him...how loyal of a friend he is, his ability
to be vulnerable and to be introspective. he clarified some things in the poem to me later about his fears and my heart melted.

as a mother, one of my many jobs is to help my children see their strengths and their weaknesses,
and for them to be comfortable with them. at 9, scout has this confidence and my hope is as he
grows, he won't lose this. if he can hold on to it, his future wife will be one very lucky lady.