A Kiss Is Not JUST A Kiss

Lately watching TV has been a humorous event. Anytime someone kisses on TV HC says "EWWWWW... why are they kissing? They're not married!!"

This noticing people kissing began one day when HC asked Steve who she would marry. Steve told her that Daddies always help their little girls find their special husbands. Steve also told HC that she is supposed to save her kiss for when she is married. So now HC wants to know if the people kissing are married and if the answer is no she says "Why are they not keeping their hearts special?"

We told HC not everyone knows about keeping their kiss and their hearts special. They think it is OK to give all of that away. They don't think sharing kisses will hurt them.

So, this all came to mind as I just remembered an incident that occurred yesterday. We were at the park with friends and as we were ready to leave her friend, MG (a sweet little girl), wanted to give HC a kiss good-bye. HC looked at me with an awkward smile and I didn't catch on why she did that until just now. She is saving ALL her kisses!!! So funny to me. She does let Mommy and Daddy and JB kiss her but I guess she is determined not to give her heart away yet. I pray she does keep her kiss until her wedding day! Wow! Wouldn't that be awesome!

So... MG - it wasn't you that HC was saying no to, she is firmly holding onto her heart and ALL her kisses.

A Night Out

Monday night Steve and I had a treat! We went to a Christmas concert with some GREAT friends! We had a wonderful time! I highly recommend this concert if it is in your neck of the woods. The artists who sang were all stars in their own right. They were fabulous!! I wanted ALL of their CD's by the end of it all. The message was great and I left the concert feeling refreshed and CHRISTmasy. The message was really great!
Most of you may have heard of these artists (but I don't even remember their names now). Wish I would have written down their names - their voices were so beautiful and the live music - well.... it's been a LONG while since I've been to a live concert. It was refreshing to hear live music with live voices. Talented voices. It was marvelous.
Here is one singer whose name I do remember. His name is Bebo. What a name. :) I love his voice!

Steve and I had a really great time! The friends we sat with were the best. :) MARVELOUS Saviour, FABulous husband, SUPER friends, and great music - what a fun night! We realize we need more of these sort of nights in our lives. Note to self: MUST schedule more leisure/fun time with friends on a regular basis!!

What's a 'Versary'?

I was greeted with the question "What's a Versary Mom?" last night. I immediately realized what HC was talking about. Monday, while running errands, I received a call from a friend. She was calling to say "Belated Happy Anniversary". During the phone call she asked if we did anything special and I told her that we had HC's birthday party on our anniversary. Since the day was so busy we left it at that and didn't really do anything special. I felt like our recent trip was anniversary enough. Obviously HC heard this and kept this question in mind until Wednesday night. Then the questions came:

HC: What is a versary?
Me: When Mommy and Daddy go to eat a special dinner alone to celebrate being married.
HC: What do people do on ANversarys?
Me: What do you mean?
HC: Do they have music?
Me: Yes
HC: Good I have music. Do they have brownies?
Me: Yes (HC giggled and hurriedly put the remaining brownies on the table)
HC: What else?
Me: They have presents and cards.
HC: Oh. I need some paper. (She quickly made anniversary cards for Me, Steve, herself and JB)

Little did I know that she and JB had secretly set the table and were busy at work. She told me NOT to look at the versary party because it wasn't ready yet.
Then when Daddy came home they sang us a one of a kind Happy Versary song and we celebrated together.
JB found it fun to cram his mouth FULL of brownies.
And HC delicately tried to be 'boy icky gross' too.
JB LOVED being silly.
And HC had a BLAST at her first versary party!

It was really fun seeing her take over the organizing of our party. She was so thoughtful and this was unprovoked too. When Steve walked in the door they both shouted out "Happy Anversary Party Daddy. It's your Versary party tonight." He looked at me bewildered and I told him the inside story.

Thanks HC for our fun Anniversary Party! 11 years is worthy of such honorable festivities as you created! We love you and JB so much! Happy 'Versary' Steve! 11 years flew by fast! I love you!

Goodbye....Hello

HC and JB are having to say goodbye to a special friend. Something they've found to be a perk in their world. They took their last ride in the black beast beauty and said goodbye! Dad's car. A ride in Dad's car has been a huge thrill for HC and JB. They LOVEd the sunroof!!!! They 'heart' it!! I am thrilled to say goodbye! It just isn't practical for all of us to ride together in it and it has a manual shift. Not a big deal except when you drive the hilly roads that we frequently drive! Not fun.
From the fun 2 door (that is not kid friendly) to the newer 4 door model. Trading 198,992 miles for 47,000 miles! Momma is happy, HC and JB love that they have a window and Daddy loves that Momma is happy! {smile}

We gladly welcome our newest set of wheels into the family! It is nice to have a back-up practical car vs. the sports model! We are loving life!

Now for the funny story that followed this transaction! We have been happy with the black not-so beauty but it lacked a few perks. Hubby drives quite a bit for his job and the beauty didn't have cruise control - needless to say Hubby has had a permanent cramp that we hope he loses. The radio and CD player worked fine - but at only one volume level. Fairly loud or off! We put the car on craigs list and received several calls. The beauty does get FABULOUS gas mileage and gas is gold these days! Hubby showed the car and the guy was interested. (I forgot to mention that the headliner has come down and the drivers window has a glitch - which we've found is a common glitch in older Honda's). OK. So - we disclosed every icky detail because we didn't want to be bothered unless someone really wanted it! The guy loved it and we met him last Friday to make the transaction final.

We drove up and the kids were playing in the van while we waited. I was still leery that someone would want it (since I hated having it as a 2nd family car) and I hoped this would be the day we could bid farewell to the beauty! The family drove up and I turned to unbuckle my seat belt, while Hubby greeted them. I turn to open the door and saw MY GOOD FRIEND NANCY!!!! We laughed so hard at the randomness of this happening. I had no idea that they were looking for a gas efficient car (they were spending $100's on gas for her husband's truck) and I was glad to know the people who bought it were buying it with open eyes. They were truly only looking at the economics of the car and not thinking it would be some luxury. (I remember my first car and how disappointed I was after owning it and finding the little inconveniences that I didn't notice at first.) Steve and I left them with our 'not so black beauty' and hoped it would bless our friends as it did us. It was not our dream car, by any means, but it did the job and did it well. It was dependable and loved by some in our home! Farewell black not so beauty... from what we hear - you are on your way to shining once again!

New Favorite Things

The other day HC was trying to remember a song she heard in local shop and she really struggled with the words but we clearly recognized the tune! I wish I could remember her wrong words because they were hysterical but once we told her the correct words we've forgotten. It was something like "she is the best gopher" or something like that! It was funny. We bought HC her first big girl CD and she quickly became familiar with her new favorite "The BEST of both worlds". She locked herself in her room to dance and sing. She wanted to be alone. There were good sides to that - a little break from the constant chatter, and bad sides - my baby girl was pulling away from us all. She hasn't been listening to it as much lately and I haven't mentioned it. I am not ready for my kids to hide out in their rooms yet - I don't think I will ever be ready for that! I enjoy the bustle of us all enjoying the same space! But she sure had fun learning her new favorite song! (HC has strategically placed every tiny thing in her room. It was once clutter free but now she has become opinionated about where things go - we are letting her have a little freedom in that area; but it does drive me nuts seeing all her 'organized' piles.)
Since we've moved we've been without a BBQ pit. That may seem like no big deal but my husband comes from a family that cooks and cooks well. They cook often and they use the grill several times a week. This was like part of our kitchen was MIA! It was a thrill to return to our life again!
Can you hear the 'ding'!?! Hubby is proud and happy! Life is good!

Mowering

JB and Daddy - ready for 'mowering' (JB's word for mowing)! Doesn't a mower 'mower' the grass? That's a logical thought process to me. Ready for work!
And they're off.....

Two hard working guys!! Our guys!!! JB and his hero - Dad!

Puerto Rico Farewell!

On our last night the company threw a big party/dinner on the island. We all loaded up on boats for one last trip to the beach. The view of the island from the boat.
This was made of sand! Pretty neat huh?
Hubby and I were in line to have our picture drawn. The theme was pirates - can you tell? We took home the pirate hat and sword for JB. Pirate Daddy found a little treasure to give HC - a pink jeweled ring and some gold coins!! We were ready for any battle that ensued to steal our treasure!
Here is the drawing of us. I was expecting more of a caricature but... it was pretty good. I can see the resemblance in Steve but I don't see it exactly in me. I guess that is the way life goes - I also do not think I sound the way I seem on tape either! :) We said our farewells to Palomino Island and headed back to the resort. We walked the grounds and tried to see anything we may have missed thus far. And finally it was off to bed and early rise to the airport, with prayers that we would get through security once more without a bag check. I was dreading that happening - the bag check! No real reason - I just thought it was bound to happen these days! Anyway... I am already looking forward to my trip next year! Fun times!

Winnings and More Sights

I will say that usually hubby and I will play a little nickel slots when we are out on a special trip .. but usually is once on our Honeymoon and then while we were in Puerto Rico. So... I guess when we go places for vacation and the machines are around - we are willing to play with about $20. There have been other times we've played (now that I think about it) - on a few trips to New Orleans and such. OK. So my normal instinct is "No, I could find other fun things to do with $20." But I always want to give the game a try anyway.

This time was the same. Hubby asked if I wanted to throw $20 away and I (out of boredom - in the early evening) agreed. We took the money to the machine of my choice and I did my usual. I pushed the proper button (some have levers to pull) and I don't know what happened but within about 5 minutes - I won. I walked with $81.80 - that is a win of $61.80!!!! I normally win at least $40 when I play but I hate the risk of it all. I think I am one of the weird ones who sees the $81.80 and I am satisfied. It isn't fun for me to push the button when I could walk away with guaranteed winnings. I have even gotten back up to my initial $20 before and cashed out! But this was my first BIG win! It was enough for me!!! Translation = all my spending money for the trip (gifts for the kids and things we wanted) were now on the winnings! I had more money for the things I wanted! WOOHOO!! I do not condone gambling people - unless you have self control and want to live on the edge a teensy bit! So here is my cha ching moment - I have no idea how I won! I am not gambling savvy I tell you, but I do like to win!
Here are hubby and I on top of a tower in the rain forest! We walked up 98 steps to see this view.

Here was a bridge in the rain forest!
We took a mini-hike through the local rain forest, about 30 minutes. We drove through about 3 hours.


A waterfall!
Look at the size of this leaf!
Trees on the resort grounds!
Rarely have I seen a coconut tree with coconuts on it (I am so deprived)! This was the golf course on the resort.

I think there will be one more post of our time in Puerto Rico. We had fun - I still wish I had one more day of leisure!! :) It was so nice to have peace and quiet!

Puerto Rico Part 2

The resort we stayed in did not have a beach you could just walk to.. we had to take a 10 minute boat ride to an island for that! It was a nice little ride - here is a view of the island from the boat.
Steve said "WOW! Look at that lizard!" I assumed it would be a gecko but I was wrong. It is hard to tell in this picture but this iguana was the size of my foot at least (not counting it's tail). Can you believe these things roam around like this??
In the little restaurant on the island there were a few unusual critters that visited for freebies. I actually watched a grown up woman reach down to pet this wild rabbit!! I can't believe a rational person would do that! It wasn't a pet - it was a WILD animal that wanted to be fed!!!
People offered the animals fruit and they refused the fruit but quickly snatched and fought over french fries! Can you believe???
Here is the view of our hotel from the marina.
Another beautiful nook at the hotel.
The view from our hotel room minus the rain! {BIG smiles!}

It was definitely a beautiful place! There were these noises we would hear at night that were SO loud. We later found out the noise was from local frogs. They sounded like LOUD birds. They are coquoi (sp?) frogs. At night they sound like a recording - they are so loud, it was there mating call. It became a pleasant thing to hear in the evening after we were used to it. You could hear a rhythm like music from all the noises when you would sit and listen. With the beach, the frogs and the breeze - it was nice!

On our way to Puerto Rico

I would like to introduce the hero of this 4 day event - Miss M!!! She is only the 2nd non-family person I've felt peace about as a babysitter. She is amazing and if God had not allowed our paths to cross - I doubt I would have gone anywhere last week! My kids LOVE Miss M!! Can you tell?!? This is what 4-5 AM looks like people! :) Our plane! I have not flown in over 11 years! I was so excited to be on such an adventure. Our honeymoon was my last plane ride! So excuse the picture of our plane! I just had to take it!
Breakfast first!
I'm so excited!!! This was one of the first moments I realized the thrill of 'this is really happening! I'm going somewhere!!' I had not slept well for at least 2 nights before this big day, but I was pumped!
We arrived in San Juan! Woohoo! This was what greeted us - a band and dancers. It really set the mood! What fun!

Festive indeed!
From dancing to...
Rain?!? NO!! It's not supposed to RAIN on my parade! Needless to say - after 2 plane rides with sunshine abounding - this rain was not a welcome site! The 1 hour bus ride was less than inspiring; but even in the rain the view from our hotel room was great! (My positive thinking is convincing isn't it?) {smile}
Off to the celebratory meal and further festivities! We had a fun time visiting with my hubbies co-workers and each other! It felt like a 2nd honeymoon - with friends near by! If you could only hear the sounds I still hear ringing in my ear from this very moment. There was a marching band and dancers and a whistle being blown - the entertainment was really effective! (But that whistle was driving us all a bit batty!)