On this day...

My parents lived all over the world. Travelling with their families and their Air Force fathers. Their families settled in the same neighborhood. And my parents met when they were in the 9th grade. They started dating when they were seniors in high school.They went to the prom together.

They dated through college.

Went to fraternity parties together.

And my father proposed at Christmas in 1967.They were married on August 31, 1968.

Surrounded by family.And they began their new life together.Today they would be celebrating 40 years of marriage. If my father had not been taken from us too soon. So, Mom. Even though the occasion is not written on the calendar anymore. I wanted you to know that I remember.

Theme Song: The Honeydrippers -- Sea of Love

Going to my Happy Place

My husband was not as amused as I was about my post yesterday. He wanted me to be sure and set the record straight. We didn't just play softball. He took me to dinner AND to a play. I didn't mention it yesterday because it would have messed with the flow of my narrative. And because the name of the play would have brought some strange sorts to my website. People that really aren't looking for a rambling drivel of a blog. We went to see this political satire. Called "The Missionary Position." See!? I cannot wait to report what my sitemeter reports for the google searches that lead to hits on my site now.

So...today...we went to church...and Michael went back this afternoon to take the girls to the Easter Egg Hunt before his softball game (and in case you are wondering...they didn't lose by much...just 2-18...it was a nail bitter). And I was without children. For an entire afternoon. It was a momentous ocassion. And dangerous to boot. Because I was going to my happy place.

Target. Oh, how I love Target. And I do love to say it with a French twist - Tar-jay (how on earth do you phonetically spell that?!). It's my happy place. And the place that makes my husband's blood pressure rise, jaws clench, and impressions of his finger nails show up spontaneously on exposed pieces of skin. Because you can't just run into Target. It's a law that you must spend at least $100.

I like to follow the law. And then some. About a year ago, my mom and I went to Tar-jay for jar openers. Just jar openers. Somehow they cost $400. Look at them...they are that good:

So...today I went to Tar-jay. For Easter candy. Good stuff for $275. It is a happy place.

This afternoon, the girls decided that they needed to get into the hot tub. For those of you dealing with snow...you may want to look away. General mayhem ensued...

And then they got cold. They really didn't give the hot tub the opportunity to warm up.

(We must have forgotten to feed Katie today.)

Beware the Ides of March

Today is the Ides of March. The day Caesar was stabbed in the back. The day Tsar Nicholas II abdicated the throne. The day Gollum destroyed the ring of doom. And the day that I got hitched. It is a fortuitous date.

So...how does one celebrate an anniversary? For our first anniversary, we went to Asheville, NC to visit the Biltmore and brought home with us an unexpected surprise that arrived 10 months later. Yep...10 months. For our second anniversary, I asked Michael to write me a sweet note. Telling me about his feelings. I should have asked for diamonds. For our eighth anniversary we went on a cruise. Because my husband would never knowingly spend that much money, I had to surprise him with the trip. I thought that surviving the seven year itch was a good enough reason to make a big deal out of it.

How are we celebrating today? Well, Michael hurt his wrist carrying all those Ikea bookshelves into the house...so he is not sure how he is going to play on the softball team that starts tomorrow. He bought a wrist brace...and now he needs to try it out and see what degree of bracing he needs to throw. And he actually asked me to catch for him. And chase after the balls I miss. Because I promised to love and obey him. Snort. I burst into hysterical laughter. The dejected look on his face had me compromising my lazy self and heading outside to play catch.

The kids were most amused. Madalyn said that this was the best anniversary ever. Before we get to the softball pictures, here are the cards that the kids made for us:

Here is my hand in a glove - with my ring symbolizing love, honor, devotion and soft ball playing upon request:

It was quickly decided that I was hopeless...and my mom took my place.

Katie added color commentary from the peanut gallery. Madalyn soon got tired of chasing balls...and she put on the huge glove to play catch, too. I had no idea that softball skills were genetic. Sorry Madalyn.
Soon, I had to wonder about my yard and admire the signs of spring all the while lamenting my lack of a macro lense. Now that would be an awesome anniversary present.