10 years and a letter of love

We were fortunate to spend our special anniversary in Cabo ~ 10 years!  10 years, people!  It sounds like a long time, but to be perfectly honest it doesn't feel like it at all.  It doesn't seem like 10 years have passed since we said, "I do," but then I look at our life and all that we've accomplished together and I know that it must have taken some time, because we've done a lot.  I also think back to ten years ago and feel like we were babies when we stood at that alter, in front of our dear friends and family who we love so much, and made promises before God.  We were just 24 and we had our whole life ahead of us.  And it kind of feels like we still do...I look at our children and know that we have so many wonderful, perhaps some challenging, times ahead.  10 years have flown by and I can honestly say that I am just as excited to see where the next ten will lead us.

Ken and Diane were kind enough to watch all the kids so that we could go out.  Stacy and Justin joined us for a special evening.

We started at the beach front bar and then headed to La Gondolondrina, which has wonderful food and a beautiful atmosphere! 

For my love,

Marriage isn't always easy, but I can confidently say that I found the perfect partner for me.  Kyle is the calm when I'm storming, always staying rational, never rising to the bait of an argument.  It's remarkable, really, his ever steady walk through life.  It is a quality of his that I greatly admire and am often thankful for. He's so very easy going.  He is hard to anger and easy to make happy.  I know he appreciates me, which is a gift all on its own.  Kyle is the pillar of faith in our family.  I love that he has willingly sought God in difficult situations and has made an effort to deepen his relationship with Christ.  What a wonderful example he is to our children.  I will also be forever grateful for the comfort that I take knowing that Kyle is protecting our family ~ he provides unselfishly, working so hard, to give us a good life.  He's successful in his job, mostly I believe because he is kind and honest and people can trust him.  That's a rare quality in business these days and he has been rewarded for it.  Kyle makes an effort to make me feel special ~ over these ten years of marriage he has listened and tried to do little things that he knows I will love.  We have had to learn one another's love languages, and we've come along way.  I look back to the start of our marriage and while we had a ton of fun and certainly lived a more carefree life, at this point we know one another more deeply, love more intimately.  While every day isn't perfect, I am proud of us.  Proud of my husband and the love that he has for our family. 

I love you, Kyle and feel blessed to have you as my partner in life.

Donuts with Daddy

I was so very thankful that our vacation to Mexico didn't interfere with "Donuts with Daddy" day at preschool.  It is such a special morning for the children and Kennedy was so excited for Daddy to come to school with her.  

Hard to contain her excitement!

A side by side picture like this really shows how much Kennedy looks like her daddy

First activity of the day was to cut out and decorate ties for one another...

Kyle's had a rainbow and a flower and a few other little pictures (not totally distinguishable to me :).

Kennedy's said "I love Dad"

Miss Tricia took a picture of Kennedy and Daddy and then put it into a frame that Kennedy had made.  It's now sitting on our entry way table and it makes me smile each time I see it!

Kennedy's name was chosen to be the flag holder

Donut time!

Somebody loves donuts!

I know I've said it dozens of times, but I do so love our little preschool.  These special little days that they have throughout the year are so important to the children.  Kennedy had been counting down the days and was thrilled to have Kyle at school with her.  

It was a very special day indeed!

Crazy 8's

We ended a great basketball season the weekend before Christmas break.  It was such a fun group of boys, many of whom are in our small group or attend school with Carter.  Kyle did a wonderful job coaching them, he's so positive and really tried to help the boys improve.  And improve they did!  What a difference from the first game to the last.  They were dribbling well, shooting more accurately and trying to pass (a little...a very little bit in Carter's case)  All eight boys scored at least once and they seemed to have a wonderful time, which is what's important at this age.

Carter loved the season ~ he loved playing with his friends and I think he really liked being good.  He was confident and shot the ball well.  Kyle was really trying to get him to pass more but would usually just pull him out of the game so that the other boys would have a turn at shooting.  I think he would have played every minute of every game if he could have - he really loved it.

Andrew, Samuel, Lucas, Bryce, Asher, Carter and Andrew

Crazy 8's was an appropriate team name

and here is how the girls spent the games, coloring and playing

After the game we snapped another quick photo because Ben arrived a little late and missed the first ones.

What a great season, boys, good work!

Donuts and trophies after the game (and Starbucks for the parents) - easy and fun.

I have to say I really enjoyed basketball too.  It was fun to watch Carter do well and I loved that the games were indoors, so we were warm and that there weren't extra practices throughout the week.  It was fun and easy, which is my kind of sport!

turkey bowl

First Annual Turkey Bowl

Our youth pastor, Matt, organized a flag football game the weekend after Thanksgiving.  He encouraged "kids" of all ages to come and play, a time for fun and a connection with our church family.  Well, to say Carter was excited would be a huge understatement - he was pumped!  He wanted to play quarterback and score lots of touch downs.  He wanted to run pass patterns that he constantly practices with Daddy.  He wanted to be a real football player.

Thankfully the weather was decent and a large group showed up to participate.  I stayed home to prepare for our celebration later in the day, so sadly I missed my boy's excitement and determination on the field. 

What a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Our little football player

Kyle was sporting his Shrine Bowl jersey from high school and said he was a bit sore after the game.

Carter said he felt great

sons

and dads

Carter got in on the action.  I think he played one play at quarterback (he was sad not to do more) but was intense during the game.

Fun times!

Disneyland ~ Day 5

Day 5

our fifth and final day in Disneyland

Our last morning got off to a rocky start...as we waited for our shuttle, something we'd done a dozen times the days before, they kept passing by full.  Finally, after waiting nearly 45 minutes, Kyle went to the front desk and complained.  Within a few minutes we had our own private taxi shuttling us to the park.  It ended up not really being a big deal, but we did get to the park a few minutes later than we would have liked.  I did my best not to worry about it and it was quickly forgotten.  There was too much fun to be had!

It was our morning to get into Toontown early.  It typically doesn't open until 11:00 (or an hour after the park itself opens), but we had special passes that allowed us to enter at 10:00.  It was great!  There was a cute little show with Mickey and the gang and then a ceremony where the kids were made honorary citizens of Toontown.

being sworn in by the mayor of ToonTown.

And then we were greeted by the big mouse himself as we set off to tour his house. 

The kids loved it!

They loved his house and looking at all of the fun things in it.

They weren't thrilled with the rides in ToonTown, but they still had a lot of fun exploring.  And it was great to do it without any crowds at all.

They were kind of rushing us through the picture line, so sadly Nana didn't get her picture with us, too.

Pluto's bed

They were entranced watching Mickey's gloves go around and around in the washer machine.

It was cute to see them so excited about every detail

Making a movie

Driving Mickey's car 

(again that pesky sun made for challenging pictures!)

I ordered the kids' shirts off the internet and was thrilled with how they turned out.  They both really liked them, too.  Now we just need to plan a second trip so they can wear them again :)

Finally a good picture with Nana!

She so graciously snapped our family photo at all of the important places, and then the kids would be done and she'd miss out on her chance to get in the photos too.  Thank you, Nana, for being our personal photographer during our trip!

Daddy and Kennedy waiting for the go-coaster...after all the other roller coasters from the previous four days, they were pretty disappointed with this one.  I will admit that it was a tad tame for our dare devilish family.  

my girl

Resting in Goofy's house

We convinced Daddy to give the Small World ride a try again (he had vowed never to ride it again!).  The kids enjoyed it and Kyle said it wasn't so bad this time around - it was fun to see the kids' excitement as they spied different things.

Carter had seen this shooting game on our first day, so while the three of us were waiting for Nana and Kennedy (they were riding Alice in Wonderland again), we gave it a try.  One of the few cheap things in the park, I thought $.50 was a bargain!  The gun was very heavy, so it was hard for Carter to maneuver.

Thunder Mountain Railroad...again!

Wednesday, our last day, was by far the best day for crowds.  The place felt empty in comparison with the previous days.  We ended up riding Thunder Mountain six or seven times in the hour or so before the parade.  Nana left us this day, so we said goodbye in between our rides.  It was sad to see her go, as we knew we wouldn't be seeing her again until Christmas time.  It was so fun having her there with us and she was such a help.  We love you, Nana!

No lines + a super fun ride = a great way to spend the afternoon!

Waiting for the parade with some special treats...cotton candy and frozen strawberry lemonade.

It was another hot day, so we were fortunate to find good seats in the shade!

such sweetness between these two as they shared their treats

Enjoying every minute of our last day

The Disneyland folks have photographers around the parks snapping your picture.  They got such a great one of the kids holding on to these balloons with the castle in the background...but they want $15 for one picture and I just can't bring myself to pay that.  Even if they are cute.  My picture of the balloons will help me remember :)

Mickey's Soundsational Parade was great!  Lots and lots of characters, great music and just general entertainment.  The kids were in heaven!

The genie was a favorite from the Aladdin show the day before...Carter thought he was hilarious!

Kennedy's favorite, Ariel

The princess float was a big hit

Tiana was the only princess that we weren't able to meet, so we were happy to see her during the parade

We decided to end our day at California Adventure.  Carter wanted to ride California Screamin' a few more times, I wanted to explore Radiator Springs a bit more, Kyle wanted to ride Tower of Terror again and we all wanted to ride Soarin' over California one last time. 

Again, there were no crowds, so we all got to do what we wanted before we had to leave.

And we saw Minnie!

(her house in Toontown was undergoing renovations while we were there, so this was a chance to get our picture taken with her)

This might be on our Christmas card, although poor Kyle had to duck in order to fit under the airplane's wing!

and Carter-Man finally got his churro...he'd been asking for one for days!  Kennedy didn't love hers, so I enjoyed one, too.

Our longest wait was for the new Toy Story ride - it was an arcade game type competition ride, and we had a lot of fun.  Kyle didn't think it was worth the wait, but I'm really glad we tried everything.

Saying goodbye...

we ended our stay with such a wonderful day.  I could have easily stayed a few more!

I think the kids were the perfect ages for their first trip to Disneyland and they really did such a fabulous job. They didn't complain about the heat or all the walking, they loved the rides, enjoyed the parades and shows and had fun meeting the characters.  I think we went on nearly every ride in both parks and saw everything that we had hoped to see.  It was as close to perfect as I could have dared to hope.

And I can't wait to go back!