Tuesday morning we had plans to do the Brewmaster Tour at Anheuser Busch so we got up and got dressed. They said you had to be there about 15 minutes early, but we wanted to make sure we could find a parking spot. The other thing is you had to have close-toed shoes on, they checked before they even let you sign in.
So Monday morning as we were checking out of the Hampton Inn, I accidentally dropped hubby’s camera. Oh, I was not happy, if you can imagine. Luckily I just broke the battery grip, so far as I can tell. Still not happy about that though.
We had time to kill between hotels, so we decided to head to Anheuser-Busch and see what was happening there. (more…)
After we checked into our new hotel and got situated hubby asked what I wanted to do next. Now, one of hubby’s fave movies right now happens to be Grown Ups. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen that movie, but I like it too. So I suggested that maybe we go relax at a movie and see Grown Ups 2. Hubby got online and found a theater within about 5 miles of our hotel, but it just so happened to be a Dine-in Theater. What’s that you ask? Yeah, I didn’t know either. If you knew, just remember I might lead a sheltered life :).
You go to the movie, they give you assigned seats, you get a menu and choose what you’d like for dinner. And truthfully, the prices of the food happen to be the same as a sit-down restaurant. Oh and the food, yeah it’s real food, not like just a hotdog and nachos or something :). I believe if I remember the menu, they also had popcorn, just like a regular movie. You have servers that come around and serve you and if you need a refill or something else, you push a button and they come to you, all while enjoying your movie. (more…)
Last fall I got it in my head that I wanted to run a 5K. I’m not really sure why, maybe reading all the blog posts about all the amazing girls who were doing it, I was inspired, I’m not sure but I wanted to do it. Hubby and I started training for it, but then winter kicked in and I became a hibernating bear.
It was on my 101 in 1001 list of things to accomplish and a goal that I wanted to complete before I turned 30 next month. I found a race in Joplin that was a night race, The Starry Night 5K, 10K and One Mile Fun Run, told hubby and he signed me up before I had a chance to back out.
Being Father’s Day weekend we wanted to celebrate Father’s Day with my mom before she left at 7am Sunday for China, so we decided to go out to eat on Saturday night. Mom suggested that we eat Italian (my fave) for the carbs to run so we ate dinner at 4pm.
As we were headed to Joplin a storm started blowing through and of course we were driving right into it.
Then I got the warning that there was a Flash Flood Warning. Fun! I may have started grumbling about having to run in this and started getting cold feet about running in the first place.
We met up with mom and dad at Carino’s. One of my favorite things there is the Chicken Parm but I couldn’t eat it all. Hubby went with fish. By the time we left it was pouring rain and we stood in the corridor of the building for a while hoping it would slow down.
This is the only picture of the rain I got, but the streets of Joplin were flooded in a lot of places.
Because of the rain, check in was delayed to start until 7pm. We got there right about 7 and it had quit raining. That meant, in fact, we probably were going to be running. Hubby and I went up to get our packets and check in.
I am proud to say I finished the race. My dad keeps teasing me that I cheated and had someone pick me up, etc. Just so you know, I didn’t!
Our official time was 42:27.58. That made our pace a 13:42 min/mile.
Hubby was a bit ahead of me and waited at the last turn for me to catch up. I guess everyone kept telling him he didn’t have much more to go and encouraging him to finish but he told them he wanted to cross the finish line with his wife.
Hubby finished 26 out of 27 in his age group. I came in 45 out of 62 in my age group. Over all we came in 248/249 out of a total of 290 5K runners. For our first 5K we were proud of ourselves. Estimated that we ran about 2 miles of the 3.2 miles that make up a 5K. That’s extremely good for non-runners like ourselves.
Initially I asked mom and dad to stand with Tbug at the finish line for us, however I told them not to worry about it with the rain so we went to their house after we were finished to pick up Tbug. As we were driving home, I really wanted ice cream but didn’t say anything until hubby brought it up so we went by Sonic and got 1/2 price shakes. Hubby and Tbug got Peanut Butter and Chocolate and I got a Chocolate Covered Strawberry shake.
Then we came home and sat in the hot tub to help with our muscles. I’d say a pretty great end to a fantastic day. Plus I crossed off a 30 before 30 list, a bucket list and a 101 in 1001 item.
Isn’t it lovely that this question is posed on Mother’s Day. I have 3 people who come to mind and those would be 3 of my 4 grandparents. Sadly I am only left with one grandparent whom I love so much. I had a very fun, unique relationship with my 4 grandparents.
My Grandma S was taken from me in 2007 due to that nasty thing called cancer. She was one of my biggest supporters and biggest fans. She wanted absolutely nothing but the best for me and always made me strive for my best. Sometimes she and I were so much a like we butted heads, but she was always there for me to help whether it was studying for a test or helping me scrub my sheep to get ready for a show. She was out there coaching me when it came to my horses or she was there telling me how important and nice it is to help clean my parents house while they were at work. It breaks my heart that she never got to meet my hubby or Tbug because I know she would have been absolutely smitten with them.
My Grandpa S followed her 9 months later on Father’s Day 2008 due to that nasty thing again called cancer. The love that I saw between my grandparents is always something to strive for. Every relationship should be like the one I witnessed between the two of them. Grandpa was right there with her every step of the way while she cheered on both her children and her grandchild (me). When I started showing sheep at 15 years old, he and my other grandpa were right there helping me build anything and everything I needed to get my sheep ready. And my grandpa’s were there helping my parents building fences to help keep our horses in. Then when my parents were in Hawaii and someone took out our mailbox, they were right there helping me put another mailbox in for my parents when I ran out of steam and daylight.
My Grandpa J and I had a very unique relationship as well. When I was in the 2nd grade he had just retired and started picking me up every day after school. If I was driving to a fair that my parents couldn’t attend with me, grandpa was right there to travel with me. Anything I needed or really wanted, I truthfully never had to want for anything. He wanted absolutely nothing but the best for me. When he met my husband, my husband walked up and shook his hand, grandpa looked at me and said, that’s a good one. Keep him. You can tell a lot by the way a man shakes your hand and that’s a good one. He was there the day my daddy walked me down the aisle.
He never ceases to amaze me. He had me believing that I wouldn’t get flowers this year, just like he had me believing he couldn’t propose yet (3 years ago). And I had made my peace with it even though I might have been a bit sad…
Then he came through!
This boy knocks my socks off every day of my life 🙂
Then he was going to take me out to dinner, but I preferred to stay home and just hang out with him. We debated what we’d have for dinner and decided in the end I’d pick up Chinese. I had Cashew Chicken and he had General Tso Chicken.
And you remember how I told you to add “In Bed” to the end of your fortunes. I laughed because this one so worked 🙂
Happy Monday!
In honor of Valentine’s Day, I’ve been trying to decide what to post. And, maybe what better than the story that got my husband to where we are today…
Some of you who have been around for a while know the story, but for those of you who are newer, sure you can read the shortened version up in the tabs, which maybe that’s what you should do. Especially if you want to see husbands side of this here story.
The summer after we were engaged, crazy me got struck with the idea of writing our story and well, it’s kind of like a chapter book, seriously. It’s a lot more in depth than the “shortened” version by far. Truthfully it’s probably pretty boring and I can’t guarantee how bad the writing is…. but if you’d like something to give you a good nights sleep, start by reading chapter one, you won’t make it far, I’m sure :). Just promise me you won’t drool on your computer. Computers DON’T like drool or any form of liquid… just sayin.
Marriage is like a peanut butter & jelly sandwich… the husband and wife are the peanut butter and jelly. They’re much better together than apart. God is the bread who holds it all together. When it’s done right, it’s a simple recipe that never goes out of style
~Author unknown
Marriage is hard. It’s easy, but it’s hard. Don’t get me wrong, sooooo totally worth it, but hard and easy, but hard.
Are you confused yet? Don’t worry, I think I am too. Marriage is easy if you are with the right person, to work through and push on through all of your differences, all the obstacles, all the disagreements, all the everything that life is willing to throw at you.
Three Years ago today I chose to enter into this marriage. At 10:15am my husband asked me to be his wife. Be his wife for the rest of our lives. Be his wife through the good times and the bad. But most importantly, to be his wife.
When you start dating a person, you put your best foot forward. You go out of your way to impress. I’m not really sure you know a person until you’ve been together for a while.
We had the advantage of being friends in high school, although a lot had changed from high school until we met back up 10 years later. Life happened. Education happened. Families happened. Hardships happened. Joyous times happened. Heartache happened. Jobs happened. Enough happened to those 2 people that they had been completely reshaped, reformed and molded into the people they were on July 25, 2009, when they met up again after 10 years for their first date. It was almost like meeting a stranger for a first date, a date that no one could have imagined would lead to a lifetime together.
My husband tells me that the night, of that first date, he knew that he was going to marry me; I however didn’t know anything of the sort. All I knew is I went on a first date for the first time in a little over 5 1/2 years and had a fabulous time with a stranger from my past. Who would have known that that first kiss at 3am would be my last first kiss?
As the summer drew on and I sometimes think life sped up, we became closer talking through all means possible. In fact, we had a long distance relationship for the first 2 months of our relationship. In October of that year (2009) when he informed me he was quitting his job and moving home, I actually got a sick feeling in my stomach.
We had talked a few times about marriage and life together but nothing was ever set in stone. Nothing was ever serious even. It was just talk, like we always did. One thing I told him though, I didn’t want to ever be proposed to on my birthday, anything to do with Christmas or New Years, Valentine’s Day, basically any of the “given” times. Turns out, I share my proposal date with National Safety Pup Awareness Day :).
I hear some many times that people are getting married but are unsure if they’re making the right decision. If you have doubts, DON’T DO IT! That’s one piece of advice I have for you! When it’s right, you’ll definitely know and there will be no doubts in your mind.
So, now is time to share the story that I have shared, every year on this day:
This had started out as a pretty crappy day, I surely didn’t know that it would eventually get better! I started doing the mail and got a phone call from Nancy at the front office that I had flowers at the front desk so I headed to the front of the building to go retrieve my flowers. (I work all the way at the back.) I passed Becky grumbling that “Prince Charming’s so in trouble.” although seriously what girl doesn’t like flowers, especially when they look like this!!
So when I came back Becky announces really loud that I had beautiful flowers. My desk has frosted glass around it and when I walked around the corner and I could see someone on the far side of my desk but I figured it was a coworker had dropped something or since I was having such a bad day, they were going to jump out and scare me (things like that happen to me from time to time) so I didn’t really think to much of it. So I came up on my mystery guest and Prince Charming is down on one knee.
I just stared at him and he asked me “The Question” and I was rendered speechless. (yes I know, this doesn’t hardly happen at all!)
I just stared at him and it dawned on me, SPEAK Nicole :)… so of course I said yes. He said he had to pry my death grip off the rose container to set them down on my desk for me; He said he thought I’d drop the flowers and he was prepared to catch them… LOL
Then he turned around and I tackled him in a bear hug.
Of course a girl has to try on the ring 🙂
Prince Charming says this is his favorite photo.
I’m officially ENGAGED!!!! I love my Prince Charming!!!
One final note:
Over time your marriage will start to look like the marriages of the people you’re around the most, so be very wise about how you choose your friends. Look for at least one couple who has a marriage worth imitating and then be intentional about spending more time around them.
Yesterday morning as hubby and I were getting ready to head out for the day, I looked out the front door and saw the most beautiful sky. Well I grabbed my camera and I was on a mission to catch it with our windmill in the way :). And this was the photo that I captured. Hello beautiful January morning! Only thing to make it better would be the ground covered in snow.
Wait, did I really just type that… me, the girl who loves the summer heat over the winter cold. Yes. Because if you’re going to make me cold, might as well enjoy some snow to go with it :).
Hubby went ahead and got in his vehicle to pull out of the driveway and as I was walking back to the house he put it in park, got out and started walking to the house.
I asked him what he forgot and he ignored me, so I asked again and he said huh? By this time I repeated myself a third time and we were both at the front door.
His answer, “I just needed to give you my heart.” and handed me this.
p.s. Happy Birthday to my wonderful Father-in-law!!
