Birthday Love . . .

Yep. You're another year older. And despite what this picture may lead some to believe, I think you've finally left the title of "Goofy Redheaded Guy" behind.

In the past year you have been my ROCK. You have seen me through the darkest, hardest trials I've known and rejoiced with me in the greatest blessings I've ever received. You are the love of my life, my best friend, a terrific father and a downright good and honest man. I hope you have a fantastic birthday. I love you and plan to spend many more birthdays by your side, harassing you endlessly, caring for you fully and adoring you completely.

Two Geeks In Love . . .

(First picture by Edward . . . LOOK AT THE DETAIL ON THAT TINY PUZZLE PIECE!)

It's only fair that I come clean about my own geeky thing now that I've "outed" the yo-yoing love of my life. And I know I said I would do it yesterday, but I've been kinda busy doing my geek thing and couldn't be interrupted. I just couldn't find a way stop until I was done. Now it is finished . . . all 1000 glorious pieces of it. Ya see, the thing is, I am hopelessly addicted to putting together jigsaw puzzles.

I completely blame my parents for this. They've had a tradition with long time family friends that each year at Christmas they will send each other a tortuously large and difficult jigsaw puzzle. I don't know when this tradition started - I just know that I was hooked the minute I started interlocking little tabs and connecting edge pieces.

One year the puzzle was a grove of Aspen trees - entirely made up of small green leaves, white birch bark and nothing else. This year it was a 2000 piecer of the New York City skyline . . . at night. But the mother of all doozies was the year they sent us a puzzle of the Rosetta Stone - actually shaped like the Rosetta Stone - in other words NO edge pieces and an all black stone face with tiny white writing in three scripts not familiar to any normal human being - hieroglyphics, Classical Greek and Demotic Egyptian. I think my younger brother Matt might have actually shed tears over the putting together of that puzzle.

My freshman year of college I was sick on a Sunday while home over the Christmas break. While my family went to church, I began and FINISHED one of the puzzles by myself. I'm not trying to brag - okay, maybe just a little - but I am so very good at this. The hubby even commented on my superior spatial reasoning and uncanny ability to find pieces quickly.

For the past two years the Hubby and I have shared this puzzle tradition with some good friends. I don't think they realized the first year what they were getting in to. We sent them a Disney puzzle of Donald Duck entirely made up of thousands of tiny different pictures of Donald Duck. They sent us a sweet little puzzle of downtown Salt Lake City, Utah.

This year they upped the ante and sent us a puzzle of a Thomas Kincaid painting. When we opened it, I immediately thought to myself, "Aww, how cute, a puzzle from that guy they call the Painter of Light. This is going to be a walk in the park and even has a park in the picture."

It wasn't until I finished two thirds of the puzzle that I realized how sneaky our friends were. The entire sky of the puzzle was a sunset with light pinks, oranges and yellows barely distinguishable from one another. AAACK! The Hubby wanted nothing to do with this puzzle and even went so far as to utter the unthinkable words, "This puzzled stuff is your thing." Big C put in about 20 of the 1000 pieces. Hannie B talked to me while I worked on it. Red Dog dropped pieces on the floor and had to leave the room.

This is where the geekiness really kicks in, so stop reading now if you want to preserve some image you have of me being normal or, dare I even say it, cool. I pretty much put the sky together based on only piece shape since the colors all looked the same. I separated all the shapes into similar categories and went at it from that angle. I am a geek. And it was enjoyable. But dang you Thomas Kincaid! Your subtle hues and divine lighting nearly did me in.

But I conquered and will now have to wait another year to feed my little geeky obsession. I only do this at Christmastime . . . just trying to keep that geek portion of me under control and all. Now you know - SO FESS UP! WHAT IS YOUR GEEKY THING?

The Geek Factor . . .

I feel giddy because I'm about to unveil a fact about the Hubby that will increase his Cool/Geek factor exponentially. Even better is the part about me just learning this tasty morsel over the Christmas break. I cannot believe he's hidden it from me for almost 14 years of marriage AND a year of dating. (I may have dated him sooner if I'd only known . . .)

As the RedDog opened a gift from one of his aunts on Christmas morning, a little gasp of joy escaped from the Hubby's mouth. I immediately saw a gleam in his eye and realized he had just mentally claimed the gift as his own. It was a shiny red yo yo.

After all the present hoopla died down, the Hubby grabbed the yo yo, tore off the packaging and began dazzling us all with his mad - and I mean MAD - yo yo skills. He was walking the dog, goin' round the world, putting the baby in the cradle, sending it up its own string, putting it to sleep, etc.

Meanwhile, I was planted there, watching with my jaw firmly planted on the floor. I did not know the Hubby could yo yo. I didn't know he had this hidden talent we could have been flaunting for years at parties and for cousins. In our kids eyes, his Cool Factor just went way up.

"Oh yeah," he calmly tells me. "In fact, I started a yo yo club at my high school."

And there's the Geek Factor. I'll just leave it at that.

(ps. In all fairness, I'll share a geeky fact about myself tomorrow.)

My New Baby . . .

Happy New Year!

I had to take a two day break to recover from the non-alcoholic hangover I had from throwing a party for almost 30 teenagers on New Year's Eve. One word: exhausting.

And now here I am, and it's a new year - a blank slate, ready for endless positive possibilities! I have always been a goal-oriented-type-o'-girl, so when the new year comes around, I am at the ready and setting, setting, setting.

My tradition has always been to have a goal in each of four areas: a spiritual goal, a physical goal, a family oriented goal and a goal to strengthen my marriage. These goals are personal and realistic - I try not to overreach because I really dislike the idea of setting myself up for failure. So, onto achieving! I hope you have set some great goals for yourself in 2009.

There are also oodles of positive changes coming to this little Dragonfly blog during 2009. The first has to do with my new baby, which was such a loving and thoughtfully planned out gift from the Hubby for Christmas. Meet Edward:

I'm naming him after my brother's middle name (not a certain vampire) because he is the most fantastic photographer I personally know, and because he got the same camera for Christmas (I have only the Hubby to thank for putting me on any kind of equal footing with photobro) and because he has offered to give me tips, pointers and even some lessons on how to produce more beautiful imagery of my life and for my blog. In the meantime, Big C has inherited my old digital camera and is now taking lots of photos of Lego creations.

Lest you think the Hubby got the short end of any stick in this situation, I thought I'd show you his new baby - a Trek road bike that is making even the photobro (who is also known as crazybikingbro) salivate a little. The Hubby has earmarked this year as the one in which he will take up a hobby that will benefit his health, save him money on gas and time on his commute to work and help him bond with no less than three of his brothers-in-law. I am really, truly happy for him . . . and I can't wait to see him in his shorts!

The Trip of a Lifetime . . .

One year ago today I was on a plane with my sweetie, flying over the Atlantic Ocean for an indescribable 11 day vacation in Europe. I just reread the journal I kept during that trip and found myself sighing, giggling and outright laughing at the very fond memories we created on that journey with my brother Matt and his wife Mindy.

Since I wasn't blogging at the time, I felt it would be appropriate to pay a little homage to our European Adventure on the blog today - Our Official One Year Tripiversary. (Don't be expecting anything deep and meaningful here . . .) I won't be going into great detail - I did that in the journal - but here are a few little nuggets of truth I learned on our trip:

1. Traveling with another couple is a total bonus - as long as it's the right couple! Matt and Mindy were such troopers and highly entertaining too! We laughed almost as much as we walked and climbed stairs. I really didn't think I would enjoy spending eleven straight days with my brother (I knew Mindy would be a ball), but it was really so fun to be with him.

2. Can spouses survive an eleven day vacation and being together 24/7 ? Would we still like eachother at the end? Would we fight? Would I need a vacation from him after the vacation? This trip with the Hubby turned out to be complete bliss! It was like a second honeymoon - where we actually got to go out and see sights! After the eleven days I was truly sad to part with The Hubby as he went back to work and I went back to full-time mothering. We started planning our next trip together immediately.

3. It's hugely important to leave your kids with the right people -- and those people are their grandparents. We flew Travis' parents out to watch the clan for ELEVEN DAYS. That is an insanely long time in the grandparenting world and I will be forever grateful that they said yes. Our kids had only been in school for a week, so the grandparents were instrumental in helping to cement the whole new schedule thing into place. Not only did we come home to three totally happy kids, we also found projects had been completed in our house - seriously, my kind of vacation.

4. It doesn't matter how healthy you are in your real life (if you know me, you know I fall on the side of healthy eater who loves good junk food) - on a European Vacation you should EAT and EAT GOOD! Crepes, schnitzels, pastas, pastries, ice cream, sodas, quiches, pommes frites, gyros - you name it, we ate it! And I don't regret one single bite.

5. European Fashion is so great. Each stroll down a street or ride on a Metro in Paris was like a mini fashion show. The women were so put together and lovely. The styles were many and varied, but always looked good on the wearer. It was exciting to see, but also made me feel very frumpy - especially since I had dog hair due to a broken blow dryer and flat iron.

That's all I really have time for today. I can end this blog by noting that I can't wait for our next big trip. This trip last year was one of the most enjoyable things I've ever done. One year later I'm still basking in its rosy glow with a smile on my face!

Maam, You're Not Going To Like This . . .

After sitting at Costco for 2 1/2 hours this morning (yes, I wandered the aisles AND bought $150 worth of stuff I didn't need) this is what the nice man in the tire shop said as he handed me my car keys.

"Maam, you're not going to like this."

I don't think I need to mention this isn't a good way to start a conversation with someone who's been waiting 2 1/2 hours to have a little leak fixed in a tire! Turns out it wasn't a leak in the tire after all, but a cracked rim instead. The nice Costco tire man took off the bad tire for me and now I'm riding around on a dinky little spare tire, which gives the van a nice ghetto look.

And thus we have perfectly illustrated, once again, why in this marriage at least, the woman should be excluded from doing anything that involves the fixing of cars. The Hubby would have handled the entire ordeal brilliantly. I, on the other hand, went home frustrated and feeling as deflated as my poor tire.

Tire man was right - I didn't like it one bit.

Berry Pickin': Part Deux

Last night we hit Bob's Produce (site of early summer blueberry picking) for a Family Home Evening activity. I'm all for those "wholesome recreational activities" mentioned in the Proclamation On the Family!

This time, we had the entire family, Hubby included, and we went for blackberries and raspberries instead of blueberries. Once again, we were the only ones there. And once again, the kids had a really great time! The blackberries were humongous! (see pics) The raspberries were dainty, a purply red, and burst with tangy sweetness as we taste tested them right off the bush.

We've frozen all of our sweet treasures and already had a delicious salad tonight of mixed greens, red onions, gorgonzola cheese, candied pecans, and of course, raspberries. Tomorrow morning I'm going to devour a bowl of grape nuts with all three berries we've picked. Then next week were are going to go back and pick at least 5 more quarts and make some raspberry freezer jam.

I am sad when the raspberries come on for one reason - I know summer is coming to an end and I must send my wee ones back to school. Picking raspberries is part of our last hurrah before we must face real life again.

This Is What Keeps Me Going . . .

Just wanted to add this most recent picture (Thanks Audrey & Chris) of my family at the beach. These four people are what keep me going each day.

In all truth, I really wouldn't get out of bed in the morning if it weren't for them - and I mean that literally and figuratively. They keep me on my toes, they keep me in stitches from laughing, they keep me up at night with worry, they keep me up to my eyeballs in laundry, they keep me humble and grounded, they keep me up on a pedestal which I do not deserve.

I know for some women being a wife and a mother just isn't enough. But for me, this is all I've ever wanted, and it is all I'll ever need. They keep me going.

The Perfect Father's Day Gift - Almost . . . Twice . . .

I thought I had this year's Father's Day all figured out. After all, my husband is one of the BEST dang husbands and dads around and I wanted him to feel the love! So, I've been plotting for a little while now on how to make it a great day for him filled with showering of the gifts, good food and a little you know what else.

My first purchase was a power edger. It's a spiffy model than can convert to a landscape trencher should the hubby ever want to cut out planting beds or lay some landscape lighting. What man doesn't love a power tool, and especially one with a kick butt name? I know mine loves his "Leaf Hog" blower - so I was real thrilled when the edger had an equally manly name of "Edge Hog". You gotta love Black and Decker for thier ingenuity in naming the tools.

I got the edger the day Hubby left for his business trip. I was glad I'd gone to the Home Depot when I did as they only had one left (other wives planning ahead for Dad's Day?). I brought the edger in and left it in the kitchen while I scouted out a place to hide it - it isn't small! Before I knew it, Hubby's flight had been cancelled and he was standing in the kitchen saying, "What's this edger for?" Pan to me with my head down saying in a sad, defeated voice, "Happy Father's Day?" Ugg! So much for planning.

But, I still had a few tricks up my sleeve, or so I thought! I've been planning for weeks to have the kids each make a stepping stone for their dad with thier hand or footprints in it. We've already finished RedDog and Christopher's and they turned out fabulous! (Pics to come) The plan was to do Hannah's today. Of course in a classic 4 year-old moment, the first thing Soren blurted out when he saw his dad this morning was, "Daddy, I made a stepping stone for you!" Pan to me with my head down saying in a sad, defeated voice, "Surprise." Drats! Foiled again.

Now I'm down to my last trick, which I cannot disclose for fear that the Hubby might read the blog and then I'd have nothing. Alas, I will still make him cinnamon rolls, treat him like a king, and then there's the you-know-what - which really isn't anything new - and that's something, right?