Our 10 Year Anniversary!

So last weekend was Ryan and My 10 year anniversary. Not ten years married but ten years together:) I would love to report that we took a week off or at least a weekend off to go spend this momentous time together, but alas I am unable to say that. Financial and work constraints prevented the kind of celebration that I have been looking forward to for the last two years. Those stinkin' medical bills. Sigh. Oh well if given the choice of providing my daughter with a necessary surgery or going on vacation again, there still wouldn't be an option, Caitlin comes first. Always. Our friend Megan, who gets credit for introducing us, kindly pointed out that we're notorious for not celebrating on time anyway. And she's right- at our 1 year together anniversary we both forgot about it until a week later. I was really hoping to do something fun this year, and we did have a good day, just, as Caitie pointed out, not a very romantic one. We went to the Tillamook Cheese Factory with Caitlin, Chandra and Lucas, then Ryan and I went to the Air Museum in Tillamook and then took a really dusty gravelly road home and now my car needs to be washed. When we got home, actually back to Chani and Mark's house because Caitlin didn't want to ride in the car with us, Ryan got a call from our friend Phill asking if he could please spend the night with us. Phill and his wife had a bit of a loud dispute and they both felt it would be better for him to cool his heels somewhere away from home for the night. I really really wanted to say NO!! It's my Anniversary!!! but that wouldn't have been a good Christian response and it wasn't like we were gonna have privacy that night anyway. So we said fine but leave your fight at the door we don't want to hear any bickering. Maybe when I finish paying off Caitlin's surgery bill we'll leave her with Grammie for a week and go to Hawaii. In the mean time I will be happy with the fun times we have on day trips and love the life that I'm livin'. I definitely wouldn't have postponed Caitlin's surgery just so that I could afford to go on a vacation and whatever else life throws my way I'll handle and just be happy that I have a job, a wonderful husband, a beautiful daughter and a loving extended family. The rest will come with time. And maybe some careful planning;)

More to come soon...

I feel the need to post something to let you know that I am still here. I keep intending to download all the photos from Easter and our trip to the beach-I just have to find the usb cable first. The past couple of weeks have been a lot of fun for our family. We went to Silver Falls the day before Easter and Caitlin walked under the South Falls twice, then had breakfast with Chani and Mark Easter morning, and had an early dinner/late lunch the Ryan's side of our family. The Easter bunny decided not to bring Caitlin a new bicycle, instead allowing her parents the credit for the gift which turned out to be a better decision because she was able to choose the pink and purple Barbie bike and the Easter bunny maybe wouldn't have picked such a beautiful one. She's much stronger on her bike this year has ridden everyday since she got it a week ago. Last Monday was a really big day for us- we went to see Hannah Montana in the movie theater, then we went to the doctor for a prescription for the ear infection that won't go away, then we bought a new bike, then she came down with the stomach flu. I jokingly blame the upset stomach on the movie, but Caitlin really really loved the movie so clearly it would not be the reason she was fine before going into the theater and sick as ever coming out of it. Luckily the flu was short lived and we went back to the beach this past weekend as for a fun visit with my friend Becky! We had a lovely time visiting and catching up, had our nails painted, went to an art show/auction to support a local private non-profit school, and then went swimming and watched Bedtime Stories. Sunday brought more nice weather and more bicycle riding and a visit with a home bound pregnant friend. Whew, I am exhausted just thinking about all that we did. Hopefully the nice weather we've been experiencing sticks around and we can go out and do more! On a rather sad note this morning I accidentally spilled my bowl of cereal all over Caitlin's favorite dress that she had nicely laid out to take to school for picture day. She was rather heartbroken but graciously picked out something else to wear. I pretty much feel like a heel. They're doing re-takes tomorrow so if I can manage I will have her dress cleaned and ready for the retakes and maybe regain a little credibility as a mother. Wish me luck!

It's almost EASTER!!:)

I am getting super excited for Easter. I am pretty sure that the Easter Bunny is going to bring Caitlin a new bicycle instead of a traditional Easter Basket. Last year she received a wagon and some hair ties, and before that she was pretty much too young to get the concept so I think she just had a couple of small baskets with candy. While we were visiting the coast this past weekend she had an opportunity to ride her cousin Amelia's bike and she loved it. We gave cousin Gabby her princess bike last year because a) she didn't really like riding it, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to stop and b) she was starting to out grow it. Amelia's bike is a 16 inch instead of the 12 inch that she used to have and it fits much better. Her sense of coordination has developed considerably in the last year as well so she feels more stable and in control now. I know she will have a great summer riding bikes, and playing in the park. Yeah for spring and Easter:)

Pleasant Plans

Spring is in the air, I have plans for a couple of girls weekends, and Caitlin was giving the all clear from the surgeon yesterday, so life is looking good again. Caitlin was in so much pain following her surgery and she kept losing weight and refusing to eat that I was starting to get really worried. That has all changed now because we started giving her pro-biotic and she got over what was apparently a very bad case of the stomach flu. Unfortunately she came down with the stomach bug right around the time that she should have been showing signs of recovery from the surgery and it set her back a week or so. Happily I can report that she is sassy as ever and eating again so maybe by the end of the week we won't be able to see every bone in her body. It's nice to be back to an ish-normal routine and to have plans with friends. The weekend following Easter I get to see my friend Becky again for the first time in about 8 years! I am SO excited about that. It's a sad state of our culture that she only lives about 3-4 hours away from me but I haven't actually seen her since she got married. I need to make more time to visit (in person) the people that are important to me. Facebook and blogging are great ways to keep up with the day to day happenings in everyone's lives but they just can't replace a hug and a smile. They miss out on the inflection in our voices and they can't demonstrate the feeling we share with those who matter. So I'm super duper deluxe excited to see her again. Then a few weeks after that I'm going to a "scrap-a-thon" with my darling Shannon. I love the idea of scrap-booking, but the reality of it doesn't happen very often. So on the first weekend in May we're escaping to the beach to lock ourselves in a room with pictures, paper, cutters, and pens. We'll eat junk food, listen to fun music, gossip, giggle and have a grand time. I can hardly wait. It's so nice to have something positive to look forward to again.