Super-Lovey-Dovey-Anniversary post

A long time ago, I heard about this boy who was really good at soccer....

He was kind of a trouble-maker (not my type)

But, we went to the same high school, and I thought he was cute.....

My friend Cory and I would run by his house sometimes, hoping to see him.....

silly girls!!

I would have never believed anyone if they had told me that we would one day get married.....

BUT......

That kid with the shaggy hair, and lame tattoo (top row, second from the left)

has been the love of my life for 11 years now.

We have grown up so much in the last 11 years, and I am so proud of the man he is today.

He still loves Jimmy Buffet music....always will......

He challenges me to be my best, and is my biggest cheerleader.....

He has taken me halfway across the world and back twice, and I didn't die.....

Well, almost.....

He sacrifices for his country, and his honorable service makes me so proud.

He is setting such a great example for our children of hard work, dedication and service.

Yes, we have spent some time apart from one another, sometimes months at a time....

and it hurts.

It hurts when people complain their spouse is gone for a weekend, or a week,

when I have had to be alone, without family, for months on end.....

raising our sweet children, and trying my best to explain why Daddy is gone.....

But this has made us so strong, and forced us to grow in ways I never dreamed of.

We have so much fun together, and he always makes me laugh.

Always.

He is my best friend, and is always there to give advice or just listen.

He is a good person to have in your corner.....

He has always taken such good care of our family and has given me the opportunity to stay home with our children during these precious years.

This has been the most incredible gift.

He is an amazing Father.

Man, did I pick a good one!

He loves our children so fiercely, and is so protective over them.

I have no doubt that Paige will marry a super hero, because nobody will come close to her Daddy!

River has the best example of how to be strong, kind, and courageous.

He loves to have fun with them.

He knows how to be silly, and goof around......

And how to make them feel special.

He is their hero.

My hero.

He came home from a month-long work trip with this photograph tattooed on his arm because he missed them so much.

They think that is pretty special.

He took off as much work as possible when I had both of the kids.

He loved being there for every moment.

 

He loves life, and being outdoors.

He is a kid at heart.

And every year I am reminded at how much fun I have to look forward to.

I love this man, and I feel incredibly blessed to have him in my life.

My Mom's Father, my Grandpa Allphin, passed away years before I met Justin,

but I can't help feel like falling in love with Justin was his gift to me.

After he passed away, my parents divorced, and I felt very alone.

I always felt safe, loved, and entertained with my Grandpa.

He knew I would be safe, loved, and entertained by this man......

He would have approved.

Here's to the last 7 years as Mr. and Mrs. and to the next 70.

"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being in love which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two."

-- Captain Corelli's Mandolin

Summer is A' Coming

He all!
Yet another month has passed without a peep over here.
Summer is almost here, and I promise to be back in action,
since I won't be "working" till the Fall.

Things I have planned:

Another 30/30 for fun...
Ideas to share that I will be planning for my classroom...
Make-Up dump....what I am getting rid of, what I am stocking up on...
"Favorite Things" Party....so excited to plan this one!
Anniversary Update....
Kids Birthday Party planning....
Fitness Info. and Encouragement....

It's all going to be good.  I promise!
Miss you.
Love you.

(Safe travels Cindi....XO)

Monday

Morning!
So....a few things...

1) Thank you so much to all of you for your supportive words for Justin.  It makes his race wounds not hurt so bad.....well, not really...but you know what I mean.  He is always appreciative of the support!

2) Justin did so well for his first Full Ironman, and let me just say that he did it on 2 weeks of training...literally.  We don't recommend that method...but it just kind of worked out that way for him.  Participating in an Ironman race is not inexpensive, but the HITS Triathlon Series is trying to make them more accessible to people who are on a budget....like us.  The race staff was amazing, and so helpful.

3) Here is my workout for the day.  Your butt will thank you later, if you choose to follow along.



4) LOVING this project idea...

5) We are off to the Library!

XOXO

an Ironman story

Marble Falls, TX
Our weekend started out rather simple.
We all went to the pre-race meeting for the half and full Iron man participants.
Questions were answered....
"what do we do if there is lightening while we are out on the swim???"
"why is there no lane closure out on hwy 71??"
"will there be strippers??" (say what??? Oh, you mean people to strip you of your wetsuit....THOSE strippers. Gotcha.)

We went out to dinner and settled in for an early bedtime at the hotel.

Then morning came.
We dropped Justin off, told him good luck, and returned after the kids and I had eaten breakfast and packed up the hotel room.
We had just missed him in the transition area.

(watching some fire ants....just before said fire ants crawled in to his shoes and started to sting)

Thank goodness for Benedryl.

Our set-up for the day....

Seeking shelter in the shade as the temperature starts to climb.

Getting hot now....sweaty and humid and....."why are we here" hot.

Caught a glimpse of him at the halfway point (mile 56) on his bike ride

HUGS help.

And back out for 56 more miles of joy.

DONE.....with that part of it anyway.

Getting powered up for the marathon.

Why am I here?????

And we wait......

Attitudes start flaring after waiting all day....up at 5am......bad idea....

Running off those attitude problems....

AND....after waiting for 15 hours.....
He crossed the finish line.
He is an Ironman.

2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run.

And in my mind I had the camera ready to go...
to capture that ONE moment we had waited 15 hrs. for...
and I got this.

NICE.
Good thing there will be official race photos.

He has done it again.
Till' the next challenge, may you be inspired to try something new and seemingly impossible.
Even if it is giving up chocolate for a week, because the little things are ultimately the big things.
And even though I have shared this many times before....these men were Justin's inspiration.
And I kind of think they always will be.

'round here

We have been a bit busy.
Here is photographic evidence of such business...

dogs

babies

walks

flowers

 views

 smiles

 poses...always posing

 more flowers

sunset walks

and soccer...lots and lots of soccer

 practices

 happy dads

happy couples

happy boys

swarms of pink and purple

saves by Paige....she rocks as a goalie

really happy dads

 concerned moms (thanks paparazzi River)

and lots of hugs for Coach K

Life is incredibly good, and sometimes a day on the soccer sidelines is extremely good for your soul.
You get to see your community come out and support these precious children,
cheer each other on and build up their sense of self. 
I love being a soccer Mom, and in a few weeks I will become a swim Mom.
I am so thankful the Justin and I are able to provide these opportunities for our kids.
It is SO worth it.
xo, A
p.s. Riv scored 3 goals today....one for the other team! 

psst....anybody out there??

Excuse me while I clear away the cobwebs over here.....
It has been far too long, and to think I was doing so well in 2013 with my blogging....
tsk, tsk.

Well, the truth is that I have been working.
Actual working.
While getting paid.
Crazy, I know.
I started subbing at Riv's school, and I think they like me because I keep getting called back!
I am also going to be working there on staff next school year, since it will be Riv's last year in preschool.
I want to be there...and allow him to have experiences away from me.
(Just not too far away...)
It really is a magical little school, and I couldn't be happier to be a part of it.
I won't be teaching at his age level, as they keep parents away from their children,
but I do see him in passing in the halls.
It is cute to see him out on the playground, without him knowing I am watching.

So, I have been a busy bee filling in for different teachers, and experiencing new things.
Yesterday I taught Art to all the classes, and let me tell you, it was a  full body workout!
I loved it!

Ok, enough about me....
I will give you a Justin update.
So, as you know he has been training to go to the Phase II selection for the Combat Rescue Officer job, and he was supposed to leave this week.
That isn't happening.
Long story short, he fractured a small bone in his wrist, which caused a domino effect of problems for him.  The swelling in his hand, wrist and forearm was so severe that it completely cut off the circulation in his hand for a time, and he had to be rushed in an ambulance from the main base over to the Veterans Hospital to prep for possible amputation, because his hand was essentially dying.
(This is not a fun phone call to receive, FYI.)
 It was a horrible experience, but ultimately was just a good wake up call for Justin to take it easy.  He did not lose a hand, or even a finger, but we sure got a good scare.
(Sorry to my family for the roller coaster ride of texts and phone calls.)
So, what this meant was that he would not be medically cleared to participate in this selection.
You simply cannot do push-ups on a wrist that can't be bent, let alone hundreds of push-ups and pull-ups.

We were depressed.
I was angry.
We got over it.
He has another shot at this in October, so we are looking at this as an opportunity to train for 6 more months, after he heals properly. It also means we have to wait 6 more months....and Justin is sure feeling his age these days.  All those Ultramarathons seem to be catching up to him (mainly knees and hips), and he has to work so much harder than his 23 year old competition!

Other than little bump in the road, everything is great.
Paige and Riv are both signed up for soccer, and it starts this Saturday, which will be FUN.
At the very least, it will be FUNNY.
More on that later.....

If you are still reading.....
you are the best.


LOVE YOU!!!!