Getaway

The night before we left on our vacation, Eric and I had the chance to spend the night up at Tahoe.  That's right.  A whole evening with my husband and no little toddlers.  It was my first time away from the boys over night.  The timing was a little bit chaotic with trying to leave the next morning for vacation but I tried to relax once I was up there and just embrace the time with Eric.

I dropped the boys off in the morning with their Grammy and then dropped off the dogs with a family from church.  I came home to do some more packing and it was ridiculously quiet in the house.  I managed to get more done in 1.5 hours than I think I had gotten done in the previous two days.  The boys had gotten me a gift certificate to get my nails done (I am pretty sure their papa helped with that) for our wedding anniversary.  I tend to hold on to gift certificates for a long time but figured I should enjoy my time without the kids so I booked an appointment for a mani/pedi.  It just felt nice to have pretty toes and nails.  I forgot to take a picture of them all fancied up though.  Oh well.  I was just amazed that I had actually had manicured nails.  After that I drove up to the hotel to meet up with Eric.  He was already up there for a mining conference and I was excited to be able to join in for an evening.  There was a dinner and reception at a local, well known golf course called Edgewood.  Basically we just talked and mingled with other people attending the conference.  We would hear about what they did for their companies and then Eric would talk about what he does for his.  There were lots of other spouses and significant others there so it was a nice mix of non-business conversation as well.

On the charter bus headed to Edgewood for the dinner and reception.

Whistle.  Look at that good looking man.

There was so much food and it was all amazing.

Edgewood

  

I love him.

 

I would love to say that I slept soundly not having the little guys with us but alas I had a really hard time sleeping.  The last several months have been really hard with the sleep issue and since it was not my normal environment, it made it even more difficult.  The aesthetics of the hotel room were lovely but unfortunately it was really noisy so I had to use my trusty ear plugs.  I think that since we were leaving on vacation the next morning my mind was distracted with what I had packed, what we still needed to pack, getting the truck packed in the morning, etc.  We woke up in the morning and went to the breakfast buffet that the conference held and did some more mingling and networking.  Then we were off to pick up the boys from their Grammy and Grampa's house.  The boys did just fine and I know they were spoiled rotten while they were there. 

I think Tahoe was a good fit for our first night away from the boys.  It was so close by that I think knowing we could be back within a half hour allowed me to relax more.  The boys were just shy of eighteen months and were fully weaned. I think those were important milestones for me as a mama as well.  I am definitely thankful we got to have that time away together. 

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a great weekend as a family and enjoyed some fabulous spring weather.  Eric came home from a work trip on Friday night.  We had a little party planned at our house for Saturday evening and had friends and neighbors over.  Sunday was church and I had nursery duty.  I do not normally put the boys in nursery because of the fear of germs.  It was incredibly sweet however to see them play with other little kids their age.  Our church had a lot of little boys born in late 2010 and early 2011 so it was great seeing our boys trying to keep up with the other little guys.  I am seeing that A&W need to learn to share better and not try to take over what other little kids are doing or playing with.  Later on Sunday we went to Eric's parents' house for a barbecue and got to visit as a family. 

On Memorial Day we went to our church's annual picnic which is held in a local park.  The boys were a little nervous about being outside with all the noise and people but soon were loving all the room to explore.  We brought their little walker toys and they got some serious distance on those things that day.  It was the first time my little men got their shoes all dirty and filled with rocks.  Watching our little guys truck around on their walkers and explore in the grass was an amazing moment for me.  Memorial Day weekend is always a nostalgic time for me because it is an anniversary.  Four years ago I packed up all my earthly belongings into a U-Haul and left Southern California for my new home in Nevada.  Eric and I were engaged at the time and I had secured a job and needed to start that next week.  I left a career that I loved and was really good at, my condo, my family, my friends and my church to create a new life with the man I loved.  It was hard and the following months and years have not been without their difficulties.  This past weekend I got to see my sweet boys exploring the world around them and their papa so clearly delighting in them and it was just another affirmation of how blessed I am and God's sovereign plan in my life.  Last Memorial Day was difficult with colic and teething issues and I was disappointed to not spend that time as a family enjoying the holiday.  I was reflecting on how different our lives are since last year.  I was working full time with two tiny babies and wondering if I was ever going to be a SAHM.  God has been so faithful to us and it is amazing to see how far He has brought us. 

I am thankful for the life God has given me here in Nevada.  I am thankful for my marriage and the wonderful husband Eric is to me.  I am thankful for what a loving and tender papa he is to our boys.  I am thankful for my precious Abraham and Winston.  I am thankful that I live in a country with countless freedoms and for the lives that paid the ultimate price so that I could know what liberty is.

Life is good because God is good.  

Abraham with his friend Audrey.

Mr. Winston would keep letting go and practice his standing.

 

Winston can keep standing now with no problem.

Winston was racing despite Abraham getting pushed.

Truckin' along

Abraham and Auntie Alicia

Home!

First off, my Internet is down so I have not been able to update about weekend happenings like I wanted to. Most importantly however is that my dear Eric has been out of town since the 5th and he is coming home tomorrow! Yay!

All that to say it might be a little while until I get some more posts in. I am sure you all understand.



June 2007 at Riverside Youth Conference, one of the first pictures we ever took together.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

My New Blogging Tool

Guess what?  I got a new laptop!  Yay!  Cue the sounds of trumpets calling out from the heavens.

My darling husband bought me one and it was a complete surprise.  We had planned on buying me one once we sold my car which we no longer need because I no longer commute to Carson City each day and my older Honda Accord sedan is not conducive to setting up car seats.  You get the idea.  The issue with selling the car was that the title had gotten lost after our move last year.  Every other piece of paper dealing with this car was easily found except the one we really needed. I finally got it straightened out with the California DMV which required a trip to South Lake Tahoe and I should be seeing a replacement title soon.  But what I did not know was that my husband took some of our tax return money and shopped for a laptop all sneaky like.  Eric is horrible at keeping secrets from me.  He gets so excited about any gift that he buys for me that he always asks to give it to me early.  For Christmas and my birthday I asked him to not give me all my gifts early so that I could actually have something to open on the special day. So imagine my surprise when my dear husband actually managed to keep a secret from me.  He called me towards the end of his work day just to check in.  I asked what time he thought he would be home and said he had some stuff to take care of for work in Carson City and would be home around seven o' clock.  He got home as I was finishing up baths and putting the boys in their pajamas.  We put dinner together, ate together, talked for a while and then sat down in the living room to watch a movie.  He had his work laptop on the couch and asked me, "You going to blog?"  I thought I shouldn't do that and rather just sit with him and enjoy the movie. 

A little while later as we were watching a movie I was putting on a whole glob of hand lotion due to dry winter hands and Eric asked, "Is any of that actually absorbing?"

"Umm, yeah it is.  It is just taking a little while," I responded.  I did not really think anything of it.

Again, a little while later Eric asked me, "You want to cuddle?"

I am always down for cuddling so I started scooting over to his side of the couch.  Then he threw me for a loop by asking,"You want a blanket?"  I am always cold but yesterday was really warm and I was wondering why he would want a blanket.  He is always running on the warm side. Eric started pulling this blanket towards the couch and I realized he had a box hiding underneath. I kept looking at it and finally saw the 'Toshiba' label.

Yep, I started crying and I squeaked out, "Did you buy me a laptop?"

"Yes, I bought you a laptop," he told me with his sweet smile. Then there was some smooching and hugging...okay, there was a lot.

All those weird, forced questions were Eric trying to tell me about the surprise. I was apparently making him nervous with my lubed up hands that could potentially ruin my expensive gift.  It made me laugh a lot.  I love my husband.

I realize that having a computer is a want and not a need.  I have so much more than I deserve in this life.  I am sooooo excited though that I have been blessed with this gift and that I can Skype more with my family, write more blog posts and write e-mails of actual substance.  Eric got me the newest version of the Toshiba Satellite that I had previously.  Isn't she pretty?

So thank you to my love from the bottom of my heart.

Photo credit