The Other Man in My Life

These days I have to get my hugs and kisses from another man...

Isn't he cute?

He likes to sit up on the counter when I'm working in the kitchen. All my other kids have in the past (and still do) and now he's joined them. His head has about 3/4 inch before it touches the underside of the cabinets.

He's the Man

For our Relief Society activity tonight we honored the men in our life by giving out "You're the Man" awards and bragging a little. I was on nursery duty, but here's my chance to brag since Howard missed Father's Day AND his 33rd birthday (which happened to be today!)

Charming, isn't he?

Leavenworth, WA trip

September 2004

He's the Man, because he teaches the children SO much...how to ride their bikes (with and without training wheels), how to tie their shoes, and even their phone number (many times). The list could go on and on!

Base Housing, Okinawa

July 2005

He's the Man, because he knows his way around the yard and gladly does the work when he's home. He's also handy with tools! This is our vegetable garden we started this year.

OKC

June 2010

He's the Man, because he always finishes my honey-do lists!

Base Housing, Okinawa

July 2005

He's the Man, because he is very hands on with the kids at birth. He has always given our newborns their first bath (in the hospital), and he even assisted with Luke's delivery. I didn't think you wanted a picture of THAT!

Okinawa Naval Hospital

Feb 10, 2009

He's the Man, because he's not afraid to show some affection!

Okinawa

November 2008

He's the Man, because he makes Erin feel like a princess. He took her camping for her birthday one year, just the two of them. She STILL talks about that trip!

Okuma, Okinawa

July 2008

He's the Man, because he cares about Howie's Scouting activities and is always there to support him (when he is home and not deployed).

Pinewood Derby Car, Okinawa

January 2009

HE'S THE MAN!!!!

Happy Birthday Howard, we love you!

Our Very Happy Anniversary

On Thursday June 17th Howard and I were lucky enough to be able to spend out 10 year wedding anniversary together. Aside from when I found out that I was pregnant with Luke on our 8th anniversary, this was by far the best one yet. But we've been apart on 3 previous anniversaries (2004, 2006, 2009) because of the military. Normally we don't do much, but we have a wonderful lady at church who has turned into our surrogate mom and she wanted us to have a special day. She recently babysat for us twice just while Howard was home. And I'm not talking about a 2 hour date...I'm talking about 6-7 hour dates. She's awesome! Coming home to a clean house, happy children, and my laundry finished is wonderful. The date isn't ruined by coming home to a house full of chaos!

Here's a recap of our special day made possible by Kaye.

Just before we headed out for the day. Kaye took this picture of us.

Our first stop was the OKC Museum of Art. They had a wonderful temporary exhibit on film costumes. We were able to see Charlie Chaplin's original hat and shoes, dresses from Gone With the Wind, and numerous other Hollywood costumes. It was really a great sight, unfortunately photography was not permitted. The permanent glass exhibit was by far the best they had to offer (besides the restaurant). I think I would have liked it more if I wasn't use to the J. Paul Getty Museum in So Cal or the Western Art Museum in Tokyo. Those were incredible!

More glass...

A view from the third floor of the glass tower in the lobby.

There was an entire room of modern art devoted to loose leaf paper. I was extremely dissatisfied with this particular "art". Howard and I couldn't believe they would actually display this in a museum. Erin and Howie have better artwork than this junk.

Here is some more glass artwork in the ceiling. Truly breathtaking.

The museum was quite smaller than we were expecting, so we decided to grab an afternoon treat before we went to the movies.

My Creme Brulee was heavenly.

Howard said he could have eaten 2 plates of his dessert, Lemon Cake.

Once we were done with our treat we went and saw The A-Team. It was so much better than I was expecting. It had a lot of military humor/overtones that Howard and I particularly enjoyed. I think it was my favorite movie I've seen all summer.

After the movie we went to our favorite sushi restaurant, Sushi Hayashi. It's near the corner of S. Penn and SW 104th in SW OKC. It's our third time going and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for good sushi rolls in OKC. The Philidelphia Roll is my favorite!

To finish the night off we had to make a quick run to Walmart for some milk.

It's not too often that we get to go shopping together without the kids.

I also wanted to brag about Howard a little bit more. Leading up to our anniversary he did something like "10 Days of Love". 10 days before our anniversary I was presented with a single rose and beautiful quote about love. Each day this continued, with new and more thoughtful quotes each day. On our anniversary Howard presented me with a framed poem that he wrote for me. It's in our bedroom next to our photograph. Howard wanted to get me something "big" for our anniversary this year, but all I wanted from him was effort, in thought and deed. I made clear my desires and was very pleased with what he delivered. I've been reading my little love notes each day that he has been gone now. It helps me remember the time we we had together.

It was a magical day that I will remember always.

The Best Years of Our Lives

September 8, 2001

OKC Temple

Our Sealing Day

Our Most Important Day

5 months pregnant with Howie

(Sorry this is out of order, I forgot to add it and I'm not going back to change it)

Let's take a stroll down memory lane.

Keep the volume on, I have some special love songs on my playlist.

WARNING: Picture overload ahead!

January 2000

We had just recently met, maybe a week or so prior. As you can tell by the photo, I was totally diggin' Howard, and he wasn't so much. He's all red faced and shy.

March 2000

Provo, UT

Dating and officially in LOVE

Memorial Day 2000

Sundance, Utah

I said YES!

June 17, 2000

My favorite wedding picture!

Our Honeymoon

San Jacinto, CA

June 22, 2000

We went to a water park that day, it was also Howard's birthday.

We spent a week in So. Cal at our good friends house.

We were too poor to do anything big.

Newleyweds

October 2000

Oconomowoc, WI

Basic Training Graduation

June 11, 2001

San Antonio, TX

I was about 8 weeks pregnant with Howie

June 2002

Nauvoo Temple Open House

Our little family

Memorial Day Weekend 2003

North of Spokane, WA

Camping trip with the Gardner and Stutzman Families

I was 8 months pregnant with Erin

September 2004

Leavenworth, WA

Howard had recently returned from Iraq and this was our first trip away without any children. We were away for 2 days and 1 night and we stayed in the honeymoon suite.

Way better than our first honeymoon.

It was so AMAZING that it deserved 2 pictures!

At dinner in Leavenworth, WA

It's a quaint little Bavarian town

LOVE IT!

June 2005

Chatan, Okinawa

This is what happens when a 3 year old finds the camera.

Howard and I were cuddling on the floor and the kids found us.

Our computer crashed in 2007, so we have a lack of pictures.

Fall 2006

Kadena AB, Okinawa, Japan

I think I was 8 months pregnant with Jack here.

My only "thin" pregnancy, thanks to the braces.

Here a 4 year old (Howie) is the photographer.

September 2007

Mesa, AZ

This was when we thought we were going to loose my Dad the first time.

The Red Cross had us in California within 24 hours of my Dad getting sick.

Once it was clear that he was pulling through, we took a quick weekend trip over to see Howard's family in Arizona.

June 2008

Okinawa, Japan

I was 5 weeks pregnant with Luke.

I actually learned I was pregnant on our 8th anniversary.

What a special day!

March 2008, (sorry it's out of order)

Our second trip without any kids...6 days in Tokyo!

Here we are at Tokyo Disney Sea.

We weren't poor anymore and really lived it up!

Can I say AMAZINGLY AMAZING?!!!!

Well, it was!

Feb 10, 2009

Okinawa, Japan

Howard's such a wonderful Father!

I was just grateful that this alien baby was not possessing my body anymore.

November 2009

Oklahoma City, OK

Our first home that we purchased

April 30, 2010

OKC Airport

Saying goodbye at the USO before Howard left for Afghanistan

Here are some family stats:

Dated 3 months

Engaged 3 weeks

Married 10 years!

2 babies born in Spokane, WA (2002, 2003)

2 babies born in Okinawa, Japan (2006, 2009)

Lived in

Provo, UT

Oconomowoc, WI

Wichita Falls, TX

Spokane, WA

Okinawa, Japan

Oklahoma City, OK

Deployed

Iraq 2004 (3 1/2 months)

Afghanistan 2010 (6 months)

School Separations

Basic Training 2001 (7 weeks)

7 Level School 2006 (4 weeks)

Cross-Training 2009 (4 months)

The fine print: Yes, we fell madly in love right away...Yes, we married FAST...Yes, we are happy...BUT, we have not always been. Our 7th year was HARD for us, but divorce is NOT in our vocabulary. Our marriage is stronger and we are happier now than we ever have been before!

LIFE IS GOOD!

Missouri

As you all know I had a very interesting trip to Missouri, I was originally only planning on being there for Memorial day weekend, but because of my Father's passing, it was extended a little bit. Howard flew into St. Louis and we drove home to OKC together. Here are a bunch of pictures and what we did while we were at Lisa's.

Jackie and Erin playing Barbies...they had so much fun together!

Howie doing what he loves. I felt kind of bad for him since Lisa only has girls and a LOT of girl toys. Not very fun for an 8 year old boy.

Nadia, Jackie, and Erin in front of a train. (Nadia got sick a couple hours later, so sad.)

We went to the Transportation Museum in St. Louis.

Erin only gets her hair french braided when we see Lisa. I don't know how to do it. :(

More Nadia.

It's hard to tell in this picture, but she has the most character between all the girls. She's hilarious!

Oh no!

Jackie in the train, she's so beautiful!

'57 Chevy

I had a Barbie car exactly like this when I was little, I always wanted a car like this.

Howard and I briefly considered buying a classic station wagon when we moved back to the States. ( I love all things 50's) But air conditioning, FM radio, seat-belts, and airbags won!

So THIS is why there was a baby boom after the War!

A car that turns into a bed, ingenious!

Luke LOVED Lisa's slide. Although later in the day the kids turned it into a water slide and Erin went down so fast she slammed her face into a wooden post under the balcony that I'm standing on. Fortunately the horrendous scream was only the worst of it. She healed quickly.

They love each other so much, it makes everything worth it!