Wet And Wild Water Fun!

Yesterday we made our first trek of the season to a local spray garden. My boys are never happier than when they're in the water, so of course they had a fabulous time! This was Soren's first adventure of the kind and to say he was thrilled is an understatement! He couldn't crawl from one area to the next fast enough and he seemed flabergasted that such a water haven existed! We'll be back again soon!

Oh yes! Summer is the best!

What Could Have Been...Twice

My dreams of seeing U2 in concert have been deferred twice. Todd and I purchased tickets to see them down the street in Oakland next week but Bono injured his back and needed surgery. He's laid up for awhile and their North American tour has been postponed until sometime in 2011. No dates have been set yet...there's nothing to look forward to.

When we purchased the tickets to see the 360 tour Todd asked "Will you finally stop telling the other story now?" I agreed. But now that we're not going to see U2 anytime soon, I have to retell it here because it is something I will never forget as long as I live...

Todd and I had been married for a year or so when the Vertigo tour came through in 2005. I was busy working in the classroom and Todd worked for a company that had ties with different concert promoters. We were able to get tickets to quite a few fun shows through his job. On the morning of the U2 concert at the LA Staples Center one of Todd's buddies called him and said "Hey, I've got a pair of tickets for the show tonight. The seats are in a VIP box. If you want the tickets they're free and they're yours."

Here was my husband's response: "Thanks man, it would be great. But my wife's a teacher and she goes to bed early on school nights. Maybe another time."

I was completely unaware that this conversation took place that morning. Todd didn't bother to call me at work to even check to see if I'd want to go. He assumed he was taking care of my sleep needs by refusing the tickets. At home that night he casually mentioned that he was offered tickets for the show and I literally had to lie down on my bed to keep my composure. I wasn't angry. I wasn't hurt. I was in pure utter amazement. This could only happen to me kind of amazement.

After I stopped hyperventilating and he realized what a colossal mistake he had made I crawled into bed that night in a fetal position and eventually drifted off to sleep from my semi-catatonic state. I would have walked on a bed of nails and crawled on hot coals to be there! Screw going to bed early on a school night! I didn't care if I had to call in sick the next day because we didn't get home from LA til 2am!

Shock. Still. To this day.

It's no surprise why Todd doesn't want me telling this story. It wasn't his finest moment as a husband. It wasn't my finest moment as a wife, for that matter.

So hopefully the third time (sometime in 2011) will be a charm. I'm waiting for Bono and I have to believe that he's waiting for me, too.

School's (Almost) Out!

Nolan with his teacher, Miss D

Nolan's last day of "regular" school is next Thursday, the 10th. He loves going to school and I couldn't be happier that he loves it so, but I am definitely ready for a different "summertime" rhythm to our days. Right now he attends school from 9:15 to 3pm every day, but summer school will give us a reprieve with shorter days and interspersed week long breaks. I think we're all looking froward to his one week off in June, one week off in July, and two weeks off in August. It will be so nice to simply let him play like a typical three year old kid without an agenda to adhere to. We'll hit the spray gardens (multiple times--they're the best and cheapest form of summer entertainment around!) make good use of our zoo passes, spend time at the beach, enjoy the county fair, and go on play dates with non-school friends. I miss the spontaneity we had before he was in school and I long to be carefree and spur of the moment with him again, yet I know that the structure of school and therapy are what are helping him achieve so much in such a short amount of time. Summertime, here we come!

Summertime...And The Livin' Is Easy

Memorial Day has come and gone and I am so ready to welcome summer. Here are just a few of the many fabulous summertime treats I'm looking forward to...

popsicles on the patio with my kids

barbecue...corn on the cob, skewers, hamburgers, steak...mmm!

vacation time with my family in Lake Tahoe and SoCal

8:30 pm sunsets

ice cold watermelon

walks in my neighborhood at dusk

celebrating my 6th wedding anniversary with Todd

Soren's first birthday

reading poolside

Brooke and Matthew's wedding

freshly freckled faces