10 Years of Wedded Bliss

Wowzers...

I haven't posted anything here in over a year. I'm terrible. And terribly sorry.

But also - 10 YEARS. It isn't that I didn't think we would get this far - that's not why I feel this is so amazing or whatever. It's just that in some ways, it doesn't feel possible that 10 years have passed since our official "I Do". 

So, in honor of 10 years, I thought I would write a bit about the journey that Matt and I took to get to June 25, 2005. Many of you know parts, some know all. I think it's a good story.

I think we have to rewind all the way to June 2000 - that was when Matt and I first met. We joke that we met at a bar, Welch Avenue Station, but really, we were introduced in the parking lot of the Kum 'n' Go next door to Welch. My friend Patrick knew Matt from their fraternity, and I was dragging along my roommate Danielle for a few drinks and some pool. Matt gave me some really TERRIBLE pool advice that night, but that didn't mean I was any less intrigued by him. He was preppy, pretty cocky, smart as hell, and liked beer. 

We became friends pretty quickly - our fall schedules were kind of similar, so we could be drinking buddies on Thursday nights. But nothing really romantic happened until January 2001. I dragged him with me to Cedar Falls to meet Jake and Emily, and on the way home I said something like "ireallylikeyouasmorethanjustafriendyouwanttodateorsomething?" And shockingly, he said sure!

Our first date was to Great Plains Sauce & Dough Co. I had never been and he thought it was the best pizza around. Then we rented "Girl, Interrupted" and "Perfect Storm" and went back to my apartment.

At the time, Matt was working an internship with Union Pacific in Omaha, so our relationship turned long distance. We traded weekends, including a weekend trip during a blizzard that shut down I-80. But, alas...it only lasted about 6 weeks. That time.

We remained friends and after he moved back to Ames in May 2001, we spent more and more time together. That August we decided to try things again. That was when I was first introduced to some of his family, and a bunch of his Cedarburg friends on my first ever trip to Wisconsin. It was a good time. And I was leaving his apartment the morning of September 11, 2001. In fact, I called him when I got to my apartment to tell him to turn the TV on. 

But again, things were not to be. We broke up, and I hated him for a while. Then I got over it. I think. :)

In October 2001, I was accepted into a program to do 8 weeks of my student teaching overseas. In NORWAY. (No, I didn't, and still don't, know Norwegian.) Shortly before I left for Norway, we *kind of* got back together. There was a crazy cocktail party at Matt's apartment and I think that was the impetus. However, when I left for Norway, it was understood that we weren't necessarily tied to each other - whatever may come.

Norway was fun. I was homesick a bit, but none more so than when I received an email from Matt (who was kind of known as The Party Viking among my friends, and not sentimental AT ALL) that simply said "I miss you." 

I'm going to shorten things up here just a bit. There are a few more details here and there that I have omitted, so if you really want to know ALL of it, let's talk sometime. 

When I arrived home, Matt gave me a kiss that I could feel in my toes - still can in fact. And that was that for me. During the craziness of graduation weekend, he said that he was either going to end up in Detroit, or near Washington, D.C. Would I move with him? Yes. Yes I would. I did, however, make him repeat the question the next day when there wasn't any alcohol involved. 

We moved to Waldorf, had our ups and downs there. Our first night in our new house, he proposed. 

I...ummmmmm, laughed in his face. Literally. And then I said yes.

That was September 2003. 21 months later, under the campaneille at Iowa State University, we said "I do." That weekend was SPECTACULAR. I remember being so utterly exhausted, and yet having so much fun that there was NO WAY I was going to bed. Friends, family...so many people were there celebrating with us.

A snowstorm on May 16???

Yes, that's right. A snowstorm on May 16. It was some of the worst driving I have dealt with in a long time during the winter months, let alone MAY! 

We encountered said snowstorm on our way to Atlantic to help Shane, Tammy, and Catherine celebrat Valerie's high school graduation! What an exciting time we had!

Some pictures:

Playing Catch-Up

**UPDATED LINKS AT THE BOTTOM**


Steve attended school with me on "Take Your Child to Work Day". He had a great time, but was EXHAUSTED when the day was done. Poor Kid. 

at the beginning of the day

and at the end...

We went to the Brewers v. Yankees game today with Grandma to celebrate Mother's Day. It's always challenging to take the boys to a game because it is usually during their nap time. Finding the right amount of patience is...interesting. We had a good time though, and the Brewers won!

More pictures can be found here. Matt says he has more but I can't find them, so if I do, I'll post an updated link. Finally found Matt's newest pictures. Follow the links for so much adorable you won't know what to do with yourself!

February 2014 (a little late...)

May 2014

And one more very special picture...we had to go check out the tee ball field just to prove to Steve he couldn't have practice tonight. Yes, Evan has rain boots on, but no pants. I'd like to say this is somewhat abnormal. I'd be lying. 

Evan's 2 Year Stats

So...Evan is 2 now. And because I'm so on top of things, this post is almost a month late! Hooray!

At his 2 year check-up we learned that he is 34.5 inches tall (50th percentile); 29 pounds, 6 ounces (66th percentile), and his head is 19 cm around. I didn't have any major issues to talk with the doctor about, so it was pretty uneventful. He did have 1 immunization, and had to have blood drawn for a CBC. Everything came back normal from that, so he's good for another year.

Whatever allergies he does have seem to be kicking in. His nose has been crazy, his eczema has flared a few times. But, the topical oil and Zyrtec seem to be keeping everything in check. 

We just returned from a long weekend at Nana's and Papa's for Easter. It was a lot of fun! The weather was beautiful the whole time, so we got to spend a lot of time outside and get a little color back on our skin. There was an egg hunt with Tammy and Catherine, another egg hunt after church, and just a lot of playing and relaxing. 

You can see some pictures here. A few favorites: 

pouting at dinner because we were making him eat his dinner

being grumpy at lunch and "punching" Papa in the process

rough nap, and grumpy because i was taking his picture instead of rescuing him!

The Ears Strike Again!

Here's the thing about Steve and Evan: when they get ear infections, life goes on as normal. The snot runs from their noses (maybe it's just a cold?). There may or may not be a cough (really, isn't it just a cold?). Often times their poops would get kind of crazy (hmmmm...this is the point when I start thinking something is up). Neither child has yet to pull at his ears because of an ear infection. And, these ear infections always coincide with new teeth (well, maybe not ALWAYS), which makes it even more difficult to decide if a trip to the doctor is needed.

So, cranky Evan woke up this morning, well, cranky. I thought it was just the result of a few nights of crappy sleep. He seemed okay when I left him sitting next to Steve at breakfast at daycare. Then my classroom phone rang at 10 and it was daycare calling. When can we give Evan more Tylenol? Oh, and he just woke up from a 3 hour nap. WHAT??? So, they gave him the Tylenol, he laid around for a while, had applesauce for lunch, and went back to sleep. In the meantime, Matt and I decided that maybe he should go to prompt care after school just to be safe.

I met Matt and Evan there and could tell that Evs was not himself. His cheeks were very rosy and he was just laying on Matt's chest. When I walked in, he barely lifted his head or hand to point out that Momma was there. Matt left and Evan and I waited to be called back. It wasn't long.

His temp came in at 105! That's cause for concern, I soon found out. The nurse gave us an ice pack to put on his back (luckily he had 2 shirts on and the ice could go between the 2 layers), and also ran out to get some ibuprofen. She was concerned that if we didn't get the fever down, he might have a febrile seizure and we would end up in the emergency room. No, thank you. Let's not do that. The doctor wanted to test him for flu, so the nurse stuck a long cotton swab up his nose as far as it would go. That's super fun! Then, a different nurse threw his test away!!! So we had to do it all over again. Both nurses came in and apologized profusely, but what could I say? That's okay? No, it very much was NOT okay. Anyway, that test came back negative. Thank goodness. The doctor decided he must just have a really nasty ear infection, gave us some antibiotics, and sent us on our way.

Once the ibuprofen kicked in, he started to act like our little peanut again. He and Steve were arguing over everything after dinner. Sounds about right.

This was yesterday after nap. Olympics! Goggles! Minions! (Seriously, Steve has been speaking "minion" ever since we watch Despicable Me 2 a couple of weeks ago.)

Long Overdue

Some web albums are finally updated and publicized.

October

November

December

Also, Matt is considering de-publicizing the albums for security reasons. Before we do that, I'd like a show of hands (via comment here or an email sent to me) to see how many people access the web albums. 

He thinks he is hilarious!

YAY!!! Christmas!

Getting better already

It is amazing how much easier it is to post when I remember that I have an app for that.

Hair cuts all around today! Well, Flop didn't get one, but he hasn't had one since that time in Maryland when he got stuck to a sticky mouse trap.

More pictures will be uploaded in my Public Instant Upload 1 album too.