Happy 25th Birthday, Brittany!

This is Travis by the way. Just a little post to Brittany for her birthday. 

It has been a few years since I have posted on here, so I thought this might be a good time to tell everyone about 25 of my favorite memories with you. Here they are, in no particular order:

1.    Closing on our first home

This was definitely a big milestone in our family, and it was exciting (despite the cramps in our hands from signing 45,683,968 documents) (yes, that is a code).

2.    Painting the bathroom of our new home

You did all the prep work and made it easy and fun for us to paint the bathroom together (and it looks great!). It always takes effort to get started, but once we start working together on any project it always ends up being enjoyable.

3.    TJ’s birth

This was the most amazing experience I have ever had. Thank you so much for bringing our son into this world. I can’t even imagine what you went through, but I am so proud of you.

4.    My 25^th Birthday

You are really great at giving gifts (way better than me). The surprise trip you gave me last year was a blast, and was made even better since we had those extended hours just for Disney resort guests.

5.    Our wedding

Everything just worked out so perfectly. You were gorgeous, Steve Camp sang at our wedding, the weather was beautiful, we got great pictures, and the reception was awesome (and the cake was great, too!). There isn’t one thing I would change about that day.

6.    Our honeymoon

We should have known it would be a great cruise when the cruise people saw our wedding cake and moved us to the front of the line to board the ship. We had a wonderful Christmas together and even got to do our stockings.

7.    Attending Financial Peace University

Of course I would like going to any financial class, but it really made it special that you wanted to go and we were able to work through the class together.

8.    The Summer of Activity

I don’t know what else to call it, but there was that summer when we were dating that we got together and were either playing tennis, going to the beach, or having picnics almost everyday. We just had a great time hanging out and melting in the Florida heat.

9.    Singing As Long As You're Mine

Even though I doubled your melody at the end, this was the event that started it all. We had a lot of fun getting to know each other and performing this song a few times.

10.  Any time we sing together at the piano

Or in general, but I especially like when we get a chance to play and sing together, even if I am trying to play a song while you sing beautifully. I think we sound great together.

11.  Mission Trip to Mexico        

Our actual trip, not the song. One of the two mission trips we did together while dating, I’ll never forget the view from the top of the mountain we climbed, and the billions of stars we could see since we were out in the middle of nowhere.

12.  Losing in Scrabble

  … and sometimes winning. I love when we play board games and card games together, regardless of the game and who wins (though I’m always the winner when I get to spend time with you (cue Full House music)).

13.  Watching you play with TJ

Not any particular time, but just in general. You have the ability to get down to his level and get him totally engaged in whatever you two are doing. TJ laughs the most when the two of you are playing.

14.  The Moody Blues cruise

Apparently I love cruises, but this one was exceptional. Multiple great bands were playing every day, and this was the first time I got to see the Moody Blues live. Watching The Zombies was great and really opened both of our eyes to how great they are.

15.  Christmas in NYC

Despite the flagrant violation of personal space by the masses of massivious humans at Rockefeller Center leading up to Christmas, we had a great time experiencing New York in the winter when we lived there. We went to Radio City Music Hall and got to walk around the city and see all of the lights and decorations together.

16.  1984 and reading books together

That year were both weren't alive yet was great... either that or I enjoyed listening to the audiobook of 1984 with you and being able to discuss the book and what we thought. We have also read many other books, either reading aloud to each other or reading independently and being able to talk about them. I love the fact that we can share in the education and entertainment of reading.

17.  Walking around our community

While sometimes I complain because I am lazy, I do enjoy taking walks with you and TJ around our community. It is typically very relaxing (unless we are competing to count all the rabbits we see).

18.  Walking for charity

Apparently I love walking, too. No, I just love walking with you, especially since we get away from other distractions and really have time to spend with each other. The past few years we have raised money for Alzheimer’s and Care Net pregnancy centers, and I think it is great to support these causes with you.

19.  Road Trips!

I think we have had one too many road trips in our lives already. We have probably pushing nearly 1,000 hours together just on road trips of 6 hours or longer. Most of that used to be us singing together, but now we just listen to TJ sing.

20.  Watching FSU football

Specifically this past season since we won the National Championship. I am so glad that you wanted to go to FSU (and that I went as well), and now as alumni we can share the victories together! (especially after so many struggling seasons when we were actually on campus)

21.  That restaurant in NY where the guy played Beatles songs

Sorry I couldn’t be more specific, I forget the name of that restaurant. I just remember us having a great dinner there as we were starting off our lives together in a new place, and the guy playing the guitar that happened to be playing great music. Also, Stage Deli -- no music, but awesome chocolate cake!

22.  Playing tennis in 45 degree weather

Obviously, this was not during the “Summer of Activity” in Florida. It was great having a tennis court 30 seconds away from our condo in New York, and it was actually fun to play when it was really cold out because we stayed cool and it was invigorating.

23.  Doing Insanity together

 I know I have talked about walking, tennis, etc, but I really enjoyed the fact that we (mostly you) did Insanity together. I am still really impressed with how well you did and how you pushed yourself. Especially after I quit and you kept going.

24.  Seeing Phantom in New York

During our other mission trip together, we got to see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. I just remember how excited you were, and it was an amazing show and I am glad to have shared your favorite show with you.

25.  Opening our wedding gifts

There were a lot of reasons this was fun (obviously, we were getting gifts!). One great thing is that I was able to see you open gifts without worrying if you were going to like them or not (like I am right now) since they weren’t from me. That, and me almost crushing poor Darlin’ (and then accidentally tossing an empty box on her head).

So these are 25 of the best memories I have of some of our time spent together. The past 9 years of knowing you have been the best years of my life, and I am looking forward to many, many more (where is that music coming from??). 

The Little Trash Can Who Could

Last week, we had an absolutely lovely visit with my best friend, Alyssa, from Georgia and her husband, Andrew.  It was filled with a walk, movies, board games, a cookout, time in the pool, pedicures,  etc., etc.  It was one of those perfect, long weekend visits where we had time to do fun activities but also time to relax.  It was splendid.

One of the great moments of the weekend was a lovely short story I will tell you entitled, "The Little Trash Can Who Could"... enjoy:

To begin with, I should have you know that the trash days in our neighborhood are Wednesday and Saturday.  Now that you have that background information, you will understand better when I begin with, "On Saturday morning..."

On Saturday morning, Alyssa and I were headed out to get coffee and pedicures.  In that order.  Not that it matters.  ...Anyway... the way the cars were configured was in a way such as two cars were pulled close toward the garage door while one car was parallel parked in the driveway behind them.  (Think: 2 cars perpendicular to the garage door- one car behind those, parallel to the garage door.)  The parallel parked car had its nose toward the mailbox and the trash can.  Yes, yes... you can probably see where this is going.

We headed out for our nail appointment, and as I pulled the car out (probably chattering away as usual), I heard and felt a slight bump... at the time I thought, "Gee, I hope I didn't run over the large rocks surrounding the mailbox..."  Nope, you didn't, honey.  Keep driving, Champ.

As I was driving along my neighborhood (thank goodness in the morning when not too many people were out and about), I noticed the car sounded awfully loud for a car.  In fact, I asked Alyssa, "Does this car sound loud to you?"  She said she didn't really know... hmmm maybe...

As I continued driving, I had to make a decision: make the left turn to leave the community, or keep moving forward and bring the car back to Travis for evaluation.  As I listened, I (for the love, thank goodness) decided it was best to bring the car back around... after all, could you imagine if I was dragging one of those mailbox rocks around?!?! 

We passed the exit of the community, and as a car passed us coming the opposite way, I decided to look into the car to see the reactions of the people in the car.  Maybe they would try to flag us down because something bad was happening to the car.  Maybe they would at least look alarmed.  I looked.  Hmmm... nope... they actually seemed to be smiling and pointing at something.  Clearly, they weren't looking at my car, but rather past it instead.  Oh well, it was worth looking.  Clearly.

As I turned down a street to make the loop back to my house, the sound grew more "bumpy" sounding... and I decided it was time to stop the car and take a look (YA THINK?!!?!?!?!).  As I rounded the car, I heard it... the slight, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..."  Then I saw it.  The Little Trash Can Who Could... and did... around my neighborhood... where I have to live... with people who witnessed me taking my trash can for a walk.

Excellent.

Needless to say, I called Trav up immediately:

Travis: "Hello?"

Brittany: (Laughing) "Hi!"

Travis: "Did you take the trash can with you?"

My husband has a hysterical way of putting things bluntly that just add to the humor of it all.  I mean seriously... what a CASUAL way to ask if I bulldozed into our garbage can like an idiot driving a Barbie Jeep for the first time blindfolded!

Why yes, honey, I did, in fact, take our garbage can with me.  Good golly, at least I didn't decide to just figure it out once we got back from the nail salon!!!  It is one thing to be that chick who took her trash can for a stroll around her neighborhood.  It is another thing to be that psycho who went barrelin' down St. Lucie West Blvd. with her garbage can attached to the front of her C-RV.

Thankfully, Travis came and picked up the embarrassing, now distressed receptacle, and we continued on to get our coffees and pedicures, laughing the whole way.

So there you have it, children.  The beloved story of the Little Trash Can Who Could.  He thought he could, he did, and we all have a little more funny in our lives because of it.  

Pictures or it didn't happen:

It was a long, hard road.

Just because you CAN, doesn't mean you SHOULD, Little Trash Can...

The face of a friend who loves me despite me being a complete moron who will henceforth be known around my neighborhood as "The Trash Can Girl".

Our hero coming to rescue the poor garbage can...

Still got our pedicures!  =]

Profound Musings

Why do we paint our fingernails and toenails?  When did someone sit there and say, "We really should paint that hardened flesh."  That is weird to me.  Don't get me wrong, I paint my toenails and fingernails (in fact, I am wearing Jamberry's on my fingernails currently- so I have even stepped into the let's-put-adhesives-on-our-hardened-flesh zone), but still... why?  Also, why did we decide that long, dead cells coming from our heads are attractive but coming from our legs, they aren't??  Not to mention... we COLOR those dead cells!  Do you see women highlighting their underarm hair?  I personally don't, but then again, I don't live in Europe, so I wouldn't know.  What if we painted our hands but NOT the fingernails... and what if we were bald with long, braided leg hair?  What if people put cute clips and bows to adorn their furry legs?  Also, why don't we pluck our eye lashes?  Why is it somehow attractive to have REALLY long, black, thick hair coming from around our eyes?  Who suddenly deemed that as hot?  Who decided that she would be so much prettier if a man could look into her eyes and see them surrounded by thick, long hair?  AND WHAT IS UP WITH EYEBROWS?!?!  Furry caterpillars that society cannot seem to decide whether they look better as little, skinny caterpillars, or big, thick, juicy caterpillars...We've never decided that "no lashes" is in?  We never went through a phase where "thinning" our eyelashes was super cool... but at one point, thin eyebrows were in... Why don't we curl our nose hair?  "LIKE OH MY GOODNESS!  YOUR NOSE HAIR IS TOTES MAGOTES THICK AND CURLY!!!  WHAT MASCARA DO YOU USE!?!?"  Why is some hair better looking than others?  Who decides this?!!

I think from now on I am going to compliment someone's nail polish by saying, "Wow!  I love the way you decorated your hardened finger flesh," just to get a reaction...

3...2...1.... DISNEY!

As I sit here, waiting for my chamomile tea to steep at 8:36pm.... I am already exhausted... ready for bed even.  Why?  Well, I will tell you...

We (Travis, Mom, Dad, and I) have been waiting to close on our first house (hopefully) about 45 minutes north of where we currently live for what feels like forever.  We were SUPPOSED to close on January 16th, and then a wrench was thrown into the whole operation.  Of course.  Isn't there ALWAYS a wrench thrown in last minute while trying to close on a home?  Who is leaving these wrenches lying around anyway?!?!?!  Put those wrenches safely in a locked away toolbox so people aren't tempted to throw them into mortgage situations right before people are planning on closing, thank you very much!!!!!!!!

But I digress....

The point is, it is January 26th, and I am currently still sitting in my same condo I have lived in for the past two and a half years typing this... right now. This word... and this one... okay, I am done.  Now, normally this wouldn't be so terribly annoying.  But it is.  Why?  Well, I will tell you!  Gee, you sure are good at asking these questions!

My parents stayed with my sister for the month of December to welcome and help out with her new baby girl- my sweet, smushy, lovable snugglebumpkin niece!  Afterward, they headed here to spend January with us to help us move!  They came, we cleaned, we packed, we partied (T.J. turned two on the 12th- hooray!), and we waited, expecting the 16th to be go time!  Well, then (at the beginning of the week of the 16th, we got the call that that stupid wrench was, indeed, chucked into the situation).  We prayed, we thought, and God worked it out.  Awesome.  However, we couldn't celebrate just yet.  Because we had to do a different type of loan, etc., we needed more time.  They changed our close date to be the 30th of January- a half month later?!?!?!?!  UGH.  The good part was that we discussed that that would be the LAST possible day to close.  So we would definitely close MUCH earlier than the 30th, right?  RIGHT?!?!?


RIGHT!?!?!?!?!?!??!

Hey.  hey you.  Yeah you....

nope.

So here we are, January 26th, still waiting for everybody to get their acts together.  Grand.

Thus, a few days ago, we all got bored.  We had already packed the stuff that we didn't need IMMEDIATELY.  We were sitting around waiting... and waiting... and... well, you get the point.

CRUISE!  We got cruise fevaaa!!  We decided that we should go on a 3-4 day cruise- how fun!  Weeeellllll, Mom didn't bring her passport.  So that idea died.  However, I had mentioned something in passing about us running up to Disney, so after the cruise idea was embalmed and buried, we turned our stir-crazied minds toward the potential of a weekend jaunt to Disney World.  Hmmmm....

We took off Friday evening after my babysitting gig, and we headed up to Disney World.  This is where I got surprised.  Now, as many of you know, I don't get surprised too easily and too often because I am nosy and demanding (hey, truth hurts, right?!).  Well, this time I was surprised- genuinely!  I thought we were staying at the Fairfield Inn, but my folks sprang for some extra Disney Vacation Club points, and we stayed two nights at Old Key West- a Disney Resort- super fun!

Long story short.... (scrolls up)... ok long story not so extremely longish...ness...esque...... we ended up staying two nights at Old Key West and we visited Magic Kingdom on Saturday.  It was a GREAT weekend- and an awesome way to prevent us from going bananas waiting on a close date.

T.J. did WONDERFULLY!  He was so excited to see Mickey Mouse!  The first character he met was Pluto.  While we waited in line, we all excitedly talked about how he was going to see Pluto soon and talked about how nice he was!  My dad told him he was Mickey Mouse's dog and talked with him all about Pluto.  Well, Pluto was his FIRST character, so we kind of expected him to shy away.

Not my child.

He waltzed right up to Pluto with his pen and autograph book extended, got the autograph, HUGGED Pluto, said "bye bye", etc.!  I was floored.  And he had a great reaction with every character!!  But the best character, by far, was Jessie from Toy Story 2 and 3.  WOW.  She was SO nice!  She spent tons of time with him.  He hugged her, kissed her, and got her autograph.  T.J. had Woody with him, and Jessie picked Woody up, made him dance around, and then she noticed that we hadn't signed his boot!!!!  So what did she do??  She took a permanent marker and wrote "T.J." on the bottom of Woody's boot, of course!!  But she didn't want to feel left out either, so she signed HER OWN BOOT as well!  It was adorable and fantastic!  T.J. met Pluto, Jessie, Buzz, Woody, Tinker Bell, Periwinkle (I don't know, Tinker Bell's sister or something- a new Disney show thing... I can't keep up...  ::hobbles out with walker and shakes fist in a crotchety manner:: "GET OFF MY LAWN YOU WHIPPER SNAPPERS!!!!!"), and Mickey Mouse.

T.J. also went on a few rides!  His first ride was the Winnie the Pooh ride in Fantasy land.  Not a great idea considering the scary music, thunder, lightening, rain, etc.  Oh well, he didn't lose it, just fussed a little while we scrambled to distract him.  He also went on It's a Small World, the Tea Cups, Peter Pan's Flight, Little Mermaid (a new ride!), and Splash Mountain.  Just kidding about the last one (wanted to make sure you were paying attention).

We topped the evening off by watching the Electric Light Parade which was awesome and soooo crowded!  My parents were then nice enough to take T.J. back to the resort so Travis and I could spend some time together going on the more intense rides like Space Mountain and the Buzz ride with all the aliens (might have been a touch intense for the Teej) as well take time to enjoy a treat together from Main Street.  Meanwhile, T.J. crashed out the millisecond the car started.  Haha!  We headed back to the resort to find T.J. crashed completely out in the Pack N' Play.  Thanks Mamaw and Papa!  =]

Overall, it was an amazing weekend.  I can honestly say it was the most fun I have ever had at Disney World.  There is nothing quite like the joy of watching your child have fun and experience new things!  It is amazing how different it is to enjoy Disney from the selfless viewpoint of "What would my child enjoy?" instead of "What do I/we want to do next?".

I want to thank my folks for treating all of us to this magical experience, spoiling T.J. (AND Mommy and Daddy) over and over again with treats and souvenirs, and allowing Travis and I to enjoy all of the characters and rides and experiences without having to worry about pictures and video by taking care of those duties for us.  They were incredibly helpful, giving, and fun to be around!  The trip wouldn't have been nearly as amazing without them there to share it with us (and help us out, too)!  Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Magic Kingdom was more magical than ever seeing it through the eyes of my child.

Come Out, Come Out Wherever You Are!!! ...well...we actually know WHERE you are, so...

It is so interesting.  Two years ago, Christmas was just a stepping stone... I wasn't impatiently awaiting until Christmas Day- I was impatiently awaiting THROUGH Christmas Day, waiting for Baby T.J. to make his arrival.  Things have changed so much since childhood.  When I was a child, Christmas took FOREVER to arrive.  It felt like we had to wait 3 years to get to Christmas.  As I got older and school became more difficult/time consuming, Christmas began coming earlier and earlier.  Finally it came once a year instead of once every 3 years!  Now as an adult with a child, Christmas pretty much comes every 6 months for me.  I feel like it JUST happened, and now, here it is again.  The worst part?  I know that shortly thereafter, my baby boy grows yet another year older.  =[

Well, this Christmas is going to be the most interesting thus far.  Christmas still gets to be something we look forward to, but it is still going to be masked by the fact that Baby Noelle (my sister's baby) is due before Christmas!  So yes, we are looking forward to Christmas sort of... but really we are only looking forward to it because by then Noelle should be here for sure!!!  Due date babies run in our family, but apparently not for Linds.  According to all of Lindsey's charting, Noelle should have been born on the 6th.  According to the OB's sonogram, Noelle should have been born on the 8th.  Obviously, she has missed both of her due dates- teaching her mommy patience from the very start!  Poor Linds.  I never had to go through being past my due date.  I "felt" late when I was a day over being full term for goodness's sake!!!  I was so ready.  Lindsey didn't really seem to start getting anxious about it till a few days prior to her due date.  She was more patient than I was.  That is when I heard her let Noelle know that we were all waiting.  ;]  The pressure is on, too, since I am heading out on Wednesday, the 11th.

Now we wait.  And walk.  And wait.  And walk.  And pray.

As much as I would love to be here for Noelle's arrival, I will be back for Christmas, so it isn't the end of the world if she doesn't arrive while I am here.  T.J., on the other hand, had only a few days to make it for Lindsey to see him.  She was in town for a couple of days after her cruise and had to get back to work in Texas.  T.J. fulfilled his duty to make sure he got to meet her!  =]  Noelle is chilling because she knows I am coming back for Christmas.  She doesn't need to come out right away, so she is staying warm and cozy (especially considering the Houston area has been in the 30s and 40s recently- brrrrr!).

Since we are on the subject of T.J. and his birth, I thought it might be fun to revisit his birth story.  Buckle up, it is long!  It will help pass the time while you are awaiting Lindsey's little bundle of joy.  =]  Please enjoy and leave feedback:

Sweet Newborn T.J.

Part One

Part Two