3.28.2011

Celebrating Baby ZJ!

Saturday I had a great time hosting my dear friend Dedra's baby shower! We can't wait to see and love sweet baby ZJ!
















3.24.2011

Renouncing Our Road Trip Crowns

So, I should have written about this a while ago. What can I say? Life just keeps going and new days keep dawning. Although, I am very grateful for each day presented to me that I can praise our Creator!


Back to road trips...


Marc and I became the road trip King and Queen while dating. As we started to seriously date he had just graduated from the Air Force Academy and spent an extra year in Colorado Springs, so his time was up and it was time to move. Thankfully he moved not too far away to Alamogordo, NM. A very small city probably most famous for White Sands National Park. (Transformers was even filmed there!) It was about 8 hours away and about every 6 weeks Marc would drive to visit me back in Colorado Springs.
(This is at White Sands taken when we were dating. The sunsets were always so beautiful!)


I'm sure you're wondering why I didn't just move there. (Are you?) Why all the driving? Well 1) we weren't married or engaged yet, and 2) I was still in college! I had about two more years to complete. So, thus began our road trips.


Since then we got married and continued to drive and drive and drive.


When we lived in Alamogordo we drove to:
Colorado Springs (missed my mom and a city with decent food and shopping!)
Our longest road trip ever to Pensacola, FL (I had never really been to the south before so we took about 2-3 days each way and had what I like to call a "Southern Experience" trip)
Lots of others (I won't bore you)


I'm telling you we were the King and Queen!


Now that we live in Henderson we drive to California often enough. L.A. is about 4-6 hours away (4 pre-Frederick and at most 6 with Frederick) and that is about as far as I will go happily.


The trip that did us in?


A 17 hour road trip to Colorado Springs for Christmas. Granted we did it over two days, but it's supposed to take about 12-13 hours driving. We drove because we like the time that it gives us to talk and laugh and think and be together. Also, we can bring our dog Sugar. My family loves Sugar and Sugar really loves them. We were going to be gone a long time so it was cheaper and less burdensome on our friends to take her. But no LONGER! I'm sorry Sugar you will no longer be coming with us unless it's a trip that is shorter than 4 hours and you are welcome to a house that loves dogs too. (OK enough about Sugar, but you just needed to know that she was a part of the reasonings behind the crazy.)


With a baby and a dog we were filled to the brim of our rented Jeep! 


Our last trip was fun though! It was beautiful driving through all of the mountain passes and seeing all of the fabulous resorts. Frederick's first Christmas was magical and I can't remember the last time I had so much fun at Christmas. I've now discovered that holiday's are so much more fun with children!

 Marc and I played a ton of Wii with my brother and sister. I was able to share some sweet memories with Cameo and Gramps. (One of them was Frederick's bath time, he is very serious about kicking his feet!)












Overall it was very lovely trip (I'm just flying next time) and a great one to hang up our crowns!


xo,


Mary Lou

3.21.2011

Dreamers

Last night while Marc and I were trying to recover from colds we watched Inception. It was such a great movie! Although, I think both of us had a hard time sleeping later... I vaguely remember trying to save Marc from his "kick" last night. The movie reminded me of all of my thoughts about dreams.


Do you ever see people so clearly in your dreams and yet you know that you have never seen them before?  Who are these people? I often wonder if I'll one day see the person in real life. If so would I recognize them from my dream or just feel like I couldn't place where I know them from? As I consider this now I'm trying to think and recall a face so clear to me in a dream and I just can't grasp one. So, I maybe I wouldn't recognize them. Or maybe not, maybe if I saw someone it might suddenly all come back at once. But wouldn't that be weird? I'm imagining myself now yelling "Oh my gosh! You were totally in my dream last night!" to a total stranger. How awkward would that be? Then again, you know that you would have to talk to that person and find out who they were and why they were in your dream.


I have a few reoccurring dreams that I should really start writing down. I'm sure it would be helpful if I can figure out why I keep having the dreams. One of the dreams I'm always driving to Aspen and the road is always so terrifyingly tight. Sometimes it's different seasons so I never know if it will be snowing. The road is sometimes different too and I'll be struggling to drive and will be getting increasingly frustrated and think "Why is this so hard! Oh I must be driving to Aspen!" Maybe I dream about this because have you ever driven to Aspen? The road IS actually terrifying.  I drove there once when I was 17 and I guess my sub-conscience has never forgotten.


It's OK sub-conscience! I made it to Aspen just fine you can stop warning me!


I'll leave you with two pictures of my favorite little dreamer:


He was 5 days old here!