Today makes five years that Eric and I have been married. And we always joke that it feels like five years, if not longer. That's because we've done so much in those five years! But it's also because we just feel so right together; it's weird to think that for such a large part of our lives, we weren't.

So to celebrate this year we're going to really let our romance flow and finish our backyard. I mean what's more romantic than curbing and flagstone? Or sweating your heart out while pulling weeds? Let's be serious; it doesn't get much hotter than that.

Our last four anniversaries haven't been exactly exciting: one year I was in the ER because I was pregnant with Aspen and hadn't kept any food down for two days; another year we stayed in a morbidly sketchy inn that was walled with plywood. I wish I could describe to you the horror that was our room. Anyway, we realized that while our actual anniversaries may not have been fantastic, we had a lot of great experiences within that year. When we were in the hospital we were in a hospital in Alaska, of all places! So we can't complain.

One night in a couple weeks or so (with some luck) we'll be in our finished backyard, under the stars, sitting on our kitchen chairs we've pulled out from the house, and we'll think, now this is romantic!

Today at the store Aspen and I ran into some people we've seen at church. I've never officially met them, so the couple and I introduced ourselves. "I can't remember your husband's name," the guy said, "but I know who he is. Doesn't he have big hair?"

It was a funny thing to say. I stopped to think. "No-o-o-o.....not really...." I said. Maybe he was thinking of someone else? Then his wife jumped in, "It's not really big, honey. Just long. He's got long hair."

I just blinked and smiled, but I wanted to laugh, because this is the picture that came to my mind:

(Eric's the guy in the green jacket, for those of you who haven't been blessed to see this photo. I've posted it before). I said something like, "You know, he could use a trim right now, but his hair isn't exactly long."
This is Eric today, ha ha. I wish I could have shown the couple these photos; I'm sure they would have gotten a good laugh!

North Carolina

I've always wanted to go to North Carolina. So ever since my dad got a job out there last summer, I've been itching to go visit. Last week we were finally able to take the trip, and it was all I had hoped!

It's very humid out there, which I love. Most of my favorite places are humid, so being in North Carolina just reminded me of those places: Argentina, Puerto Rico, Massachusetts, Oregon. We did some ferry hopping to visit the outer banks, and fed the seagulls while they followed behind.

Oh it was so green! Green green everywhere. As much as I love Boise, it will never be green enough for me. I just loved all the beautiful Carolina pines, mixed in with the sand that's everywhere. It reminded me a lot of Cape Cod. (As you can tell from this photo above, it's almost impossible for me to sit with my legs together).
And of course we went to the beach.
I just love this shot of Eric in action. He really needed a surf board or something. Surf's up!
Aspen got such a huge kick out of simply sitting in the water and waiting for the waves to push her backward. She laughed hysterically; it was fun to watch her.

Eric and my dad went kayak fishing one day. They always go fishing when they're together. Isn't that marsh beautiful?

We went to Wilmington, which is an old historic town, untouched by the Civil War, and therefore has lots of old buildings and homes to see. It was really hot this day, but we loved Wilmington. (I love this shot of my dad and stepmom, Lisa).

Roo eating continental breakfast. She insisted on wearing her hat and glasses, because she was cold (I'm still trying to figure that one out).
Dad and Lisa were such great hosts, and it was so much fun to see them! Since Dad's move, I don't get to see him or Lisa very often, so this trip was a special treat for me.
Here's some random shots we took. At the bottom there is the house my dad and Lisa are building. They're staying out there for a while, which makes me sad and happy at the same time: sad because they'll be so far away, but happy because we can make another trip (or two or three) out to North Carolina.

Swim day

Pregnancy Pumps vs. Fake Uggs

Here I am, sucking on a fudgesickle, thinking about one of the most embarrassing nights of my life. It was pretty bad, and the whole thing led my to buy these heels the other day. Which is crazy, because I honestly don't think I have ever worn heels in my life. At least not ones this high.

It was a night several years ago, when I was pregnant with Aspen. Nine months pregnant, to be exact. The actual day she was due. There was a law dinner the university was throwing, and Eric and I hadn't gotten tickets due to the night it was being held (just in case). We got a phone call telling us that a few seats had opened up, and would we like to come. I really didn't want to go. I was feeling fat, frumpy, and extremely unattractive, not to mention unsociable (go figure). But it was a free dinner, and a chance to get out, so we decided to go. Not to mention there was no activity going on in the womb area.

"Honey, what's the dress code?" I asked Eric.

"Uh, I think it's business casual," he said. So I grabbed some clothes: a nice black tee (I wore a long sleeved white one underneath, since it was February), a jean skirt (knee length), and a pair of fake Ugg boots (I seriously could not fit into anything else).

Okay, so we get there, and I walk in to the dinner. Every other girl there is wearing an evening gown, dressed to the nines. Hair is up, heels are on, and this dinner was fancy. I never felt so out of place in my life! I wanted to die, and was this close to turning around and walking out.

"Eric," I pleaded, "please don't make me go in there! Let's just go before anyone sees us."

Eric, being the positive, sweet husband he is, said something like no you look great, really. It'll be fun!

Well, after a while I started to feel less humiliated by my appearance, but this is the point of the story:

I saw several other pregnant women there, looking amazing. And in heels. I didn't know it was possible to wear heels when you were pregnant. And that image has stuck with me. So the other day I went and bought some, just to prove that I could pull them off. After the initial 15 minutes of tripping while wearing them around the store, I kind of got the hang of it. And, in fact, the first time I wore them out, it was empowering. Take that, gravity! And frumpiness! I'm actually on the search for another pair. So here's to heels! At least until the edema sets in, and I'm back to the boots.

Yet another hike

I know so many of my posts are of hikes the three of us do, but if I didn't post about them, you'd think I was sitting on my caboose all the time.
We went up to McCall this weekend to "get away from it all" and enjoy a little rest and relaxation. We were going to camp, but then a friend offered us the use of his woodsy, comfy cabin, and we were all about that. That's where the r&r came in.
We decided not to bring the pack 'n play, on the hopes that we'd be able to find somewhere convenient to place Aspen during her naps and bedtime, but ended up sticking her in bed with us. One night Eric ran into town to get us a movie, and Aspen and I just hung out in bed, reading magazines. She'd see a recipe ad and grab the magazine. "Woah, mommy (we're back to mommy now) that looks sooooo good!"
During our hikes I'd follow Eric while he carried Aspen on his back. They'd be having these conversations about moose and trees, and I didn't want to butt in. It was really cute.
We found this one hike that was really great. It wasn't marked very well, but it crossed a cascading stream several times, and Eric and I were glad we'd worn our sandals. It felt great to get our feet wet! Unfortunately we could only follow it for about half a mile or so and then we had to turn around because for the life of us we couldn't find the trail.
We saw several deer, lots of garter snakes (to my dismay, but they actually weren't so bad), a fox, several squirrels, fish, and lots of tracks (deer and bear). Aspen loved that.

Roo

Aspen's middle name is Rae, but we just call her Roo.
She's a great kid. She's also two, which makes things very challenging sometimes. The weird thing is, she can be an absolute crab one day, and I still love her more and more. Must be a mother thing.
Lately she's started calling me Mama. At first I didn't like it. It made me feel old. I think she got it from "won't my mama be so proud of me, I'm bringing home my baby bumblebee....." Now I really like the sound of it, and it makes me beam every time she says it. "I'm her mama," I think to myself with pride, getting all choked up.
She likes to dance to my ringtone, which makes me miss calls sometimes because I don't want to cut short her performance.
She really loves people. She knows all the names of her friends' moms, and asks me about them regularly. What's Rachel doing, mama? Is she at the store?
I sure am glad she's mine, my little Roo.