True Love

And on a side note, I love these, too.

Everything I love about Summer

Summer has hit that crucial half-way mark where 1.) you feel 102 degree sunshine all week long, and 2.) you also start getting "Back-to-School" ads in your Sunday newspaper. So in honor of a season that seems to blast past a bit to quickly in Colorado here are all the things that make mine (briefly) fabulous:

1.) Vacation. The Mr. and I had four blissful days in Sarasota,FL. this week. Amazing calamari at the Crab & Fin on St. Armand's Circle. Hours and hours playing on the beach and loving the bathtub-warm ocean waves. Siesta Key and the softest sand I've ever felt in my life. Watermelon mojitos, two lounge chairs, and the man I still love to be all alone with. Perfect.

2.) Watermelon Mojitos. We liked them so much we came home and made more. We made gallons of them for our housewarming party. DELICIOUS.

3.) House parties. Our housewarming party was insane. I think we had 20 kids under the age of five. How did this happen to all of us? Well, I actually think I know the answer to that....

4.) The activity that has provided us, and all of our wonderful friends, with said children. Always more fun in the summer.

5.) All the Other Stuff. Popsicles. Ellie & Parker's blow-up pool. Day trips downtown (our kids just might be the best-ever well behaved kids in a restaurant. Just sayin'), the big, fun Lakeshore pool, 800 summer birthday parties (11% of birthdays are in August), BBQ's, beach towels, tan lines, and sunscreen. I love sunscreen.

A Little Brighter

Last year my youngest brother almost died.

Actually, it hasn't even been a whole year yet. But I have to remind myself of this regularly when I look at him, and our family. It hasn't even been a year....

John has made an amazing and blessed recovery. So amazing, in fact, that I forget when people ask how he's doing that they probably expect to hear stories of rehab and surgery and perhaps assisted living centers and long-term care nightmares.

But we don't have any of that.

Last year was a dark year. I can remember being curled up on the couch at 4 in the morning during pretty much the whole month of October sobbing. Thinking of our family without him. The thought of my kids not being old enough to even remember him if he died. Watching my parents try to deal with loving him and losing him. Their child.

And 9 months later I'm up at 4 in the morning because we've got such a happy, fun 4th of July weekend planned that I simply can't sleep because of all of the blessings in our life. John has made such an amazing recovery that I rarely see him and think of the accident at all. And he is such an amazing part of our kids lives that he doesn't even mind when I say he looks like a pterodactyl while chasing Eliana around the house....

And if little brothers can teach you something he has taught me true and genuine gratitude. Something I guess I always thought I processed. But nothing is quite like seeing him share why each one of us is so special to him and how he fought so hard to stay with us. He sees more value in us than we could ever possibly see in ourselves. I want those I love to feel that from me, if only a fraction of what we feel from John.

We've come into a more hopeful and settled place this year. Things are brighter. Something to be truly grateful for. I'll even remember to think back to that first 4th of July with Mr. Pope, eight years ago, when we had just decided to "officially" give "us" a try. It worked out, I think. I'm pretty sure all those fireworks will be celebrating us, and our beautiful collection of family and friends.

But I guess I'm kind of a Narcissist. I get it from my Grandma....

Happy 4th of July!!

Dummy

I'm pretty sure I get taken for a dummy on a quasi-regular basis. Just this morning my husband questioned whether my brain was really hurting, when I claimed to have a terrible headache, as he is quite sure I lost it entirely quite a while ago. Mommy-brain? More like no brain. Blah.

But I'm a moderately educated kind of girl. Not smart enough to put my kids in daycare and go back to the world of designer suits, lattes and lunches, but smart enough. So it's obviously irritating when I'm treated like a dummy. (By someone other than my husband....that's just part of our marriage. I think we actually put it in our vows that we would tease each other relentlessly. And when I say "dummy" I say it like Joy on "My Name is Earl." See photo for inspiration.) But I digress.

We've been using the same plumbing company for all of our plumbing needs for about 5 years. Once our "guy" told me that toilets are only built to last 7-10 years and our 20 year toilet needed to be completely replaced....forget about just replacing the "hardware" as I'd requested. Um, No.

And then yesterday I was told to replace our very old (and blanket-wrapped) hot water heater for a measly $2,000. Sure! Whatever! Who needs to shop around or find out that this just might be a completely ridiculous bid. And you don't need to call your husband, he offered, we can just do it right now, while we're here fixing your leaking faucet. Thanks, you're so helpful, plumber dude.

So, I'm not a plumber, but I'm not a dummy. We'll find something that works better and possibly doesn't use up quite so much money.

And while we're on the subject, this whole thing is happening after some sales guy at the appliance store asked me if I had installed the oven racks in my brand-spankin' new, shiny, expensive, oven "correctly." They didn't fit. There was something wrong with the oven. It was replaced almost instantly once I called GE directly. But the sales guy asked if I had installed them correctly. Really? Oven racks? Yeah, I think I can figure it out.

Anyone treat you like a dummy lately?