Perception Shift

I think I've been a Trooper's wifei for too long now...when hubby says he'll be late because there's been a fatality, all I can think about is how it affects my evening. Kind of sad.

Someone just DIED and I'm stressed because I'll be home alone longer.

Hello?!? Priorities.

And it isn't like a drunk driver or anything in this case. It was kind of a sad one (it's hard to take every single one to heart - especially if self induced from alcohol or drugs).

I'm glad he comes home at all. If it has to be a little bit later than normal, that's just part of being a cop's wife.

My Son is Famous!

Well, okay maybe not "famous" but he got to have his picture taken with someone famous ... locally famous. :) Cisco was at the Mushroom Festival and grandma LOVES Cisco. So she took her little grandson up during a commercial (he was doing his radio show live) to get some snapshots.

Who is this guy and why is he smiling?

We got a squishy baseball from the Liberty Mutual booth. He liked that.

And he CLIMBED up on his stroller with no help from me. I am truly terrified.

A Day at the Air Show

What an amazing time we had on Saturday! Marshal, hubby, and I piled into the truck and headed to Joint Base Lewis McChord for the Air Show. We were a little later than we wanted to be...and apparently so was everyone else because the parking was hideous. Some of the military folks were getting seriously ticked at stupid people...not us of course. :)

About an hour before we left I put Marshal's new ear protection in his diaper bag. As we were leaving, hubby shows me the ear muffs and asks "Are these the ones we're taking?" ... *sigh* Timber had chewed one side and the padding was completely gone. I swear I am going to shoot that dog one of these days.

Nevertheless, the actual protective portion was okay and didn't seem to be too difficult to wear so we moved on.

I honestly wasn't sure how Marshal would react - there were a lot of people and some of the airplanes were so loud that they shook my chest so even with his ear muffs he felt the rumblings. I was impressed by how closely he tracked the planes as they flew. He and daddy had so much fun together - even though we spent the majority of time standing in line for food - at least we had lots to watch while we waited.

Mommy is protecting my ears.

Where'd the Plane go?!?

Ear Muff break. Some less noisy planes are flying.

I see you!

Hot Shot!

Marshal slept the whole way home and was out COLD. But that was the only recharge he needed apparently because then he was back to his active self - playing in everything he could find, including the laundry basket.

What the Heck?

I'm walking into the house the other day and saw a leaf stuck to the side of the house.

Or so I thought.

Very sneaky little thing. I did a double take and had to take some phtos. It's been there for a couple of days now. It's not dead though...so what is going on with it?

It's definitely pretty thought - in a creepy bug sort of way. :)

What a Weekend

What a GREAT weekend! And it really started on Friday with our Aflac regional picnic BBQ, which was AWESOME.

Marshal had so much fun that he fell asleep on the picnic table!

Then Saturday my mother in law, Marshal, and I went to two local Farmer's markets. She thinks I'm trying to kill her by getting her out and doing things. :) It was a ton of fun though. One market had a magician who was really funny and the other had this amazing band that Marshal enjoyed dancing to.

Sunday was the big event though. My grandpa turned 83 a few days ago and his official party was Sunday. There were so many people there, down at the river, that I didn't even know half of them. But my best friend from high school came with her daughter and I was SO excited to see her!!! And of course, I hardly saw Marshal the whole time...except when he needed a nap.

Otherwise, he was the life of the party!

Flying with Uncle Tony.

Playing with Cousin Tal.

Hope everyone else had a great weekend too. And here's hoping we all have a great week!

Gift Giving Made Simple

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of FriendGiftr. All opinions are 100% mine.

How many of you have woken up one morning and realized..."OH crap! So and So has a birthday today!!!" You don't have time to run to the store for a present or maybe they live across the country and you forgot to send something. I'm not saying this has happened to us or anything ... *cough* ... um ... yeah.

Now you don't have to fret. I don't know about you, but I LOVE getting gift cards. And FriendGiftr has made it super easy, convenient, and friendly to send the perfect gift...even at the last minute. You can send real physical cards or even virtual ones!

There are over 120 vendors you can choose from, including one of our favorites, Cabela's. =) Of course, not everyone is going to love Cabela's...so if we picked a Cabela's card to send and our friend didn't love it - FriendGiftr actually lets them SWAP for a card they do want! How cool is that? No one wants a gift card to go to waste, but if you don't like a certain store what do you do? Swap it! The giver doesn't even have to know so no hurt feelings.

As if it wasn't already a great site, FriendGiftr also works with your iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, and even Facebook. So if you're out at the grocery store and realize you need to send a gift fast - you're covered!

Oh...and if you want to send me a gift card I won't complain. :)

I Wish I Were Thinner

Not because I care so much about being skinny, although it'd be nice. But because I want to be able to wear these gorgeous vintage clothing from REiNViNTAGE. The clothes, shoes, and accessories she's found are so adorable.

I always love when people do such an incredible job digging through vintage clothes and finding the gems. I bet my mom could make some cash selling some of her old prom dresses. When I was little I used them for dress up, but they're still in really good condition.

This beautiful yellow sundress is so cheerful!

I'd LOVE to be able to fit into this stunning red dress. Red is one of my favorite colors.

Fashion in the 30s and 40s was so awesome. I wish these shoes fit me!

What is even cooler...I sent her a message on Etsy to find out if she has larger sized shoes and I find out that she has a 10 month old! :) My boy is just over 9 months old. I love finding new moms like me!

Have a Fabulous 4th!

I'm giving myself a four day weekend. It's nice to be your own boss sometimes. At least when it comes to deciding things like time off. :)

We have no major plans but thankfully hubby is off Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. We'll probably hang out around the house but I would like to take Marshal man to some sort of 4th event. Nothing with loud fireworks though. I don't think he'd like the loud noises. Although we are prepared to handle loud noises and protect his ears.

Aren't those the most adorable things ever!?!?!

I hope everyone has a fabulous, fun, and safe 4th of July. =)

Like Floating on a Cloud

When I was a little girl - before my dad died, so before I was 8 - we used to go visit his mom, my grandma. She wasn't remarried yet so it was just her in this big old house that had as much character as she did. You walked into the mud room - a cluttered screened in room with a big freezer that always had yummy desserts. Then the front door into the kitchen which was cramped and filled with all her cooking tools. She was an amazing cook.

For some reason she collected glass bottles - they were fascinating to look at in their various shapes and sizes. And all the colors of the rainbow. She had them lined up in every window.

And the hammock at the side of the house provided hours of entertainment for my brother and I. Not to mention the huge trees and forts we built. We didn't need video games or TV when we were there.

My memories at her house are priceless. She would put a bratwurst in the microwave for me and as picky as I was (and am) I loved them. I remember watching her make homemade pasta. And of course she always had candy of some sort available. I even liked helping her wash dishes, which is nothing I'd do anywhere else.

By far my favorite thing when visiting her was taking a nap. She had this big, fluffy, soft feather bed that just enveloped me in coziness. I'd snuggle in and listen as she'd tell these amazing stories. I wish I could remember them better or that she was able to tell them now. She'd make all the sounds and voices - the one I can recall the best was her chugga chugga choo choo train sounds.

She's over 90 now and can't hear well enough to talk on the phone. She can't walk without help and needs constant assistance. She's also too stubborn to have in a nursing home - she used to have a nurse who would come to her home but that didn't last too long.

I love her so much and wish I could communicate more regularly with her. Unfortunately I don't even always know where she's living (she rotates between two of her daughters). But I will always remember our visits there in her eclectic house filled with all sorts of amazing treasures.