8 years strong

June 15th, 2002, Danny and I were married in the company of our closest friends and family. Looking back, we were just kids ourselves; I was 18 and Danny had just turned 21, but we were ready to commit to each other for a lifetime. At the time, I don't think I fully understood what was about to happen. I didn't know about all the teamwork, trust, understanding, patience, compromises, and forgiveness it would take. But, I also didn't know that it would bring me so much happiness and comfort knowing that we would be spending the rest of our lives together. We are each other's best friend. Like any marriage, we've had our bumps along the road, but we are able to work through them together. We've helped each other become the people we are today.

I wanted to share with you 8 things (for 8 years) that I love about Danny.

1. This may seem petty, but I really love when he helps me around the house. Heck, there's days that he cleans the entire house and does ALL of the laundry and it just totally makes my day!! I probably don't tell him enough how much I appreciate it.
2. Another one that may seem small but I love it when he decides to pick up the kids for me after work. The bank I work for transferred me (supposedly temporarily) to a branch about 30 miles (aka 1 hour in Houston traffic) away so sometimes it is a rush for me to get back home in time to have the kids picked up from daycare. Danny also drives just as far as I do from work but sometimes, he'll drop by and pick up the kids if he beats me home. I love it when he does. It saves me so much time and I can get home sooner.
3. I love that he sends me random emails or texts throughout the day when we are at work that let me know he's thinking about me. Or, he'll leave me a note at home before he goes to work. Makes me smile every time :)
4. I love that he is always trying to do the best for our family.
5. I love that he cherishes his time with me and the kids. When we aren't working, he's always wanting us to go to stuff together as a family. We're always going to the park or playing outside with the kids. We also love just sitting down at night and watching a good movie and eating popcorn.
6. I love that he is so motivated to always trys to improve things. He sets his mind on something and doesn't stop until it gets done. When we wanted to move to Texas, he was always keeping me encouraged that it could be done and that we weren't crazy, lol! A few months ago, he decided he wanted to get into better shape so he joined the gym and went on a strict diet and so far has lost a good 35 pounds. This fall, he will be starting college for business adminstration so he can better his career options and in the long run help our family. It will be a long road but I know he will get it done. I'm so proud of him!!
7. I love that I can be myself around him. When you first start dating someone, you try your hardest not to do anything wrong and be on your best behavior. I never wanted him to see me without makeup on or my hair perfectly done. Well, after you've been married for a while, nothing is embarrassing anymore. You learn each other's little quirks and you just get used to them. He knows more about me than anyone.
8. Best of all, I love that he is such a great Dad. I think being a Dad brings out the best in him. Kenzie is such a Daddy's girl! She looks up to him so much! Aydan is still so young but I know as he gets older, he will be Danny's little shadow and want to go everywhere and do everything with him. I'm so glad that my kids have such a great Dad to look up to as they grow up!!

a few apartment pics...

Here are a few pictures of the new apartment. They aren't the greatest because they are just taken from my phone. Our home laptop is still kerplunk so I had to upload these to my work computer. The first one is of the kitchen. You can't really tell from the pic how big it is but its big enough for all of us plus our kitchen table. They had the countertops refinished (as shown) a couple days after we moved in and it looks a lot better.

This picture is from the walking trail behind the apartment. It goes down by the volleyball court and down around by the water. They have picnic tables and benches that you can sit on . Its very relaxing down there.

This is the view from our apartment on the 6th floor. You can see the boat slips and the water and a few buildings sticking up in the background. Now, we just need a boat!! LOL!!

This is the atrium inside the building. There's sitting areas down there so you can just hang out and read or work on your laptop or whatever.

Thats basically all the pics I have for now. I would have more pics of the inside but I don't think you want to see our boxes and stuff that we still need to organize :) But, hopefully soon I'll post some more pics.

First Flight

Well, its official. The kids are now experienced flyers.

Friday night my sister-in-law and aunt-in-law flew down from IL to pick up the kids to take back to IL for 3 whole weeks. They flew out Saturday morning.

To put it mildly, I was SOOOO FRIGGIN' FREAKED OUT about the whole kids at the airport/flying in a real airplane thing. I was especially upset that we couldn't go wait at the terminal gate with them until they boarded the plane. Darn you 9/11!!! I really wanted to wait with them and watch them board their first plane. But....nope. We dropped all of them off, visited for a minute, then left. It was probably easier that way though. I mean, I'm sure I would have been crying like a baby if I would have watched them board. I may even have not let them go at all.....Ok, I would have, but you know what I mean.

They were so excited about it though. Both of them have been talking about it for the past few weeks. My son was especially looking forward to his first plane ride. I so wanted to see their faces at take off. It would have been priceless :)

They did really well on the plane, which I was glad to hear. I was kinda worried that Aydan might throw a fit on the plane and I would hear on the news about how they had to kick 2 young kids and 2 adults off the plane for unruly behavior or something crazy like that. (LOL)

So they arrived in IL Saturday afternoon and, from what I hear, they are having a blast seeing all the family from both sides and enjoying themselves. Do you think they are going to be just a little spoiled when they come back home? :)

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Back home, Danny and I were busy moving out of our old apartment and into our new one. Finally finished up Saturday evening and we couldn't be happier with our new place. Maybe its because what we came from was just so bad but we LOVE the new place. We have elevators that actually work, a fitness center that actually has usable equipment in it, and a clean pool/hot tub. The apartment itself feels so much more cozier and a lot more like home! My new kitchen is a lot bigger. Its an eat-in kitchen which is great. Danny and I can both be in there at the same time without being in each others way and I can open the dishwasher without taking up the whole entire walkway!

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Its so strange with the kids being gone. This is the first time in over a year that either of them have been away from us for longer than a day. I'm hoping they don't get home sick after the first couple of days. I know I miss them already!! But, I know they are with family and having a great time seeing everyone. I told Kenzie before they left that I was going to miss her a lot and she goes, "Oh Mom! We'll be fine, geez!!" I guess I'm more worried about Aydan since he's only 3 and he's away from us the least. I think as long as he's busy, he'll be fine.

Danny and I have a long list of things we want to do without the kids but I don't know how much of it will actually get done. We shall see.

Well, I think I've bored you enough for now. Hope you all have a great week!