A Trip Down Memory Lane

Today is Andy's 35th birthday. I wanted to take a trip down memory lane, and show the years together that we've had. He has such a free spirit. He is skilled at many things, and what he is not skilled at, he figures out how to do it. I'm grateful for that. He completely forgot, this year, that his birthday was coming up. Until my folks offered to take us out for dinner. Also, when I explained that Jenna had an orthodontist appointment on his birthday. His response was "whose birthday?" Just like him. He is not a selfish person, in any way, shape or form. He gives so much so that I may be home with the kids each day. He devotes his time to God, to his family, and to service to others. He has taught me so much! So, take a walk with us on our trip down memory lane!

Here we are in our apartment in Hays, Kansas. I was going to school there. I had about two years left. This photo was taken in 1994. At this point we had been dating about a year and a half, maybe more.
Below is a picture from our wedding. I have several, but this is my favorite. This is back when he wasn't afraid to kiss me in public! LOL! He is so handsome!

Well, this picture was a day after having Jenna. So, April 3, 1997. Yes, for those of you who know Andy, he has gained some weight over the years! And, cut off sleeves use to be his signature look. Love that guy!!

This is probably one of my favorite pictures of Andy with Jenna. It was Jenna's first trip to the zoo. You very seldom see them not being completely silly. So this snapshot in time of a look of love from a father to his daughter just melts my heart. He loves his girl!

Here is a photo of Andy, Jenna and myself in front of the Dallas, TX temple. It is a rare occasion that we have a family photo opportunity, so glad we had this one! This was in March 2000.

Andy and Jenna were often found in the following position. Jenna loved....and still loves to snuggle up with her daddy! It was summertime 2001. We were preparing to have twins in about 5 months.

Then, came the twins. Zoie(left) and Baylee(right). Having twins is an exhausting job. You can just tell by the look on Andy's face. The funny thing is, everyone kept asking..."aren't you going to have anymore kids....try for a boy?" Andy's response would always be..."my girls can learn to do anything a boy can! I'll take them fishing and hunting, and camping. I'm good with my girls!

One of the few professional family photos taken when Zoie and Baylee were almost a year old. Jenna would have been 5, almost 6. Professional photos are very difficult to do with Zoie and Baylee....as you can well imagine, they don't like to sit still.

This is the first Christmas after we moved into the house we're in now. My mom and dad had bought us a coffee table and two end tables to help fill in our living room. We are in their basement. This would have been in 2002, or so. As you can tell, Andy has worn many different hats in his days! Just wait, the next one is the best one!

The following photo was taken on Halloween, of course, I can't recall what year. I'm thinking 2003-ish! Andy would, and still does, where this pumpkin hat to work and everywhere he goes on Halloween. The kids absolutely love it! He is a big kid himself!

And, here he is today, wearing yet another hat! His buddy took him to this Mexican restaurant they frequent. They always sit in the same waitress' section (Pamela). Well, while Andy was in the bathroom, his buddy Drake arranged for Andy to get his birthday dessert (something I can never do, cuz he would walk out of the restaurant if I did!) It was fried ice cream with lots of whipped cream on it! His waitress, Pamela, shoved his face in it!

I love you Andy! I hope you are having a wonderful birthday! I know tonight we will enjoy steak, greek pasta salad, and garden salad. Then we will wrap it up with your all time favorite, banana cream cake! Happy happy birthday!!!

Catching Up.....Once Again!

Everything has been so hectic lately! So, I find myself, once again, needing to catch up on the blog! The last photos I have are from the 4th of July. We had such a great day!

It started out with a Flag Raising and Pancake Breakfast at our Church. Zoie was so excited to be out and about, and seeing people. Here she is!

Baylee was excited also! She was just anxious to get to the pancake part! She kept going to the table and getting napkins and handing them to me!

Here is Andy (with his back facing us), Our Bishop (the other one in a scout shirt) and Brother Herbig. They did our flag raising ceremony. Usually the scouts do the flag raising, but most of our youth were out of town.

There She is! Our Stars and Stripes! How beautiful! A symbol of freedom! Troops have fought and sacrificed so much for us to have many freedoms. I am so grateful for them!

Our Bishop had a Barbecue at his house. It was Bring your own meat, and a side dish. We chose Steak. Here are Andy and Jenna grilling our steaks!

Later that evening, our friends invited us for a barbecue also. We ate really good food, and shot fireworks. Their neighborhood really knew how to do it up right! I think about half of the houses on their block were doing fireworks. There were a couple of houses that must have spent a small fortune on their fireworks. We were grateful for them. We were able to do some of the small ones that we purchased, but still watch plenty! And, they were the good ones! Here's Andy and Jenna. You can hardly ever catch them not being silly! They love to give each other a hard time!

And, for once, I decided I was going to ask someone to take a picture of us. This rarely happens! So, get ready.......Ta.Dah!!!! Here we are. Just 4 days after our 14th Wedding Anniversary! (my, time flies by so fast!)

We had a wonderful holiday! And, the 14 years we've spent together have been full of good times! We have grown and learned so much about each other and from each other. I am so lucky to have my soul mate! He is my rock! I thank God each and every day for him and for all he gives to me.

I hope everyone else had as much fun over the holiday as we did! We consumed insane amounts of food.....holidays always seem to center around food! Then, back to the work out on Monday!

Zoie and Baylee are almost done with summer school. They will get a couple of weeks break before heading back to school for the regular school year. Jenna is so excited to be in 7th grade. However, she is not anxious for school to start back up again. (typical kiddo!) We have enjoyed our time together this summer though. We have had lunches out, swimming, and lots of laughs. She has really grown up so much! We have so much fun together. I actually think I will be a little sad when she goes back to school. I'll miss her (a little bit!)

I think I'm pretty much caught up for now! More soon!