Looking Good in a Suit!



Travis officiated a wedding a few weeks ago.

I always love seeing him in his suit!

14 Years Ago...

September 12, 1997...I was a sophomore in college, 19 years old, busy going to classes, playing volleyball and studying.  It was a Friday night and the Kansas State Fair had just started, so Travis and I were going on a date to check out the fair.  After practice and a quick shower, Travis came to pick me up.  I remember him telling me there was a big sunflower field right outside of town and that we should stop and take some pictures on our way.  Of course, that led me back into my dorm room to grab my camera.  (He knew that I've always loved big fields full of sunflowers, they are beautiful!)  Well, little did I know, Travis had a plan.  

Took a picture of a picture in my photo album, so it's blurry. If you look closely at the black dot in the middle sticking up over the sunflowers, that's Travis' head!

Still on our way to the fair, we stopped at the field outside of town.  Travis pulled into the field drive, got out of the car and took off out into the field.  Didn't even wait for me...I remember thinking that was a little strange!  As I was walking out to where he was, taking some pictures as I went, I saw him down on his knees, as if he were looking for something in the dirt.  This is when it occurred to me what might actually be about to happen.  He said something to me about coming to see what he had found.  When I got there, he was down on one knee with a beautiful ring in his hands.  He told me a bunch of stuff...how much he loved me, what I meant to him, how he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me...I really wish I had it recorded!  Then he asked me to marry him and I said yes! 



one of our engagement photos

I remember how shaky I was and I just kept staring at the ring.  We had dated for 4 years already, so I knew it would happen sometime, but we never went ring shopping together.  I didn't want to.  I thought it would be more of a surprise that way and more meaningful if he picked out a ring for me all on his own.  And he did awesome, I loved it!  And then I started asking lots of questions...you talked to my dad didn't you? what did he say? when did you get the ring? does anybody else know?  I'm sure there were a million more!  Of course, I wanted to go tell my parents right away, I was so excited.  After telling them, we went and told Travis' parents.  Then we drove over to Hutchinson, where the fair was, and ate at Applebee's to celebrate.  After eating, we went to his brother Jake's house to tell he and Liz.  We never did make it to the fair that night, but I was perfectly fine with that!

I couldn't have been more excited that night!  And now, after 13 years of marriage, I'm so thankful that he popped the question that day.  God has blessed me with a wonderful husband, a best friend, a spiritual leader in our home, an awesome father and a man who loves Jesus.  And...he still makes me laugh, just as much as the day I met him!  I love you Travis!

I Guess Women Have More Stuff!

I was getting some plastic tubs out of the attic this afternoon and Travis said to me, "I'm pretty sure that if I wasn't married, I wouldn't own a single plastic tub."  As if EVERYthing in the attic is mine!  Ok, well a lot of it is...but still!!  It made me laugh!

Surprise!

It's not often that Travis surprises me, but he totally got me yesterday.  Since Addison is on spring break, Travis' mom decided to come visit us yesterday.  Little did I know, there was more to it than that!

The girls slept in yesterday and so did I.  I got up when they did and since I had a little bit of a headache, I didn't turn the lights on.  I went in to use the bathroom and then the girls came to get me, so I left without ever turning the lights on.  After breakfast, I got the girls dressed and then I began picking up the house.  I needed to dust and do the dishes before his mom got here.  Around 1:00, I called Travis and left him a message to please bring me a Dr. Pepper since I had a headache.  About 15 minutes later, he called to tell me he was on his way to get my pop and asked me if I had brushed my teeth yet.  Very confused, I told him I hadn't.  So he told me that I really needed to go brush my teeth.   Okay, that's weird!  When I got to the bathroom and actually turned on the light, there was a note for me taped to the mirror.  It said I needed to pack a bag because he was taking me somewhere for the night.  I was so excited!  He came home and I quickly jumped in the shower so we could leave when his mom got here. 

We went out to dinner and went to a few stores before heading out to our little cottage in the country!  We've been there once before and it was wonderful, so I was very excited to go back again.  There's a bed &  breakfast a little ways from here that owns 4 cottages in the country.  Each one has a different theme...ours had a tropical theme.  It was very romantic and relaxing and it was great to spend time together, just the two of us.  Thank you Kathy for watching the girls for us!!  We had a great time and I know the girls had a blast with you!

And thank you Travis, I was so surprised!  I love you!

Vacation - Maine

Travis and I were able to go on a trip by ourselves at the end of June (and I'm finally writing about it!) This was the first time we've done this since having kids. We were so excited to get away for a week by ourselves and so thankful that my parents were willing to keep the girls. Thanks mom and dad! Neither of us had ever been to the northeast, so we flew into Boston, rented a car and drove up the coast of Maine. We stopped in Bath, Maine and spent a few hours visiting Robin, a friend of mine from high school.

It was fun to see her and her two kids and she even made us (actually just Travis since I don't like seafood) lobster!

From here, we drove up to Bar Harbor, which is on Mount Desert Island. This island is where Acadia National Park is located and one of the reasons we wanted to go to Maine. We stayed at a bed and breakfast, walked around the harbor, visited some of the local tourist shops and ate good food. Travis enjoyed crab cakes with his meal one evening.

The houses everywhere were beautiful!

We spent a day driving through Acadia National Park. It is beautiful! Our only disappointment of the trip was that it rained the day we were there. We had planned to go hiking, but ended up staying in the car most of the time. It was foggy too, so you couldn't see too far off shore. Oh well. Even with the rain, it was still beautiful!

After Acadia, we headed back south and stayed in the fun little town of Freeport. We went to a few outlet stores, ate some more good food and went to the 'Wicked Woopie Pie' bakery. Their woopie pies were delicious!

Loved this house!

Lots of lobster traps

Travis enjoying a lobster roll!

We hope to go back to Maine someday. I would love to take the girls and spend some time camping along the coast! After spending a few days in Maine, we headed to Boston.

12 Years

Last Sunday was our 12 year anniversary!
We were out of town for the weekend which is why I'm just getting around to posting this.
It's hard to believe it's been that long.

Can you believe how young we look?!

I was 20 and he was 21!

And how much hair we both have?!!!

We are going on a trip together, just the two of us, in June to celebrate.

I can't wait!!

I love you Travis!

16 Years Ago Today

November 5, 1993. I was a sophomore in high school. I was 15 years old (10 days shy of 16). A guy named Travis had called me a few days earlier and asked me out on a date. I had never met him. I said yes (before I even asked my parents.) He picked me up at my house and we (yes, just the two of us) drove to a nearby town to watch a movie. My dad gave me a quarter for the pay phone and told me to call him if I needed anything. We watched the movie "Cool Runnings." Great movie to watch on a first date. After the movie, we drove back to my house and he came inside. We talked for awhile. I had a great time. He made me laugh and he was so easy to talk to. When he left I told him he could call me if he wanted to. He turned to me and said "if I want to." (He says it was "if I want to??" but I thought he was playing hard to get!) Any uncomfortable silence is not good on a first date, so I talked a lot. His mom later told me that he came home and said I was "a talker." He must've liked me though because he called me again and the rest is history!

Now that I'm a parent, there are two things that are hard for me to believe.
1. That my parents let me go out with a stranger. (They did know his aunt & uncle and grandparents, so I guess they thought he came from a good family.)
2. That my parents let me go all by myself.
I laugh when I think about my dad giving me the quarter for the pay phone. He told me he'd come get me if I needed him to. Do they even have pay phones anymore?!

I'm so thankful my parents let me go out with him. Who would've thought 16 years ago that we'd be where we are today. I've now known him for half of my life. It's been a wonderful 16 years. I love you more than ever Travis!

Prom 1994 (you can laugh at my dress!)

Prom 1995 (you can laugh at his suspenders!)

Date Night!

Travis and I actually went on a date tonight!! I say "actually" because I think the last time I can remember going on a date was in May. It has been a very long time and we were really needing some quality time together. We had a wonderful dinner and great conversation. I was stuffed after my meal, but still managed to eat a sundae from Braum's! It was a fun evening!

We took Addison to Noemi's house while we went out for dinner. She was so excited to see her former Sunday school teacher and couldn't wait for us to leave! Noemi is such a sweetheart. She was such a great teacher and we really miss seeing her every Sunday morning. Her love for God is so evident and she does such a great job of teaching the kids about Jesus and getting them started with good spiritual habits at a young age.

We are thankful tonight that she was willing to spend time with Addison so we could spend some much needed time together!

Ten Years Together

I can hardly believe that today is our ten year anniversary! Can it really be that long already?! I never would've imagined all that we've done in 10 years. The places we've lived, things we've seen and done, trials we've overcome, laughs we've shared, people we've met, jobs we've had, memories we've made....it's been an amazing 10 years. I'm so thankful for my husband, he is perfect for me. I love you Travis and can't wait to see what God has in store for the next 10 years!

Holding On to Sentimental Things

I'm getting much better, but I tend to hold on to things that have sentimental value. Things such as papers from elementary school, notes people have written me, flowers I have received, a dress I wore when I was small, etc. Well today, Travis and I were going through stuff in our attic and I decided to let go of something I have been holding on to. I know you're probably going to laugh at me, but I still have my wedding bouquet, all dried and shriveled up, in a plastic container. I loved my flower bouquet when we got married, so I guess I thought I should keep it. I finally came to the conclusion today (much to Travis' delight) that after 10 years of it being in the attic in a plastic tub, I think it's really time to get rid of it! I honestly don't know what I thought I was going to do with it! I also found, in the same container, two corsages that were from Travis for prom and his corsage from our wedding. Travis begged me not to throw away his corsage!! I'm just excited that I now have an empty container I can use for something else!

Cold vs. Hot

I don't know if it's like this in your family, but I'm always cold and Travis is always hot. Last night I went to bed before him and turned on a little space heater in our bedroom. With the door closed, it really heats up the room. I thought it felt great and was just the right temperature. Well, when Travis came to bed, he informed me "it's at least 180 degrees in here!" He said it was so hot he had to go shower because it made him sweat. He thinks there's something wrong with me for always being so cold and I think there's something wrong with him since he's always so hot. He claims that he's always "so hot" because of his good looks!! Ha!