Well, to be honest, that's not the ONLY reason I write. It's also a little bit flattering to track the stats of our blog and realize that there are actually quite a lot of people each week who, for some crazy reason, find our little family adventures relevant to their lives. I have no idea who these people are. I'm sure that some are family or close friends, but there are way too many unique views each week for this alone to account for it.
Who knows- maybe legions of internet stalkers? Maybe someone out there is going to try and steal my identity, or my children, or my stuff, and they are going to somehow use the information I post on this blog to do it. After all, I'm sure there are lots of creepers out there. It's a scary, scary world we live in, full of predators just waiting for naive saps like me! And if I wasn't me, I could probably get myself pretty scared and worked up over the possibilities- especially if I was an avid consumer of Fox News or the Reader's Digest.
But I am me, and I realize that the actual, real-life chances of this are about as close to zero as you can get, and so instead of getting worried, I prefer to think that all these unknown visitors are people from our shared past who we don't do a good enough job keeping in touch with. People we used to see every day maybe, and who's trajectories in life crossed with ours for a few brief, albeit wonderful moments. Referral sources and locations of our viewers (Facebook, MHS Class of 2000 blog, and Utah) seem to bear out these conclusions. I also think this is possible because I know that I still read their blogs and Facebook walls and annual Christmas cards, and I still care about what goes on in their lives even though I might not see them again for a very long time, if ever. But when I do, I will feel like we are still connected in some small way, despite the years since we talked. Maybe this is a distinctive type of friendship that is only made possible by the advent of social media. Maybe it is not as good as picking up a phone and talking to people, and I understand that criticism...but maybe it also makes it possible to maintain relationships over a long term that would otherwise wither up and die of natural causes. After all, we all have people like that in our lives- buddies from high school or college roommates, friends from another town, or extended family members who no longer play a significant role in our day-to-day activities. But who knows- maybe they are reading this blog.
Well...that was an unexpected detour of thought (something I'm sure forensicists could use to authenticate my writing).
But if in fact, there are scores of old friends reading this, then let it be known that there is one thing I want you to know. Because of all the posts that I write and of all the pictures I put up, or stories that I tell, there is one underlying theme that permeates almost every entry. It is this:
I am totally in love with my wife, Rachel, and living life with her by my side is absolutely the greatest adventure a person could ever hope for.
This week marked our eleven year anniversary, and really there are a lot of things I could say. I could write an entire post about how she is the best friend I have ever had, and how much fun I have just doing stuff with her. I could gush on and on about how impressive it is to me that she is able to so elegantly balance the responsibilities of home life with her advancing career and hobbies. I could talk of shared victories, or heartache, or dreams, and how these things have brought us closer together than I ever thought possible. And it would be easy to lose myself in counting all the ways I am a better person because of her...if anything because she is sometimes the only person willing to call me out and stand her ground when I need to be put in my place. But in the end, nothing I could write would really do justice to what these eleven years have meant. So I'll just leave it at this- I love her dearly and I am honored that she has chosen me to be her partner on the crazy roller-coaster of life.
Eleven years down, and more excited than ever for the rest to follow.
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As far as our week goes, we stayed pretty busy (as always).
To start the weekend off right, we loaded up the car on Friday and headed up into the hills. Camping is getting easier and funner as our kids grow up and can be given more freedom, which really showed on this trip. Here are some pictures:
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| All set up |
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| Evelyn said she was "doin' the Urkel." How does she even know what that is!? Apparently her music teacher taught her. Now, I've never met this teacher, but I would bet that he is probably in her early-mid 30s. |
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| We were throwing rocks in the river and Jackson sort of missed the water and nailed my head instead. |
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| Our traditional fairy house, or in this case, a "fairy fun hotel.". All the kids helped with this one. |
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| I've written about this before, but one of my favorite things about the mountains is waking up early and enjoying the sunrise. On this particular day there was a herd of deer grazing about 50 feet from our tents when I got up. Beautiful. |
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| Evelyn got up early also, and we went on a hike together so the others could sleep. |
When we got back from camping, we had time to clean out the car and take showers before the baby sitter arrived. That afternoon, Rachel and I had a date to see the stage production of Newsies. Let me tell you, this show did not disappoint. Of all the shows I have seen, I cannot think of a single one with as much energy as this one. The choreography and acrobatics of the dance numbers was absolutely stunning, the music brought me back to my childhood, and the stage work was so spectacular that the set itself almost became a character of the play.
To make things even better, we had some of the best seats in the house and could clearly see the ASL interpreter who was one of Rachel's friends/coworkers. This part particularly inspired Rachel, and I would not be surprised at all if she is up there on stage at some point in the near future.
After the show we went to a downtown restaurant for appetizers, and then walked around the mall for a while. It was a great afternoon.
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Sunday, of course, was Mother's Day. The kids and I got up early to make breakfast in bed for Rachel, and we presented her with the various presents the kids had put together. Let me just say that we do not need to plant a garden this year- it already exists in the form of potted plants on our kitchen counter. I guess Evelyn got her wish after all (see last week's post).
One of the projects that Evelyn had done is school for Mother's Day was a persuasion-piece about why her mom should be on the cover of People Magazine. By the structure of the writing, I'm guessing she was told to form 3 arguments to make her case. In order, here they are:
1) She is the best "sports mom." Evelyn elaborates about how Rachel has gone out of her way to do classes for and with each child individually to help them explore their talents, and about how she somehow finds time to go to all their activities. You've got to admit, with five kids, this is pretty impressive.
2) She has an important job. Evelyn realizes that Rachel is a professional and is using her talents to help other people. It is also noticed that this same job is a source of personal fulfillment and enjoyment that is important to Rachel. I think it is really cool that Evelyn is starting to realize this, and even to see it as something worth bragging about.
3) She is the "house chauffeur." It is clear that Evelyn doesn't know what this word means, because in this paragraph she doesn't mention Rachel as a taxi service, but as someone who is able to maintain a mostly put-together household despite the craziness of a big family. I think it was nice for Rachel to get a little recognition from a child on this matter, and yes, she does this spectacularly.
In conclusion, I would have to agree with Evelyn. Her mom is pretty "groovy" (Ev's word, not mine).
To solidify her "groove," we had a family karaoke night and Rachel busted it out pretty spectacularly. Together, we're pretty good at show-tunes or Disney songs, but you won't see us on stage singing any pop music for a while...like...ever. Our rendition of "Just Give Me a Reason" was pretty awful. But that's what karaoke is for, right?
So there you go, an anniversary and Mother's day all in one post- and her birthday is coming up next week. You're pretty awesome, Rach.
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| One more picture for the week. We have been doing a lot of family bike rides lately and it is a lot of fun. It's all I can do to keep up with everyone. |
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