Two Years Old going on - Forever

Happy Two-Year Anniversary to us!

Every day hasn't been a perfect walk in the park. Our marriage so far is more like a hike to a mountain peak with ups and downs, a heavy backpack, sore muscles, beautiful views, refreshing breezes, wild flowers along the way and the anticipation of the exhileration of reaching the top together.

Since we'll have Junior with us for our next anniversary, we decided to "live it up" this year with a month long party. We began our celebration with the waterfalls and trees on the shore of Lake Superior one Friday. Saturday, we saw Phantom of the Opera. A walk around a 50's car show with a dance to old school rock and roll continued the celebration. And, though the drum core competition show was a blast and a bang, it wasn't the end. On the day of our anniversary, we went out to dinner and split a chicken cashew salad sandwich and a pizza. Mmmm. Nothing says marital bliss like sharing yummy food.

We are so in love with each other. I could share all our mushy in-loveness, but it's sometimes in Spanish (and I know some of you speak Spanish). So, I'll spare you and you can enjoy some anniversary quotes instead:

A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance and tenacity. The order varies for any given year. ~Paul Sweeney

Our wedding was many years ago. The celebration continues to this day. ~Gene Perret

It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life. ~Rita Rudner

Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

The highest happiness on earth is marriage. ~William Lyon Phelps

True love stories never have endings. ~Richard Bach

Baby's First Real Hike

Okay, so the little guy didn't do much except come along for the ride. I guess technically, his first hike was in December at just a couple weeks as an embryo. But, he is a lot bigger now (almost 4 lbs), so it counts more, especially since I was carrying him.

A couple Fridays ago, before Pedro started his judicial externship, I took off work and we headed north to Lake Superior. I loved getting away from the city to the rivers, trees and trails of some state parks a few hours up the coast. We hiked about a total of 10 miles near waterfalls, by a lighthouse and along the Superior Hiking Trail. I LOVE THE MOUNTAINS! It felt so good to breathe really clean, fresh air and hike a trail where we didn't see other people for at least an hour or two.

On one hike, Pedro saw some sun glasses in a river. He waded in and rescued them only to discover they were kids' glasses.

Important note: In my opinion, hiking is not hiking without some type of elevation in some type of natural nature. There is not a lot of elevation in the Twin Cities area, though there are a few places of natural nature.

15+ tomato plants and 10 . . .

peppers (green bell, golden bell, purple, jalapeno, etc.), 2 eggplant, 4 lettuce (romaine), 3 strawberry, 3 watermelon, a lemon tree, cantaloupe, zucchini, butternut and spaghetti squash, raspberry, grape, cucumber, oregano, rosemary, another herb of some sort and possible a few plants I forgot to name have joined our family in the past month. And, those are just our vegetables. We planted two rose bushes and more than 100 bulbs of various flowers including lilies (my favorites). We're realizing you don't grow vegetables to save money on groceries, but to enjoy the efforts of work and the beauty of creation.

Pedro has been practicing his nurturing/gardening skills, and I must say he is quite good. He built fences to keep the squirrels and rabbits out. He waters every day - very carefully. He kills the caterpillars. And, he likes to look at the growing plants each day.I helped plant some of our little greenies and I water sometimes, but it is getting a little harder for me to bend over like I used to be able to do. You can see from the picture above our little Pedrito is starting to bulge out a bit more. He moves frequently, sometimes it feels like he is dancing the Charleston - he takes after his father.

Spring lasted about a week with a gorgeous rainbow, then summer hit. We are loving the warm weather. This morning we went kayaking on one of the local lakes. Even though every lake is surrounded by lake front houses, it felt so good to be out on the water in the breeze reading to Pedro as he paddled us around.

Saltena Cravings & the Belly Bump

This is my 25-week belly bump. The little boy who is making this belly bump kicks - A LOT! The doctor says he has a very healthy heartbeat. This active kid will keep us active, no doubt.

On Friday at work, I nearly bought a ticket for Arlington, Virginia, where there are a few good Bolivian restaurants because I was craving a saltena. I walked down to Arby's hoping a sandwich would curb the craving, but the artificialness of fastfood got to me, and I walked back to work without buying anything.

Over the next two days I spent several hours - I listened to a whole book on c.d. - making saltenas. The filling has to refrigerate over night. But, they actually turned out pretty good. Pedro loved them and actually burned his tongue a couple times because he didn't want to wait for one to cool. When asked to comment, he said, "--------." He just kept eating - a good sign.

Happy Easter!

Easter is a wonderful time of rememberance and renewal. I love seeing beautiful flowers in the spring time. But, everlastingly more beautiful is the Resurrection of Christ. We are so grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ who suffered for our sins, died, was resurrected and lives. HE LIVES! And, because of Him we have the assurance that we, too, will live again after death. If we keep His commandments we can live with our families forever in eternal life. What an amazing gift! We recommit to commemmorate Easter not just today, but each week as we partake of the sacrament and renew our covenants.

Gloria to God! Hosanna to the Lamb!

Families can be together forever!!!

Florida Part Two

My aunt, Sharla, and enjoyed the World's Showcase at Epcot. Did I mention before that I LOVED wearing sandals every day I was in Florida? Happy feet.

My last post mentioned that the airshow was canceled - tornado warnings happen, you know. But, surprise, later that day my aunt heard the jets, so we drove over to the Air Force base in time to see the Navy's Blue Angels perform an amazing show. The pictures aren't the greatest. I wish I'd had my SLR camera and lens instead of the little point-and-shoot. Also, the jets were a lot closer than they appear in the pics. Imagine seeing five or six blue jets flying at 400 - 600 miles per hour scarily-close together right over your head.

Sunday evening we went for a walk on the beach. Amazing sunset! How could anyone be atheist?

On beautiful, sunny Monday, my aunt and I drove their speed boat around the bay and out into the Gulf of Mexico. Green and blue are my favorite colors (though I like red a lot, too)! I loved driving the boat. I derived a simple joy of zig-zagging across the water and seeing the shape of the wake behind us. My aunt says Pedro and I should get a boat because I'm a "natural". Who knew? I did keep my speed under control for the baby's sake. We watched birds comokasi dive into the water for a fishy breakfast. And, we saw a dolphin - such beautiful creatures. To top it off, I got a sunburn on my left arm. My Minnesota friends will be so jealous. j/k I must have put sunscreen on my right arm twice. I blame it on the pregnancy - not my baby, but the pregnancy.

Even a rainy day in Florida is fabulous because, hey, it's Florida

I am treating myself to a quick trip out of the frozen Northland to visit an aunt in Florida. We enjoyed an amazingly perfect, sunny day at Epcot on Thursday. I loved the Canadian Celtic rock band "Off Kilter." My growing baby boy joyfully devoured a Norwegian sandwich. (I like to attribute any extreme or unstable physical or emotional states of being to my sweet little fetus.) As a pregnant lady, I couldn't ride all the rides, but we had a great time walking around the World's Showcase and analyzing Disney's political/cultural agenda.

Now, in northern Florida near an Air Force base, my aunt feels bad because they cancelled the airshow due to a tornado/storm warning. But, I can't be too disappointed because even though the rain is pouring down, I'm just happy to be out of 0* coldness.

Also, my tummy popped out this week, so my pants are a little too tight for comfort. We went on a successful, little shopping trip so now I don't have to walk around with the top button undone.

It's a boy!!!