Ben + Kayla = Married (and our trip to Spokane)

This weekend we drove to Spokane to be at Ben's wedding. I was so happy I was there and would not have missed it for anything. Ben has always been a true friend to me and always been there when I needed him. It was hard to believe that it was 10 years ago that we stood in my parents driveway crying as we said good-bye before he left for college. I am so happy that he found Kayla and they are happy and get to start their new life together.

Unfortunately, this is the only picture that I was able to snap at the wedding.

Here is D and I ready for the wedding.

We made the most of our time in Spokane and stayed at this awesome hotel!


Here is the jungle chair that was in our room.

On Saturday, we went to the wedding, then went to D's aunt and uncles house to visit a while. We were able to meet both of his cousin's fiances. They are getting married in June and having a double wedding. It was nice to be able to see them and visit a while. After there, we went to Marie Calendar's to meet all of Ben's family for dinner. It was so great to see everyone and so kind of Lonnie and Sherri to invite us to join them. After dinner we went back to the hotel to go swimming and sit in the hot tub. It was very relaxing and fun.

Sunday morning, we grabbed some coffee (duh!) and met D's aunt and uncle and cousins for church. It was possibly the most friendly church I have ever been to. It was so nice! Everyone talked to us and cared about us and were genuinely excited to have us be there. They were very kind and loving people. I wish everyone who went to church could experience what we did last Sunday.

After church, we went to explore a little bit. We hit the River Front Park and Spokane Falls in downtown Spokane. The sun was out but it was a little chilly as we walked around and enjoyed the sights. Spokane Falls was incredible, especially since it is right in the middle of the city. The water was so loud and we were getting misted by the water while standing on the bridge.








After River Front Park we drove to Manito park to eat lunch. Manito Park is my most favorite place in the world. (I'm pretty easy to please). I have great memories of this park on my visits to Ben over the last 10 years. It is just beautiful and I often find myself daydreaming of this duck pond and willow tree. (there is a bench under the willow tree which is perfect for reading a book on a warm day)! It was cold though, so we didn't explore the whole park, we just ate lunch at the duck pond and then walked through the Japanese Gardens. Nothing was really blooming yet, but it was still nice.




On our way home, we were pretty hungry for dinner around Hood River. D knew of a look out spot off the freeway, so we headed up the hill and ate dinner while looking at this.....


I don't know why, but I thought it would be fun to video tape some of our trip home through the Gorge (which was beautiful while the sun was setting)! So join us for part of our trip home....




Then I was going to give D a chance to redeem himself and proclaim his love for me, but instead you get him telling me not to do it "with the truck right there!"



So let's try that again (please ignore my super annoying laugh. I hate myself for that laugh, but whatever. I think it's funny.)....

The End.

Happy Birthday D (yesterday)

With absolutely no photographic evidence that yesterday even took place, we successfully celebrated D's 34th birthday.

I picked him up from work for lunch and treated him to some yummy pasta at Bugatti's and then to Starbucks for a coffee for me. At lunch, I felt bad because I was in a BAD mood. Had nothing to do with him (all work stuff) and I kept telling myself to snap out of it because I didn't want to ruin his day. I finally apologized for being in a bad mood, to which he said,"it's okay, you can always just be you with me, and if you're in a bad mood that's okay too. I still love you." (this is why he deserves to have his b-day celebrated for 34 days!!!)

Bad mood out the window!

He told me all the people that had called/text him to wish him a happy birthday. My whole family had sent him birthday wishes, which meant A LOT to him (and me)! Thank you family, you're the best.

We wanted to then play hooky the rest of the day so we could be together, but we didn't. Because we're responsible you know! So back to work we went. Well kind-of, I stopped home to kiss on my sweet niece who I knew was there. But then off to work I went!

After work we changed and we're looking pretty nice! I had a new black dress on with my cute black heels, D wore his gray pants I love and a white/silver button up shirt and boy did he look handsome! (why, oh why did I forget to take pictures of us!) We jumped in the car and headed downtown to the 30th floor of the US Bank Tower for an amazing dinner at Portland City Grill. We even got a window seat with a view of the river and Mt. Hood! I ordered macadamia nut crusted chicken breast and a salad and D order the filet mignon with a salad. It was sooooo delicious! It was worth saving up for! And he LOVED it and was so excited to eat there. It is his favorite restaurant but hadn't been there since we went 2 years ago for his birthday.

Were you expecting a gushy Happy Birthday D post? I know, I was too. But, we all know how much I love him. I want him to feel loved and respected everyday of the year. I want to honor and cherish him, because he deserves it. And those things are so easy to do, because that is how he treats me. I know I have said it a million times before, but he truly is the best man I have ever known. Happy Birthday D, I love you so very deeply.

T-minus 1 Day

Yesterday was ONE day until D's birthday. He got home, we ate dinner, played a couple games of Rack-o (because we're cool like that) and I told him he needed to be ready to leave the house at 7.

Several weeks ago, D had mentioned that he would like to go see the movie State of Play.

>>>>>Mental note for Tami <<<<<

So I coordinated with J, S and T (D's 'boyfriends') and they were scheduled to pick D up at 7 and go see the movie. I had bought the tickets earlier (side note: I always buy movie tickets at costco now...instead of costing me $42.00, it only cost me $30!), so all they needed to worry about was getting D and walking in. Oh, and I told them to text me when they were driving into D's neighborhood.

Anyway, D and I were sitting on the couch in the front room. I'm telling him I love him, Happy Birthday, you're amazing....blah, blah, etc.

I get the text. The guys are almost here.

So....

I say: "Remember how you wanted to go see that movie, State of Play?
D says: "yes."
I say: "well, tonight you get to see it." And then I pull out 4 tickets and hand them to him.


I say: "And I am not going with you."
D looks really confused, and then I pull the blinds, and he sees J, S and T walking up the path.
D says: "My friends are HERE!"

Oh my word, it was adorable, like a little boy seeing his friends coming to play. Precious I tell you.

He put on his shoes and practically skipped out the door.
The other guys didn't mind a night out and a free movie either.

I love that he was happy and excited. That's was birthdays are for!!!


In other news......

I spent last weekend with D and his family in PH. It weather was gorgeous so we spent sometime outside playing with his nephews. Here are some cute pictures.

D and his brother B throwing to the boys

Caden, who turned 3 the day before, catching for Uncle D

Blake, 4, hitting his dad's pitches

Caden covering his face after his dad nailed him in the face (with a softer ball)

Administrative Professionals Day

AKA.....Secretary's Day!

Every year, I forget about it. And then mysterious things show up on my desk and confuse me.
Today, I looked at my calendar and all it said was "Earth Day."

Well, that's weird I think.

And then I look at Bob's calendar....."Secretary's Day.....Take Tami to lunch."

It all makes sense now.

The cards, the flowers...






And the free lunch at my favorite lunch place....




This was so kind, more things to be thankful for because I work for Bob....at least for a few more weeks until he is called to re-retirement.

Getting Closer! Happy Birthday: Day 2

April 21....
2 days before D's birthday......
and a fun night for:

A BANANA SPLIT PARTY!

I secretly invited D's friends over and we watched the Blazer game and had banana splits and wished D a very happy birthday!

All the yummy toppings to make the perfect banana split
(this picture is missing the ice cream and bananas.....but you get the point!)

It was a fun night to see everyone and remind D how special he is.


After all, life with him.......




Is a bowl of cherries!

Change of Plans

I was so excited for last night. D and I had planned on going out to the tulip fields. (going on a weekday is only $5) Anyway, we jumped in the car after work, stopped by Subway for a bite to eat and headed to the tulip fields, where we could hold hands and stroll through the flowers, take pictures and just talk and be together.....at least this is how I pictured the evening in my head.

We pulled up to the fields at 6:26 and then saw the sign.
Open 9 am - 6 pm. What the heck? I thought they would stay open until it was dark, but I was wrong. Oh well.

So we just drove past the tulip field and were able to see what has bloomed from the road.
As it turns out, I am glad that we didn't give them our $5 quite yet...because the weather has been weird and cold....the fields haven't fully bloomed yet.....so I am happy we didn't try to skip together through the flowers only for there to be no flowers.

So we took a VERY scenic route home, we just kept driving past the tulip field with no real idea where we would end up. On our impromptu road trip we saw beautiful views of Mt. Hood almost the whole way, we saw beautiful old farm houses one after the other, we saw old men on their tractors, we saw the CUTEST little old white church with a little reader board that said "welcome our new pastor and family." How adorable is that? I want to go to church there. We saw lots of old churches and old school buildings. I told D that I would love to buy a really old farm house and fix it up all cute and nice. Then he said, "Well babe, you know would have to live in the country to do that, right?" LOL, whatever.

We ended up in Oregon City somehow and then west linn on hwy 43 and made our way home at 8:30. So for 2 hours, I sat in the car (really car sick at some points) next to the one I love and soaked up God's beautiful creation and all of D's attention. It was wonderful, relaxing and unexpectedly romantic.

Once home, D went for a run.....and I went for an ice cream.

Blessed

Sometimes I get frustrated with where I am in life. I thought I would be somewhere different by this time. Not, to say my life is bad. It definitely is not. But you know what I mean, occasionally when I am reflecting, I think..."Really?....this is where I'm at?"

But I love moments like this morning, when you are reminded, where you are at is still YOUR LIFE and your life is blessed!

Today there was a handsome man walking around the HCS district office, and he was looking for me! And with him, were presents.

for me.

When he found me he told me how lucky he was to have me, how much he appreciated his birthday events and how they made him feel special.

I cried.

And remembered what a blessed life that I actually do lead.

And in case I happen to forget again today, these are on my desk to remind me once again.

Coffee and flowers...two of my very favorite things!

Weekend Birthday Pictures

Alright, so Sunday after church we headed up to the Gorge and went hiking around at Bridal Veil Falls State Park. The weather was beautiful, absolutely perfect. It was so much fun! I think D really enjoyed it too....at least he acted like he did.

Here are our hiking shoes



Here's what we saw:

I really HATE this picture! I look like a really fat "special" person. But whatever, it was part of the experience.

On Friday, we went to Stanford's for happy hour! It was so fun and relaxing, and we were able to get there before the crowds, that that was awesome! We both got sodas, we got spinach dip, mac and cheese, a southwest salad and a cesear salad all for $18. That's a good deal!




Oh and this is just random, but on of the days last week, I gave D this frame with some fun pictures in it. He loved it!

Weekend Birthday Plans

Day 21 (today): In honor of how happy he makes me and celebrating a happy birthday we are going to happy hour tonight at Stanford's. Cheesy, I know! But cheesy is how I roll. :)

Day 20 (Saturday): I wrapped up 2 diet Dr. Pepper's, some SF licorice, popcorn and a movie he wanted to see and we are having an at-home movie night.

Day 19 (Sunday): I am going to take advantage of the sun that is suppose to be coming, and we're putting on our tennis shoes and grabbing a bottle of water and headed out on a hike to a waterfall at some state park (that I can't remember the name of right now). He loves hiking and being outside, so it should be a great day!

This isn't the weekend, but I will let you know about Day 18 (Monday) too! His new house backs up to the MS and a basketball court. D doesn't have a basketball.....which is weird to me since he LOVES basketball. Anyway, I got him a nice ball and in honor or the NCAA championship game on Monday, I am giving him his new ball and challenging him to a game of HORSE!

Really banking on him not reading this.....I don't think he does since I changed blogs. Anyway, I am pretty excited for his birthday plans as we count down to the real day on the 23rd. Fun times for sure!