The Date

On June 3rd, Justin & I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary. I have been married to this adorable man for 17 whole years! Auntie Rara & Auntie Memmy watched the boys for us so we could go on a date. A real, honest-to-goodness date. It's been simply months since we got out of the house alone together. And a lovely date it was. He took me to Red Robin.....so I could have the french onion soup I've been begging him for. Our dates usually are at Texas Road House. Every. Single. Time. Almost. Which is fine. They have good steak. However, it was my turn to choose. I didn't get a chance to choose, though, because Justin announced to me that we were going to go get me my French onion soup at Red Robin. He can be sweet like that. Afterward, we went to a movie. I really, really, REALLY did NOT want to see Thor. However, I think there may have been a method to his afore-mentioned "sweetness". French onion soup sitting happily in my belly, how could I say no to the man? I mean, just look at his cute little face. I've always had a problem saying no to that face. Hence our 6 children. I have no idea why, but I actually liked the movie, as cheesy as it was. It might have just been the company I was in; I could enjoy brussel sprouts with that man! Anywhere he is, I am happy to just be with him. Except for the auto parts store. I'm not very happy there, so I just stay in the car & read my book. But I look joyfully forward to his return. Oh. Or the sporting goods store. Can you say Zzzzzzzzz? And the electronics department? Forget about it! But everywhere else, I'm just happy to be with him. He's my FAVORITE person to watch dumb movies with.

Seriously, I am so in love with this man. I know I will get all kinds of eye-rolling & groans from some of my readers.....especially from Justin's sisters (aka: Aunties Rara & Memmy), cuz....eeewwww......he's their icky brother. But this man is my hero, best friend, & lover. Every time I see him loving our boys, I love him a little more. Every time I see him raising his big, strong arms in worship, I love him a little more. Every time he holds me when I cry, I love him a little bit more. He makes me feel safe, beautiful & cherished. He is the knight in this family who fixes everything and rescues all the damsels in his family (meaning his sisters, mother & myself). He works hard to support me & all of our little squatters. Meanwhile, I get to stay home & live out my dreams of homeschooling, of mothering, of writing & of music. If I was a single and/or working mom, there's no way I would get to do all the things I am so privileged to enjoy in my blessed life. Even though the boys tend to break & destroy everything they touch...........and everything is this house just somehow falls apart........constantly......Justin manages to repair what needs repairing. As often as it's needed. Which IS often. Very. Often. Has marriage always been easy? Nope. It's been hard work for both of us. I am no pic-nic. And he snores really loud sometimes. But I'd marry him all over again.......as long as he promised not to make me go into Shucks. I think he should watch Anne of Green Gables with me next. It's my turn to pick the movie.

THE GIG!!! {AKA: Heather's 2nd Childhood}

The SweetTarts gig went really well.  Several loving & supportive friends & family came to see us play.......as well as people just walking by downtown. We even had some people who stopped on the side walk and danced to our tunes. It was a blast! Michelle's sister, husband & their 2 adorable boys were there, cheering us on. Of course, all of my boys & Justin were there as the work crew, helping to set up the equipment, as well as showing support. They stayed through both of our sets, standing out in the cold for hours, bless their hearts. My fingers were half-frozen on the keys through it all. But I was able to stay warm enough with all the adrenaline of my nerves & trying not to mess up too badly! We played several great tunes: Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams", Gloria Gainer's "I Will Survive" (which we ROCKED, if I do say so myself), U2's "New Year's Day", Madonna's "Borderline", Simon & Garfunkel's "Hazy Shade of Winter", Heart's "Magic Man" (which Michelle blew out of the water with the amazing notes she hit) & many more. 

Here's a little VIDEO sample Seth recorded for me. It's not great sound/image quality as it was taken with my phone. It's not our best song either; Seth didn't record my very favorites. But it'll do.

                                                         

Michelle: Angelic Lead Vocalist

                       Carrie: Totally Awesome Drummer Chick

Chris: Rockin' Electric Guitarist & Vocalist; also very secure in his masculinity to be a "SweetTart". He is kinda like our coach as well & helps us hold it all together, musically speaking. 

         Shayne: Crazy-amazing bassist & also my dear, dear friend!

Just lil' ole me: pretending to know what I'm doing....& havin' fun!

                             
     It was fun & all went well. Don't know if I'll do this forever...........but it's sure fun for right now! Thanks to everyone who came out to see us! Thanks, as well, to my loving husband.........who lets me out of the house for band practice & supports pretty much any little ole thing I try to do. How dearly I love him.      

The Camping Trip

 Our camping trip was.......wet & cold. We got rained on, hailed on & even snowed on. But that didn't stop us from having plenty of fun & adventure.


                          
Justin & the little boys got some fishing time in, though I'm sure all the fishies were hiding under rocks in the river somewhere, trying to stay warm. None of them were kind enough to take the bait.
 
 
            
 Seth finally got to try out the bow & arrows he got for Christmas.

        Jarod & Micah got to shoot the BB guns they got for their birthdays.

I was pretty nervous about the boys going around shooting real (& sort of real) weapons in the woods, but Justin thoroughly instructed them on weapon safety & conduct & how to NOT accidentally shoot your brother. I made them come up out of the woods to the camper, practically every 10 minutes, to drill them on the rules & make sure they were still alive, eyeballs in-tact & all. Kind of a nerve-wracking thing for a mama......but I guess it's something I'd better get used to. Boys & their toys. *Sigh* Can't we just stick with Nerf guns, please?!!!! (There were plenty of Nerf gun wars as well, BTW.)

All of my men had fun chopping wood for the fire. Their contests of strength were quite entertaining, as you can see in this video:

                   We did lots of exploring......

                                         .............and playing in God's playground!

       The sun came halfway out ONCE, for a couple hours..........

                              .....so I let the kids play in the sand & water a little bit.

Especially frightening & traumatizing for me was that Justin let Seth drive (for the first time ever) the Suburban..... 20 WHOLE feet. Is it REALLY time for the driving thing to start??????

    My little bouquet from Justin & the boys. They are so sweet to me.

Justin tried to get a little fire started. He managed, somehow, to ignite wet wood. He's pretty amazing like that.

   The mommy & baby Hobbits warmed their feet by the fire.

We spent most of our time INSIDE of our lovely camper (which I am so thankful my man bought for me this year), wishing the sun would come out & the rain would stop.

It was a little challenging trying to keep the kids entertained during the many hours we spent inside the camper.

                                        

   I rather thought Jarod's creation of winter trees was appropriate.

DAY 2: Relatively clean & happy!

                                   
                                          DAY 4: A little less clean & happy.....

                           

                    We all did lotsa snugglin' to stay warm!

                    Even the dogs snuggled for warmth.

      Seth had the immense privilege of studying for his finals while camping.

 For fun in the camper, I made a tent in the boys' "bedroom" & gave them flashlights, so they could....like...you know.....pretend they were camping!!!  

                         
We had planned to camp for a whole week, but by the evening of day 4, we were ready to come home to dry out & warm up!

                                            
      At least Jarod had something to show for his "hunting" endeavors. ;)