10 Years

10 years ago I married the man of my dreams.
In a little brick church, in a valley in the mountains.

I met my husband at work.
You see, my boss Renate, at the store where I worked, changed jobs to Wal-Mart of all places and she begged and pleaded with me to come work for her there.

I stood my ground and told her no way was I going to give up my relatively cool job with awesome discount perks to go work in the jewelry department at Wal-Mart!

She persisted and finally won me over with the prospect of health care, a bigger paycheck and really good looking guys in the next department.

Alas, I gave in....despite my better judgment.

On my very first day at my new job, my friend Justin was giving me a tour of all the departments. Directly across the aisle from my department was electronics.

Boy was Renate right. There were some seriously good looking guys in that department....this job may not be half bad!

I was introduced to them and this one tall blond and beautiful man stood out from the group. Justin informed me his name was "Stick."

Stick? Ok. Obviously a nickname and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out it had something to do with his 6'4" 165 lbs. body. He did resemble a stick quite a bit.
So a little time passes and I become friends with the electronics department boys. "Stick" is very flirty, amazingly smart, unbelievably handsome and super sweet to boot.

I had a serious crush.

Finally one day he asks me out to a movie. We had a large group of friends from work that we hung out with, and I half assumed they would be joining us. But when the time came it was just "Stick" and I.

I can still remember the butterflies in my stomach when I saw him standing there.

Our first date. We saw Contact. After the movie we went out to the marsh and watched Hale Bopp. Remember that comet?

So now lets fast forward a year. Same place. It's late at night because I had to close. It's pouring down rain. Stick, who I now call Chris picks me up from work. He packed a romantic picnic dinner of Taco Bell.

We park and eat our dinner. Finally he pulls a box out of his coat pocket and hands it to me.

"Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife" those were his words. I didn't even open the box and tears were streaming down my face as I screamed YES!!!!

Now, fast forward another year.

May 1, 1999. 6:30 PM on a Saturday. In a little brick church, in a valley in the mountains, by candlelight and with 350 witnesses I vowed to love him forever.

After we were married our lives drastically changed. He enlisted the Navy four months after our wedding.

We moved to Chicago for a year while he was in school. I got pregnant.

We moved to San Diego, California for four years. We had a baby.

We moved to Pullman, Washington for three years, for college. He was commissioned an officer in the Navy and accepted to the submarine program.

We moved to Charleston, South Carolina for a year and a half while he went through nuclear schools.

Finally we moved to Poulsbo, Washington and bought a home.

Through it all we grew stronger. Every hurdle he jumped, he did for us. Every day of hard work he put in, he did it for our little family.

Friday is our 10 year anniversary. And that man I said "I do" to is still the most handsome and wonderful man on Earth. He is my world. I am so grateful to have the honor of saying I am his Wife.

So today I am looking at the pictures of a gray Saturday evening. In a little brick church, in a valley in the mountains where I vowed to love him forever.

Happy Anniversary Chris. I love you forever.

4 out of 5 bartenders will agree that Navy wives have more fun!

Last night I spent a few fun filled hours chatting up some of my bestest submariner wives. (Holly, why can't you move back?)

We had a little get together at a fantastic Mexican place in Port Orchard. Lots of food, margaritas, and fun. The perfect recipe.

Carrie and I were identical twins. So 7th grade, I know. I swear to God we didn't call each other and plan it out.
But we both showed up wearing matching jeans, matching red Kentucky polo's and white shirts underneath. Yep. Identical. So what did we do? We sat next to each other of course!

About 40 of us showed. Unfortunately there was a really small wardroom turnout. Only four of us. That was depressing seeing as I only know a handful of the enlisted wives and a couple of the wardroom wives are leaving our little club soon so I will miss them!
None the less, we made the best of it and had tons of fun.

We had door prizes and I won a spa set. Which I think I will use tonight.
Carrie won basically the same thing. Twinsies again!
Becks won...something that I can't remember and Kim won a Starbucks gift card. Meanie. I should have been twinsies with her.

It was obnoxiously loud and the alcohol was flowing.
Finally the party started to wind down. Some of the ladies decided to take the party to a local bar. They kidnapped the captains wife and took her with them! She wasn't complaining, however.

I decided to head home seeing as I live a good half hour away.
Happily I can report everyone made it home safely and a good time was had by all.
Can't wait until the next one!

Three cheers for the Navy!!!

Hip hip hooray!
Let me tell you a little story about my friend Stacy.
She and I met in Idaho while our husbands were in college. Both of them were in the seaman to admiral program at the University of Idaho.
We spent three years shopping, gossiping and getting manicures. We were like totally college co-eds!
Well, coeds with kids....disturbing isn't it?
Anyway, we quickly because the best of friends. Finally the day came that we had to part. Chris graduated and we moved to South Carolina. I was sad to say the least.
6 months later, Anthony graduated and they moved to Virginia. Lucky for me (but not for them) Stacy and the boys had to spend the first 6 months in Florida because they didn't have a house in Virginia yet and Anthony was heading out to sea for two to three weeks at a time.
So Stacy had to drive back and fourth between the two. Guess what's directly in between Florida and Virginia...I'll give you a hint My old house!
So I got to see her once in a while, but eventually they bought a home and her parents moved away from Florida and her travels up and down the Atlantic coast were over. then I moved again. This time to the opposite side of the country.
But, Stacy had other problems then my moved cross country.
but that all changed last week.

First, her husband has been deployed for over 7 months. In that time Stacy had a baby. Sweet little Hunter. Who is no longer little as he was born a month after his Dad deployed.

Well Anthony, Stacy's husband has returned! He finally came home where he was reunited with Stacy, their two older boys and the newest member of their little family. That new member is crawling, has teeth and eats solid food now...but that doesn't matter now because Anthony is Home!!!

So everything is hunky dory at their house. I'm naturally thrilled for her.
However I'm more excited because the Navy also decided to give Anthony a welcome home gift.

New orders.

To WASHINGTON! You heard me. They will be living not 10 miles form me. And, no short ferry ride either. Nope. He will be stationed on this side of the pond!

My manicure and Starbucks buddy will be here this fall!!!!!
I'm so excited.

You Are My Sunshine.....You Make Me Happy, When Skies Are Clear....

Today was absolutely gorgeous here in the Pacific Northwest. I mean, Hawaii would be jealous, gorgeous.

The temperature was a warm 65 and the sky was deep blue and sun was brilliant.

It's days like this that make everyone love the NW. Yes, we have our rain and that keeps everything nice and green.

But days like today are like our own private reward for being tolerant and biding our time in the rain.

There is no place on the planet more beautiful than Seattle (and the Olympic Peninsula) on a sunny day. Hands down. And I have lived in a LOT of traditionally sunny places, where people spend lots of money to go on fabulous vacations because of the sun and palm trees.

Nope, they've got nothing on the Pacific Northwest.

So thank you Mr. Sun for gracing us with your presence today. You have been dearly missed and we are so happy to have you back.

On a totally related side note...due to the presence of the big shiny yellow orb, the flowers, trees and grass have decided to wake up from their long winters nap.

Yes, this is very pretty...it also causes massive headaches due to my severe allergies to all things native to my home.
This caused many problems when I was a child...something I conveniently forgot when I was desperate to move back home.

So I will have to make an appointment with my doctor and get some good allergy medication because I don't plan on leaving my paradise any time soon.

Hippity Hoppity Easter's on it's way....

Today Gracie and I spent a fun filled morning with good friends.
At the annual USS Kentucky Gold Easter Egg Hunt.

Gracie was thrilled to see her friends. One of which she saw all of three days ago...but you would have thought it had been years.

The festivities got underway around 10:30. The sun was shining and it actually looked like Spring. I know, I was shocked too.

I watched the ducks in the pond and chatted with good friends while the kids played in the playground.

Finally they did the actual "hunting."

Gracie only got 15 eggs but that's not because she was slow. No my daughter would find an egg, open it up and if the prize inside wasn't to her liking, she put it back together and threw it back on the ground for the next kid to pick up.

When I asked her "why" she was doing that her simple reply was "I don't want to get any crap like the football stickers in that last one"
Finally after a few eggs that were "Gracie approved" were in her basket, she started just picking them up without the inspection.

After the egg hunt, Gracie and I headed to the mall. She desperately needed new jeans. We went to Penney's (Why do I feel like my Grandmother whenever I say that?) and bought a few really cute bedazzled pairs and some capris.

We lunched in the food court. Nothing it to good for my daughter. Then she got her picture taken with the Easter Bunny. I hate to admit it, but it was $20 well spent. Super cute picture.

After that we headed home where she enjoyed what was left of the sunshine, outside with the neighbor kids. The temp was only 50 at it's peak today, but the blue sky was pretending to be closer to 70.

After an hour or so outside, a frantic neighbor boy tears into my house "Mrs. Abplanalp, Gracie fell in the pond!!!" Naturally I have visions of the worst in my head. Once I got over to her, it was her pride that was wounded, nothing else.

She was wet, head to toe. Dripping wet. I covered her up in my sweatshirt and got her home and into a warm bath.

She is perfectly fine now, but her clothes are soaking in the washer as we speak because you should see the layer of mud she brought out the the pond with her. Ugh!

All in all it's been a perfectly pleasant day. Even Gracie thinks so...once she warmed up.