i fell in love with my husband ...

All over again. Seriously big sigh ...

You know how you just get caught up in the same ol' routines? Day in and day out. Stressin' about this, stressin' about that? We lead a pretty busy and somewhat complicated life and sometimes we just lose ourselves ... our marriage, in all of the craziness.

For Christmas the past couple of years, I've given Curt a trip away for just the two of us. He loves it and hey, it's just icing for me, right?

This year, I picked a place on the Turks & Caicos islands ... beautiful! I've been to the islands twice before and stayed somewhere different, so this was fun to explore a new place.

We were instantly relaxed ... seriously relaxed!

The place was quiet, pristine, private ... totally private! Everyone stayed in private pavilions which were situated on I-don't-even-know-how-many acres. And the pavilions were all nestled back in lush vegetation so you couldn't see anyone else.

Here's a photo of ours. There are three sides of full floor-to-ceiling glass walls, so you could see the views all around you. Seriously beautiful. {warning: I may use the word 'seriously' in this post way too much}

A view from our pavilion deck.

A view from our bathroom ... our bed is just beyond this wall ... you can see the seriously beautiful views we had.

A sunset {reflected off the window}. This is our little outdoor dining area. So the views weren't spoiled, it was built-in ... seriously genius!

The pavillion at night ...

Me on our first night to dinner. Gotta love wearing a $19.00 old navy dress to a fancy-schmancy dinner place!

I surprised CJ one night with a beach cove dinner. Had his fav planned for the menu ... anyone? anyone? You guessed it ... cheeseburger and fries. I can just hear his mommy saying, "oh Curtie!"

Lastly, if you wanted privacy ... they had this little wooden starfish that you hung on one of the lights on the path to your pavilion ... how cute?

We had a seriously awesome time {okay, I think I'm done using seriously ... I may have lost a few readers with that}. It was just so great, and so needed to get away and recharge our marital batteries.

We missed the kids terribly ... but we were able to talk without being interupted, we slept, we laughed, we ate, we laid, we read, we kissed, held hands, walked, and had fun ... with each other.

I think every marriage needs time away. Sometimes we'll just take a weekend and head to Chicago if we can. I just think it's so important for a marriage. It's so easy to get caught up in the kids and the calendar that sometimes you lose sight of what is holding the whole thing together in the first place {after God that is ...}.

Click here to see a few more photos. Now if you'll excuse me ... I've got a couple buckets of mail that need tending to ...

monday randomness

Look what I just ordered!!  Do you 'Etsy?'  If not, you totally should!!  I get emails from them on featured products and this camera was featured yesterday.  I'm too excited.

A few years ago, my brother-in-law found an old vintage camera and thought I would be the perfect owner of it ... I've had it up on my shelf since then.  And for my last birthday, Heather gave me another vintage camera {awesome Etsy find}.  So when I saw this one I thought ... I'm going to start a little vintage camera collection!  Can't wait to get it!

Lastly, I wanted to share a little hubby humor ... I think you ladies will appreciate this:

So ... after my last appointment with my neurologist, I called Curt to tell him about my appointment {after all, wouldn't he be anxious to know how it went?}.  First, I asked him how things went with the girls in the morning {he was on drop off duty}, and we talked about that for a bit.  Then before I knew it, we were hanging up.

I called back and told him I called to tell him about my appointment.  "Oh yeah," he says, "I was going to ask."  Hmmm.

I mist up a little and tell him about touching my cheek instead of my nose.  And then ... get ready for this ...

"Were you trying?" he asks.  WHAT?!?  Um, yeah ... I promise I was trying my hardest to touch my nose!  I think he sensed a bit of frustration on my end, so he tries again.

"I mean were you being cautious," he says.  Hubby just dug a hole that he's trying hard to get out of.

I cautiously end our conversation.  {and then probably asked God to forgive me for all the horrible things I just thought about the poor man I married!}

But that's not the end ...

A couple days later, he's asking about my appointment this week {today}, and asks, "Have you been practicing?"

MEN!!

daddy's home!

I may have mentioned it once or twice, but I love my husband{!} and thought it was worth sharing again.

We miss him so much when he's gone.  I never seem to quite realize how we function as a complete unit when he's here, and I always realize how much I take for granted when he's gone.

He was in Japan last week and it seems even harder when he's that far away.  His waking hours are completely different than ours, so phone time is limited.

He sent some sweet texts on his way home that I wanted to share ...

7:55 pm - on plane and leaving now; love you call u when I get in

8:07 pm - good night lover ... see u soon

8:30 pm - do we have time for our dinner?

8:48 pm - plane an hour late leaving ...

9:15 pm - hope baby is creamed and soft!!  {i feel this needs explanation ...}

9:32 pm - on plane now.  late ...

I didn't get these until much later, but just thought his random stream of thoughts was so sweet.  Okay, and let me explain ... he is a freak about our children!  The baby's {see!  he calls her a baby too!!} skin gets super dry in the winter and he freaks out about it.  He's constantly slathering her down with lotion.

It's just one of the reasons I love him so much.  Yeah, I get a bit irritated when he's here about some of his freaky, little quirks {or maybe the intenseness of them} ... but when he's gone, it causes me to step back and really appreciate him.

So he finally gets home and just like I predicted ... we smothered him!!  And he loved every minute.

He brought all kinds of little goodies for the girls ... but when he busted out the purses and the little treasures to put inside of them ... I had to get out the camera.  It just melted my heart that a man would get his girlies purses and think to buy treasures to put inside.

I love my husband.  A lot.

And for any photogs that are reading ... I thought I'd share my camera settings and see if you had any thoughts?

So it's my new camera.  I don't normally shoot with a flash if I don't have to, but this lighting was super low, and I just wasn't getting what I wanted.  I decided to try my flash, but my camera wasn't reading it.  :(  Guess I need to do some studying up on that.

I was at 1250 ISO, f /2.8, and if you can believe {well, maybe you can from the blurriness} 1/5 shutter speed.  The color version was even crazier, so I changed to black & white.

happy anniversary

Curt just celebrated his 25th anniversary with ‘the company.’  25 years ... wow!  I can’t resist to add that I was only 14, 25 years ago.  Weird ...

Anyway, JDI was having a big company-wide meeting Tuesday afternoon, so the girls and I surprised him at the meeting to present him with his 25 year pin, a certificate and a lunch coupon that each employee receives on their anniversary.

The company loved it and Curt always enjoys seeing his little girls.  They were pretty cute giving him the awards.  Hunter got up and gave him the certificate right in the middle of the CEO talking about Curt’s tenure ... cute!  Oh!  And Wynter freaked out and wouldn’t give him anything and ended up hiding on my lap.

Here’s an email Curt received from someone:

Curt - 

It was wonderful to see your beautiful daughters and wife here to recognize and celebrate your 25 years of service!  You are a very lucky man!  While you may have preferred not to have all that attention, I do believe it is a great thing for our employees to share in this special moment.  Celebrations are good!  Thank you for your stewardship!  I am excited by our opportunities, especially after 10 profitable quarters in a row! 

Be well.

Curt always has a hard time thinking that the company or people in Racine are interested in seeing this type of stuff.  But I think they are ... I think they miss Sam and that they enjoy seeing how his family is moving on and staying connected to the community.

Congratulations Curt ... I love you.

curt's tri

I love this guy ...

I ran into my friend Amy today at Racine’s Sprint Triathlon, and affectionately referred to Curt as ‘my dork.’  And then proceeded to tell her some stories about him ... let’s see ...

There was the time a couple of months ago when he did the Miller Ride for the Arts {bike ride} and one of the crossing guards yelled to him that he had his bike helmet on backwards.  Also on that ride, he wore a pair of sweats ... he biked 50 miles in sweats!  He came home and said he’d never do that again {ride in sweats, and I won’t lay those details out here} and that he thought bike shorts ‘were just for show ... didn’t realize they had a purpose.’

Today when I caught up with him and saw his goggles, I asked incredulously, “Are those Piper’s goggles?!?”  No, he bought them brand new ... from the same place he gets the girls goggles.  When he came in from his practice swim {and I’m giggling as I write this}, he didn’t understand why they were leaking ... turns out he needed them tight against his skin {for a seal} not against the swim cap.

A big thanks to Jon for watching out for him today!

Anyway, I’ve been thinking throughout the day that I may have disrespected him {to Amy} by calling him a dork.  But as I thought about it through the day {probably much too often}, I realized that it’s those traits that I love about him.  He is a dork.  He often has his shirt on backwards, his jean pockets sticking out, a sticker for a new clothing item still attached and really the list goes on.

What I love is that these are things that I know about him, that others don’t.  These are the things that make him {keep him} normal.  He is a great guy with many quirks that remind me of how much I love him.

I’ll keep the quirks that drive me insane to myself!  :)

Curt did an awesome job today!!  I am so incredibly proud of him.  He did virtually NO training.  The Miller Ride was his bike training {only that ride too, no training for that ride} and he did no swim training.  He does run at least two miles a day, and also recently finished the Wooden Spoon Challenge ... but other than that no training.  My natural athlete finished in 01:28:17!!!

I’m SO proud of you Curt!!  Tony & Jon did an awesome job too ... way to go guys!

Click here for photos from today.

this makes me teary-eyed

A note Curt sent to me after our trip ...

Thank you lover for handling all of this for us... it was a great trip we will always remember; for me it will be the trip where the hunt grew into a little girl .. 

love you 

{this is a photo of curt & hunter sleeping in the plane on our way home}

wooden spoon | part two

THE CHALLENGE: Climb the 4 tallest peaks in the UK, Scotland and Ireland separated by 850 miles of driving and 120 miles of ocean crossing in 3 days in the quickest climb time. 

THE FIELD:  63 teams of 4 including one designated driver 

DAY ZERO : WEDNESDAY JUNE 25: after 3 hour drive north of Glasgow to Fort Williams, met up with our UK counterparts,  the JD Engineering team and did a 3 hour practice hike up the back side of Ben Nevis, the UK's tallest peak. Frontal assault on Ben Nevis was tomorrow. 

DAY ONE:  Started  the race late afternoon up Ben Nevis, 6 miles 4500 vertical feet.  Peak snow covered and in clouds..sleet and rain  and dense cloud last 1 mile of race. We finished in a time of 4:26 which was 38th out of 63 teams 

DAY TWO:  5 hour drive to Mount Helvellyn. 3 miles and 3200 vertical ft. no snow on top but top was in clouds . very cold and very windy. Last mile was on an exposed ridge with 30 + mph winds>>finished in 2:30 and placed 40th  /  63 .. then got back in car and drove 3 hours to Mt. Snowdon, the highest Mountain in Wales. Again top was cloud covered and windy finished with atime of 3:03 and placed 34th  / 63.. then drove 3 hours to catch the 2:30 a.m ferry to Ireland;

DAY THREE:    From ferry,  a 3hour  drive to Mt Carantouhill the highest mountain in Ireland... again rain off and on and sleet and snow at top; encountered the most difficult part of the race with a 1 mile climb up "the devils ladder" a steep ascent up a loose rock strewn  waterfall gulch; we finished in a time of 4:01 and placed 24th out of 63..our best finish yet!! 

That night: the awards celebration!! 

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO JD GREEN AND THE WOODEN SPOON!... THIS EVENT RAISED 460,000 Pounds for the children! 

http://gallery.mac.com/curtjohnson5 

wooden spoon

Curt, Odinn, and Jon {Dudley} are over surviving over 1,000 miles of driving and climbing 4 of the tallest peaks in the UK, Scotland and Wales done in 3 days.  The challenge is called the Wooden Spoon and supports disadvantaged children in the UK.  Read more about the organization and event here.

Following are a few notes Curt’s sent me:

June 24 - Thank you guys for your support.. I really appreciate it ... the children of Britain thank you as well! We all arrived this afternoon and so got a first hand view of the tallest mountain in scotland... we are going to die.

June 24 - we had a flawless trip. 90 minute plane  to Glasgow and 3 hours by car up into the scottish highlands..man its gorgeous up here. However, cold and rainy. snow on the tops of the mountains..which are  much steeper and higher (and more slippery) than I ever thought....  OH MY ..THIS IS GOING TO BE TOUGH 

June 25 - We had a classic Scottish meal last night  and did a 3 1/2 hour practice hike halfway up the back side of Ben Nevis (the largest mountain in the UK) with the JD Engineering team this morning.. got rained on for the last 30.. tomorrow the frontal assault for leg one of the race.... 

Click here for more photos.

still the one

Hey buddy ... this one’s for you. {what is with all my crazy waterworks these days ... they’re flowin’ now!}  How awesome are you that you saw my need and without question, took the girls away for a few days so I could get my work done.  So as I sit here missing you, adoring you, and crying ...

I just need to tell you how much I love you.  I need to tell you Happy Father’s Day ... do you have any idea what an incredible father you are?  I need to tell you how much those kids love you, treasure you really.  I need to tell you how much I treasure you.  I need to tell you that I am so glad I didn’t give up when things got rough.  I need to tell you that we were put together for a purpose.  I need to tell you we are *better* today than we used to be.

We have been through it all really {and because I’m up to 6 regular readers, for our privacy, I won’t list it all}, but truly, we have been through more than a couple, or family should endure.

You are an amazing man.  Do you realize that?  And do you realize how proud I am to call you husband?

There’s a song I used to hear and I would think, “10 years from now, that will be our song ...”  Well lover, amazingly, it has been 10 years ... and here is our song:

They said, “I’ll bet they’ll never make it.  But just look at us holding on.  We’re still together still going strong.

You’re still the one I run to.  The one that I belong to.  You’re still the one I want for life.  You’re still the one that I love.  The only one I dream of.  You’re still the one I kiss good night.

Ain’t nothing better.  We beat the odds together.  I’m glad we didn’t listen.  Look at what we would be missing.

They said, “I’ll bet they’ll never make it.  But just look at us holding on.  We’re still together still going strong.

You’re still the one ...

birthday flight

Happy 53rd Birthday Curt!!  He said he had a good one ... his day started with a routine jog, followed by his birthday present (a portrait painting of Piper & I).  When the girls woke up they gave him their presents and then we were all off to start our days, while Curt spent a peaceful day working from home with the doggies.

After school we took dad to his fav of all time eateries ... McDonald’s!  And then headed to the airport for our final flight in the Carnauba.  The plane will be decommissioned on May 12th, so he wanted to take the girls up for one last ride.

Click here to see photos.