Sprinklers and Sunburn

It is always fun to have seven kids in the house for the day. Today all the Johns boys (Ryan, Trevor, Anderson and Cai) came to stay with us while their parents went to a wedding a few hours away. Our job was to have fun from 9 until 6:30-ish when we would take them back to their house for someone else to take over and put them to bed. What never ceases to amaze me is that even though there are 7 kids (all under 10) in the house it is typically silent. They are such good friends and play so well together. It's eerie. No stranger at our door would ever believe me if I told them all the kids were in the house. So it is a blessing to keep the boys for a day.

I was uncomfortable taking all 7 to the pool so I wasn't entirely sure what I was going to do. But Adrian suggested we take everyone over to the Botanical Gardens (on our membership = free activity) to the World of Wonders Children's Garden. This was a spectacular idea because eventhough it was 100 out today and high humidity, the WOW's main feature are tons of sprinklers to run through. (The only bummer was that my camera batteries died after just a couple of pictures.)

So we packed up sandwiches and all the fixings for a picnic lunch and headed over there. The kids had a blast. We stayed in for an hour or so and then went back to the van for lunch which we ate in the shade of some tall pines right next to the airport. It was really exciting to watch the planes take off. Ice-cold drinks are such a treat on hot days. After we ate we went back into the WOW and played for a short time longer. By the time we left it was after 2 and Cai was definitely getting tired. Actually he was asleep before we left the parking lot. The truth was--it was a really easy trip. Thank you, my precious Adrian for making that a reality.

So getting home to the blessed air conditioning allowed for naps for the two youngest and a movie for the rest.

Then we ate hot dogs and ice cream bars for dinner--thank you Mrs. Johns. Anderson and Cai got a quick bath and it was time to take them home. (I did get more pics after we got home.)

It's amazing how quickly a day can pass when you are really preoccupied. It was so fun. Days like today make me want to have 7 kids all our own. But then I just think about how much work that would actually be. So I think I'll stick with keeping to the occasional 7.

Pictures: #1-At the World of Wonders, Avril and Ryan; #2-Avril, Maia and Anderson; #3-Avril and Eowyn; #4-Cai; #5 & 6-Anderson; #7-Eowyn; #8-"After WOW"; #9-Adrian "after wow" :p; #10-Picnic dinner; #11-Yes, It's the Bunny Ears Years; #12-Hotdog Meditation; #13-Cai--before he got too messy; #14-more bunny ears; #15-carrot lip; #16-Gorgeous! (my favorite pic of the day.)

After ten years of marriage...

...I can no longer distinguish the line that separates me from you.

Last Friday (May 23) marked our 10th anniversary. In general, I can't believe so much time has passed. But when I stop to reflect on all that has occured, it does feel like many years.

Adrian told me early in May that he was planning something for our anniversary. However, I was not privy to any of that information until the week of. I at least knew we were going away because my mom and step dad kept the girls. That was it though. So Friday afternoon, we left around 4:30 and headed to Williamsburg. Adrian had reserved a room for us at a beautiful bed and breakfast. It was decorated with rose petals on the bed, flowers, chocolates, and wine all waiting for us. We went out for a very nice dinner. Our reservations were not especially early but we were the only ones there--a nice alternative to loud, crowded restaurants. When we returned from dinner I was finally allowed to know all that Adrian had planned. There were lots of gifts. Many of them we'd already planned to get, but hadn't yet, so he was able to present them. So now we have our membership to the Botanical Gardens (the surprise was that it's for 2 years) and he already renewed our season tickets to the Regent University plays. The one I wasn't expecting was Fun Passes to Busch Gardens! So for the summer we can go up and enjoy time together there. Our first time was that next day, Saturday. He also gave me a couple of new games for us to play together. (You know how we're game nerds.) Busch Gardens on Saturday could not have been more perfect. The weather was ideal. It was crowded as it was the opening weekend but the lines were resonable. The best part was that we had no agenda. There was no pressure so we moved as we pleased and enjoyed such a nice day. It was so fun to ride and laugh and scream together.

I think one of the aspects of marriage that I most cherish--now that we have spent a good spanse of time together--is just the comfort and normalcy of being together. I can see first hand and experience the reality of the mystery of marriage--that two people become one flesh. I do not think of myself apart from Adrian. I don't know how to live without him. It is encouraging and exciting when older friends who are now celebrating 20 or more years of marriage tell us how it continues to get better. What an amazing gift from God that we continually experience the notion of "the best is yet to come."

So Happy Anniversary, my love. Ten years down....a lifetime more to go.

P.S. In my hurry to leave that Friday I couldn't find my camera. Ahh! I've never missed an anniversary picture and wasn't about to miss our 10th! So we picked up a disposable camera Friday night, but haven't finished the film yet. Oh well, next year for sure.

Vacations

Summer has arrived! And we are so excited to say those words. Well, technically, Avril has three short days of school left, but they include a picnic, a field day and then her class party. So there isn't much left. Maia finished preschool this past Friday. Her teacher awarded her the "tenderheartedness" award. She also recieved a Bible storybook for being one of two students in her class to correctly recite all Bible memory verses for the whole year. Yay Maia! She is very excited to be moving on to kindergarten next year. I am really pleased that we held her back for this year. It was a good decision.
Spanish finished for me officially last Friday (23rd). The final exam was on the previous Tuesday and then we had an open house to close out the year on that Friday. I am so pleased to be on break. It is funny how quickly taking on something like this can change your perspective on time. Pretty much the day I finished I could feel the difference. Just knowing that I didn't have to choose between preparing lessons and everything else felt really good. I am working hard to get the house in order so that when Avril finishes on Wednesday we can enjoy our summer.
I am eagerly anticipating lots of fun time with Adrian and the girls. We hope to have many days at the pool and beach and other family outings. This will be our first summer where there are no babies or baby schedules to work around. Eowyn still naps but can easily skip them. So there are many possibilities for day long outings. But mostly I just look foward to the time. I want to be quick to put down the laundry (or whatever) and play the game or read the book and just cherish the summer we have.