4 years

Yesterday was a fun day. Ricky and I celebrated our four year anniversary. It's crazy to think how much has change and how much has stayed the same in four years. 

Since getting married, Ricky has worked at two different high schools, become actively involved in his umpire association, asked to join the college association, and learned a lot about photography. In the same time, I have completed my Masters degree, advanced to doctoral candidacy, proposed and collected my dissertation data, and accepted an internship position as a Behavior Support Specialist. 

We now live over 2200 miles from home and have made at least 9 airplane trips back to Arkansas for Christmases and weddings (and coincidentally Kris Allen day). We became parents of two dogs (and have made a total of 3 trips to the emergency vet), met new school/work/taekwondo/umpire friends, vacationed in Hawaii and on the Oregon coast. We have become god parents to Abby Shachmut. Since we've been married, I have learned to snow ski, and Ricky has learned to fly fish. We've bought and sold a mini cooper and now own a CR-V. We've paid off my car, the washer/dryer, our bedroom furniture, and several computers. 

In four years, Ricky and I are as at ease and comfortable with each other as we have ever been. We get along and try not to sweat the small stuff. Our marriage is strong, and we are still a great fit for each other. It feels nice to know I've found and am spending each day with the person God made for me. Being married and living with Ricky has been fun. I can't wait for the next 4 years, and the 4 after that, and after that and after that...

Now a summary of yesterday. The day started pretty much like most others. Ricky had a morning meeting and I headed to the gym and had some errands to run. Late yesterday morning I got the following email:

Sometimes you ask " why do you love me?".
Your laugh
Because you let me rub you
The way you kiss me when you leave in the morning
b/c how excited you get about owning a house with me and being a mommy someday
The way you support me with my overwhelming obsessions
b/c you appreciate my cooking
b/c you love our dogs
b/c you always put me first
b/c you care how you look to me
b/c your hair is so pretty when straight and curly
Boobies(you know me I had to go there)
Honestly there is a lot I could say. Mostly because God created you for me and it just feels better than anything else I could imagine.  Love you I do.

When I responded with a thank you and a mention of my teariness in response, he responded, "Oh yeah, I forgot to mention how you cry." :)

We received some nice congratulations from several friends. This one put it into perspective and was one of my favorites:

billie jo & ricky ro

congratulations on completing your undergraduate in marriage. i wish you much luck as you pursue further endeavors in the field. 
it seems like yesterday you guys were just freshman, just learning the ropes, jumping into cars & speeding all over the place. and laura got so sick that time...man...time flies ;-). 

Have a great day!
-Kyle-

 When I made it home to let the dogs out for a few minutes, I found a nice surprise in the fridge--An edible arrangement. Even better than flowers! :)

Cooper cracks me up in this picture. He was excited, too! ;-)

We met for dinner at one of our favorite places, "Hole in the Wall BBQ." This restaurant is totally us--low key, locally owned with regular workers who know us, southern comfort foods including sweet tea and cornbread, and great food. Ricky arrived first and let them know we were celebrating our anniversary. I walked in to lots of congrats and smiles. We ordered our favorites from the menu, and in southern style, we met some nice business men who were in for a quick trip from LA (one was a transplanted Bostonian, which was fun). They quietly bought us an appetizer (hot links) and asked questions about Eugene. It was a great visit. The waitress brought us a dessert on the house, which we shared. She also took our picture with their little mascot pig, which was kind of funny. 

A few more pictures from 4 years ago.

Surprise & Kris Allen Day

A little over a month ago Ricky started looking for airplane tickets to head to AR this weekend for the wedding of one of his good high school friends. What we found, reasonably priced tickets from Eugene to Little Rock with only 1 stop in Denver, led me to go ahead and buy a ticket, too. We then decided it would be fun to surprise my mom (since it also happens to be mother's day weekend). So, we planned just that. AND then we found out that Kris Allen made it into the top 3 and that his hometown visit just happened to be the Friday we were going to be in. So, the plan was to leave Eugene at 2pm Thursday, fly to denver, and be in Little Rock by 10pm Thursday night. My parents were going to pick "Ricky" up (my dad knew the secret but my mom didn't) so he could have a vehicle for his time in Eugene. 

Unfortunately, Ricky and I have not had the best luck traveling, and this trip was no better. We got on the plane about 2pm only to find that it had a low tire. Eventually (after over 30 minutes for a mechanic to come and another 30 minutes for him to confirm it was flat), we all got off the plane so they could change it. However, it seemed that they didn't have the correct tools and so they had to fly another mechanic (and tools) in from Portland. Needless to say, we missed our connection in Denver and had to stay the night. AFter working some magic, we ended up on the next flight to Little Rock, which got us in about 3pm. This was too late for us to actually make it to Kris Allen events but we got to enjoy in all the excitement, watch lots of it on tv, and surprise my mom. Ricky left me with my family while he headed back to his hometown to hang out with his high school friends and do wedding stuff. Today, my mom and I had a great time in Little Rock doing some shopping, and now I'm waiting for Ricky to arrive at my parents (with the suitcase, which got sent to Dallas)... So, I've been in the same clothes for 3 days and am ready for a change! Luckily, I got to wash them last night at my parents'... ;-)

Enjoy some pictures of Kris Allen Day. Arkansas definitely showed up Milwaukee and San Diego! Now, we'll have to see if Kris can win this thing!

Kris at Riverfront in Little Rock. What a crowd!

The brother and sis-in-law. :) They got to go to private lunch at one of our favorite restaurants--Stoby's. So fun!

Kris enjoying the parade in Conway.

Kris taking the stage in Conway for the final concert of the day. Check out the guy next to him--that's the body guard taking pictures! Super Fun.

A bird's-eye view of the crowd in Conway (reportedly over 20,000). Kris is standing under the green tent to the right. I stole this picture from our friend John's blog (johnshotme.com)

Hands in his pockets...looking quite impressed with the turn out and for good reason. :)