Matched!

Sister and brother-in-law are moving back to Wisconsin!!!!!!!!!! Holy smokes, am I excited!
I taped Pete's Match Day announcement.
(Pardon my extremely loud exclamation of happiness.)
We love you guys and can't wait to have you closer! xoxoxoxo

My husband

I suppose this one is long overdue. Of course my husband makes me happy -- that's why I married him. But after almost six years of marriage, it's the little things he does that make me happiest.

• He knows I hate taking out the garbage, so he almost always does it.
• He's a highly motivated and busy guy, but he knows I love my "coffee time" on weekend mornings, so he obliges and sits to chat with me for like an hour. :)
• Bath time with Sophie is his job, and both he and she love it. Sometimes I just sit on the bathroom counter to watch them play. He's such a good dad. I knew he would be, but seeing it is sometimes just breathtaking.
• We have an "I cook, you clean" rule in our house. Since I'm home during the day, I almost always cook, which means he's stuck cleaning the kitchen a lot. It would be a bummer, but he is the WORLD'S FASTEST CLEANER, so it's always done in the blink of an eye. (He also happens to be the world's messiest cleaner, if that makes sense; when he's done, his mid-section is soaked from the sink. It's incredibly endearing.)
• He's got this great math-and-science-type brain that complements my more creative word-oriented brain.
• He's sometimes completely silly, like when, just for a laugh, he shocked himself on his parents' electric fence for their horses (he swore his heart stopped for a moment). Or when he wears Sophie's little backpack just to make me laugh:

• He always treats me with respect, even when I'm just being a total B. :)

Marriage can be hard, but we're a great team. I sometimes feel really undeserving of such a wonderful partner. I only hope I make him as happy as he makes me.

Anyway, this note is really why I was compelled to blog about him. I found this on my pillow one night when he was away for the weekend. I almost always tuck a little note in his bag when he has to travel for work. It made me tear up that he thought to write me this before he left:

Seriously. I don't mean to go into cute overload, but how could I not tell the world how happy he makes me??? :)

Family Photo

This photo was taken, I think, two Christmases ago. (Note: We DID NOT match our clothes' color palette intentionally. It just worked out that way.) It makes me happy, of course, to see us all so happy together on Christmas morning. But this picture also makes me a little sad. I know! This blog is about happy things. So we'll not say sad... but melancholy. Because this year, my sister Meg can't come home for Christmas.

Meg is a professional distance runner for Adidas. She lives in Arizona. Due to her racing schedule, she couldn't have been home for more than a few days, and that coupled with the flight's length and extreme expense meant it just wasn't in the cards this year.

I saw Meg for Thanksgiving for a day or so, and that was nice. And I think she might try to squeeze in a visit between races sometime after Christmas, so I'll see her then, too. But this is the first Christmas where all three of us sisters won't be together on Christmas morning. We have so many quirky traditions -- waiting at the top of the stairs until our parents have everything in place, Kate wearing ridiculous and sometime inappropriate old pajamas, always opening our stockings first, always saving our sister presents to each other for last, the obligatory post-present-opening fashion show, Grandma's egg dish, having Jim Henson and the Muppets Christmas tape (yes, cassette tape!) on in the background... I could go on and on. Most of that will probably still happen, but it just won't be the same without Meg home.

Granted, things were bound to change this year with Sophie in the picture. That might make up for Meg's absence a little bit. But we'll miss Meg a lot, and we'll all be a little sad (wait, not sad - melancholy!) on Christmas morning when we make one fewer pile of presents.

However, thinking back, we've had SO MANY great Christmas mornings together. Times change, things change, traditions come and go. We're not kids anymore (even though we sometime act like it). We'll see each other as often as we can. And when we do, we'll reminisce and laugh about the good times gone by. Because some things won't change: the memories we have of holidays past, and the promise of new traditions to come.

A Quick Trip to Santa Barbara

In September, my mom and dad went to Santa Barbara on a trip for my dad's work (a pleasure trip, not business). In July, I received a call from my dad's assistant, Nel. She told me that during the trip in September, there was going to be a surprise retirement presentation for my dad. (He's retiring in March of 2012.) She asked if my sisters and I would fly to Santa Barbara in secret and surprise my parents during the celebration. (It was expenses-paid, which took the biggest obstacle -- price -- off my sisters and me, none of whom could have afforded it otherwise.) My sisters and I talked, and we told Nel we could go. The planning began, and soon the trip was upon us.

We were lucky enough not to have significant flight delays, and one of dad's friends picked us up at the airport and drove us to the Four Seasons resort in Santa Barbara. (AMAZING place!) We hid in a room and caught up with each other until it was time for the big surprise. Dad's company had put together a funny video presentation, so we waited backstage while that played. (Remember, neither mom nor dad knew about even the retirement presentation.) Then, they had us give a short speech on a microphone backstage. Since mom and dad obviously had no idea we were there (and why would they?), they thought it was taped. After we spoke, the host said, "All right, girls, come on out!" Holding hands, the three of us walked out on stage. My mom's hands flew to her face, and both she and my dad cried. I think we all cried a little, actually. We all hugged and stood together, arms around each other, on stage for the brief remainder of the presentation.

Afterward, of course all the guests wanted to come up and congratulate my dad. Also, it seemed that everyone wanted to meet my sisters and me. So while what we really wanted to do was huddle together in some back room and explain what was going on -- why we were there, how long we'd known about this, where Sophie was, how long we were staying, etc. --  we instead made pleasantries with all of the friendly guests, including the Marilyn Monroe  and Jack Nicholson impersonators they'd hired to mingle. Finally, at about midnight (2AM Madison time), we made our way back to our adjoining suites and talked as a little family about the events that led up to the wonderful surprise for my parents.

That evening was really the high point. Kate, Meg, and I were able to stay the next day, and we had a nice brunch, a walk on the beach, bloody marys on the bar terrace overlooking the ocean, and a bike ride to the lovely city of Santa Barbara and its huge boardwalk. Unfortunately, Meg had to leave early to fly to a race in Missouri, so she missed our great dinner at a local steakhouse, but we had a great day together.

We wondered aloud if we would ever again spend significant time together as "The Original Five." All three of us daughters are married, we have Sophie now, and we're literally spread out across the country. We spent most of our time together just enjoying each other's company. Because it's amazing -- we actually do enjoy each other's company. I feel so lucky to be able to say that. Sure, we have our differences and our occasional spats, but when we're together, it's always joyous, and it's always hard to say goodbye when it's over. That happy trip to the coast was brief, but I'll remember it forever, and I know the rest of my family will too. :)

Kate's MOH speech

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZbDpBFujno&feature=share

This makes me H-A-P-P-Y on a number of levels. First, my two younger sisters (twins) both got married this summer, Kate in July and Meg in September. I couldn't be happier for them -- they each married a wonderful guy who we're lucky to have join our family.

But down to business. Meg's maid-of-honor speech for Kate was awesome -- a very thoughtful and witty poem. Sadly, Meg's speech is not on Youtube. Fortunately, Kate's speech to Meg IS! Cutest thing ever. Enjoy.

Oh, and I'd like to add that I played a small yet vital role as Kate's music stand/moral support. It's not easy to play your accordion in front of almost 300 people. :)