Twenty Years of Wedded Bliss - Happy Anniversary Babe!

How to explain our relationship. Well, in a word essential. By that I mean simply, I need him to survive. To lose him would be like cutting my heart out and squashing all the air out of my lungs. He is so much a part of me that without him I am only half. Very poetic, right? But it is this relationship that makes it possible for me to simply understand love like that of Romeo and Juliet. His love is the air I breathe. Truly. Undying, enduring, and everlasting.

We started dating when I was 14 years old, but that wasn't the beginning of our relationship. You see, T and I grew up on the same block, 4 houses away from each other. We played as small children. He was always in my life. My mom likes to tell the story of how as a young girl I was eating breakfast when T showed up with his Dad to pick up the garbage. She says that our eyes met through the window and she knew in that moment we would be together. I remember that day, that moment. I was about 7 or 8 years old. We dated through high school and married 6 years later. We have been through many things together, several life threatening, and together we made it through....our love pulled us through.

Ours is a love story. We like being together. We compliment each other. We enjoy the same things, have the same tastes, laugh together. We are best friends. He is the love of my life. I feel safe when he is near. There are two quotes from movies that come to mind when I think of our relationship. First, from "Moulin Rouge"..."Come what may. I will love you until my dying day." And second, from "The Princess Bride"..."He will always come for me."

So today I wish to thank T for loving me. For marrying me. For being my best friend and the love of my life. Happy 20th Anniversary Babe!

ILY.....

We have a super secret code. ILY. We say it to each other all the time. I love you. The best little sentence in all the world.

He Thinks I'm Fun :)

Last night after an evening at the Fair with the Empress, we washed the dust off and climbed into bed. Both of us soooo tired from schleping around the animal barns, food stands and children's (under 42" tall) carnival rides we needed sleep. Then, as I quickly read my mandatory Harry Potter chapter before turning off the light, T rolled over and said "You're fun." It was like getting the "You're beautiful" compliment, but better. It made my heart leap. Wow, he thinks I'm fun.

Fun has always been the number one life goal for T. When asked what he wanted to do with his life his response has always been, "Have fun!" So, to have received this compliment from the love of my life after 26 years together, means everything!

I think perhaps it is the best compliment I have ever gotten. I am fun! I don't know what took me so long, but I have finally arrived.

Wordless Wednesday

"So he gave up being King of all wild things."

We are home. After 14 hours in the truck we arrived home at 10:00 last night. Ugghhh. Nothing pleasant about the trip home...nothing. It was back breaking...exhausting....nearly overwhelming. But, we are home.

On our last full day on vacation we lazed on the beach. It was relaxing. It was sunny and lovely, with a very slight ocean breeze. The Empress enjoyed building sand castles, chasing sea gulls, and floating her little boats in the stream. I read, T napped. In the end I sunburned my forehead and shins. Weird tan lines. We drove down to Newport for dinner. A fishing boat had run ashore on the beach and people were gathered watching the spectacle. After finally growing tired of watching no progress what so ever, we left for dinner. Apparently, at high tide a helicoptor pulled the boat off the shore and a tug pulled it out to sea. When we got back to the trailer we all showered, packed and prepared the trailer to move first thing in the morning.

Hmmmm, what to say about our vacation on the Oregon coast. In a word, fabulous. It was really our first real family vacation. It was such a joy watching the Empress experience new things, i.e. the ocean, the aquarium, the zoo...etc. Even when it was the three of us cramped in the trailer in the rain it was special. As a destination I would highly recommend the coast. As a mom I would definately give it high marks as well. Though I have been all over the world, the Oregon coast captured my heart like no other.

Here Comes the Sun

Finally, after two days of fog and misting rain the sun has appeared. Today the plan is simple. Fun. We want to spend the whole day on the beach. Stretched out in our chairs watching our little minnow play in the sand. Heavenly...don't cha think? Of course there will be the inevitably crazy rush to get that perfect family picture.

Yesterday we loaded up and headed south to Florence. We had bowls of chowder on the bay at Mo's, picked up some items for dinner at the grocery store, and located the perfect trailer whale. Yes, you heard right, we found our trailer whale. On our way home we hit the infamous Sea Lion Cave. OMG. It is incredible. We rode an elevator 205 feet down the side of a cliff into this enormous cave. I was awed by the size of this cave. Huge. Really, really huge. Really cool stuff. Never thought I would utter these words...but I love sea lions. They are bossy, loud and funny. They are playful and lazy. I love the way they torpedo through the water with such grace and beauty. Hard to do when you weigh a ton and inhabit a body that resembles that of a colossal slug.

After the caves we headed back to the trailer and napped and watched movies while the rain continued to pelt our trailer.

Fun in the sun today. Nothing but fun in the sun!

The Elusive Trailer Whale

Yesterday we drove back to Portland to the Zoo. It turned out to be monumental trip in scale. Silly me, thought we were close to Portland. Nope. After a long, long drive (minus the trailer, thank heavens) we arrived in the early afternoon at the most fabulous of fabulous zoos. The Portland Zoo is really all that and a bag of chips. Very well laid out. Nice exhibits. We were able to watch a raptor show in their little outdoor arena that was awesome. We had a very large and beautiful bald eagle fly just inches over our heads. Arrived back at the trailer in time for bed.

Today was a day of leisure. We awoke sorta soggy, as the fog has creeped into the area and seems to have settled in our trailer. Weird muggy, cold sweat feeling. We played on the beach this morning then drove up to Depoe Bay. This quaint little ocean side village has the distinction of being the whale watching capital of the world, or something similar in scale and fashion. We stopped for lunch at "Tidal Raves" rumored to be the very best place to eat on the coast. Right away we saw several whales from the restaurant. Great food, spectacular views. Depoe Bay made the news this past weekend when a large great white shark was caught and killed in the bay. Too close for comfort for me.

The Empress and I had a little shopping list. First, we needed a magnet to add to our growing family. I wanted it to be a whale and indicate that it was from Depoe Bay. Second, we wanted a trailer whale. What you ask is that....well, not sure on description, but we thought we would buy either a cute little stuffed whale for the trailer, or, as T suggested, a large whale sticker to put on the trailer. Well, we found the magnet, not so lucky with the trailer whale, though we found a new and hilarious decription for big booty'd gals. Funny how the whale capital of the world, with dozens of cheezy souvenir shops didn't have one silly little trailer whale. O'well, we stopped at a winery on the way back out to the trailer and left with a really yummy bottle of award winning Pinot Noir.

Not a bad day.

Just The Three of Us....

Right now that is all that really matters in the world. Us. We are in Oregon. Camping in our trailer at Seal Rock. We are on the beach....literally.

Getting here was awful. Driving. Then more driving. And finally, more driving. By the time we got here I wasn't too sure it would be worth it. It is. This morning we woke up to the sound of seals barking and waves crashing. The tide pools are amazing and we took advantage of the early hour and were alone on the beach. There were dozens of anemones and star fish as well as basking seals. Simply amazing. It was such a joy showing the Empress a tiny glimpse of sea life.

After the tide pools we drove the ten miles to Newport and visited the Oregon Coast Aquarium. It is a great aquarium. The Sea Otters were my favs. We bought the Empress a stuffed dolphin after talking her out of a gruesome shark. She named it Princess. Lovely. We had the best clam chowder at Mo's on the bayfront and slowly strolled the streets perusing the many cheap touristy shops.

We picked up some steaks and prawns on our way back out to the trailer. Eveything tastes amazing in the crisp sea air...and of course the view from our picnic table was phenomenal. Actually saw a whale this evening during dinner.

I am silently working out what it would take to become a full time vacationer. What a life. I am feeling rested and ready for our next adventure. It has been so nice spending time as part of our little threesome.