A Weekend Away

My sweetie took me away for the weekend, and when I say away I mean like away, with no kids away.  Oh, we had a great time. (sigh)  It was nice to just be together and enjoy each others company.  

I sure love this guy!

We need to go away more often I think.    

Happy Father's Day...

... to the two greatest men I know.

"By divine design, fathers

are to preside over their families in love and righteousness

and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and

protection for their families." 

                                                                               --The Family A Proclamation To The World

I love you Dad!

I love you Sweetheart!

Thank you  for taking your responsibilities as fathers seriously.  

You are both wonderful men and fathers. 

He Said / She Said First Date Memories

Today is the 8th year anniversary of our first date! Wow, how my life has changed since that day! 

 And, it's all been wonderful.

Here are a few things we each remember about that day:

The Basic Details

She said:  For our date I picked Shawn up from his friends' house.  We went to dinner, to temple square to see the lights, then we went and got hot chocolate across the street at the mall.  When I went to drop him off he was locked out of his friends' apartment.  They had all gone to a movie and forgotten about him.  I couldn't let him freeze to death so we sat and talked in the car until it was time for me to go pick up my kids.  He went with me to get the kids and met my ex. (that was a bit nerve racking)  Then we picked up some fast food for the kids.  Meanwhile his friends had come home, and then I dropped him back off at his friends' house.  

He said:  This hottie picked me up, and drove us to dinner, at Rodizio's Brizillian Restaurant where they serve lots of meat, and I remember thinking, "I hope she's not a vegetarian."  After that she said, "Have you ever seen the lights at Temple Square?" I had not so she said, "Let's go,"  and so we did. It was pretty cool.  Then we went and had hot chocolate.  When she went to drop me off at my friends', they had locked me out of their apartment.  We tried to call them several times, but they would not answer because they were at the movies.  Then she said she needed to pick up her kids.  She asked me if I wanted to come along, because she didn't want to leave me on the street.  How thoughtful.   Logan was asleep, and the other 2 were watching cartoons.  We rounded up the kids, and kids being kids with bottomless stomachs, they were hungry so we went and got them something to eat.  This gave us more time to talk before my friends finally called, and said that I could come home now.  

What were your thoughts before our date?

She said:  I was nervous but excited.  He seemed really nice on the phone and in our emails so, even though we were meeting for the first time I wasn't too nervous.  
He said:  I was looking forward to it, because she was the most normal, down-to-earth person that I had talked to in a long time.  

Your first impressions?
She said:  I was relieved that he didn't have any crazy tattoos or piercings.  I thought he was really nice looking and looked even better than his picture.  
He said:  I remember thinking that she's a lot prettier in person. 

What did we talk about that night?
She said:  At dinner,I remember talking about school, and I remember Shawn talking about work.  I remember thinking that he sounded like he really enjoyed being a heavy equipment operator and he sounded like a hard worker.  Later I remember talking about old relationships, dating, family, and dreams for the future.  
He said:  We talked about everything!  We talked about everything from church, to missions, to kids, motorcycle wrecks, ex relationships, LDS Singles, dating, school, the future.  We covered it!

What do you remember most about that night?
She said:  I remember that when we were at Temple Square, we were waiting in line to go into a movie and there was a cute little girl in line with her family behind us.  She was Latino and speaking Spanish to her parents,  I remember Shawn kneeling down and talking to her in spanish. From the way he talked to her I could tell that he liked kids.  That made a big impression on me.
The other thing that I really remember about that night is that when we went to pick up the kids Logan was asleep on the couch.  Shawn just picked him up and carried him to the car for me.  I didn't ask him too, but I remember how touched I was by that. 
He said:  How beautiful she was, and thinking, "What's a girl like this doing being single."  And if they hadn't of locked me out who knows what would have happened.  That extra time to talk gave me more of a chance to see that down-to-earth reality of who Kim was at that time in her life. It is easy for a person to put on a show and be someone they are not when you don't have any one else around but when we went to get the kids I got to see that she really was genuine in both situations, there was no mask to put on or take off . I admired that. 

Favorite part?
She said:  The whole thing.  I enjoyed our whole date.  There wasn't any awkward times or any uncomfortableness.  He was easy to talk to and I enjoyed being with him. 
He said:  Getting locked out.  It gave me more time to get to know her , and dinner, because I like meat.  Ha, Ha Ha.  Temple square was pretty cool, too.

Feelings and/or thoughts after
She said:  He was very nice and genuine.  He didn't play games.  I could tell that he was comfortable with himself, and he knew what he wanted out of life.  I thought he was a true gentleman and  it was easy to see that he was someone that lived his religion.  I was glad when he called me the next day.
He said:  Sure would be nice to see her again. 

What else do you remember about that night?
 She said:  I was glad that he got locked out and we had that extra time to spend together.  I think it was part of God's plan.  Because he was locked out we got to spend more time talking and really getting to know each other.  I think he also needed to go to my ex's so he could see my complete life, and  I needed to see how he could/would handle that part of my life.  
Obviously he did very well.  
He said:  I already covered everything.  Oh, I remember, Travis laughing that they locked me out.

Would you have said or done anything differently that night?
She said:  No, I snagged him didn't I.
He said:  Obviously not, it worked.  I married up!

She said:

Thanks, for the good memories sweetie. 

That was the beginning of a wonderful life together.  

I love you!

Marriage Moments, Moments 118-120

"It is so rewarding to be married. Marriage is wonderful. In time you begin to think alike and have the same ideas and impressions. You have times when you are extremely happy, times of testing, and times of trial, but the Lord guides you through all of those growth experiences together."  --Richard D. Scott, The Eternal Blessings of Marriage, Ensign, May 2011.

118.

I came home from a meeting the other night and Shawn said that there was a surprise for me down by my pillow.  I rushed to our room and found this note.  This note led me to another note, and then another and another.  I was so excited as I rushed from room to room wondering what the end surprise could be.  Finally I came to a giant chocolate bar.  Does my sweetie know me or what?  What a fun surprise!

119.  Date Nights!  Shawn is always so good to make time for the two of us to have some alone time together.    Ninety nine percent of the time when we go on a date it is because he planned it or he suggested it.  Sometimes our dates are as simple as going to the store together, or grabbing a bite to eat and then perusing Barnes and Noble, but whatever it is it is always so nice to spend time with just him.  

120.  Flowers just because.  I would say that on the average Shawn brings me flowers about once a month, just because.  Just because he loves me and he thought of me while he was at the store.  I sure love that man.  

Do You Know What This is?

It's a whole lot of work, that's what this is!

Shawn bought a timber sale. This is his first big load of timber.


Want to stay warm and roasty, toasty this winter?


I know someone who will deliver firewood right to your front door, cut and split if you want it. (although it's cheeper if you split it yourself.)

His birthday is coming up soon. Want to give him a present? You could place an order for some firewood. We have a little extra lying around.

State Hockey Tournament

Games 1 & 2 WIN!

Game 3 TIE!

Games 4 & 5 WIN! and become Division CHAMPIONS!


Game # 6 (semifinal game) Lost :(

Go home 3rd Place overall. (but still sad to be going home one game too soon)

Good job Jarom and Coach Lowry.

GREAT SEASON!

I'm proud of you both!

Sick, Sick, Sick

Hannah: "Dad, I can't wait until you get better so I can give you lots of hugs and kisses."

After missing 5 days of work 3 hockey practices, and church,

1 bottle of Ibuprofen,

2 trips to the urgent care,

5 different prescriptions and drugs from the doctor,

lots of juice,

brownies,

several back rubs,

the chills

the sweats,

hours and hours of coughing

1 giant q-tip up the nose and into the sinuses

1 x-ray

a few hugs, but no kisses and no cuddling,

many prayers,

and

1 priesthood blessing,

we finally found out he has pneumonia.

Get better Babe. It's not fun to have you sick.

The Old Man's Still Got the Stuff!

Who: Coach Shawn Lowry
What: A hockey game between all the coaches.

Where: The Ice Arena

When: Saturday Night 7:00

Why: To prove who still has "The Stuff" and who still has more of "The Stuff".

How: By scoring 3 Goals and having 4 assists

Shawn: "Sweetie, do I look like a crippled old man out there?

Me: "No, you were one of the best players. Why? Did you feel like a crippled old man out there?"

Shawn: "Well, I know what I want to do and how to do it, but when my mind tells my body what to do it doesn't respond like it used to."

Me: (Secretly to self) That's fine because somebody's wife doesn't want somebody to end up with another artificial hip any time soon.

Shawn: "I hope we can have another game soon."

Caught Ya!