My Dad and I

So dance might not be the best word. More like jumped, shook around and twirled a bit with Def Leppard.  My dad and I went and saw Heart and Def Leppard a week ago. This was my third Def Leppard concert and they keep getting better!

Heart was amazing. Honestly, I wasn’t even thinking about watching them. I figured we would miss part of the act due to traffic.  We arrived in record time and saw the entire Heart set. I was so pleased we did.  They were awesome. I didn’t realize how many Heart songs I recognized.  Ann Wilson’s voice was incredibly strong. Nancy Wilson was doing a high kick while headbanging and playing the guitar like a 20 year old and she is 57. Fun and inspiring.

Of course my Sheffield boys were the highlight of my night.  Their show is all about the music with very little ego.  They played all my favorites like Rocket, Hysteria and of course Pour Some Sugar On Me. My favorite live songs from them are Rock On and Photograph.

We were in the fifteenth row and when the guys were on the catwalk they were so close my dad said it was like having them in your own living room and that is just how it felt.

I asked for help on what to wear to the concert on Facebook:  a favorite summer dress or normal concert wear of  jeans and a tee. As it was supposed to rain I went with the jeans.  I did wear big silver hoop earrings, the biggest I have worn in decades and my hair was big as well (big for me). I wish I had worn the dress though. I’m sure if I had worn the dress I would have stood out to the guys and they would have invited me on stage to serenade me with Love Bites. I’m positive that would have happened so next time I will wear a dress.

It was fun. I hope they tour again next year. And the next year. And the next year.

Hubby and I

I cannot express my love and thanks for Hubby in a blog post. The words are impossible to conjure up in my head.

Three years of dating. Fifteen years of marriage. Four kids. Peru. Four states. Thirteen-ish moves.  All together. My partner in life at all times whether they are stress-full, boring, exciting or magical.

Hubby is handsome, intelligent, thoughtful, patient, kind, funny and loyal.  He is a great father who loves his girls immensely.

He is also a bad dancer, likes talk radio over music (I think a little goes a long way) and doesn’t get the whole Twitter thing.  No one is perfect ;)

Look at the fluffy hair! This is 1995, the year we got married.

Here we are now in 2010.

Here is to the next fifteen years.  May we be just as adventurous :)

This year Hubby will get several “don’t need” items, one “cute” item and I still haven’t figured out the really “Love” item yet. I still have time?  Right. Nothing is clicking for me.  I have been looking for weeks now so I haven’t waited until the last minute I swear.  I just know that Hubby doesn’t want something  just to have something.Hmmmmm.  He may just get a card from me this year.  If you all have any suggestions let me know! Please!

One thing I know he will enjoy is a Wendy’s Frosty!  Remember to get out to Wendy’s on Sunday and buy a Frosty.  Fifty cents from every Frosty goes to The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.  This foundation is great at helping get foster kids forever homes.  They were also helpful with information for our adoption and provided me with the resources to encourage Genesis (the hospital I used to work for and Hubby still does) to provide adoption assistance for employees.  So if you are Tweeting or FaceBooking this weekend use the #TreatItForward phrase for Wendy’s to donate more money to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. 

Last year I posted about how great my Hubby was. He still is this year. I am taking it year by year!LOL.  Seriously, Hubby is the best Husband and Daddy for this family and we so appreciate and love him! He hikes, bikes and wrestles with the kids, works hard for our family and goes above and beyond every day for us! Thanks honey!

Hubby and my brother herding the kids at King's Island last weekend.

Our school age daughters, Meg, Mita and Enu, love to play tether-ball at school and were asking Hubby to get a one set up at the house last week.  His green light-bulb moment happened rather quickly as he remembered that we still have the four poles from our old trampoline!  These poles are from the net enclosure around the trampoline to keep the kids from falling off.  These poles have hooks on them to hold up the net.

Hubby quickly set up two separate tether-ball poles and purchased the balls and ropes at a local sports store.  Having two for us was a must  with the four kids. I didn’t want to hear the whole taking turns battle that would have for sure erupted.  For about $40 and an hour or so of time we were set up for action and the kids have been playing during every free moment is seems!

To Hubby, his idea may have been more about saving money than being green, but as it often is, we win both ways!  I have seen tether-ball sets from $25-$65 online and that is just for one and the trampoline poles seem much sturdier than the poles for sale are.

We gave the other two poles to my brother and sister in law, and the recycling just continues.  So go look for a old trampoline on Craig’s list or a yard sale and make some tether-ball poles!  It is a great way to keep your kids active and busy and OUTSIDE.  Oh yeah, my kids like to bend the rules a bit…here are the rules to tether-ball if you need them!

I would love to hear other ideas about reusing kids toys in creative ways!

They look wonderful don’t they!?

I often joke that I have been taken off the mother of the year award list.  My hubby however is very much in the running for father of the year.  Not because he is perfect (he isn’t, but close!) but because he is just an all around great dad.  I am very much appreciative of all he does for our family; camping with the kids, reading books aloud (his second time for Harry Potter) and keeping me sane and much more.

As you know our lives has been touched by older child adoption. There are many older kids needed homes all around the world.  The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is a wonderful organization that promotes older child adoption and adoption from foster care.  Although our family did not adopt from the U.S. we have gotten great information and resources from this Foundation.  I  used materials from them to ask Genesis to provide adoption benefits for their employees and Genesis is now offering $4,000 towards adoption costs!

This Father’s Day weekend Wendy’s will donate money to the Dave Thomas Foundation with each Frosty that is bought.  They even have Father’s Day E-Cards that they will send for you and donate 25 cents with each card.

Be sure to have a frosty this weekend and help kids find families to love them.  Wouldn’t it be great if every child had a reason to celebrate Father’s Day?