Wordless Wednesday - The Crabs are Where?

Blue, White and Red: A Tale of Three Jeeps

Eight years ago, my hubby and I went to Maui for our honeymoon. While my hubby was planning our trip he learned that 4-wheel drive vehicles were recommended for some of the roads. Since he wanted to drive around the island coastline, which would require us to drive on one of these roads, he rented a jeep.

Our jeep was blue with one small problem...it didn't come with zip in windows. After one day of sight seeing on the island, we decided to exchange the blue jeep for a different jeep as driving at highway speeds was drying my contacts out and making a frizzy mess of my hair. As I waited in the blue jeep for my hubby to come back with the keys to a different jeep, one of the rental company employees backed a van up into the blue jeep...scratching and denting the back driver's side.

Our second jeep was white and came with zip in windows. We took this jeep on our "road to Hana" excursion. A coastline road that is 45 miles long and contains 54 one-lane bridges and over 600 hairpin turns. A drive where I was constantly reminding my hubby to slow down (he was driving too fast because there were alot of places he wanted to see) and to keep his eyes on the road (he would cross the middle line when he lingered too long looking at the scenery). The drive was beautiful and breathtaking and we saw some amazing waterfalls, a black sand beach, and hiked through a bamboo forest.

Hana is about half way around the right side of the island and instead of returning home on the same route, my hubby decided we should complete the loop around the right side of the island, driving on one of the "4-wheel drive" recommended roads. This route was not a well travelled route and we were very happy to finally reach a real road again. By this time it was dark out and the road was quite hilly and barely lit. As we crested the top of one of the hills I saw something ahead and yelled "Slow Down!" for the millionth time that day. "There's something on the road!". My hubby had not seen what I saw and asked "Where?" as we crested the top of the next hill. There in front of us the dark images were easily recognizable. Three large dark cows in the middle of the road. Slamming the brakes on, we missed two of the cows and hit the third one in the shoulder...tenderizing him I'm sure. The cows ran off and we drove away, a little shaken but very thankful for God's protection and that we and the cows were not harmed seriously.

The accident caused about $1000 damage to the jeep. The next day we exchanged the white jeep for a red jeep. The red jeep survived the remainder of the trip.

Wordless Wednesday - On the Climber

When I Grow Up, I Want to Be...

Lately C has started talking more and more about what she wants to be when she grows up. She went through a phase where she would tell me that she wanted to be a doctor and a dentist when she grew up. A doctor on Tuesdays and a dentist on Thursdays. After starting school, she changed her career choice to a teacher because she adored her JK teacher. About a month ago, she decided she wanted to be a cashier because cashiers get to stay in one spot and don't have to walk around. I wasn't very excited about this line of reasoning. The other day she watched Richard Scarry's Best Busy People Video Ever and has decided that she wants to be a travel agent. When I asked her why she said...

"Because they get to help people go places and get to be on the computer all day."

Not sure why she thinks that is exciting.

Wordless Wednesday - Parrots on the Beach

Role of a Mommy

We've had numerous conversations with our daughter over the last few weeks about what whining and complaining are, and that part of our role of being parents is to train her to not whine and complain...

"C, you're whining again."

"How am I going to remember all these things when I become a mommy?" said with a sigh.

Wordless Wednesday - Sandcastle on the Beach

Happy Anniversary to Us

Today is our 8th wedding anniversary.

My hubby proposed to me at the top of the CN Tower. I had no clue he was going to propose and when he got down on one knee, pulled the ring out of his pocket and asked..."Will you marry me?"...my initial response was..."Are you serious?" I was shocked. The box was not open so I was wondering..."Is there really a ring in that box?". There was...and I said yes. Why was I shocked? He proposed during my final university term when I was in the middle of job interviews, term projects and preparing for final exams. Not a lot of mental energy left over to wonder when he was going to propose. As well, prior to this day, he had never said "I love you." to me. A phrase he wanted to save for his wife and was not going to use as meaningless words.

We were married less than 5 months later on a slightly overcast day. My car broke down the day before, my hairdresser slept in, one of the bridesmaids had to wear shoes that were too small. But in the end, everything worked out. My dad sang me down the isle (many years ago he travelled in a gospel singing group). He sang Sunrise, Sunset...modifying the words slightly to be for me...a special, proud moment.


We went to Vancouver for the first week of our honeymoon and then to Maui for the second week. My hubby kept Maui a secret until the middle of our week in Vancouver. He had led me to believe that we were driving to Banff. When he told me we were really going to Hawaii, my response again was..."Are you serious?"...but I think this time, I asked him two or three times. Maui was awesome, beautiful and eventful (Ruth the cow story will come later). We had an amazing time and hope to return for our 10th anniversary.

Why we got married

Last Saturday, my hubby made some really yummy stir fry for lunch. As the three of us sat around the kitchen table and enjoyed it, I turned to my daughter and said...

"Mmmmm. This is yummy. I married daddy because he can cook."

She smiled back at me and said...

"Daddy married you because you are smart...and you can do two things at once."

Wordless Wednesday - My Daughter's Garden View