I am, I am...the Luckiest

The thing about me is that I'm a really lucky girl. Lucky in the sense that I have good luck. I win things. If my name is on a ticket in a bucket before a drawing, it will get drawn. On the off chance it doesn't, I get irritated. I'm that lucky. I put a quarter in a bubble gum machine (yes, I still do that) and it invariable gives me two. I luck into amazing sales when I'm not even looking for them. I find things, awesome things, for free. Once I found a bike that I had really wanted for $350. It was over $1000 online. They only had one size left. Guess whose size it was? Mine. I drive through a packed parking lot and always find a spot up close where someone was just leaving. That someone usually leaves me a hefty balance on the meter so I don't even have to pay. I never get the middle seat on a plane. Never. I'm not kidding. I really am so lucky.

Last month Dave surprised me with a weekend trip to Whistler, BC for our one year anniversary. How lucky is that?

We took the lift to the top of the mountain.

The view was like nothing I've ever seen before.

It was incredible to see so much snow on June 25th.

Other people opted to bike down or hike. We decided to live on the edge and take the tram. Apparently it was installed for the Olympics.

We even stumbled upon a stock car race. We were two of about six spectators. It was a hilarious good time.

We took a couple of hikes to some waterfalls.












It was my first trip to Whistler. I was stunned by the beauty of it.

















Nairns Falls. It was a beautiful day.

Over the last year I've learned that I'm also the other kind of lucky. I'm lucky to have the life that I do. I'm lucky to have spent the last year with my very best friend. There's nobody else that I'd rather go to a Canadian stock car race with. Or go anywhere with. I'm married to the funniest guy alive. And the kindest guy. When I told my parents I was dating someone, they asked about him. I said, "He's the best guy I know." Everyone I've met in his life has said the same thing.

I like to think of myself as an independent girl and practical girl, someone who can do things on her own. But now, when I leave the house early and go to work, I close the door behind me and my heart hurts a little because I know I'm going to really miss that guy.

I love the Ben Folds' song, "The Luckiest". He says,

I love you more than I have ever found a way to say.

But I know

That I am

I am

I am

The Luckiest

I mean, look at this. I really am the luckiest.

My birthday

Last year on my birthday I was in Jamaica and had been married for one day. This year, I came home from work to a surprise party sponsored by the girls (with a lot of help from Grandma and Grandpa). Nobody, literally nobody, loves a surprise party more than these girls. If Dave leaves for 15 minutes to go to the store, they'll say, "How should we surprise him when he gets back? Well, I could hide behind the couch, and you, well, you could pretend to be asleep...." and so on.

So they spent the entire day preparing for the moment I walked through the door on my birthday. Imagine my surprise.

Some lovely decorating

Pin the mustache on Rebekah. An old family classic that changes slightly depending on the event. You may recall Pin the Glasses on the Silly Dad.

The cotton ball game was a big hit.

Followed up by dinner and cupcakes.

I did a bad job of taking pictures of the week my parents were here, but the kids had a great time with them. It was something fun every day. They are such fantastic grandparents, which shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. The best parents generally are the best grandparents. I'm really lucky, and so are the girls, that they have embraced my new kids as their own family. They truly adore the girls, and the feeling is more than mutual.

In The Loop

Last month my parents were nice enough to come up for a week to watch the kids while Dave and I worked. The weekend they arrived we decided to take them on the Cascade Loop. It's a long drive and covers some of the most beautiful areas I've ever seen. Dave and I had done it a few weeks earlier and demanded that they see it.

When Dave and I drove the loop the first time, we talked about how fun it would be to do the drive in a convertible. So this time around, and since it was almost Father's Day, I surprised Dave by renting this little number. And it was SO fun! For about an hour.

But, as you can see here, the back seat isn't exactly roomy. And the discomfort was heightened by the fact that it rained the entire time. This left us with two equally painful options: A) Drive with the top up and contort in the fetal position in the "backseat" or B) Drive with the top down in the rain.

We tried both options.

At one point my dad said, "Oh, it's fine. Just leave the top down. When you go fast most of the rain blows over the top of us." He was serious. Really fun times.

Because my parents are really good sports, we actually ended up having a pretty fun time.

A spectacular view

Me and my dad

One of dozens of waterfalls along the way.