My favorite room

Falling in love with Lib was one of the easiest things I've ever done, and we both knew very soon in our relationship that this was going to be a forever thing. Having Eryn has always seemed to complicate any relationship I've tried to have in the past, but with Lib everything was different. From the very beginning he had loved that fact I was a mom and completely supported me. The first time he meet Eryn she pretty much melted his heart and he got choked up when he had to say goodbye. They started to talk to each other every night and sometimes I would have to make her say goodnight because it was well past her bedtime.

The goodbyes....they kept getting harder and harder to do. The weeks leading up to our Valentines visit Lib was always busy and our late night talks seemed to get shorter and shorter. He told me he was working on a surprise for us so I tried not to pout too much. I can't stand waiting and tried to do everything I could to get even one tiny hint out of him. No luck. I had some guesses...an archery set up or some shelving in the house or part of the basement finished. So when we finally arrived I was shocked to see that the house, the basement, the garage, everything looked exactly the same. Since this was Eryn's first time to Idaho and our soon to be home, Lib told her he wanted to show her where her new room would be.

The last time I saw the room it was empty except for an old bed and some stuff shoved in the closet. What I saw when he opened the door this time stopped me in my tracks and made me cry. He had created the most beautiful pink horse themed room, something perfect for my daughter. Every little detail was amazing, so thoughtful and loving. There were framed horses everywhere, a pink lasso on the wall and even huge moose antlers with pink stuffing. I was overwhelmed, all I could do was throw my arms around him and cry while Eryn ran around the room exploring.

When I had finally composed myself he handed Eryn a card, which of course I had to read to her. In it he told her how much he loved us, how happy he was to have us in his life and then he told Eryn that he wanted her to be there when he asked her mom to be his wife. He got down on his knee after I read that part out loud and proposed to me in her little pink room. I know I will never forget that day. And I am pretty sure that Eryn's room will always be my favorite room in the entire house. Walking into it, all I feel is love and happiness.

Passport? What passport?

I have had a passport since I was 14 years old, I've travelled all over the world, lived in third world countries, given lectures on flying internationally and helped dozens of people travel efficiently.

And yet, here I sit on the computer watching the snow fall while I pout. I should be finishing up my second or third umbrella garnished drink wondering which bikini I will wear first after I sleep in tomorrow morning. Instead I'm back in Idaho waiting to catch tomorrow's flight out. I keep trying to squint and pretend the snow is actually a tropical white sand beach. It's not really working. All because I decided not to bring my passport with me to Seattle where I was supposed to catch a plane to the Bahamas. Of course it is marginally funny now, after I've cried more than a few times and said the f word so much that I'm afraid I won't be able to kiss my mom with this mouth anymore.

Eryn's Second First Day of School

Eryn couldn't wait to start at her new school, Harwood Elementary, and believe it or not the school was open even though there was snow on the ground. Yes, the Seattle area could use a lesson from the folks in Idaho. Eryn was the star of the show on her first day. I was a little worried she would be nervous not knowing anyone, but of course my little social butterfly was making friends before I was even out the door. The kids were all calling out her name and she was surrounded by a ring of girls all asking her different questions. I could tell from the smile on her face she was all good.


Her favorite thing of all is that fact she gets to ride the bus everyday (and I get an extra 20 minutes to myself!!). Living in a small town has some unexpected perks....like you get to call the bus driver on her personal cell phone to let them know about your child. Eryn did get 'freaked out' on the way home because the bus 'just kept driving and driving around town'. She was sure that they were lost and that they didn't know where she lived. But now she is a pro and I'm sure pretty soon she won't even want me to walk her to the bus stop.

Idaho or Bust

I have been wanting to move to the mountains for the last year, but I never would have guessed that we would actually be doing it. After getting rid of about half of my stuff, we packed up the Uhaul and headed down the road to Idaho and Liberty. Eryn was so excited she refused to sleep for fear of missing something exciting. It took us two long days on the road but Eryn didn't complain once. I had a great wing man, my mom helped me switch lanes when the traffic was heavy (and remind me to slow down). Both days we clear and sunny, the roads were accident free and there wasn't a drop of snow. We decided to go the long route through Oregon and it was a good call. The night we left a big snowstorm hit the NW and northern Idaho/Montana...our timing couldn't have been more perfect.

It was all I could do to drive the speed limit the closer we got to Idaho Falls, the closer I got the better I felt. I needed a few days to let it sink in that we were all together and no one was leaving, no one had a plane to catch...no more goodbyes. The next day we unloaded the van in 30 minutes (if only unpacking everything took that long too).

Our Little Love Story

I know I'm supposed to be biased, but I think that Lib and I have one of the best love stories around. Both of our families moved to Washington the summer before 7th grade and we went to middle and high school together. We had alot of the same friends, double dated to a dance and even dated during the beginning of our senior year. I remember always wishing I would get a chance to see him again when I wasn't a silly high school girl and he says he always thought of me as his 'what if girl'.

After losing track of each other 16 years ago we got our second chance thanks to facebook. Over a few weeks of emails we got to know each other again and those emails led to hours on the phone every night. The only hard things was the distance between us. Lib called me one night to ask me if I wanted to meet him in Salt Lake for the Coldplay concert. Three days later I was standing at the airport with my heart racing and palms sweating...so nervous I could hardly stand myself. The first time I saw him I just knew. Against all the dating rules we both said 'I love you' that weekend. Since then it has been an exciting whirlwind. I was Lib's first girlfriend and now I get to be his last.