Timmy T Turns Thirty-Three

My husband is getting old so much faster than me!

For his 33rd birthday we went out with our friends Jaron and Becky to Texas Roadhouse. Jaron told the waiter that it was Tim's birthday, so he had to sit on the bull. He didn't want to, but he did it. I got him a new saw for his birthday, which he will be returning. It was quite an exciting day!

Tim is awesome. He is a thinker. I have a tendency to not want to think about things that stress me out. I am very glad that he is willing to take the time to look at decisions from every angle. He stews about things and worries about them, and then he makes good decisions. He can brainstorm. I admire it and I'm glad someone in this marriage does it. 

He's also really fun. He's the one that gets down and plays with the kids the most. He could pass the football with Mason all day. He plays barbies and "house" with the girls. He makes me laugh. 

One thing I love most about Tim is they way he puts his family first. Anyone who knows him knows that he likes to talk about money. He thinks about it and talks about it and worries about it. He wants more. But anyone who knows him also knows that he puts his family first, always. He could make more money, He's got the smarts and experience and ambition. But he isn't willing to sacrifice quality time with his family. He is such a good provider, in more than one way. 

There are too many things that I love about him. It's morbid - but sometimes I imagine what I would say at his funeral. And there is just too much. People would be there all day.  

A decade of marriage

Tim and I celebrated our 10 year!!! anniversary. We are getting old. (I'm 30!) We got some babysitters and then went to Logan for our date. We took a flight over Cache Valley in a small 4-passenger plane. It was pretty cool to see everything from up there, and Tim got to steer the plane. Then we went out to dinner at Olive Garden. We also had a little visit with our friends, Jaron and Becky Larson, since they watched Eric for us.

Tim is a good one. I love being married to him. At night when we're all in bed and I have a minute to think about my day and about my life, I always feel so blessed for the husband I have. He never shies away from letting his family know how much he loves us. He is a hard worker and I know he takes his responsibility as our provider seriously. He gives his kids all the attention he possibly could, they will never doubt that they are his number one priority. He lets me know everyday and that he loves me and thinks about and appreciates me. He is also funny and kind and million other good things... I could gush on and on and on but I will spare you.

Basically, ten years in and we are happy. I couldn't ask for more.

Diseased

A few days after we got home from Bear Lake, our little nephew, Friedrich, got chicken pox from the vaccine he had a couple weeks before. It is very rare for this to happen, and we were feeling pretty bad for the little guy. While we were on our trip, Mason's throat glands were swollen like little golf balls, but he didn't complain about a sore throat and didn't have a fever, so we didn't worry too much. (I didn't worry too much, Tim thought he might suffocate in his sleep.) Then about a week after we got back, he broke out in a little rash, too.

I figured he caught chicken pox from Friedrich. Then Brielle spiked a fever. Then I started thinking it was very strange that three kids would get a disease that they had all been immunized against. So I googled! Possibly chicken pox - probably hand, foot and mouth disease. Turns out they are very similar and neither can really be treated, so no need to get a doctor involved.

When Ava caught it, I got a little concerned. She got sores all over her body, not just in her mouth and a couple on her hands like the other two kids. She was inconsolable one minute and happy to run and play the next, like kids often are when they're sick. She didn't want to walk much and was obviously itchy and uncomfortable. She kept pointing at her spots and saying, "bug!" Since our neighbor is our pediatric physicians assistant, I ran her down there and it turns out the internet knows a thing or two about diseases. Definitely hand, foot and mouth... and that's what Friedrich must have had, too.

Once Ava started to feel a little better, Tim got a terrible sore throat and a fever and was down for a couple of days. As soon as the sores in his throat healed, they turned up all over his hands and feet. The doctor told me that it is actually a lot more painful than itchy and evidently that was the truth. Tim was on the couch for three days and said it felt like someone just shaved all the skin off his hands and feet. He couldn't even lift the lid of the toilet without severe pain in his fingertips. Otherwise he felt fine, and I thought he was going to go crazy being out of commission for almost a week.

I also thought I was going to go crazy. It is one thing to have your husband home sick and be the caretaker - I've never minded it. It is a whole other thing to be completely home-bound because the kids are still contagious. I had two awesome friends (Karalee Kidd and Nicole Watkins) bring me treats out of pity, without even hearing me complain! It was so sweet that they realized that its kind of hard taking care of a whole house of sick people while you're pregnant.

Now that Tim's sores have healed the skin is all peeling off to reveal nice, pink, baby fresh skin underneath. Meaning, his hands and feet are sore and sensitive again. It has been terrible for him and for Ava. Not being able to do anything to make it better for them is the worst. And here are some wonderful pictures to walk you through the horror.

 

Since the last time I wrote

The weather has been so often cool and rainy this month that it feels like summer ended sometime in July, and we are currently enjoying Autumn. I am so excited for Fall this year. That is the first time I have ever said that in my life. It will probably be the last. It has been a wonderful summer,  but I am very pregnant, and I am ready for a wonderful Fall. And all the more concealing clothing that comes with it!

I've been terrible at taking pictures of all the fun things we've been doing. We went up the canyon with friends for foil dinners, s'mores, and bear hunts. We've gone to lots of parks and the splash pad and swimming pool. We've had play dates with new friends. We've jumped on the trampoline downstairs quite a bit when it was too hot to play outside. We drive by the lot we purchased in West Haven often. There have been BBQ's and family parties. Next week we will be going for a few days to Bear Lake to wind up the summer before school starts.

Last week we went for an overnight camp trip to Mirror Lake with Tim's parents, his brother John, and our nephews Taylor, Cole, and Cam. Ava had been sick all week, so we let her stay the night with Nana - which she loved and was actually a blessing because a brave 18-month-old and a lake wouldn't mix well. We bought little fishing poles for Mason and Brielle the week before we went and they couldn't wait to try them out.

Brielle got one fish on her line, but it got away because her mom couldn't figure out how to tighten the bale. They got to reel in a lot of fish on their cousins' lines. Mason loved that. He really just loved hanging out with his cousins and they are always so good with him. Both Mason and Brielle said that the fire was their favorite part. So easy to please! It was a great time.

Mustaches

About two weeks into the month, Tim decided he would participate in No-Shave November. Thing is, though, he grows very little facial hair. No sideburns, no hair on his cheek. Some on his chin. However his mustache did not get the memo. It grew in so fast and so thick and he got asked more than once if he colored it in with mascara. It was a little like having a new husband and I actually didn't mind it. :) But, mustaches. Can anyone take them seriously?

Yesterday he turned 31. He had a kind of, once-you're-thirty-you're-in-your-thirties attititude about it. Like most of his birthdays it was just a low key event. Went to dinner, opened some presents. Didn't eat any cake. I hope it was good for him. He's amazing. The man can do anything. I really feel like I won when I married him.