our story: November 2014

Sunday, November 16, 2014

And the Tree Is...

Up! It's funny that almost all of our pictures include some constructional device. The air compressor adds a nice flare to the holiday decor. Better than the table saw, right? We've been working hard. Don't hate. Appreciate. ;)

Ella riding the reindeer:

Not without a little help of E.W.

Saturday, November 15, 2014

11-Year Anniversary

We have been married 11 years already? What better way to celebrate our adventurous journey thus far than spending an entire weekend together. Just us. The way it all began. A boy, a girl, and a dog.

A big THANK YOU goes out to my parents and Chad's parents for watching the kids the whole weekend so we could have some much-needed time together.

To begin our anniversary rendezvous, we started our morning off with some "vacation coffee" as I like to call it (expensive coffee that I will only buy on special occasions) while we rounded up the kids for school. After dropping them off at school, we headed to Lincoln to get paint, trim, and to look at stone for our fireplace. The first stop was a gas station for gas where we got the most delicious caramel cappuccinos. I would describe it as the most magical cup of frothy sweetness that I have ever had. Ever. Chad drank about a quarter of his and was sick to his stomach from all of the sugar. Mmmm...sugar.

We went and looked at stone and picked out the kind we like (by we, I mean me). :) This is not it, but it is sort of similar.

We then we shopping to get paint and trim and had a nice lunch date at Kramer. After a day of what I wanted to do (shopping for stone and paint), we did something that Chad really wanted to do: hunt. We got all camo-ed up and headed out to the stand.

I had to borrow Grandpa's Scent-Lok suit.

We seen some really cool stuff in the stand. There was a baby raccoon curled in the tree next to us, and squirrels were running rampant in the trees causing a hurricane of ruckus. After about an hour and a half of being in the stand, a nice 5X5 came walking right at me. My eyes were as big as baseballs as I sat there staring at this beautiful animal 5 yards from me. I so badly wanted to laugh because he just stood there and stared. I nudged Chad to tell him to look around the tree, and he did. In that moment, he was unsure about the size of the deer in comparison to the ones we already have mounted, and to me, he looked to be about the same size. Chad drew back his bow. There stood the buck -- 15 yards away. With hesitation plaguing his mind, he decided not to take the shot. When the sun began to set, the buck came back. Still no shot.

It was an exciting hunting experience that we both will never forget.

Hours after the hunt, he regrets not taking that shot. It seems that with each story, the buck gets bigger and bigger. ;)

The next two days were spent painting and putting up trim. After nearly an entire day of painting, I looked in the mirror to find paint all over my face, and I asked Chad, "Why didn't you tell me I had paint all over me?" He told me that after being married to me for 11 years, he is used to seeing me with stuff on my face and in my hair (whether that be paint, joint compound, drywall dust, flour, frosting, spray foam).

You might think that we are crazy for working while our kids are away, but it was a really enjoyable time. ;) There is no other place that we would rather be than our little corner of the world. The best anniversary yet. Nothing fancy. Just us.