10th

Back in December Shaun and I took a belated 10th wedding anniversary trip, just the two of us. My parents graciously took Sully for the week. We took a red eye flight into Miami Florida where we then took a cab to finally hitch a ride on our boat for the week.

Every other year since we've been married, we've made it a point to travel to someplace we've never been before, but have wanted to see. It was kind of a pact we made before we ever got married. 2004 saw a two week trip to England and Scotland. In 2006 we took a trip to Japan for two weeks to stay with family in Koriyama. In 2008 we spent 3 weeks with my family cross-country traveling through Ireland. In 2010 Shaun and I took our first trip after having Sully to the Mexican Riviera for a week, and then this trip in December 2012 where we spent a week cruising the Caribbean and stopped in the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Grand Turk and Puerto Rico. Early next year we plan to take a week vacation up in Vancouver for the first time with Sully, and my sister is already hatching a plan for a family vacation to Italy in 2016.

We've been extremely lucky to travel as much as we do. The every-other-year plan seems to work well for us since the "off" year gives us time to save and plan for future trips. Planning way ahead in advance gives us a chance to look for the best deals and the best times of year to travel to wherever it is we're going next. We try to live under our means and save the extra money aside for a year to a year and a half when we know we have a goal destination coming up.

I love that traveling is something we do together. That its something we both love. It never ceases to amaze me when I get to look back on all the adventures we've embarked on over the past decade. When I was in high school I had a huge world map on my wall with all the pins pushed into the places I wanted to see in the world.

The fact that its happened, and continues to happen, well, its like living out a dream and sometimes I just have to pinch myself.

We had a great time. I enjoyed unplugging for the week and simply just hanging out with my husband, gorging on food that was really bad for us and spending every night talking on our balcony. But I also missed my little guy terribly by the 5th of 6th night and was more than ready to be home again.

Oh and Shaun checked one off his bucket list ... he got me to actually go into the ocean. ( I don't do oceans. Insane fear of open water. I know, I know, how the hell did I ever get on a boat to start with right? That's a whole other story.)

Four

I waver ...
on a daily basis -
between wanting to hug the crap out you,
or sell you on the corner to the first bidder.
You and the dog.
You talk back more,
and listen less.
You scale my couch,
the tables, my counter
and the stair railings.
You fly off beds,
and sail over steps.
Most days I can't figure out
where
the heck
your shirt
has gone.
Where do you put them?
My house is strewn with
hockey sticks and baseball mitts,
hundreds of matchbox cars,
crayons, trains and monster trucks.
There are cardboard boxes,
stacked along walls used for various
playtime castles, locker rooms, and monster truck rally lots.
And currently as I type there's a Lego stuck to my ass.
And I wouldn't change a bit of it.
I smile ear to ear on a nightly basis,
as I quietly pick up after the whirlwind
that is my soon-to-be four year boy.
As I've done every year since before the night you were born,
I sit here.
Wondering. Contemplating. Remembering.
Smiling and crying.
I know that on the eve of April 16th,
four years ago,
I had every expectation and no idea of what
motherhood
would bring.
Four years buddy,
and nobody has killed each other -
well, yet.
Of all the things I could say,
I'll say this ...
Nobody can make me smile quite like you.
I'm so proud that you're my son.
Santa does in fact live too far away for you to visit,
even if you have a magic car.
I'm pretty sure the "Mini Mightasootas" are not an NHL certified team.
Sharks don't live under your bed, I promise.
And stop taunting the dog when you have turkey in your mouth ...
She's going to bite your face one day.
Happy Birthday Sully.
You are everything I had hoped to do right in my life.
(And maybe a little bit of wrong. Troublemaker.)
I love you to the moon and back.

-Mom

Ninja Training