luxe chandelier

My Mom warned me the bunch (Mom, Dad, Grandma & Dad’s best friend Craig) were going to come over tonight to wish us Happy Anniversary since we didn’t see them last night. I usually can’t hear the doorbell (I need to get a doorbell flasher soon!) so Tyler tells me that they’re here and I see my dad dressed like this…

What the heck!? This is not what he normally wears everyday. He has seen Tyler wear black gym shoes before and thinks it’s okay for him to wear black socks & shoes with shorts. We tried explaining to him that he cannot do that! Grandma had the giggles and could not stop giggling over dad’s outfit.

Then Mom tells us to leave and go to our room while she went to the car to get something for us. The bunch got us a gift for our anniversary and I’m in love with it!

I would have never thought of getting something like this! I love how I can change it later on with seashells, pine cones, pumpkins, and etc. Just perfect!

The rest of the evening was full of more laughing & spilling our drinks.

Grandma took a shot of Goldschlager! I think my Mom scared Tyler a little bit…

Mom: Did you do it last night?!

Tyler: What?

Mom: You heard me!!

Dad’s best friend, Craig, is in town visiting. They’ve been best friends since the bachelor days! I swear men have it easier with friendships than women do.

Mom insisted we pucker up! I have to admit I was one of those girls in high school who puckered up when taking pictures of myself and unfortunately my sister was paying attention to me because she does it now all the time. Apparently Mom wants to do the same now…

I’m thankful for… my family who makes me laugh all the time and is always there for me especially when we only live 5 miles away from each other. Tyler’s family who we wish we could see more often & we’re already counting down the days when we’ll see them next time. My awesome friends and new blogging friends who I love talking to through gchat, Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and e-mail. AND SO MUCH MORE!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I wish I had a cool school bus driver like my Dad back in the old days.

This morning when I left for work it was almost 7:08AM and I knew that meant my Dad was going to be coming any minute down the street in his school bus. Every time I see him and recognize his bus number it’s too late to wave at him.

This morning I saw a bus coming down the street. I rolled down my window and hysterically waved then realized it wasn’t #82. A second bus comes down as I’m going up the street and I’m determined that this is my dad’s bus so I wave again out the window and it’s NOT #82!! At this point, I’m feeling really stupid and like somebody who gets really excited over school buses. Jeez! 

So then I see another bus coming and I’m thinking, “OK..this has to be him seriously!” and wave again. And it wasn’t him. . . Now I’m gonna be the crazy woman that all the school bus drivers are going to be talking about at the bus yard! It’s okay with me if my Dad wants to pretend he doesn’t know who this crazy woman is. I don’t blame him.

Remember all those drills we had on the bus? How to exit the bus calmly and ask the bus driver all the silly questions we had. My dad’s friend, who is also a bus driver, had the best answers to some of the questions.

Kid: “What happens if the bus rolls over and starts on fire?”
Bus Driver: “Well, the first most important thing you need to do is get the bus driver out of the bus!!”

Kid: “What happens if a nuclear bomb hits us?!”
Bus Driver: “Then I want you to all look under your seat and there will be a green pill. Take it!”

I admire the bus drivers & teachers for having to come up with the best answers to these cute kids’ questions!

Got any fun or interesting bus stories to share?

My parents always took a picture of me every year on my first day of school.

I remember the day when I had to say goodbye to my parents when I left for college August 2003.

I was going to Rochester Institute of Technology in New York and it was my first time ever going to New York exactly 2,287 miles away from home. I was a nervous wreck! Mom was going to fly with me to help me move in. The night before we were leaving, I could not sleep at all. I was sick to my stomach.

The next morning at the airport it came to the second when I had to say my goodbyes to my Dad and sister. I held it in until I saw my dad cry. My Dad does not cry and the last time I saw him cry was at his father’s funeral in 1996. As I went through the security gate with my Mom, I looked back and saw my Dad carrying my sister crying so hard and waving “I love you” until the minute he couldn’t see me anymore. I was an emotional mess but really glad my Mom was with me to comfort me.

Mom and I had an awesome weekend together in NY before I moved in. The big day came and we were on campus moving in. I only knew one person there which was Tyler, my then boyfriend and now husband. We were excited to finally not be long distance and living in the same dorm for a year.

I remember the morning Tyler’s family left. Tyler seemed to be fine until my mom and I were about to go out to dinner. It finally hit him that his family left and was an emotional mess. My Mom was supposed to stay a week but then decided to fly home the next day because I was busy with moving in and orientation. I remember the morning when I had to say bye to my Mom. I was bawling my eyes out and wanted to just fall to the ground and cling to my Mom’s legs and not let go.

I was this close to telling Mom to take me home with her. I didn’t want to grow up already. I couldn’t believe my life at home was over. My parents were going to do all these things without me. They were going to be a family of 3 at the house. This was it. The beginning of a new chapter that I wasn’t prepared for.

Every August was difficult saying goodbye. Now I’m so glad I won’t have to ever go through that again now that we live 5 miles away from my parents.