On an afternoon in Lakewood, CO, 18 years ago today, Anita and I were joined together in holy matrimony! It’s hard to believe two things:

1. How far we’ve come. I can remember scrapping together just enough cash for a dollar movie and some popcorn. Red Lobster was a huge deal! We started out in a studio apartment where the cops used to park at night to save time and gas (they were going to be there eventually). On top of all that…we were basically just kids. Again…how far we’ve come!
2. How lucky I am to have such an amazing wife! She is far more than I deserve…more than I could have ever hoped for. God has truly blessed me with a Proverns 31 wife and I thank Him for it every day!

We spent today together. Sushi followed by some shopping and a movie. Nothing fancy. We don’t need it (and we can’t afford it ).  As long as we spend it together that’s all that matters.

In some ways the last 18 years have flown by. In other ways I can’t believe how long it’s been. One thing is for sure…I can’t wait for the next 18 years with my amazing bride! Love ya babe!

Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is more precious than rubies.
Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life

Her children stand and bless her. 
Her husband praises her: “There are many virtuous and
capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!”

Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; 
but a woman who fears the Lordwill be greatly praised.
Reward her for all she has done.
Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.
Proverbs 31:10-11, 28-31, NLT

Our plans changed a bit this past weekend. Memorial Weekend is our annual camping trip to Como, CO. I think we’ve been going there for the past 5 years or so (Anita will correct me if I’m off one or two). We were all set for this year’s trip, we were in the middle of preparations on Friday night, when we got a call that informed us that the road to the campsite was covered with snow and wasn’t passable. A serious change of plans was in store for our weekend.

So what did we do? We improvised of course. Friday night was spent just trying to figure it out and get over the disappointment of a lost camping trip. Saturday we spent the afternoon with everyone who was going camping (as well as a few that weren’t) and barbecued at Paul & Leslie Foster’s house…followed by a couple poker games of course (and yes, Anita won one of them).

Sunday and Monday we headed down to my Granparent’s house in Cañon City. They spoiled us rotten and took us to the Royal Gorge on Monday afternoon. The weather was good and we had a great time. Not bad for a sudden change of plans. Here are a few pictures from the trip down south. Don’t miss the video at the end (Lindsay’s favorite part of the weekend I think).

 
My Grandparent’s Victorian House in Cañon City, CO 

 
My Grandparents (Ross & Charlotte) posing with the kids.

 
The beginning of the Royal Gorge afternoon.

 
Lindsay, Logan & Kyle riding the carousel.

 
A great view of the world’s highest suspension bridge.

 
A little ”wildlife” (the Elk in the background too).

  
Who doesn’t love a petting zoo?

 
The Air Tram across the Gorge…did I mention I hate heights?

 
A little perspective for the video.
This is the Royal Gorge Skycoaster from across the Gorge.
It’s the same ride as at Elitches, but swings out over the Gorge!!

Here’s the video of Lindsay and me riding the Royal Gorge Skycoaster. We both kind of talked each other into it, but I was impressed that Lindsay went through with it (although she wanted to back out a few times). You’ll note in the video that she is the one that pulls the rip cord. The video doesn’t really do the ride justice…it swings you out over the canyon…an awesome experience…and one that I got to share with Lindsay!!

If you can’t see the video above, click here to see it on YouTube.

All in all a great weekend salvaged from what I thought was going to be a bummer!! You just can’t go wrong spending time with family and friends. A memorable Memorial Weekend…one for the memory banks.

This has been a hectic week (hence the lack of postings the last few days). I am in my last week of school for this class (and this school year), which is always busy as I finish up big papers and all the lose ends of a class. On top of my schooling, it’s the last week of school for the kids…always hectic as well as they wind down the year and get jazzed up for the summer.

We are also preparing and planning for our annual Memorial Weekend Camping Trip to Como, CO. The trip is a blast (assuming the weather holds out), but it’s one more thing on top of an already busy week. Frankly, I can’t wait for it to get here so we can all relax a little and spend time with family and friends in God’s country (just wish Bill and Cindy could make it this year, won’t quite be the same without them)!

In the midst of all this busyness and craziness, God gave me these words of encouragement this morning. I hope they encourage you as much as they do me:

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these?
If God is for us, who can ever be against us?
Romans 8:31, NLT

  Our littlest dude is six years old today…freaks me out how fast time continues to fly. He had a great party this afternoon (with more Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys than he could have dreamed of) capped off by going and seeing Prince Caspianfollowed by ice cream. What more could a six year old ask for? Here is the little man in his favorite outfits (it’s either jammies or a Spiderman costume). More pics to come, but the PC with the photos is current “under the weather”…

We finally got a picture of Anita’s new wedding ring. Here it is in all of its glory… 

It still brings a smile to her face (wonder how long that will last?).

That’s how I spent this past weekend: A Ring, A Play, and a Plane.

First: A Ring. Friday night I took Anita out for a special night at Del Frisco’s Steakhouse. To make a long story short (ask me, or better yet Anita, for the details if you want them) I surprised my beautiful bride with a new, long awaited wedding ring (remember, we got married at 19 and 20 years old). She deserves it and for once in my life I was able to genuinely surprise her! Score one for the good guys!

Second: A Play. Saturday was B-U-S-Y with school work and preparation for teaching on Sunday morning…lots of computer work! But the evening was capped off by watching my fabulous daughter perform in her school’s production of The Wizard of Oz. She played the part of a lead chorus singer and munchkin. She had a lot of fun on the production and it’s always fun watching her perform.

Finally: A Plane. Sunday afternoon I jetted off to San Francisco, CA to attend a conference for work. As I type this that’s where I am. There are worse places to be, but I also hate being away from home and the family! I hate leaving Anita to deal with everything on here own. I get back Thursday night and I can’t wait.

You know, now that I’m done typing all of this I realized that probably two other people on the entire planet actually care. C’est la vie! On a more practical note, I will probably be a little more lax on my posting this week. Don’t worry…I’ll be back! Stay tuned…

The time has arrived to finally “come clean” (pun intended). I’ve been telling Anita that this day was coming…and it has finally arrived. This is partly because I noticed my posts of late have been on the more serious side so it’s time to lighten them up a bit (at least one or two in the mix). It’s also because the world must  know…

Anita is a mess when she eats out. I mean literally! Now I must admit that this is the only time when she leaves a mess…but you can set your watch by it. I can’t explain it. I don’t understand it. I only report the facts ma’am.

Just this past weekend we went out for sushi. We got a crunchy roll, which is basically a shrimp tempura roll with all these little tempura crunchies on top of it. Yummy! The waitress comes to take our plates. My side of the table? Clean. Anita’s side of the table? Not so much…not even close!

Ever been to a really nice steakhouse (ala: Del Frsico’s)? You know when they come by with their little “table cleaner” tools to get the crumbs off the table? Oh…my…gosh! I swear they need two or three for Anita’s side.

It’s become our running joke. So obvious by now that even she laughs about it when we get yet another example of it. In case you’re wondering…it doesn’t bother me. Actually, I love it. I love that she has a little quirk. I love even more that she can laugh at herself. It’s what makes her Anita…and one of the many reason why I love her so much!!

Love ya babe…messy table and all!

11 years ago today it happened.
I became a Father .
Anita became a Mother.
Lindsay Kay Baumgartner was born!

I remember the day like it was yesterday. Anita calling to me early in the morning that her water had broken…I think she had to tell me three or four times before it sunk in and I finally got up to head to the hospital. Long story short…later that day we had a beautiful baby girl.

Blink. 11 years later and now I have a beautiful young girl that is growing up too fast! I am so proud of the woman Lindsay is becoming. She has strong values and a strong self-image. She cares about others and loves God.

Happy Birthday Lindsay!
You’ll always be my baby girl, no matter how old you are.

Some of my favorite Lindsay pictures…

Last night was date night…with Lindsay. It’s one of those things I want to do a lot, but “stuff” always seem to get in the way and it just never happens. But we made time for it last night and we had fun.

First on the agenda was a movie. I let Lindsay pick the flick so we went to see Penelope. not exactly a “guy movie” but that wasn’t the point. It was actually a fairly decent movie with a common plot line. It’s about a girl born with a family curse…she is born with a pig face. The most notable feature is her snout nose. The main point of the movie is that we need to like ourselves. Overall a good lesson and Lindsay and I even talked about it a little on the way to dinner.

Dinner was also Lindsay’s choice and if you know her at all you know that the list was short…something that serves steak. So off to Traildust Steakhouse we went after a quick stop at a bookstore to find a book they didn’t have.

Lindsay loves this place for two reasons: 1) They serve steak on the kid’s menu and 2) they have a wicked long slide. It was Friday night so the place was busy and there was a kid’s birthday party going on too. Lindsay hurled herself down the slide 4 or 5 times before dinner came and another 5 or 6 after we ate. We talked about pretty inane stuff for the most part: what she wanted to do for her birthday, her friends, what she wants to be when she grows up, etc.

I love spending time with her. It’s awesome to not only love your kids but to genuinely like them. I am proud of who my daughter is growing up to be…and I told her so. She stands up for her own beliefs, makes friends easily, and is conscious of other’s feelings (she even wants to have a small birthday party because she doesn’t like anyone to be left out if she has a lot of friends there).

I don’t know about Lindsay, but I had a great date. I just wish Anita had as much fun on her date with the boys…more work to do on that front!   :wink: