Picture Perfect Letterboxing....or not

This weekend, we ventured out and tried something new.  We went letterboxing.  Several weeks ago, Warren and I were introduced to this new hobby and decided we needed to try it with our family.  So, we chose a family name ("Music Hunters") and purchased our family stamp and convinced Harper and Chris to try it with us.  (I guess I should be honest and admit that I really was the excited one.)  Anyway, we decided to make a day of it.  So, we found clues for the letterboxes on the north side of town in Gator Creek Reserve, packed lunches and headed out.

Chris will freely admit that I have a tendency to build things up in my mind.  I set high expectations, which nothing can ever live up to.  I imagine events panning out as if in a movie....picture perfect (see picture on the right, which was somewhat staged and taken as soon as we got out of the van to get started).  Very rarely, if ever, does that happen.  This was one of those times.  I was very excited to actually get outside with the boys and walk some trails, while going hunting for letterboxes.

As we drove into the reserve, we came across a huge turtle crossing the road.  I could not have planned that any better.  And, that's where my picture perfect fairy tale ends. 


 





We got out of the car, sprayed the boys down with bug spray and headed out.  Warren started reading our clues and as we headed to clue #1, Harper said "Mommy, I want you to carry me."  What?  This was not part of my plan!!  Both boys were supposed to be skipping along the trail, looking for snakes and other wildlife.  (Remember the first picture, above?)  Luckily, we did see a second turtle, which diverted Harper's attention for a few minutes. 
We easily found the first (of five) letterboxes and exchanged our stamps.  Harper continued to ask to be carried....though that quickly became more and more of a whine, until Chris picked him up so we could keep moving along.  (Keep in mind that Harper is a very solid 48 pounds....and we were only about 0.1 of a mile into the at least mile long hike.)  Again, not part of my plan.  At this point, I imagined the boys to be sooo excited by finding the first letterbox that they just could not wait to find the next one.  That wasn't quite how it actually went.

However, we continued....because I made them.  The second clue told us to "seek the 0.2 mile marker."  Easy....or so we thought.  After we walked what felt like half a mile, we decided we had passed it and should turn around.  We started working through the clues backwards, until we found letterbox #5!  Now, at this point, Chris was carrying Harper (who was being eaten alive by mosquitoes...and he is, of course,very allergic to bug bites) and Warren and I were carrying the water bottle, hats and letterbox bag.  Chris kept Harper on the trail as Warren and I made our way through the woods to find the letterbox.  We set our hat and water bottle down and exchanged the stamps.  Bad move!  As Warren and I were stamping, Chris decided to go ahead and take Harper back to the car because he was getting bitten so badly.  (That wasn't quite how I envisioned that going either.) 

So, being a good sport, Warren continued along with me to find the last three letterboxes.  We easily found the next two, leaving one letterbox left.  And, after searching and searching, Chris texted and suggested we come back to eat lunch in the van and head home.  WHAT?  Seriously?  Problem #1, we were not leaving without finding all the letterboxes.  That was not in my plan.  Problem #2, Chris and Harper were sitting in the van while Warren and I were hunting the letterboxes.  This was suppose to be a great, fun, family activity.  Problem #3, we were suppose to enjoy our lunch on a blanket in the reserve (not in our van).  Problem #4, I forgot to pack a blanket.  Ok, so...after partially admitting defeat, Warren and I decided to head back to the van.  Along the way, we did spot a pretty big snake in the middle of the trail.  The snake seemed to be playing chicken and after realizing he was not going to move, we decided to tip-toe around him. 

Once back at the van, I just couldn't swallow coming so close and not finding all five letterboxes.  I decided to head back out one more time, by myself.  Um, hunting for letterboxes, in a nature reserve where we just passed a big snake, by myself, was definitely not part of my plan.  But, after using three different apps on my phone (thank goodness for my compass, the letterbox app and my Runkeeper to tell me the distance traveled), I found the last letterbox!     

With that, I joined the boys in the van, grabbed my sandwich and we headed home.  No, we didn't eat lunch on the picnic blanket that I didn't bring.  Though it didn't go as planned (what does?), my heart still felt full as we pulled in to our house...

and realized we left Warren's Ninja Turtle hat and my Tervis water bottle back at letterbox #5.  Given that the reserve is at least 13 miles away, this was definitely not part of my plan....which, at this point was par for the course.

So, this was the story of my life.  The best laid plans.....while our first family letterboxing experience didn't quite go as I had envisioned, we still spent time together and, trust me, made lots of memories!  And in the end, that's what it's all about, right?  

(Just in case you're wondering...Chris and I left the boys tie dying t-shirts with my brother and sister-in-law while we headed back out to the reserve and on the trail to rescue the hat and water bottle....and yes, we found them, right where we left them!  Don't you love a happy ending?)

The City That Never Sleeps

I know that for the last six years, this blog has been about our boys.  However, this June 7th, Chris and I celebrated our ten year anniversary, so forgive me while I take a minute and document our celebration.  Those of you interested in the boys (which I totally understand), you might want to stop reading now.  Otherwise, feel free to continue.

This trip started about ten years ago.  When Chris and I got married, he planned the entire honeymoon.  I knew nothing about it, except that we were going somewhere.  He told my mom where we were going, so she could make sure I packed appropriately.  When we finally ended up at the Ashley Manor Bed and Breakfast in Cape Cod, we made a vow to go on another trip for our ten year anniversary.  It didn't matter where....but we promised ourselves we would celebrate by taking a trip.

So, as this ten year anniversary approached, Chris was busy planning another trip.  In keeping with tradition, he tried to keep it a surprise, until I tore the meniscus in my knee and he wasn't sure I'd be able to do much walking.  It was then that I found out we were going to "The Big Apple" (kid-free) to celebrate ten years of wedded bliss.

We are fortunate enough (spoiled, some might say) to have both of our parents right here in town, so we can easily divide and conquer.  My mother kept one boy; my mother-in-law kept the other.  We left early Thursday morning and arrived in New York around 9am, ready for our first NYC cab ride...or so we thought.  YIKES!  New York driving is something I don't think I could ever get used to.

When we got to our hotel, we felt like fish out of water.  The Paramount is a very trendy hotel, with dark lighting, very modern furniture and very, very small rooms.  After we got checked in, we spent Thursday walking around Times Square and just being tourists.  Thursday night, we headed to Broadway to see Wicked.  And, while it was a wonderful experience, we both thought a) we should've seen something we hadn't already seen two times and b) the Tampa and Orlando companies are just as good, if not better than what we saw on Broadway.  Nonetheless, it was fun to dress up and see a show on Broadway.

After the show, in true New York fashion, we went to dinner at 10:00pm.  We went to a highly recommended Italian restaurant, Becco's, where we sat next to and divulged way too much information to two men I am still convinced are part of the mob.  Nonetheless, dinner was delicious and the mob-like conversation made for a great night.

Friday morning, we left the hotel at 5:30am in hopes of making it to The Today Show.  You can't visit NYC and not see The Today Show.  The only thing standing in our way was Hunter Hayes.  He was playing for the Summer Concert Series...which translates into thousands of screaming teenaged girls.  But, we are not quitters.  We were literally the last people they let into the plaza, but we were able to watch the whole show.  We even saw Al Roker up close....and made it on camera, holding our sign that said "Hi Boys! Love from NYC."  Ya, we were tourists.

We spent Friday walking around, sight-seeing (Rockefeller Center), then changed into our Tampa Bay Rays shirts, jumped on the subway and headed to the Bronx for the Yankees game vs. the Rays.  After we survived the non-Rays fan on the subway, we had a great time at the game, although the Rays lost.  And after some "counseling" from friends, we stayed through the end and saw Mariano Rivera warm-up and close out the game.  (Although I have no clue who he is, apparently, it's a pretty cool thing that we got to see him.)

Saturday morning we headed out to see the 9-1-1 Memorial.  While beautiful, it wasn't as emotional as I was expecting.  We then took advantage of being outside Times Square and just spent time walking around.  We walked around the financial district and saw the Statue of Liberty while in Battery Park.  We also went to the Guggenheim Museum, which was a bit of a disappointment.  We were excited to see the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit, only to find out it was basically a bunch of letters and photographs of him.

And, we sat on a cute bench in Central Park and people-watched.  It wasn't as picturesque as I had imagined (a la "You've Got Mail"), but it was cool just being there.

Saturday evening we completed the tourist trap by going on the tour of the NBC studios.  Without seeing any "stars," Chris was star-struck just being in the Nightly News studio...the highlight of the whole trip, for him.  We are both big NBC fans, so between The Today Show and the tour....we were just in awe.  We capped off our trip with another late-night dinner at The Smith, near The Lincoln Center.

We could not have asked for a better trip!  And, then, to come home Sunday, to two bright-eyed, smiling boys!  We were reminded, one more time, how lucky we really are.  Thank you, to all of our friends and family who have supported us over these last 10 years.  Heck, we really oughtta be thanking you for your support (and encouragement) over the last 23 years...with many more to come!  Stay tuned for the 20th anniversary!

When I grow up...

Although this post may not be exciting to many, I thought it was pretty neat and wanted to be sure and document it.  This afternoon at lunch, I randomly asked the boys what they wanted to be when they grew up.  Harper said "I want to be a doctor, like Dr. Cornett."  And Warren replied, "I want to be a coach, like Coach Corn.  I think I'd be a good coach."  Harper retracted his statement and said "No, mommy, actually, I want to be....well, ya, I want to be a doctor, like Dr. Cornett."

Oddly enough, as I was moving some pictures from my phone to my computer tonight, I came across these two pictures.

 This was taken back in the fall.  Warren tucked his shirt into his sweat pants and started jogging, and said "Look, mom, I'm Coach Corn."  

And this was taken awhile ago, though I'm not sure exactly when.  As Harper was playing dress up, he put on the stethoscope and told Chris that he was Dr. Cornett.

Coincidence?  Maybe.  But, though I'm not rushing it, I sure can't wait to see what they become when they grow up.

When the boys were born, I wanted to write a letter to include in their baby books.  Something they could read when they grew up that would let them know how I felt about them.  But, when I heard the song, "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts (which was released only 3 months before Warren was born), I felt like they stole my exact thoughts and wrote them out much more poetically than I could have done.  So, while I don't know what the boys will be when they grow up...maybe Warren will grow up to be a coach, like Coach Corn?  Maybe Harper will grow up to help hurting people, like Dr. Cornett.....but whatever they become,  this is my wish....
 
I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slow 
And each road leads you where you want to go  
And if you're faced with the choice and you have to choose 
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you
 
And if one door opens to another door closed 
I hope you keep on walkin' ‘til you find the window 
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile 
But more than anything, more than anything
 
My wish for you  
Is that this life becomes all that you want it to  
Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small  
You never need to carry more than you can hold
 
And while you're out there gettin' where you're gettin' to 
I hope you know somebody loves you  
And wants the same things too  

Yeah, this is my wish
 
I hope you never look back but you never forget  
All the ones who love you and the place you left  
I hope you always forgive and you never regret 
And you help somebody every chance you get
 
Oh, you'd find God's grace in every mistake  
And always give more than you take  
But more than anything, yeah more than anything

My wish for you 
Is that this life becomes all that you want it to  
Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small 
You never need to carry more than you can hold
 
And while you're out there gettin' where you're gettin' to 
I hope you know somebody loves you 
And wants the same things too  
Yeah, this is my wish, yeah yeah