Clarification

In order to avoid offending any friends or family, I need to make a clarification about my previous haircut entry:

I have nothing against short hair! Truly, I don't. In fact, I think guys' hair looks better when it's really, really short. Just not on my husband. Trust me, it took me 7 years of encouraging him to 'try a new style' in order to realize this fact.

Now, baldness is another story. The minute my man starts to go bald, I'll be encouraging him to shave it off. But it appears that I don't have to worry about that for a long, long time.

Rejection

Kevin recently informed me that he wanted to shave his head. Not down to the scalp, but a crew cut. So far, his choice of career hasn't affected his "style" of haircut. It might be slightly shorter, but not much. I, for one, am grateful for that. But apparently he's feeling a little self-conscious. His hair is among the longest of all the officers and he's just not sure if he shouldn't shave off an inch or two more.

He asked me what I thought of him getting a shorter style and with as much kindness as I could muster I said, "Well honey, I'm not sure how it would look on you. I think your forehead might be too big."

But then I quickly came back with, "But if you want to do it, now's a good time. Then if it didn't look good, you'd have a month or two to grow it out before you see anybody again."

Rude? I hope not.

Well, it seems that I have nothing to worry about. Because you see, when he entered the barbershop and informed them of his plans, it didn't go over so well. The lady looked at him, looked at his hair and flatly stated, "You don't want to do that."

Taken back by the rejection, Kevin said, "What?"

To which she replied, "You don't want to go short like the other guys. It won't look good on you."

And so he complied and kept his typical hairstyle. Apparently the opinions of two women were enough for him. And to think, I didn't even have to pay that lady to say anything!

Surprise

I'm sure I have the sweetest husband ever. I came home today and found these on my doorstep:

Letterboxing

Kyle and I embarked on a new adventure today - Letterboxing. I'd heard about this before, but this was the first time I'd actually done it. We went over to Prince William Forrest Park and they told us all about it.

Apparently, this activity dates back to England in the mid-Eighteen hundreds. But the way it works in the U.S. is this:

• You get a box, a journal or notebook, and your own homemade stamp (much cooler than a store-bought one).
• You hide the box containing the journal and stamp ANYWHERE in the U.S. You then post clues leading to the hidden box on http://www.letterboxing.org/
• People then get on the internet, find clues to a hidden letterbox in their area and go on a treasure hunt of sorts.
• Upon finding the hidden letterbox, they take YOUR stamp and stamp it in their notebook (that they're carrying with them). Then they take THEIR stamp and stamp the journal your letterbox, thereby leaving their "calling card."

The Park Ranger today told us that there are thousands and thousands of letterboxes in the U.S. - along roadways, up mountain trails, hidden in public buildings, etc. You simply have to get on the internet and take a look. Some clues will be simple, some very complex.

We went on a short, easy hunt today and Kyle loved it. And I remember talking to a friend in Utah who said her three children were crazy about it. I can see how it might be fun, especially on those long roadtrips. Why not do a little research and plan your rest stops near a hidden letterbox?

But I don't think I'll be one of those creative souls that hides a letterbox. I think I'll just try to find everyone else's.

Best.Night.EVER.

It really was. Do you ever build things up in your mind so much that the likelihood of actually achieving that magnitude of greatness and perfection is almost non-existent? I thought I'd done that. I'd dreamed about this concert for so long and built in up so much that I (and everyone else around me) figured there was no way it was ever going to be that good.

But Tim & Faith pulled it off. Oh my, did they ever pull it off! The music. The lights. The special effects. The beauty of these two people that somehow increased exponentially when paired together...It was amazing!

Separately, each of them could've put on an amazing concert. Faith's GORGEOUS, with a beautiful voice that could fill any auditorium. Tim gets the crowd going and is equally as gorgeous (Good looking? Sexy?) as his wife. But together...it was magic. Seriously. The electricity? It was HOT.

They sang together, they sang separately, they sang together again. It was 3 1/2 hours of pure heaven. I sang with them (I apologize to anyone sitting near me) and danced like crazy. The only thing better would've been having my honey there with me.

If I sound like a groupie, you're probably right. The only thing stopping me from following those tour buses to the next city was the fact that my husband and son weren't with me. And yes honey, believe it or not, you still come before Tim.

I wish I had pictures to demonstrate the greatness of this concert. But alas, my camera stinks. Especially in a dark colleseum. So you'll have to settle for these:

Terrible picture, but amazing. Trust me.

Cheesy picture, but I was excited.

I apologize for my brother's lack of enthusiasm. He got roped into going after my sister had to cancel. To say he's not a country fan would be an understatement. He was a good sport, though. If Tim & Faith can't convert him, nobody can!

Another terrible picture. But they are BEAUTIFUL!

Two Thumbs Down

I don't typically take the time to review books on my blog. Occasionally, if the book is that good, I'll write a little plug for it. But other than that, the moment I'm finished, the book is tossed aside and forgotten. However, I'm taking the time for this one.

I'd like to introduce you to Kyle's newest book:

I'm sure we're not the only Berenstain Bears fans out there. My fondness stems from my childhood and Kyle's is definitely more recent. But on the whole, I think that they're generally cute books with decent messages. That's why I was so disappointed in this one.

The subject of this book is pretty clear. However, the content is not. I thought it would be something along the lines of teaching kids not to fight, bullies are bad, avoiding bullies, etc. Oh no. Stan and Jan decided to delve into something much deeper.

When Sister is beat up by a bully at school, she doesn't avoid the bully. She takes boxing lessons. And the bully in this book isn't bad. She's simply a girl who is beat by her parents at home. Therefore, there are good reasons why she's exhibiting this behavior. Furthermore, the principal doesn't even call the girl's parents. Instead, she's summoned to months of counseling by the school psychologist.

This book left a bad taste in my mouth. Sure, these are valid issues and sadly, are probably common. But we don't need to write a children's book about them. And they're definitely not material for my 3-year-old.

My opinion? If you're going to read Berenstain Bears, you'd better stick with the oldies.

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

Today was the second time we've attempted to go swimming at the neighborhood pool. Actually, I don't know if attempt is the right word, because we've actually swam. The only problem is that the excursion lasted approximately 20 minutes.

We headed over there on Monday, swam a few laps, and were kicked out when sounds of thunder rolled our way. Sure enough, it started to rain and the pool was closed.

It was hot and humid this morning, so we figured we'd try our luck again. Nope. 20 minutes after we arrived, the black clouds rolled in and the pool was closed again. This time, torrential downpours.

Dejectedly, we got in the car and drove home. My mom's greeting when we arrived?

"Next time I need my lawn watered, I'm just going to send you guys to the pool. That seems to do the trick."

Very funny, mom.

Heaven

The more I vacation in Oregon, the more I'm convinced that it just might be heaven on earth. We had such a fun week and I'll attempt to document it, but it might have to be with pictures because we had WAY too much fun! So brace yourself - here they come!

The beach house

The view from the beachhouse.

Oh, the view!!!

Beach Fun

Absolute joy!

Favorite game: getting close to the water, then running away before the waves touch you.

Creating sandlakes.

We rented these awesome little three-wheeled sand bikes. They were kind of tough to figure out, but so much fun! Until you have to ride them to the other end of the town to return them...

You think campfires in the mountains are fun? Try them on the beach!!! It's the best of both worlds!