Jenkinson's

Matt planned an awesome family adventure for us today. We went to Jenkinson's boardwalk, which is not too far from the normal beach we go to. They have a small aquarium and of course rides. We went to the aquarium right when it opened. 

We checked out sharks.

Seals

Piranhas

Penguins

and fish...along with a lot of other random things they had there. There were even monkeys (not sea monkeys like real ones). We were pretty excited to see moon jellies after they were Madeleine's result in DC.

(flashback photo)

moon jellies!

We even found out that Madeleine is the exact same size as gentoo penguins.

After that we got crab cakes at this beach restraunt. Every time we go to the beach someone we know comments on how busy the shore usually is. Matt and I were always a bit confused about it, but after seeing this beach, we get it. There were so many people. You totally had to stake a spot. We decided just to wait to go to our favorite beach when we were done.

Then it was time for games and rides.

 Madeleine wasn't sure about the first ride. She put on her brave face as she went around on the little guppie ride.

But we broke her in pretty fast. :)

We ended our time on the boardwalk going on a rollercoster together. For some reason they would let Madeleine go on this one. She was terrified but really liked it. She cried when we took her off of it.

We left and got ice cream from The Cone Zone. I was just supposed to sneak in there while Madeleine napped in the car with Matt. But apparently the ice cream woke her up. She got to eat her first ice cream cone. She had no idea at first what to do with it. I told her it was like a lollipop but with ice cream. After that she very carefully took a tiny lick. After a minute of tiny licks, she started getting more into it. By the end she was scooping the ice cream out with her fingers. It was good ice cream. We had XXXchocolate and Madeleine had cake batter. :) Then we wrapped up the day at the beach.

I've really loved this summer. I'm pretty sad it's winding down. On the upside, I'll probably start blogging more regularly again. 

Year 3

We made it another year! Three years! In some ways I can't believe it's been that long, but at the same time we've done so much. We've moved twice, had a baby, graduated college, bought a car, started graduate school, and got out of debt. That's pretty awesome!

This year I had to get a bit creative. We didn't do much last year or our first year, so I wanted to do something a bit special. Madeleine has been teething, so while I'm usually okay with taking her to a restaurant, I figured we wouldn't see each other much. One of us would constantly be chasing her down or taking her out. So instead, I made our living room into a restaurant.  

It was a bit of work. We usually have our dinning room stuff in the closet. We can't fit our couch and our table in the same room. I ended up putting the couch in the closet (yay for small couches!) along with our piano. :)

Then I got working on decorating.

I named it and made a sign.

Madeleine helped me put up lights around the window and unset the table.

We found some candles at the thrift store along with some china and glasses.

I pulled out the cards that were part of our center pieces at our wedding. Some have engagement pictures, others have random facts and stories.

I used our coffee table to display photos.

We got Outback take out for dinner. While Matt and I chowed down on that, Madeleine had olives. Lots and lots of olives. Then it was time for our family's birthday cake! 3 years old!!! Madeleine had been wanting this thing all day. Every time I opened the fridge she would stand on her tip toes and starts say "ca ca ca" and then try to pick off the chocolate swirls. She started saying "oh wow" when I brought it to the table. 

We each blew out a candle.

Madeleine practiced blowing candles out all week in preparation.

Then we took some family photos and watched the sunset. While we were outside, the rain stopped and a rainbow appeared. It was pretty cool. (Madeleine: "Oh wow!!!") We had to stop family photos outside since the camera wasn't nearly as cool as the rainbow.

This was the best one with all of us in it. :)

We ended the night with watching The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. 

It was a fun family night. :) Over the last 3 years we have grown up a lot, and Matt and I are both pretty proud of what we have accomplished so far. We are happy and enjoying our lives together. Can't wait to see what the next year brings. 

Celebrating 2 years together

Matt took the day off yesterday to celebrate our anniversary.

We threw around a lot of ideas for what we could do,

but in the end we figured that the beach trumped New York City.

When we woke up, we got ready and left.

About ten minutes after we left the house,

it started raining.

It was coming down in sheets.

Matt could barely see the road, and several times we contemplated pulling over.

We had two stops on our way there, so we had our fingers crossed that it would be cleared up by the time our errands were done.

We needed sunscreen and Matt got me flip-flops for my anniversary present.

(I got him a pepper grinder. lol)

People were probably thinking we were crazy at Target and TJ Maxx.

We were in our swimsuits all ready for the beach...while it looked like anything but a beach day outside.

When we got about a mile from the beach, we finally saw some sunlight.

It still hadn't quite reached the beach when we got there.

As we bought our beach passes, the lady there said,

"You realize there is no refund."

We reassured her that we were planning on getting wet anyway,

so the rain didn't bother us much.

We ran into the water.

It was wonderful.

The ocean was a bit choppy and there was no one there.

We had to get out after a bit because Tiny was getting cold.

We grabbed lunch at Applebee's before heading back.

The sun was out when we got there!

It was beautiful.

The three of us walked down the beach together.

Tiny on Matt's shoulders and us holding hands.

It was great.

After that back in the water we went.

We played until dinner time,

before heading home to brownies and curry.

Why I got married

Yesterday, I helped Matt teach his Sunday School class.

He teaches the 14-17 year olds every other week.

(Actually, I forgot something at home, but I still don't know how to get to church.

So Matt had to run home for me.)

The topic for this month is "Marriage and Family" and

 yesterday's topic was "the importance of marriage."

I walked in and asked them,

"Why should you get married?"

They kind of looked and mumbled at me for a while.

Not really having an answer.

None of the ten kids sitting in front of me had a reason

 why they would get married.

I kind of feel many people my age are a bit like those kids.

A few weeks ago at the playgroup in my complex the mom's were talking about this topic.

One of the ladies said that she only got married, because her husband wouldn't let her have a kid unless they were.

She talked about how she was actually quite upset with him about it.

She didn't want a wedding and that was the only difference she saw between getting married and living together.

She said now though that she had been married for 4 years that she was glad he said that.

She said she didn't know why, but now she feels that marriage just makes it easier.

Another mom piped up and said she felt the same way.

She got married because her mom expected it and she thought a wedding would be fun.

I didn't say anything during this conversation.

I wasn't really sure what to say.

Marriage is the way my family does things.

It's part of my religion.

I never doubted that I would get married.

(And I definitely didn't get married for wedding)

But now a few weeks later I did have a response to those teenagers.

It might not be the best response, but it's why I wanted to get married.

I got married because it's a legal commitment and the more commitment the better.

I got married because I think God wants us too.

I got married because I feel that a marriage is the best way to raise kids.

I got married because I want to be like those old couples who have been married for over 60 years and still like each other.

I got married because I like having a piece of paper on the wall saying that Matt Nielsen is mine for all time and eternity. 

(It really is on our wall.)

I like how entwined our lives are.

I like watching Matt being a dad.

I like loving him and not feeling insecure when I get mad at him.

I like the way my life has been for the last 2 years,

and that's because I decided to get married.

Thanks for asking me to marry you honey.

Thanks for planning the wedding with me.

Thanks for showing up.

Happy Anniversary.

(Matt addendum:)

During the lesson, Michele made an interesting comment; "These days, marriage is only cool if you are gay." This isn't intended to insult or offend anyone, just an observation about society. I got married because I wanted to keep Michele forever. Kind of selfish I guess but it's true. I think marriage is important because it symbolizes deep and enduring commitment. The kind that rides out rapids and weathers storms and doesn't take off when things get uncomfortable. I think that the deepest fear of many people is loneliness. Being married, I know that there is always someone who has my back.

1 year

Matt and Michele have been married for 366 days. Wow! That's a lot of days. How have things changed since Matt and Michele decided to tie the knot? Let's turn the time over to our chief analyst for some one year anniversary statistics.

Okay. I'll admit, this graph is pretty boring. Either you are pregnant, or you're not. No in betweens as long as you don't time travel too often. NEXT!

Here is the number of books on Matt and Michele's bookshelf over the last year. As you can see, I've super-imposed their net assets as well. Probably a spurious correlation.

You can never have too much pie, and Matt and Michele have been eating it by the dumptruck load. Take a look at that!

And last but not least; is the love still alive? The verdict is yes! But apparently Matt is quite a monster at the end of the semester. Here are some other random statistics.

Dishes broken: 2

Gallons of paint used: 1.5

Nanny episodes watched: a lot

M+M's consumed: (we're talking the M+M apocalypse here)

That's all, folks