My first annual 29th birthday

I turned 30 today.  Or, as I am fondly calling it, I celebrated the first anniversary of my 29th birthday.

I told Chris that I had one request for my birthday.

ME:  I want a fancy cake for my birthday.
CHRIS:  (putting his head at a funny angle and looking confused) Fancy cake?
ME:  Ya, like the pretty ones they do on the food network shows.
CHRIS:  Oh, so not a Costco cake?
ME:  No, not a Costco cake.  I want one from a fancy cake store.  You know, one of those places that only sells cakes and cupcakes and other sorts of pastries.
CHRIS:  They have places like that?

Chris (and I had no doubt he would) came through with not just one beautiful cake but two:

Happy Birthday to me.  And thanks to my husband for the fancy (and delicious) cakes!!!

What happens when you live in Arizona

Chris and I were driving home one night with the sun roof open, enjoying the breeze.  We could hear the quiet sounds of tires on asphalt, smell the faint scent of sprinklers running, watch the orange glow of street lights as we passed them, and feel the evening breeze as it rushed through the car.

Chris leaned back in the seat and commented, "wow it sure is nice out tonight."

"Yes," I agreed, "what a cool breeze tonight."

"By the way," asked my husband, "what is the temperature right now?"

I glanced at the temperature gauge on the dash.

"Oh.... it says 95."

Only in Arizona would you mistake 95 degrees for a "cool evening breeze."

Are you serious right now?

Chris and I went to the wedding of some good friends of ours this past weekend.  It was beautiful and touching and......

The minister has finished telling us about how love is patient and kind and then she announces that it is time to bless the rings.

All of a sudden, the groom has a panicked look on his face.

He starts patting his hands on his jacket pockets, frantically searching for -- you guessed it -- the rings.

There is an awkward pause.  The groom, having searched his pockets for the third time, looks helplessly at his best man.

The minister looks from the groom, to the best man, to the bride, who is standing with a shocked look on her face.

"Are you serious right now?"  the minister finally interjects.

"Can we just skip this part?" asks the bride, trying to see the humor in the situation.  "I knew I should have given the rings to my maid of honor, but she didn't have pockets in her dress!"

Thankfully, the bride did have a good sense of humor.  After the bride and groom solicited two "loaner" rings from some wedding guests, the ceremony was able to continue.  And it was beautiful.  And, I'm guessing, an evening that they will always remember.  At least the groom will always remember.  If I were the bride, I would never let him live that down.

(And yes, they did eventually find the rings.)

Who knew pools were so complicated?

Today, we discovered why our pool has been so cloudy-looking lately:

And in case anyone is confused about what they are seeing, this is what our pool filter is SUPPOSED to look like:

We contemplated buying a new one, and then we discovered how much they cost.

If anyone ever tells you owning a pool is cheap and/or easy, they are lying.  Just FYI.