A Valentine's Tribute

** Disclaimer: Serious gag alert. The following post is way cheesy and I would probably hate it if it weren't written by me. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Last night, Lance and I watched The Notebook. Cut us some slack. It was Valentine's Eve and tonight (actual Valentine's Night), we are watching the Tampa Bay Lightning play the Ottowa Senators.
Anyway, back to The Notebook: I have seen it before, but last night while watching it, a realization struck me-- I married my "Noah" (Notebook reference).

When Lance and I met in 2000, I was finishing up my bachelor's at BYU. He was a roofer and had not completed a day of college. I never imagined that I would marry the guy-- I was just dating him for his looks and dry sense of humor. But man, did I fall in love.

When Lance asked my Dad for my hand in marriage (he's old fashioned like that), my Dad's answer was something along the lines of, "Well... you already have 3 strikes"(no formal education, no mission, and a shaved head) . I may not have had my parents' strong approval initially-- but I didn't care.

When I decided to marry Lance. I didn't care about anything but being with him. I didn't care if we were poor for the rest of our lives. It didn't matter where we lived. I didn't care about what my wedding ring looked like. I didn't care about our wedding (except that it had to be in the temple), or reception. I just wanted to be with Lance every day. Forever.

I love this line from the movie, {Ryan Gosling saying to Rachel McAdams}: "You tell me when I am being an arrogant son of a (biscuit) and I tell you when you are a pain in the (neck). Which you are, 99% of the time. I'm not afraid to hurt your feelings. You have like a 2 second rebound rate, then you're back doing the next pain-in-the-(neck) thing. "

Aside from the mild obscenities, that is me and Lance. We argue and make fun of each other. But man, I love being married to this guy. He is sincere. He is honest and not afraid to call me out when I need it. He is hilarious. He challenges me. He makes me laugh harder than anyone ever. He is fantastically supportive. He is my best friend.
So, I took a risk on the 22 year-old who did not serve a mission or go to college. The risk paid off. My husband is a worthy Priesthood holder who takes me to the temple regularly. And as a bonus, his hard work and ambition have enabled him to make a great living for our family. He is an amazing Dad. (And I feel the need to say that my parents now love him and highly approve of my choice).

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Seven Years

Zoie turned 7 last weekend. We had such a fun weekend celebrating.On Friday, I took cupcakes into her 1st grade class and read them "Where the Wild Things Are". Chase came with me and was a fan favorite with the 1st grade crowd. He was seriously almost mauled by his adoring fans in Ms. Dwyer's class. After school, my Mom took her shopping.On Saturday, I took Zoie and and two friends on a girls' day. We hit McDonalds and then headed downtown to see Beauty and the Beast in 3D. The girls were so fun. There was much giggling and singing and dancing. I have never seen Zoie so happy.

On Sunday, we had her 3rd and final party with my mom and sister. She was spoiled beyond belief. I am so grateful to have a daughter-- particularly one who is so smart and helpful. Love you Zo Zo!

One Happy Husband

I officially have the happiest husband in the world.

Around Christmas, we decided to sell our huge Tahoe and get a smaller SUV. Somehow, Lance finagled a deal with a guy and we ended up not only selling our Tahoe for full price- but also acquiring a motorcycle.

Lance drove a motorcycle when I first met him, but hasn't had one since. I am not a paranoid, bossy wife who is opposed to motorcycles. We just don't believe in financing stuff if we don't absolutely HAVE to (like a house). So the bike never seemed practical... until now.The guy is in heaven. When he's not riding it, he's working on it. When he's not working on it, he's online tracking down motorcycle parts. He's already done quite a bit to it.Its been almost 2 months and he's still like a giddy little boy with a new toy. Last week, I looked out the window and saw him on his motorcycle (on the street) racing Tobin who was on his little bike with training wheels (on the sidewalk).As a side note: I miss the Tahoe-- it was such a great ride. However, I do not miss the 12-14 mpg I was getting with it around town.
Our new ride we have affectionately dubbed "Liz" after Tina Fey's character in 30 Rock. That's right-- Liz LEMON. Truth be told, my new car is not a lemon. We bought it knowing it had a sensor problem-- it just took us longer to solve the problem than we thought (in the meantime, the name Liz stuck). She's been awesome ever since. I LOVED the price, and I am LOVING the 23 mpg that Liz provides!While I'm on the subject of Rasmussen vehicles-- I have neglected to introduce "Clive"-- whom we purchased last year: Clive is Lance's work truck. Yep, luckiest husband ever.

Apropos of Nothing

The best part of Christmas 2011 was having the whole Slovacek gang together-- for what was probably the last time for a while.
My dad moved to Utah last month and my mom will be joining him out there in April. Matthew is back at BYU-Idaho and Steven is back in New York.
So, as of this spring-- it will just be us Rasmussens... and Aunt Heidi.
Here is a great picture of all the Slovacek/Rasmussen "men" over Christmas:
And here is a great picture of all the Rasmussen/Slovacek girls from last year:
Also-- apropos of nothing-- here is a picture of Lance and I from our camp trip. I just found it and liked it.

Resolutions

I love making resolutions... LOVE IT! I am a list maker, so it comes naturally. I generally have my resolutions written down, categorized, and prioritized by Christmas. I don't this year. I have a whole bunch of great goals swimming around in my head. I just haven't taken the time to organize them. Here are a few reasons why:

1. School. I am working toward my Master's in Education. Last term was easy-- like, ridiculously easy. I just chalked it up to my innate intelligence. So, I decided to double my class schedule this term, you know, since I'm so freaking smart. It. Is. So. Hard. I guess my first class was just an easy class. Turns out-- I'm not that smart after all. School is taking up A LOT of my time.

2. Insanity. We just started Insanity. It promises crazy results. I'll keep you posted. Workouts are 6 days a week (like P90x).
3. Dance Central. We got the kids a Kinect for Christmas. So... what? Am I NOT supposed to use it while they are in school? Am I expected to to NOT spend hours learning the awesome dance routine to Salt N Pepa's "Push It"? Come on-- be realistic. So, clearly-- I am way to busy to set meaningful goals for myself. Please be understanding.

Me and Kate

Over the past year, I have heard great things about Kate Middleton. I agree that she is beautiful-- in an approachable, girl-next-door kind of way (which is the best kind of beautiful!). I agree that she has great poise and style. It seems like she handles her new position as the Duchess of Cambridge with ease, and is great with all the media attention.
But more so than any of the aforementioned reasons, I like Kate because she is one of "us". And by "us", I mean women with no upper lip.

I never noticed this trait (and I have spent a LOT of time in front of the mirror over the past 30 years) until last year. I uploaded a photo to do one of those online makeovers. When I went to (virtually) apply the lip liner, I thought, "That's odd. In this picture, I have no upper lip." I started searching for another picture to use and began to realize that I, in all actuality, had no upper lip. It was a life-altering epiphany. Allow me to demonstrate:

Normal looking picture:
Now focus on this area. Notice anything missing? (Mind you, this is with lip liner and lipstick)
No. I am never going to inject my lips with any kind of substance. Those women all look as though they were in a bar fight. I have made peace with my lack of lip. I mean, if Kate Middleton can pull it off, then I'm in good company.

New Year's Camping Trip

Nothing like ringing in the new year on the beach.


(In reality, 2012 was rung in at our campsite with cheering and Martinelli toasting... while a nearby camper-- a Dan Fogelberg wannabe-- serenaded the entire campground til dawn with his hoarse voice and basic guitar skills).Nevertheless, it was such a fun night!

We got to hang out with the Porters, ate the world's best cheeseburgers and smore's made in waffle cones (to die for!) We hung out at the beach and the pier. The next day, we explored the old fort and canons in the park. Tobin learned to climb trees and Chase got to run around as much as he wanted.