Happy Father's Day!

10 Reasons I (the Little Miss) have the best Daddy in the whole world:

1) He knows my needs, even in the middle of the night when Mommy is sound asleep.
2) He loves and protects me like no other.
3) He prays with me every night.
4) He gives me a few chocolate chips every day when he gets off work (shhhh...don't tell Mom).
5) He likes to tickle my tummy with his hairy face.
6) He takes me on "dates" to the Home Depot and lets me sit on the tractors.
7) He has pulled me up a mountain with his bike!
8) He gently washes my hair every time I take a bath and even though he wouldn't want me to tell you, he does actually know how to braid.
9) He treats me like a princess.
10) He's going to help Mommy paint my room green soon...Isn't that right Dad?!

Traveling Marathon

The first official Wagner Traveling Marathon is complete! Since late April, Yours Truly has been to Missouri, Texas, and Pennsylvania. Mr. Wagner made a quick trip to Colorado in between my travels. It's been a crazy whirlwind around here and the Little Miss has been a trooper through it all.

Thankfully, Yours Truly shouldn't have any more business trips for a long time to come. Mr. Wagner is now at the starting line as he has business trips planned to Denver, Toronto, San Diego, and Sante Fe. I'll gladly pass the baton but am so thankful we have at least a month of all being home together, business-travel free! There truly is no place like home.

Five Years Ago Today...

You took me to be your wife. To honor and cherish. To have and to hold. Through good times and bad, for richer and poorer. Forsaking all others.

Five years later...I am still so thankful and am even more blessed than I was on that very special day. With every day that goes by, I can honestly say I feel true joy and the honor of being your wife.

Happy Anniversary Mr. Wagner!

Big Girl Bike

The Little Miss is quite proud of the fact she got her first "big girl" bike this weekend. This new bike suits her most stringent requirements; it meets her favorite color criteria (purple and pink) and has a cute basket. Her mommy wanted to get a new helmet to match but the Little Miss is partial to her old, reliable, red helmet (much to Mr. Wagner's relief).

On a another note, Yours Truly had to share pics from the rose tree in our backyard, proof that there are still plants alive and well even a week after being planted! I am really happy with our choice in planting this as I love roses but never have liked the thorns. This tree still has thorns but they are high enough off the ground that they won't interfere with backyard playing. Can't wait for even more flowers to bloom!

When in Texas...

Ride a Longhorn?!

All I can say is that this guy sure didn't smell like my horse, Lucky. Sheweee!

Backyard Transformation

Some of you may remember when our backyard looked like a wild weed field. Well, we are happy to announce that those days are long-forgotten history. This Memorial Day weekend concluded the long home improvement project and we are sure pleased with the results!

Mr. Wagner deserves the kudos (and could use a new tube of Bengay). The past couple of summers he spent countless hours hauling in load after load of dirt and gravel, extending our patio and adding a sidewalk, putting in an irrigation and drainage system, laying sod (and maintaining it diligently to challenge the best of golf courses), building a large raised flower bed and two redwood garden boxes.

Yours Truly consulted on the landscape design but mostly had the easy job of babysitting (the Little Miss and I have enjoyed a lot of girl time and fun outings). This weekend we spent a small fortune on the plants and all finished the yard together. We are really happy with the outcome! Now, Yours Truly needs prayer for a green thumb...

Where Art Thou O' Summer?

The West Coast Wagner family household, especially Yours Truly, is excited for June to start. While we aren't looking forward to the multiple business trips that both the Mr. and Mrs. have to go on (we'll cover Texas, Colorado and Pennsylvania between the two of us within the month), we are anxiously anticipating the start of summer and the promise of outdoor fun. Now if only the weather would actually start cooperating.

A new experience we're looking forward to this summer is participating in a "Community Supported Agriculture" (CSA) program through a local farm. Beginning next week and every week thereafter through November, we get to pick up a box of fresh produce to enjoy. With our CSA, we choose the produce we want for the week (we elected that option rather than going with their pre-made boxes in effort to avoid all things beet-related). While we would love to have a garden large enough to grow all of our own produce, we are limited by space and thought this would be the next best option. We'll let you know how it goes!

Speaking of the garden, our backyard is quickly shaping up thanks to dear Mr. Wagner's hard labor. We are hoping to get most of our planting done this coming holiday weekend and are really looking forward to enjoying time in our yard...if and when the warmer days arrive. Please Dear Summer, come!