Climbing the Hill....

Trav is quickly approaching the over the hill mark.  We joke that he robbed the cradle with me since I was so young (19) when we got married but now it definitely has it's advantages since I am nowhere near climbing the hill to old age.  At least that is what I tell myself every time I find a new wrinkle.  All jokes aside we have now known each other for 16 years.  Since I was barely 18 when I first met him we have almost been together for as long as I was alive when I met him.  The funny thing is time doesn't make him less interesting.  The more time I spend with Trav the more funny, handsome and brilliant he gets to me.  He just keeps getting better with age!  He rolled with the punches this birthday.  It was a typically busy day in the Tollestrup house but we tried our hardest to make it a special.  Every meal he had at home we had it on his "you are special plate".  I swear that is the best wedding gift we ever got.  Thank you Meachams!  Since he is trying to be healthy I made him a healthy salad (with steak since he is a bit of a carnivore).  I tried to make his favorite dessert - a banana cream pie as healthy as could be but at the end of the day cutting out the good stuff will never compare to the real thing.  At least we kept it healthy and he says we can really celebrate after he hits his weight goal.

 

A healthy Chili Lime Steak Salad

I hope Fire Marshall Bill enjoyed his healthy banana cream pie!

Happy 38th birthday Trav!

Things we love about Trav - 

*His Fire Marshall Bill face

*His sense of humor

*The way he likes to bet his way into losing weight

*How hard he works for our family

*His laugh

*His amazing brain

*How helpful he is around the house

*The way he loves walking the kids to school

*How often he tells me how beautiful I am (constantly)

*What a big heart he has

*His relationship with God

*How fun he is to be around

*How much he loves spending time with me and talking to me

*How his mind never turns off and works circles around mine

*How cute he is with little kids

*How competitive he is

*What an amazing husband, father and best friend he is

*How he is one in a million and I thank my lucky stars every day that I somehow roped him in

 

Eternal Basketball

One of the first things I ever knew about Trav was that he played basketball.  I was being set up on a blind date with him and I was going to ask him to the girls ask guys dance.  Since I had never seen this guy and let's face it you do want to at least get a glimpse before you say yes!  I needed someone to describe him to me.  They said he is "tall, blonde and plays basketball."  I thought I knew for sure who they were talking about.  He didn't end up being the same guy I thought he was but I was VERY pleasantly surprised when I finally met him.   Our first date was filled with the talk of basketball and it seems it is a main topic at our house quite frequently.  Having said all that you get the picture that basketball is a passion for Travis.  So much so that he will play come heck or high water.  Regardless of herniated discs, knee injuries, bruises and scratches.  Plus he has found that it is a lot more exciting than running on the treadmill at the gym.  He has recently had some very sage advice from his Dad that maybe he might want to hang up his shoes sometime soon.  I have even dared to mention to him that maybe he should take up golf or biking or speed walking.  To be honest, can you see Travis doing any of that?  No.  I also notice that he keeps pointing out all the players in the NBA that are older than him and still going strong.  I think I am seeing  pattern that he will ALWAYS play basketball.   Which is why when my Dad sent this comic I found it funnier than Travis did.....

Then when he came home limping from his basketball game the other night with a torn calf muscle instead of saying "I told you so" I just got him some ice, propped up his leg and added one more dependent to my mother checklist.  In that moment I had an epiphany in that I married a basketball player.  There will be no spectating when it come to Travis he will always play.  I may be wheeling him to the senior citizen wheelchair basketball games someday and I might as well accept it now that basketball will ALWAYS be a part of our lives.  After all that is one of the things I fell in love with almost 15 years ago why wouldn't it be cute when he is 80?