Ngaire, wielding two toys: “The dolphin and the clownfish are turning over together!”

Me (breaking into song):
“Oh, the dolphin and the clownfish should be friends,
Oh, the dolphin and the clownfish should be friends.
One of them likes to splash and play,
The other lives in an an-em-o-nay,
But that’s no reason why they can’t be friends!”

The Husbandlet: “Except one of them is a piscivore.”

Me (more singing):
“Oh, the dolphin and the clownfish should be friends,
Oh, the dolphin and the clownfish should be friends.
One thinks fish should be friends, not food,
The other thinks fish taste really good,
But that’s no reason why they can’t be friends!”

* * *

Recently, we took the kidlets to our little county fair. Ngaire fell instantaneously in love with the sheep, and spent most of her time patting them through their pens. One kind sheep lady let her into a pen; Ngaire was so excited that she twinkled her feet, causing a mini-stampede.

Liam, on the other hand, had an epiphany whilst observing the cows. You could almost see the lightbulb go on over his head, and then he started patting any available noses while shouting, “Moo! Moo!”

* * *

Last Sunday, the Husbandlet took Ngaire for a walk, and reported the following conversation to me:

Ngaire: “How was your day, Daddy?”
The Husbandlet: “I had a good day. Pastor Bret preached a sermon that helped make my faith stronger.”
Ngaire: “It makes Jesus happy when your faith is stronger.”

Quote by Ngaire, taking herself to the bathroom: “Way to go, Lightning McQueen! What a big car you are.”

One month late; I think this sets a new record.

In honor of the day (last month), I will copy Belgian Waffle’s idea and her relationship meme (well, I changed the answers).

Relationship Meme

1. Where/how did you meet?
We met during our junior year of college. He was rooming with a friend of mine, and his girlfriend was doing a year abroad, so he started hanging out with my group of friends. It wasn’t until about our fourth meeting that he started recognizing me and stopped acting confused when I greeted him by name. Later, we took a class together (Modern Mythology) and the plot thickened a bit.

2. How long have you known each other?
Since August 1999.

3. How long after you met did you start dating?
A little over three years.

4. How long did you date before getting engaged?
Depends on how you define “engaged.” We decided to get married exactly a week after our Relationship Defining Talk; he didn’t actually get the ring on my finger until a few weeks later.

5. How long was your engagement?
7 months

6. How long have you been married?
5 years (and one month).

7. What is your anniversary?
August 3.

8. How many people came to your wedding reception?
About 100, I think. I kind of lost track of the invitation acceptances.

9. What kind of cake did you serve?
Chocolate with white frosting. I am a bit of a tightwad, and I couldn’t understand spending big money on a cake, so we ordered ours from Safeway, over the protests of my mother’s friend (when did she get in on the wedding plans?), who insisted that spending less than $X/slice was disrespectful to our guests. Honestly, the cake was yummy, and I didn’t notice anyone revising their gifts to us after eating it.

10. Where was your wedding?
University Covenant Church in Davis, CA. It was the church I attended throughout grad school.

11. What did you serve for the meal?
Should I be embarrassed to say that we had a buffet with food provided by my mom and a bunch of her friends? I think I ate a meatball and a few bites of cake, but I remember there was a lot of food. Oh, I ate a stuffed mushroom too. The Husbandlet and I had ham sandwiches and strawberries and champagne at the bed and breakfast where we spent the night.

12. How many people were in your bridal party?
Four bridesmaids, three groomsmen. Apparently being asked to be our groomsman was bad luck … one of the originals got sent to Iraq and another had a falling-out with his family and wound up not attending the wedding. I feel like we lost another one along the way, but the memory dims.

13. Are you still friends with them?
Yes.

14. Did your spouse cry during the wedding ceremony?
No, I think his face was probably sore from smiling, the next day.

15. Most special moment of your wedding day?
Lots of special moments … I think walking down the aisle was one of the specialist, though.

16. Any funny moments?
Twenty minutes pre-wedding, I was standing on a chair in the dressing room in my newly-steamed dress, and one of the wedding coordinators who came with the church stuck her head in and said, “Your organist hasn’t arrived yet. What are you going to do about it?” My response (at least very loudly in my head) was, “I am going to continue standing on this chair and hope for the best.”

17. Any big disasters?
No … the organist showed up.

18. Where did you honeymoon?
Lake Tahoe. We stayed in a cabin at a Presbyterian conference center.

19. For how long?
One week.

20. If you were to do your wedding over, what would you change?
My parents invited a bunch of people from their family camp to come to the wedding, and one family attended who hadn’t let us know they were coming. This was not a problem. No, I only wish I had known they would be there, because I would have roped their daughter into being my flower girl.

21. What side of the bed do you sleep on?
The left, near the door.

22. What size is your bed?
Queen size. I think if we have any more children, we will need a king just for the morning snuggles.

23. Greatest strength as a couple?
We are equal and similar geeks. Actually, we agree on almost everything except video games and scary movies.

24. Greatest challenge as a couple?
He’s a Thinking type. I’m a Feeling type. We’re both strong Judging types.

25. Who literally pays the bills?
I write the rent check, he does the rest.

26. What is your song?
Kind of the whole of Achtung Baby.

27. What did you dance your first dance to?
We didn’t have a dance at our wedding. I think the first time we danced together, ever, it was to “Unchained Melody” at the Husbandlet’s brother’s wedding reception.

28. Describe your wedding dress?
White, sleeveless, A-line, some beading, not fluffy.

29. What kind of flowers did you have at your wedding?
White roses and tiny purple iris for my bouquet. The bridesmaids carried a white rose each. The men had baby’s breath boutonnieres. I woke up the morning of the wedding and realized I had forgotten to get flowers to the church, so I picked up a few dozen roses of assorted colors on sale at Safeway on my way there. I think that five dozen or so roses cost less than our bouquet flowers altogether.

30. Are your wedding bands engraved?
Yes, with our names.

31. What advice about weddings would you give to someone who is about to get married?
Don’t stress out about the details. You won’t remember very many details later, but you will remember the stress.