oops....

so i'm a terrible wife for not posting on derik's birthday. he tries to act like he's not a birthday boy, but i think deep down he likes the attention. come on, derik! let people embarrass you...sheesh. so last wednesday (the 11th) was derik's 29th birthday! we had some friends and family over for a lasagna dinner and ice cream cake. i was too domestic for my own good. derik got some killer presents...like a mt. dew hat (which he already returned) and some moolah to get himself something real nice at the store.














i think it's cool to really honor someone on their birthday so i will tell some derik stories that i'm sure he'd love everyone to know...

on our first date he snowmobiled me into a tree...bruising my shoulder and ripping my $400 plus north face jacket. i was a little ticked, but he was so cute it didn't bother me that much. he offered to buy me a new one (not knowing how much it cost) and i gracefully declined. i thought it was too much of a commitment to accept such a big gift. anyway, i know that if i let him, he would have bought me a new one...no matter how much it cost. he probably never hears this, especially from me, but he really is a gentleman. true to his word.

after we were married and fear factor was still being rerun on tv, we used to take turns holding our breath in the bath tub to see how long we would last. surprisingly, derik can hold his breath for like a minute 15 or something. i can't remember exactly how long, but it was a long time. i couldn't break a minute...

he used to landscape when he lived in idaho and like a true manual laborer worked with his shirt off. of course i imagined all the honeys were checking out my man and got on his case about wearing his shirt. he should have listened to me because one time he got THE WORST burn you could imagine getting from the sun. he was so sick...throwing up and just burning to the touch. it was so nasty. i'm pretty sure he had those burn lines for a few years. learned his lesson, though. no matter how hot you get, it'll never be more uncomfortable than having a burn like that for a week.

he has so much energy. i don't know where he gets it, but whenever i'm feeling like i can't go on, i'll ask him to take over for me and he normally does. he can function off just a few short hours of sleep and it doesn't seem to phase him. this especially came in handy when he was a student at byu-i. he could do homework for hours and hours. he even did most of his reading. who reads in college? i tried, but never made it too far. anyway, he was such a great student. he took his schooling very seriously and it's paid off. he's got a great job and has a bright future with whatever he does. he understands economics and government/politics so well. he is just a smart man who retains everything he reads/hears (unless he's tuning me out)/learns like a sponge. he says he used to read the encyclopedia as a child when he got bored of everything else. amazing.

derik is a great dad and would do anything for his family. he truly is a good man and we're lucky to have him. derik, listen carefully...i love you and happy birthday.