I have a beautiful 2005 Toyota Sienna van that is loaded to the max. Rowland surprised me with it, and it is definitely the “cadillac” of vans. I absolutely love it. The only problem is that in addition to falling up and down the stairs on a regular basis, I also run into things on a regular basis. My van has the sensors that let you know when you’re about to hit something. They work great, but I figured out early on that they were a little more sensitive than I am. In other words, when they go off, I know that I actually have a little further to go before I actually hit anything. Of course, you know where I’m going with this. There is a happy medium between the van’s sensors and my own inherent sensors; therefore, I got into a bad “habit” of totally ignoring the beeping sound and hitting things.

I have a hole in my back bumper because I ran into a metal post at Jia’s old school. I was backing up, the sensor was beeping, and I rammed right into the post! I have several black marks on my bumpers as well because the beeper would go off, and I’d continue on until I “brushed against” someone’s black bumper or any number of other things. If you were to look at the inside of my car, you would be able to tell that I love my car. If you were to look at the outside of the car, you might have some question.

Most recently, I was making an illegal U-turn (which would have been legal in California) and very slowly ran right into the curb and even on top of it. I immediately called Rowland and told him that I need a Hummer so that I can do more off-road driving! He let me know that I would definitely kill someone if I had a Hummer and that I should try to stay on the road. Easier said than done! The best part of the U-turn is that it was right in front of a student driving school. Perhaps I should have enrolled!

The girls and I continued with our errands and even drove several miles on the interstate. Thankfully, it wasn’t until I got back to Parker that women started rolling down their windows to let me know that I had a flat tire. (As an aside, not one man let me know!) I called Rowland, who was getting ready for our surprise date, and he told me to pull into the Kroger gas station and put some air into the tire to make it last the few miles home. I did as he said and discovered a huge gash in the side of the tire (maybe from my earlier off-road driving????). The air was coming out about as fast as I could get it in, so when I jumped back into my car, I needed to get moving quickly. The only problem was that I was trapped in the parking lot. In front of me was the gas tanker that was re-filling the gas, and in back of me was a car with two boys on bikes waiting to fill up their tires. The lady driver had on a shirt that said Jesus something and had a cross on the front. I explained to her that I had a flat and needed to get on the road quickly and asked her if she would mind backing up to let me out. The “kind, Christian” lady said, “Oh, SHIT” and very irritatedly moved her car. (So much for Christian love, huh?) I really couldn’t help but laugh at the irony of the whole situation! My suggestion to her is not to wear that shirt anymore!

LONGGGGGGG story short - the next morning, Rowland put on my spare, and we took the van in for some minor repairs and four new tires. I also got my bumper car detailed and am newly committed to staying on the road and listening to my sensors!! I kind of remind myself of the little train that was supposed to stay on the track no matter what but often was found in the grass! Hopefully, like the little train, I’ve learned my lesson, and I’m going to stay on the track NO MATTER WHAT!!!

Anyone who knows Rowland knows that he delights in surprising me. He’s always very creative in his surprises, too. It’s definitely one of the reasons I fell in love with him. He can put it on thick! My goal has always been to try to keep up with him, which I really don’t do very well. This week, though, I was able to pull one off! I told him that we were going to have a date on July 31st and gave him no information except what time and to wear jeans.

The Surprise? It started off with dinner at Brooklyn’s next to the Pepsi Center in Denver. Then, we walked over to the Pepsi Center where I had bought tickets, great seats, to the Tim McGraw / Faith Hill Soul to Soul II concert. The stage was in the round which was a little different, and they spared no expense on lighting, etc. It was a great concert. I guess if I were giving a true review, though, I’d say that while Faith was definitely working her buns off, she seemed a little too “coached” and maybe even a little “uncomfortable.” It was almost like she was outside of her comfort zone with the actual performance part of the concert. She did give it her all, though, and as I said before, the girl can sing. She looked amazing as well. The sound was great, and we loved her act overall.

Once Tim McGraw hit the stage at 10:15, we were beginning to be a little tired. (I guess we’re getting old!) The sound completely changed and was bass heavy to the point that we couldn’t understand Tim. After about 20 minutes of the booming, I developed a headache, and we were both ready to go. Moral of that story? Tim needs to use Faith’s sound guy! Faith was definitely our favorite part of the show!

One of the reasons I picked a country concert is that one of our first dates was down at the Arkansas River watching several country acts while cuddling up on a blanket. It was such a romantic night, one of those special not-to-be-forgotten dates. The goal of the Surprise was a romantic, cuddly time watching a couple of good country acts. Was it successful? Oh, yeah! Another special memory in a long line, and the best part…..I’m off the hook for a while until he comes up with the next surprise!!