Eleven Reasons...

Happy 11-11-11, 

It's Veterans Day and the kids are all home from school today.  This sort of epic numerical date just begs to be celebrated.  I think we'll take some cookies to a couple of my favorite Veterans that live nearby and then commence with a little 11 weirdness.  
I made some giant loaf sandwiches, 
bought some licorice and Kit Kat bars.  Perhaps we'll play some Uno (twice), and watch Ocean's 11. 

meanwhile, here's
Eleven Reasons your the One...

Mark-

1. You're always up for an adventure.
2. Anything you put your mind to, you do really well.
3. You can run a marathon faster than a lot of guys half your age.
4. The way you designed our house so that the heater vent would blow warm air on my toes when I'm at the kitchen sink and my bathroom counter.
5. You're always willing to paint Chloe's toenails for her.
6. You always see the glass half full, even if the glasses are all dirty and loaded upside-down in the dishwasher.
7. You never ever stink.  And you don't mind that I'm always sniffing your neck like you're some sort of scratch & sniff book.
8. You celebrate every milestone, big or small, with a speech.
9. Your the kind of dad every kid dreams of having and every mother is afraid to leave unsupervised with the kids.  [Case in point:  "rooftop football".]
10. You always warm up the car and turn the seat heaters on for me when it's a cold day.
11. You've still got all your hair.  hehehe.

Cheyenne-

1. You are very very thoughtful.
2. You make me look really shy and quiet.
3. You always ready to tackle a crazy grandiose project with impassioned and reckless abandon.
4. You're impetuous, which means adventure awaits.
5. You love games, but hate to lose.
6. You'll throw a party to celebrate anything.
7. You're the first to volunteer to do anything.
8. After your car crash, you still drive like a delicate little old blue-haired granny (which amuses me unless I happen to be driving behind you). 
9. You never seem to get bummed out by your diabetes, even when I do.
10. You include everybody.
11. You mother your brothers--even better than I do.

Justice-

1. You're a prolific non-fiction reader.  I love that.
2. You love my Chey Chey
3. You know a lot about everything but never flaunt it.
4. You're not a fan of the Twilight Series.
5. You're willing to put up with your wife that is a fan of Twilight.
6. You trust me enough to try my bizarre bowling tips.                 a.k.a "The Suitcase"
7. Unlike Mitchell, you don't make fun of Mac-users.
8. You act like you and Mitchell have been brothers forever.
9. You love a good card game.
10. You moved my daughter back up to Oregon.
11. You're good to your mother-in-law even though I'm a freak.

Baby Kendra-

1. You're so stinkin' cute.
2. When you get stinky or fussy I can hand you to your mother (even though I usually don't)
3. I can stick my tongue out at you and you don't get offended.
4. I don't have to comb my hair when I Skype with you.
5. You don't tell on me when I accidentally cuss.
6. You're squishy and giggly.
7. You'll clap for me no matter what I do.
8. You let me pinch your bum.
9. You've got scrumptious toes.
10. You've got hair long enough to try out freaky hair-dos.
11. You're never embarrassed about being stinky.

Mitchell-

1. You can crack a joke without cracking a smile.
2. You can eat a horse, which is admirable for such a skinny guy.
3. You make the best delicious chocolate awesomeness.
4. You're never too old for costumes.
5. You're a great writer.
6. Your insatiably curious and like to discuss things that are waaaay too hard for me to ever begin to understand.
7. When you have a need for something you don't have, you'll rig it up like MacGyver.
8. You're a hard worker.
9. You're not afraid of heights and like to scare people who are.
10. You're ALWAYS kind to people.
11. and, of course, because you fix all my electronic issues.

Connor-

1. First and foremost, the eyebrows.
2. You're a stud on first base. (baseball people, baseball!)
3. You're not a quitter.
4. You love the ocean.
5. You've got mad wakeboarding skills.
6. You're a horrible liar, and you know it.
7. You always open every door for your mother.
8. You idolize your dad.
9. You can quote the perfect movie line for the perfect situation.
10. All on your own, you voluntarily hug your mom in public without ever caring what your friends think.
11. You're the only one in the house that openly admits to being afraid of the stupid cat beside me (and you know there are others, they're just too embarrassed to say it).

Chloe-

1. You are my second brain.
2. You're also my third brain, since mine repeatedly fails me.
3. You appreciate a fabulous pair of shoes just as much as I do.
4. You're willing to pop your dad's toes even though it grosses you out (even I don't love him that much).
5. You're not afraid of the stupid cat, when everyone else is.
6. You are very determined and there's no stopping you.
7. The freckles on your cheeks make me smile.
8. The way you can organize things in no time flat.
9. That you're so ready to be in braces that you'll recklessly wiggle and extract your 5 remaining teeth so that you can speed up the process.
10. When Mitchell's not around, you're great at trouble shooting my computer problems. (embarrassing but true.)
11. You write the best love notes, sometimes bizarre, but always the best.

Nick (my pseudo-son)-

1. You've got the best laugh I've ever heard.
2. You can reach the highest shelves in the house, the ones I can't even reach when I'm on my tippy toes.
3. You're great at mowing lawns.
4. You're an awesome "Big Brother"
5. Your passion for Pro Wrestling fascinates and bewilders me, and amuses and slightly scares Connor.
6. You don't like me shuffling playing cards because you recognize my amazing Karma when it comes to touching a deck of cards.  I love superstitious people!
7. You're not embarrassed if I dance in the car...or if you are, you don't ever say so.
8. You're very thoughtful, even if you don't like to admit it.
9. You give Connor serious football workouts.
10. You're lethal with a nerf gun.
11. Even though you always smash my chip bags, I'm impressed that you can carry a dozen grocery bags in the house in ONE trip.