Happy Birthday to My Boo

*Disclaimer here...Phil is not my boo. I think the phrase "my boo" is the one of the funniest things I've ever heard. (Really...who calls someone their boo?) It makes me laugh out loud when I hear the phrase "my boo" and that's why I wrote it here. Because Phil makes me laugh out loud. Like the time when I told him we just found out at work that we got our annual 2% raise and he replied (in a rather patronizing tone), "Aw...that's great. Now you can supersize your lunch with all that extra money they're paying you." (That's for you too, Joan, since I know that one makes you laugh out loud too.) And not just funny, but just plain fun. So Phil...in honor of your birthday (which now means we are exactly the same age so no more jokes about how I'm a shameless cradle robber...seriously...three months) I give you my

"Oh, The Places I Will Go (Because I'm With Phil) List"

1. Killington, Vermont...where we skied "The Juggernaut"
Did I know "The Juggernaut" was a 10 mile cross-country/slight downhill trek before I agreed to do it? No...no, I did not.

2. The Caribbean
Snorkeling off Cancun (after an, ahem, harrowing ride in the small, orange boat), walking up Dunn's River Falls in Ocho Rios, parasailing in Grand Cayman (well...you, not me), Atlantis, the cruise ship where you remained calm at the blackjack table while I felt like throwing up on my shoes after what I thought was a 25 cent slot machine was actually a $25 dollar slot machine...but then made your jaw drop after I moved on to a nickel slot with my remaining $2 and won a whopping $250 dollar jackpot!! (and thus ending my night in the casino)

3. Disneyworld, Disneyland, and Tokyo Disney
So. Much. Fun.

4. Hawaii
The cruise around the islands. Driving the mud buggies in Kauai and getting mud uh, everywhere. Watching the sunrise over the Haleakala volcano crater. Touring Pearl Harbor.

5. Sydney, Australia
For a whole year...seriously, who would've thought?

6. The Great Barrier Reef
Me snorkeling and you scuba diving.

7. Chesapeake City, Maryland
Taking the boat with Rob and Faith on an overnight trip in waters that I would never believe could be so rough. So much up-chucking in such a small amount of time. I don't think Faith has been on the boat since...

8. Baltimore, Maryland
Exploring the Inner Harbor for an anniversary away. The aquarium, Ft. McHenry, water taxi rides, etc.

9. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Fireworks on the beach may sound like a romantic thought, but not when they are actual fireworks and instead of heading out over the water they turn 180 degrees and zone in on the beach house next door like a heat-seeking missile and explode in a burst of brilliant color about two feet from the big bay window. We laugh now, but I think that's the first time I almost wet my pants as an adult.

10. Falling Water, somewhere in Western PA
We go to check out the famous house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and who do we see walking along the path next to us after just having toured it? That's right...Tom Hanks and Ron Howard. My first real celebrity sighting...

11. The New York Stock Exchange floor
Yep...put the required jacket on me (because you can't be on the floor of the exchange without wearing one), and you and Mark gave me a personal tour around the floor. The shouting, the little papers flying, the hand signals...so cool.

12. The White House
Of course you knew someone who's brother worked for the National Security Administration and could give us a private tour of the White House. Pictures on the lawn, in the Rose Garden, in the Press Room behind the presidential lecturn...And all while George W. Bush was in office...the icing on the cake!

13. New Zealand
Riding horses up the side of the mountain (gulp) in Hanmer Springs. Archery. The hot springs. Freezing in the blizzard room at the Antarctic Exploration Center. Watching the Phillies beat the Rays at the sports bar in Christchurch last season.

14. Singapore
Eating Spanish tapas along that river that was all lit up with lights. Street luge rides in Sentosa.
The charging monkeys on the well, monkey bars behind that old British fort. The smells, ah the smells.

15. Bin Tam, Indonesia
Watching the dragonboat races. And...oh, yeah...that's all we did because we just wanted to take the ferry to get out of there. :)

16. Paris
Boat ride on the Seine. Fondue with Mark and Janelle. Wallet stolen on the metro. Morning with the police about said wallet. Forget the wallet...remember the crepes. Montmartre. Eiffel Tower. Arc de Triomphe.

17. London
Madame Tussaud's wax museum (spot on with your impersonation of the Dali Lama, I might add). Buckingham Palace. Houses of Parliament. Westminster Abbey. The London Eye. Tour on the red, double-decker bus. 10 Downing Street. The Cabinet War Rooms. The British Museum. The Tower of London. The boat ride down the Thames. Ah...and "Wicked". And "Stomp". and most recently, "Hairspray".

18. Speaking of Musicals...
"Lion King" in Boston. "Phantom of the Opera" and "Les Miserables" in Philly. "Fiddler On the Roof" in New York. (and here's where I forgive you for falling asleep three times during Fiddler. I know it's enough that you were at least there.)

19. Ocean City, New Jersey
Flying the plane over there for lunch and a walk on the boardwalk was a perfect way to say goodbye to the summer. (As long as I kept looking at the horizon and not straight down so I didn't hurl on our way down like I did the last time we did that.)

20. Golf Courses
Me, golf? Right. No...you hit the links and I take my book to read while you're on the links and then once you hop on, I hit the pedal on the cart to whiz us over to the next hole. Does everyone know how fun it is to drive a golf cart?

And that is just one of the reasons why I love you. (Besides all the laughing.) You make me take my nose out of my books and really see what is around me. No matter where we end up. So here's to another year together...Happy Birthday! (my boo) Hee hee...see, it's just such a funny thing to say.