Wood or a Trash Can

So for one's 5th wedding anniversay, the traditional gift to give your spouse is wood. Darius and I didn't exchange gifts this year, but we did treat ourselves to a new trash can. We love it!

Whenever we get a willing saint to watch our kids for the better part of a day, Darius and I think we're going to enjoy typical date activities like dinner and a movie. We never quite get there. The majority of our dates are spent shopping...ugh. It's not something we love doing, but we love the freedom of being able to do it in peace and quiet.

My friend Patti sent me a very fitting text this morning without even knowing what we had planned for the day. She sent me the quote that "shopping with kids is like trying to concentrate on 150 things at once while someone beats you over the head with a plank of wood." How nice that today this wasn't the case!

To our willing saint, Carrie - Thank you many times over! Not only did Carrie in her very pregnant and uncomfortable state watch our little gremlins, she also treated us with a Groupon for dinner. We throughly enjoyed some delish food at Pat's BBQ. Sooo good.

We may not possess much in the romance department, but Darius and I do love each other very much. Far more than our sweet new trash can. Cheers to 5 years!

I Do - x4

It really does get better. Standing on the same beach 4 years later, I love this man even more than the day I married him. I love our life together. We're blessed to have each other, and it's as simple as that.

Happy Anniversary Darius. I still love you more.

Mile 0

With many of our last minute trips, we like to try and save money by using Priceline to book our hotel room. Our success rate has always been pretty good, but this time we really hit the jackpot when we landed a room at the Marriott. We arrived in Key West hours before our check-in time, but we thought we'd check anyway to see if at least we could park the car and take their shuttle into town. To our surprise, they gave us a room and at the mention of us there celebrating our anniversary they upgraded us to a suite....a really nice suite. This place was basically the type of room they photograph to impress people on their website, and it was as big as our apartment! We spent the next several hours at the hotel enjoying the pool and our room before we headed into town. Zach loved playing in the pool, and Ben enjoyed his own poolside activities.

We caught an evening shuttle down to Duval street where we shopped for Christmas Tree ornaments, new Kino sandals for me, pirate swords for the boys, and a Key West buoy and mug for Darius. We ate at the same place we did on the eve of our wedding, Sloppy Joes, where the boys got their first taste of live music with dinner.

On our return to our room, we all had a chance to take a swim in the giant soaking tub before bed. We spent the morning enjoying our last few hours in the room, and then we headed over to Smather's Beach where Darius and I got married. It was neat for all of us to be there again 4 years later.

After a brief stop at the Southernmost Point we headed back to Kino Sandals to pick up another pair of sandals they were nice enough to make for me, and Darius surprised me with an anniversary gift. He got me a necklace charm that was made from treasure on board the Nuestra Senora de Atocha  which sunk in 1622 and was found by Mel Fisher in 1985. Since I didn't have the chance to be a sneaky secret shopper, I had Darius pick up this cool Tiffany glass mermaid lamp he found in Key Largo as his gift.

It was a great opportunity for all of us to get away together, and we had such a great time. I can't think of anything else we could have done to better celebrate our anniversary. I'm so fortunate to have an amazing husband and two little boys that make everyday a great day. We're blessed in so many ways for all that we have and enjoy together as a family!

You're just what I wanted.

I clearly remember the day I met Darius. He was a trainer, I was a trainee. I won't go as far as to say it was love at first sight, but I was most definitely infatuated with him. I knew my chances at getting to know him were very slim in the short amount of time he would be around training the new staff, and I knew it wasn't an appropriate time to confess my desire to know him better. I remember talking to him once during the training period, and he squeezed my hand briefly as he spoke to me. In his eyes it was probably nothing more than a friendly gesture, but to me it was like everything momentarily faded away.

Darius had done many openings before I met him, and I knew I wasn't the first girl to fall for him, but somewhere inside of me I knew there was something more to it than just a trainer-trainee crush. I knew if I could just get his attention he would see there was something there too. It's ridiculous I know, but I would wish for my chance with him before going to sleep at night, for months. He lived in another state, I barely knew him, and yet I never felt such a strong desire to be with someone so much.

I went as far as to plan a camping vacation, by myself, in a state I'd never visited before, all for the chance to see him and go fishing with him. I found out it was a hobby of his during the opening, and I went as far as to buy books like Fishing for Dummies so that when we did go fishing I could pretend I knew a little something about something I didn't have a clue about. When our fishing date fell through and my trip didn't go according to plan, I almost gave up, but I never stopped thinking about him and hoping beyond hope that I might still have a chance. A few months later I sent a random email to him to see how his summer was going. I don't know if that's when the light bulb went on, but it seemed to set the wheels in motion.

We emailed, we talked on the phone, we set up another visit. The next time he squeezed my hand he kept holding on as we walked together in a summer rainstorm in Florida. I got the chance I had wanted so badly, and he finally saw there was something there too.

Three years ago we held each other's hands and promised to stick by each other till the end. It was nothing elaborate, and no one was there with us we knew besides our unborn babies. It was perfect for us. Maybe not what either of us had envisioned our wedding being, but it didn't matter. It was just the legal start of something that had already started years before.

We've had our fair share of ups and downs like most marriages, but our relationship just gets better with time. I'm so thankful for this day, and I look forward to this day in another year from now, and all the years after that.

Happy Anniversary Darius, husband, friend, greatest love of my life. I love you forever, I love you more.

December in Review

It's mid December already....really!? I can only speak for myself, but it seems like one of the unique things about living in Cordova is the way that time passes here - very s...l...o...w...l....y! I'm sure part of it has to do with being cooped up most days with two energetic little guys, and trying to think of new ways to pass the time - but it's also just a slower pace of life here. You may laugh, but one of the most exciting events of my day (if I get out) is picking up the mail from the post office.

Well, despite the slower pace of things, I've had a recent taste of time sped up. The past couple of weeks strangely passed by very quickly.

My parents had been out of town over the Thanksgiving holiday, and Joy had been gone since we left for Louisiana in October. They all arrived back on the same day during the first week of the month. It was nice to have everyone home.

A few days later we celebrated Darius' birthday on the 4th. It was a quiet day with the exception of Zach running a fever. During dinner we thought we were going to have a repeat of his birthday from the year before. Long story short, most of the house got sick with a stomach virus, and Zach's bug peaked during Darius' birthday dinner. Poor little guy started projectile vomiting...all over me of course. Unfortunately later on Darius got sick and then it was like a domino effect. Lucky for us this year, Zach's burps didn't produce anything but air.

Hanging out with Daddy on his birthday

Zach's fever lasted a few days and after the fever passed, a rash broke out on his face, chest, and back. I ended up taking him in to see a doctor. Turns out that he had a case of Roseola. Darius and I had made plans for a quick trip to Anchorage, and were almost ready to cancel, but Zach was through the worst of his sickness and Joy was okay with watching him while we were away. Thanks again - Joy, Mom and Dad for taking care of the boys for us!

Being in Anchorage, or pretty much any town outside of Cordova, is a little strange. It's nice to have the shopping and eating options that we don't have here in Cordova, but it only took a day of shopping and eating out before we were ready to come home. On the flight home we sat next to each other and watched a beautiful sunset, just as we did on our wedding day in Key West. It was a nice break for us to get away together. Love you Darius! Two years down and a lifetime still to come.

40 Years

My parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary today. I looked through their wedding album today and asked about some of the things they did that day.

Mom tells me that she dreaded getting up that morning (cold feet) and Grandma had to drag her out of bed. Dad came to the house and gave her a string of pearls he bought in Japan, and Mom said that once she saw him everything was okay.

They were married in the Logan LDS Temple and after the wedding they stopped and bought aprons for the ladies helping with the refreshments at their reception. One of the aprons was worn by Mom's aunt Hannah. After Hannah passed away Joy asked for the apron, not realizing the significance until we saw a picture today of Aunt Hannah wearing it at our parents' reception.

Before their wedding reception my parents ate at Maddox with family and friends. Mom tells me that Dad ordered chicken fried steak and was a little disappointed when he didn't get chicken. They have plans to celebrate their anniversary by eating there when they're in Utah next month. The food there is just as good today, as it was 40 years ago.

Although today was just an ordinary day, I couldn't help but think that I wouldn't mind a 40th anniversary much the same. I'd love to spend the day, not only with my husband but, with my children and grandchildren too.

Little do we know where we'll be in 40 years. I don't know what my parents thought about where they were headed together, but I'm glad their choices led them to where they are now. If they had never met each other and got married...things would be very different!

Congratulations on 40 years of marriage, Mom & Dad! Thanks for getting married and giving me the same opportunity. Love you!