Anniversary Date!

On our actual anniversary, I cooked a steak and potato dinner for us (brought to you by GP and Grammy and Omaha Steaks - THANKS A TON!) before Eric took off to visit a home teaching family that needed him - I'm glad he was able to help them. Eric gave me the traditional anniversary rose with a twist. Normally they are made of crystal, but this is a real rose covered in lacquer and edged in real gold. It's so beautiful!

Eric's parents took the kids yesterday afternoon till this afternoon; boy has it been nice!

For our anniversary date, Eric and I knew we wanted to go to Portland but had no idea where we wanted to go. We decided we'd drive in and see where we stopped... 

We ended up stopping near the Keller Auditorium, near the water front.

We had fun walking around the shops and then down along the waterfront where Eric took me the night he proposed! We even went to the same restaurant as that night - Three Degrees

I even ordered the same meal that we shared 4 years ago ... But I ate it all on my own this time. 

 Along with the rose, Eric got me/us the game King of Tokyo - a board game I've had my eye on recently and I got him a few more PC games to add to the ones he got for Father's Day.

After Portland, we set up a tent in the back yard. I decided it would be fun to play scary games outside and sleep in the tent - and Eric was man enough to go along with it. We sure had fun!

 

We played Amnesia outside. We couldn't get Slender to work on Eric's laptop. 

This morning, we slept in. Do you know what that's like? I didn't, until today! Then we played games, including Slender on the projector to make up for not playing it last night. Then, my stud stayed home to clean the kitchen while I went to get the kids.

Happy Anniversary! Thanks for the amazing day!

Beautiful

Imagine...
A girl with low self-esteem.
A girl who hides from the camera.
A girl who, when told she is pretty, sneers and truly believes it is a lie.
A girl who doesn't believe in herself.

When we were selecting our wedding song, we had many to choose from. I presented loads of options to Eric but he felt like they were too generic - they'd fit anyone's love story. So I looked at our love story more closely, looked for something that had blossomed from it...

What did I find?

Me.

I had blossomed. I had spent so many years feeling that I was ugly. For so long I thought I wouldn't get married till I was one of the last singles left and the men didn't have a ton of options.

Then Eric came along. He made me feel beautiful. Not only did he make me feel beautiful, he made me believe I was - that I am - beautiful. Somehow through our dating, my perception of myself changed. I had become more confident not only in how I looked but how I danced, how I sang, how I presented myself... He did that for me.

And once I believed myself to be beautiful, others started to believe too. I started getting more compliments, and those compliments mean the world to me. When once they made me angry, now they make me soar.

So when I presented this song to Eric, he knew as I knew that it was written for us. It was meant to be our song.

We danced to it before our wedding, we danced to it at our reception, and we dance to it still.

It is my ringtone when he calls, so that I will always remember.

Here is another tribute to that day, 4 years ago, when Eric took me to be his and made me better for it.

Thank You

Dear Eric,

Thank you for loving me for who I am - for never making me feel inadequate.

Thank you for flirting with me when we are alone and especially when we are in public; letting everyone know that I am yours and you are happy about it. 

Thank you for making me feel wanted and needed.

Thank you for taking me and my body as we are and loving us for it.

Thank you for being my confidant, for listening to my occasional rants and never telling me I'm wrong. 

Thank you for never tiring of snuggling with me.

Thank you for being handsome - for dressing up for me and shaving that little bit of extra stubble for me.

Thank you for standing by every decision I make - for trusting that I have a good reason and always best interests at heart.

Thank you for making me laugh when I need it most.

Thank you for being my sweetheart, my baby, my darling and my love.

Thank you for simply pulling me into your arms for a tender hug when I feel like my world is shattering; letting me know that the most important things are, and always will be, stable.

Thank you for taking all those dorky pictures with me - and never complaining when they get thrown all over social media.

Thank you for all the little things you do like dropping me off and parking the car in the rain when I spent way too much time on my hair. Or taking the kids down for cereal and milk while I catch a few more moments of sleep.

Thank you for all the forehead kisses, bear hugs, piggy back rides, and tickle fights.

Thank you for making me feel so safe in your arms.

Thank you for all the romantic, sentimental things you do for me. I love the flowers, the foot rubs, the french fries and cokes.

Thank you for all the moments where you make it so clear that you are proud of me.

Thank you for your patience and willingness to take the kids on my cranky days.

Thank you for your exuberance in trying new things with me.

Thank you for venturing down the dark path of shopping with me and for, with a smile, always letting my buy more than we came for.

Thank you for trusting me to be the mother of your children.

Thank you for always being respectful.

Thank you for letting me see all of you - all of your ups all of your downs. Your fears and your dreams.

Thank you for calling on me for help when you need it.

Thank you for that look in your eyes where I know, in your heart and in mine that I am yours.

Thank you for kissing me - always. No matter what I'm wearing, no matter if I have curlers in my hair or a toothbrush hanging out of my mouth.

Thank you for doing this without thought - but simply because you love me.

Thank you for choosing me, out of everybody, to spend eternity with.

Thank you for taking me to the temple, 4 years ago today and marrying me, making me yours forever.

I love you with all of my heart and I always will! That love will only grow stronger as we grow older. You are kind and loving beyond anything I thought a human to be capable of. Our marriage has surpassed all of my expectations and my dreams.

How to Train Your Dragon 2

I'm starting to worry Aaron won't know what a birthday really is since we're spreading the festivities for him out over the span of a month! For one of his birthday gifts, Eric and I decided we wanted to take Aaron to see How to Train Your Dragon 2 in theaters in the amazing movie parlor where we get to sit on love seat couches and snuggle.

I even made him a Hiccup costume (fashioned after the first movie) to wear! 

He loves the costume and he loved the movie!

Happy birthday little man!

Farewell Wilk-city!

Tom got transferred ... I may or may not have cried the entire afternoon after I received his text...

I'm doing better now, but I miss him a ton.

I've seen him more on his mission than practically my entire married life given that I've lived in another state...

The picture on the right has history, I promise...

Go forth and do good things. See you next Christmas!

The Park

Growing up, my favorite memories with my family always involved the park - even up into my high school years. My dad would race around on the ground as we raced around on the structures. We weren't allowed to go down and he wasn't allowed to go up but he managed to tag us just the same.

Seriously, the best! I love it!

We are working to create happy park memories with our kids too! (Audrey was napping this time)
We had just finished attending a baptism which is why we are all dressed up - that won't stop us!

Here's to great memories!