23 Years

Happy Anniversary to us! This year was a lowkey celebration. Daddy-o and Peanut were on a campout the night before, so I planned a hike with a friend for a big chunk of the day, but then we went to dinner at a newer Spanish restaurant, L Campo, which was delicious, and it was a gorgeous night to eat outside and walk around downtown.

That weekend, we also spent a little while working on the van. We haven't done any projects for months, but we want to get the roof-top deck built as well as a couple things inside before we head out on a couple of trips this spring and summer. 

We only got 3 of the 9 boards done up top, but now that we've figured out how it all goes together, the rest should be faster. 

And it will look good when it's done!

Coronavirus, Weekend Edition

What does sheltering-in-place look like on the weekend? Well, Daddy-o was home with us, which was nice. And we didn't really try to do anything "schooly", but that was mostly because we ended up starting some spring cleaning which took most of the day. Pulled out all the pantry foods, lots of school supplies, and kids bedroom stuff.

And I'd say we're still in that now-messier-than-before-we-started stage.

 

There's a lot left to do, but we made a dent. And the kids were happy to NOT get dressed today. They've been begging for a pajama day, and since it was raining all morning, this ended up being the day. I was the only one who went out for a walk this afternoon (and it was lovely having some alone time with all my neglected podcasts!)

One of the areas we did get put back together. We just got the can organizers and it is so nice to have a way to get to the cans we want!

And our morning basket for next week is ready to go. I've been neglecting the basket and can't find the right notebooks half the time when we want to do something, but I sorted through everything and got stuff back in the right spots so we'll be able to do our scripture journal, handwriting, and Latin roots, and I've already got some books picked out for our morning read aloud, if Peanut will let me go back to reading instead of James Dean and Mo Willems. Not sure if I can compete with those guys.

We ended the day with our first takeout since the lockdown. Daddy-o and I got to celebrate our 17th anniversary with our favorite Italian food, eaten at home where we had a candlelit dinner and watched a movie in the family room while the kids fended for themselves. It actually felt like a date. And you know, this isn't the most pathetic anniversary we've celebrated. I'm pretty sure there was one a long time ago when Daddy-o had a bad stomach bug and we had sick kids. Even shelter-in-place isn't as bad as that!

#16

Sometimes our kids surprise me in such a great way. Friends, too. I got to come home twice yesterday to little surprises, and neither of them even had anything to do with Daddy-o (we went out to a very good dinner, and have our big celebration coming up in 3 months.)

When I got home from my afternoon school run, a sweet friend had dropped off the flowers and chocolates for me. She knew it had been a rough week for me, and that it was my anniversary (and I was teaching science to 9 teens/preteens in my house). It seriously made my day to see those when I came home.

And then, while we were out to dinner, the kids, led by Bean, cleaned up the house! And after science class, and having so many extra kids in the house, it's not a small thing to put everything back together. But they made it look amazing. Bean even had time to paint us the anniversary card--her watercolor skills are getting pretty good!

It feels good to know that our marriage has led to this family, and that our kids are growing up to be thoughtful, kind, responsible people. That has to be the best tribute we could ask for.

15 Years

15 years of marriage called for a little celebration. I took the kids up to their grandparents house and we spent the weekend in San Francisco. We ate amazing food, found some of the best views in the city, and enjoyed conversations that weren't interrupted by kids.

The Sutro Baths--neither of us had ever been here, and the ruins from the massive public swimming pool were pretty cool.

Plus, it was a beautiful day to be exploring the coast.

And a great day to spend with this guy.

We also climbed Telegraph Hill to Coit Tower.

It's kind of amazing that in the middle of this city, on a hill that feels like it goes straight up, there are all these beautiful little gardens. 

And then the views of the bridge and city from the top.

Coit Tower view from Lombard Street

And then we ended the trip at the Maritime Museum. The kids and I had been here back in January, but I knew Daddy-o would love to see the ships.

It was a fabulous weekend, and judging from the reports, the kids had a great time, too.

They love all the cats and chickens, watched movies,

 visited the Castle Air Museum, and had ice cream every night. If that's not the recipe for a successful weekend, I don't know what is.

14 Years

14 years ago, we were here, getting married, surrounded by family and friends. We didn't make it down to San Diego until a couple days later, but then we got to take the kids to our special places.

Goldfish Point Café, where we went on our first date almost 17 years ago.

We got hot chocolate, and then sat down on the rocks at La Jolla Cove and talked for hours. And a couple years later, we got engaged in the same spot.

Love this guy, and San Diego, and everything it represents for us and our family.

Made It to a Dozen

12 years of marriage to celebrate this weekend. We don't manage to go on too many dates, so dinner out at restaurant where the food is actually brought to your table and there are no kids in sight is a real treat. We'd never been to Mimosa Grill, but we were thoroughly impressed and will have to go back sometime to taste the rest of the food that we didn't get to eat. Because two appetizers, two meals, and three desserts were plenty for two people.

Everything we tried was amazing. Lobster mac'n'cheese, shrimp and grits, their trout specialty. The ricotta gniocchi that came with my pork may be one of the most incredible things I've ever tasted. I also really liked taking a cheat day from Lent and eating some good desserts. Anniversaries only come once a year.

 

In honor of the 12 years, I finally got the pictures from our honeymoon in Hawaii into an album. Last year was our wedding album--I've been on a scrapbooking roll. I had to look up what everything was in the guidebook because I don't remember many details, but it did bring back a lot of memories of blissful relaxing and zero responsibility.

11 years

Not the greatest picture, but it's the only one I thought to take.  Celebrated 11 years of marriage to this awesome guy with dinner at a new (to us) restaurant (which we will have to go back to because the server recommended about 10 different dishes that all sounded incredible and I only got to try 2) and a movie.  We do not get to go to movies often enough.  And because it wasn't a movie at home on the couch, I actually stayed awake for the whole thing!  I can't tell you how many movies come up in conversation and I have to ask Daddy-o, "Did we see that?"  "Yes, you fell asleep about half way through."  (Sometimes it's a lot sooner than that.)   Could have helped that "Non Stop" really was non stop action, too.

Even though this year wasn't a big celebration (no cruise for us this time), it was nice to get away for an evening.  And I'm grateful every single day that I'm married to someone so amazing and who is so perfectly matched to me.

An Amazing Decade

Ten years.  It's kind of amazing how much a life can change in 10 years.  Before that, Daddy-o and I were two individuals who were used to doing our own thing (and honestly didn't always take very well to someone else expecting us to change what we wanted for them.)   We'd both, individually, gone to school, worked, made and achieved goals, made many friends, lived with hundreds of roommates.  We'd dated, broken up, dated again.  We loved each other without really understanding just what that meant.

In the last 10 years, we have

learned to compromise and think of another because we love them more than we care about getting our way,

gotten to know each other better than anyone else in our lives,

brought three new individuals into this world and learned that we can love indefinitely,

moved 7 times,

lived in 4 states,

traveled to 3 other countries and 26 states,

cried,

laughed,

cried until we laughed and laughed until we cried,

spent thousand of hours just talking,

lost more sleep than can possibly be healthy,

eaten more good food than we really need,

dreamed, planned, and changed our minds on what is really a priority,

and grown this amazing little family.

I'm hoping the next decade brings more sleep and laughter, but also more growth and dreams and changing of our minds.