7th Anniversary

I can't believe yesterday was our 7th anniversary, time really does fly! As Brad and I were discussing our previous anniversaries, we realized we have forgotten some of the details. That is when I decided we should document them all now in a count down format starting with yesterday. Of course yesterday will be the most detailed. So you can keep reading.. :)

7th Anniversary...

This year I was supposed to attend Youth Conference on our anniversary but since I was released a couple weeks ago I was able to spend the day with my husband instead. Yippee! There have been very few anniversaries we have actually spent together due to Girls' camp or Youth Conference in the past 7 years. I have an extremely supportive husband and he has never once complained and for that I am grateful. I have to admit there was a part of me that missed being with the youth this weekend but I thoroughly enjoyed my day with Brad!

Brad had been great about making sure we did things that I enjoy so this year when he asked what we should do I suggested fishing. I actually enjoy fishing in the summer when it is warm. At first he thought I wasn't serious but after I told him at least 5 times that I thought it would be fun he finally believed me. And it really was fun! We hadn't been to this place for about 4 yrs, it is on the Mirror Lake highway above Kamas, UT by Clear Lake. There is a beautiful waterfall hidden in the trees that Brad found once and it has great fishing...usually. This year the fishing wasn't as good as we remembered but the scenery was beautiful. We really enjoyed being in nature and being together. Here are some pictures from the day.

Luckily a random couple were enjoying nature too and were able to take this picture of us. :)

Beautiful right?

Abby (our dog) loves to wait for Brad to catch a fish then she tries to capture it while he is removing the hook. She is so intense while waiting.

I have a video of Abby jumping up the waterfall but couldn't figure it out. I know I am slow to the game but can someone educate me on uploading a video to my blog?

Park City....

So... finally I am blogging about our anniversary celebration! First of all, we went the night of our anniversary to the Mt. Timpanogas Temple to do sealings. We started this tradition on our first anniversary while in Las Vegas at the Las Vegas Temple and have been able to do this every year except 2 years ago when Brad ended up in the hospital while we were in San Diego (long story that I will have to share at a later time!) It is great to be reminded of the covenants and promises we experienced on our wedding day.

We spent the first 3 days of our honeymoon in Park City before heading to Cancun. I feel so lucky to have had 10 full days with Brad right after we were married before getting back to reality! The benefits of getting married later in life.. there are a few. We thought it would be fun to go back up to Park City to do some of the things we did on our honeymoon. So I took Friday off and we headed up to Park City.

We hit the Alpine slide and the new Alpine roller coaster.. it was SOOO much fun! We loved the new roller coaster, you are heading down so fast and there are lots of turns. Here is a picture of us in our cars... I seriously want to go back!

There is a funny story about the Alpine slide.. see us on the slide below. When we were on our honeymoon I told Brad not to go so fast down the slide that he would fall off... well you know where this is going.. yip you guessed it! I fell off and scraped my knee in two places - yes I still have the scar to prove it. I have yet to live that one down! Brad reminds me every time we go up to Park City. Isn't the view gorgeous!

More pictures of the Alpine slide and coaster below....

We then headed to the Baja Cantina restaurant where we ate on our honeymoon. It is at the base of the Park City ski resort and has really good Mexican food. Yummy! Brad loves it when I want to take lots of pictures.. :0)

On our way home we stopped off at the Park City outlets to do some shopping.. not a favorite past time for Brad but he was a trooper and we were in and out within 1 hour 45min. I was very proud of myself! Great memories and I look forward to MANY more!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY ...

July 17, 2002 - July 17, 2008

Wow... time sure flies... I can't believe it has already been 6yrs. I really still feel like a newlywed. We are still so corny and can't stand to be apart! I am incredibly lucky to be married to such a kind and loving man.

As I was looking through our pictures to pick a couple to post today I couldn't help remembering our wedding day. It was perfect! Beside the fact that it was over 100 degrees outside - the weather was beautiful, blue skies and sunny! Everything went on without a hitch, I had incredible friends that helped with decorating the reception center, last minute items and just stood by me the entire day. They really made this day low stress for me, I usually like to have a part in the planning and it is hard for me to hand over important planning details to just anyone. So to give all that to someone else to handle was huge for me. Luckily I had friends I could trust to handle the last minute details. Thanks ladies you know who you are!

Since I didn't get married until I was 27 yrs old I attended at least 20 sealings in the Temple of my friends or family. So when I walked into the sealing room for MY wedding I was a bit caught off guard and didn't know where to sit. I had never sat up front before! It was an amazing experience and one that I will never forget. Brad's mission president married us and he did a great job. We had all our family and friends there, I had several of my mission companions and mission friends, 2 young women leaders (3 if I count my mom!), a bishop and his wife that I served with on my mission, relatives and even a high school friend! It was an amazing day being surrounded by those I love!

I also took some time to reflect on the last 6 years and we have been incredibly blessed! Brad and I enjoy spending time together - whether it is traveling somewhere or just hanging out at home we have a blast just being together! He really is my best friend.

Brad is so patient with me and all my quirks, I don't think any other man could have handled all of this as well as he does, he sure is a champ! I am such a planner and anytime we do anything... even just running errands I have to plan out where we will go first to be the most efficient.. I think this stems from my mission and only having a certain number of miles to use in one month so we had to plan everywhere we went to make sure we didn't run out of miles! I am also very specific with how I like to clean the house and sometimes it can be a bit annoying for Brad when he tries to help and didn't do it the way I like it to be done. Thanks Brad for always trying! He really does help around the house a lot! These are just 2 examples of why being married can be difficult at times... we all enter into this union with our own way of doing things and over time you start to understand more and more why Heavenly Father put you together but it is always a work in progress. That is what I love most about being married, we drive each other crazy sometimes but the good times have always outweighed the difficult. Our relationship is stronger now than it was 6yrs ago and I am sure 6yrs from now it will be even stronger!

Tonight we will go to the Temple for sealings, as do every year on our anniversary, then tomorrow head up to Park City to spend the day together. We spent the 1st 2 days of our honeymoon in Park City so it will be fun to enjoy some of the same activities (especially the Alpine slide) like we did back then. Hopefully this time I won't fall off and scrape my knee! I still have a scar as constant reminder of that day. Good times!

This is one of my favorite pictures...one of the last we took that morning after we were married and we were both sooooo TIRED and HOT! I can't believe we used to look that young. I thought I was aging pretty well until I looked at these photos! Oh well, we are having fun!
I am so grateful for a husband that has such a strong testimony of the gospel and his Savior. He honors he priesthood and is always willing to serve when called upon. He loves working with the youth and he does a great job serving with them as well!

Thank you Brad for being my best friend, for always saying the right thing when I have had a bad day, for making me feel like the most important person in the world even if I feel like I have done nothing to deserve it, for loving me no matter what I do, comforting me when I am down, giving great advice when I am not sure how to handle a situation, supporting me in a calling that takes way more time than we bargained for and doing it with a smile! You have been such a great example to me in so many ways and I look forward to learning so much more from you! Thanks for just being you and loving me with all your heart! I couldn't have asked for a better husband and only hope I am the wife you need me to be! I love you!

NEW YORK - Labor Day

Since we are just starting a blog, we HAVE to share pictures of our trip to New York! This was a very memorable adventure. Brad surprised me for our 5th year anniversary (July 17th) with a trip to see the US Open tennis tournament in New York City over Labor day weekend. It was such a surprise, especially because I have played tennis my entire life (or at least as long as I can remember) and have always dreamed of going to the US Open. I was soo excited!

Now... I have to give a little background. Brad does not love tennis like I do, so to be willing to spend our "anniversary trip" to go to New York (a place he wasn't that excited to visit) and also be willing to sit through 2 days of tennis meant so much to me. As we were planning our trip, we found out some friends from our ward (McKinley & Andrea) were headed to New York the same weekend for the US Open and wanted us to go to see Wicked on Broadway. I am still not sure how I talked Brad into seeing a musical along with tennis but he was such a trooper and actually ended up enjoying the entire weekend. I did throw in a Yankee game which sweetened the pot a bit!



We also had some fun adventures in pedi-taxis, one adventure resulted in the police coming to our hotel. We were discussing the fare for the ride to our hotel from Broadway, when our doorman at the hotel came up to ask what was going on. The pedi-taxi guy, let's call him "Bob", said everything was fine. We proceeded to tell the doorman that the fare he quoted was not was we were told. To make a long story short, the doorman told us to go to our room and he ended up calling the police to help "Bob" leave the property. Good times! The following day, based on a recommendation from Brad's sister, we ventured back into the world of the pedi-taxi to tour Central Park. Despite the events of the previous night, this adventure turned out to be a fabulous way to see the entire park without the view of a horses rear end! Thanks Natalie!






Brad enjoys baseball so going to a Yankee game seemed only fair, given the fact that he spent the majority of the weekend doing things that I enjoy. Yankee stadium and their fans definitely make the experience! Every fan was wearing Yankee apparel and there was always someone yelling at the players the entire game. We don't claim to be Yankee fans but started a tradition a few years ago, that whenever we are in a city with a pro team we will go to a game. We also buy a hat to remember the experience!

We couldn't have gone to New York without hitting Time Square, Rockefeller Center, Ground Zero, and taking the subway -which is always an adventure! Brad loves to people watch so he was in heaven!















This is a self portrait of us in the pedi-taxi racing through Time Square.. we seriously thought we would die several times during this ride. "Bob" was dodging in and out of traffic and was barely missing cars! We even saw a pedi-taxi in front of us get hit by a cab! :)

It was such a great vacation, one that I will not forget! In fact, we are already planning a trip back to the US Open! Brad ACTUALLY enjoyed watching tennis! YEA!! He is also taking tennis lessons so that we can start to play together. Isn't he a great husband? I sure think so! Cute too!