13 years

Today is the wedding anniversary of Ross and Annie.
We have been married for 13 years.

A while ago, we had one of those late night, reminiscent talks, and it was concluded that I live life in two memory formats: BE and AE.

Before Elliott and After Elliott.

After Elliott, I remember a lot of stuff.  In fact, I remember most of it.  Before Elliott, I remember practically nothing and Ross has to regularly remind me of people, places, and things we did together before kids entered our lives.  I feel bad, but there isn't much I can do about it.

I do remember the day we were married, in snippets.  It was Easter weekend and the sun was shining on a beautiful Saturday morning.  It was warm and the tulips were absolutely beautiful at the temple.  I remember that after our sealing, we went out side for pictures and I had forgotten to put on my necklace so I looked a little casual for having just been married.  I remember the location of our luncheon, in a church gym by the Utah State Capitol, but nothing of the food or the things that were said.  I remember that after lunch, Ross and I headed out on our own to run some errands before meeting everyone back at the reception.  I have pictures to remind me how beautiful our wedding reception was.  My parents were generous, the location was spectacularly breathtaking, and I smiled a lot.

That's where the memory ends.  No details.  No recollection of our honeymoon, except for a few sparse details that Ross has reminded me of over the years.  No remembrance of the open house at Ross' parents house in Arizona except for a few frustrations and throwing up at the end of it with food poisoning.

Fast forward to today.  We have been married for 13 years and tomorrow embark on year 14.  To be honest, this past year has been extremely stressful.  Job, family, church, relationship, health have all gotten in the way of our path and caused some pretty big speed bumps.  Some of those bumps were that, just bumps, others felt more like pot holes that I really wasn't sure we were going to be able to pave over.  The last year has been hard.  But, we have perservered, fought our way through the muck, and have come out on top, and at least recently, have maybe been getting along better than we ever have.

Because I'm a nerd, I've spent the last year trying to come up with our "song".  Not a song that we danced to at a wedding (there was no dancing) or a song that we both really liked, but a song that, when I hear it, it reminds me of the why:  Why we try to make it work year after year.

I found the song.
Every single time I hear it, I am reminded of why we work, why we need each other, and why we keep trying.  As corny as it is, I cannot sleep when you aren't at home, and I get stressed out when you aren't close by.  We may fight like cats and dogs at times, but we work well together, have wonderful kids, respect each other, and are the best team I know.

Happy Anniversary.


You're the fire and the flood
And I'll always feel you in my blood
Everything is fine
When your head's resting next to mine
Next to mine

Since we met I feel a lightness in my step
You're miles away but I still feel you
Anywhere I go there you are
Anywhere I go there you are
Late at night when you can't fall asleep
I'll be lying right beside you counting sheep
Anywhere I go there you are
Anywhere I go there you are

AWOL

There is a lot going on.
Baseball for Wyatt 4-5 nights a week.
Soccer for Elliott two days a week.
School.
Preschool.
Filed trips.
Band.
Band concerts.
Driving to and from the elementary school 6 times a day.  Driving to and from preschool 8 times a week.
Homework. (Homework in elementary school is so dumb!)
Cub Scouts.
Mutual.
Boy Scouts and camp outs.
3 weekends of Craft Shows and Markets.
Wedding Anniversaries.
Watching Jurassic World.
Vacation planning.  (Hooray!)
Birthdays coming up.
Starting new jobs.
Trying to exercise.
Laundry.  (So much laundry)
House cleaning. (Ha!)
Insulin pumps and sensors.
Feeding hungry men and boys.

When I look at the calendar on the wall, it feels a little overwhelming at times.  Every day is busy and every night is jam packed with places we need to be.  But, somehow we manage.  All boys get to where they need to be on time, in the right clothes.  We manage to get all the homework done, the minutes mostly read, and the beds made.

Never would I have figured that we'd be this busy with a 9, 7 (almost) and 3 year old.  Time sure flies and when I relax a smidge to look at the big picture, things are pretty good.

Easter and other things....

Last weekend, Easter weekend, we celebrated a little differently.

No egg hunts or dyeing.  No fancy outfits.

Uncle Willie came to help move some furniture, and for dinner, and to build Lego Mixels.

We got ready for church early enough to take a few selfie's with Elliott's selfie stick.  Everyone wore something new, which is a first.

We enjoyed a delicious Easter dinner at my mom's and viewed some of Willie's pictures from the first area of his mission.

It was a good weekend.

The first day of Spring

On Sunday, church was cancelled.  All Utah members, 8 and older, were supposed to attend a rebroadcast of the Provo Tabernacle Temple dedication.  We decided that we did not want to take shifts, as the adults in our home, to attend a broadcast so after a lazy morning at home, we went downtown to Temple Square and did a little church history tour of our own.

It was a very beautiful day, the first day of spring.  There is nothing better than 70 degrees, bright sunshine and well behaved children.

While in the visitor center, we were looking at a world map and Ross asked the boys if they could find Lithuania.  While they were all pointing trying to pin point the exact location, a very kind woman walked up to us and said she could help them find Lithuania.  She was from Lithuania.  After a very quick conversation and the sharing of pictures we figured out that though she attended the Russian speaking branch in Vilnius, Lithuania, she knew Elder Petersen.  I had Ross take a very unflattering picture of the two of us (it was not intended to be as such) and we parted ways.

The day ended with a walk around the Daybreak Lake to burn off the excess energy of three young boys and some crazy double overtime basketball games.

I'd say it was a pretty great day.

He's home! He's home! He's home!

Last week, on Thursday, March 3 my long lost little brother returned from his two year mission in Lithuania.  It was a pretty nerve wracking week - I had some stress induced stomach problems; Wyatt had double ear infections and missed two days of school; Elliott had some sort of virus with a 101.4 degree fever.  Inspite of all our personal challenges though, that kid still came home.

And it was glorious.

Seeing him.  Giving him a hug.  Reintroducing him to the kids.  Pretty cool.

Two years is such a long time.  I realize that in the grand scheme of life, two years is a very small percentage, but it was worth it.  My brother is so tall and handsome and smart and grown-up.  He is of course, the same goofy dorky kid we all love, but he is so much more than that, too.

















Yesterday, Quinn and I got to spend a couple hours in the afternoon with Uncle Willie.  As soon as he came in our house, he went straight to the fridge and the pantry - just like always.  He wandered around our house, upstairs and into the basement.  He smiled and giggled and tried to talk to Quinn.

We went to Deseret Book.  The woman helping him thought I was his mom.  He's home, I guess.  Everyone thinks I'm his mom.

We went to lunch at Cubby's and I answered all his questions about family and America and food trucks.  He likes food trucks - well, he likes kebab stands, so pretty much the same thing.

Then, we went to Target, and he pushed Captain Quinn around in the cart and we looked at all the toys.

We came back to my house, and he read books to his former best friend, who is starting to warm up to the whole idea of Uncle Willie.  He went with me to get the big boys from school, checked out the pantry one more time when we got back, and then he headed home.

He is a good boy and one of my best friends.  I am so happy he is home.