Happy 9th Anniversary + San Diego Trip

Last week Kevin and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary!! 

Kevin's mom was so nice to come down and watch all three kiddos while we went away for three days of fun and sun in san Diego.

We watched movies, read books, ate lots of good food, got in some workouts, shopped till we dropped, and even fit in a lot of sleep and relaxing. 

On our first day there (Tuesday) we went hiking and to the tidepools at Cabrillo national monument. Poor Kevin slipped and cut up his foot so he was in a bit of pain for the rest of our trip. :(

After hiking we went to the Old Towne Mexican Cafe for enchiladas and the most amazing cheese crisp on a tostada. I am still dreaming about it. We also walked around Old Towne San Diego for awhile.

That night we also spent a few hours shopping around Fashion Valley Mall and I finally found some jeans I liked! We ended the night with dessert at Extraordinary Desserts which was actually way too rich for me!

The next day we went to Phil's BBQ for lunch and then we headed up to La Jolla to hike and roam around. We went down into an old cave and then we also hiked around by La Jolla Cove and got pictures. We shopped around downtown La Jolla and then also drove by the SD Temple and we got Sprinkles cupcakes close by!

We ended the night with ice cream sundaes at Moot Time Creamery in Coronado and then we went back and enjoyed the evening fireside reading books outside out hotel room.

On both Wednesday and Thursday I woke up and went running close by the hotel for about 40 minutes. It was gorgeous and felt fabulous!

After my run on Wednesday we went to Hodad's for fries & burgers (or grilled cheeses) and then we headed over to Coronado to ride on a surrey with a fringe on top and explore the beach, hotel, and shops.

We ended the day with a trip to the Seaport Village and then driving around the Gaslamp Quarter before we had to run to the airport to catch our flights. 

All in all the vacation was fabulous. It was so fun to hang out just the two of us and enjoy chatting and exploring!

A Little Early Anniversary Celebration- 8 Years

Our 8 year wedding anniversary is next Tuesday (February 18th). 8 years ago on President's Day weekend we got married in the Manhattan LDS temple. It seemed only fitting to commemorate our anniversary with a temple trip... this time to the Oakland Temple.  

Jessie was planning to go to the temple on Saturday too, so we were excited to go to the same session together.

Afterwards Kevin and I enjoyed a nice leisurely dinner at Fentons followed by big ice cream sundaes. I love that we both don't need anything super fancy to have a fabulous anniversary-->> just good treats and each other.

Just like all celebrations in our house... I enjoy having them last longer than just a day... so maybe we'll dub this week our "anniversary week." Looking forward to hopefully celebrating again just the two of us on our actual anniversary on Tuesday.

I am so grateful to be married to Kevin! I still ask myself how did I get to be so lucky?  

Looking Back... Happy 7 Years!

Seven years ago today Kevin & I got married. It doesn't feel like that long ago, but a lot of amazing things have happened since then and time really has just flown by. I love looking back at these pictures and remembering how special our wedding day was and thinking about how many of our favorite people were there to celebrate with us. I finally got a few wedding photos framed and posted in our house (it only took me 6.5 years). This one below of us laughing is right by my front door and it makes me smile every time I walk by it. I am so blessed to be married to Kevin. We compliment one another in so many ways and have so much fun together. 

Since I have hundreds... if not thousands of wedding photos, I thought I'd post a few of my favorites as we celebrate this anniversary. We're not doing anything super special to celebrate this year, but honestly, I don't need anything fancy. Hanging out with Kevin while chatting and eating ice cream is fun to me. Some of my favorite moments we've spent together this past year would seem dull to most people... but they were highlights to me. Laughing while sorting through Legos and baby clothes together during Kevin's paternity leave earlier this year was one of those moments. I have also enjoyed all of our home remodel shopping appointments as we've picked tile and lights and fixtures. 

I am so grateful to be married to such a thoughtful, selfless, kind, and generous person! We make a great team. I am excited to have many many more years to spend together. Our kids are also so lucky to have such a super dad... who is seriously amazing, sweet, patient, and talented in so many ways! 

My favorite quote that President Hinckley shared a few years ago is posted below. It was part of the inspiration behind our family theme (posted in my header above).

“Marriage requires a high degree of tolerance, and some of us need to cultivate that attribute. I have enjoyed these words of Jenkins Lloyd Jones, which I clipped from the newspaper some years ago. Said he:

“There seems to be a superstition among many thousands of our young [men and women] who hold hands and smooch in the drive-ins that marriage is a cottage surrounded by perpetual hollyhocks to which a perpetually young and handsome husband comes home to a perpetually young and [beautiful] wife. When the hollyhocks wither and boredom and bills appear the divorce courts are jammed. …

“Anyone who imagines that bliss [in marriage] is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he has been robbed.

“[The fact is] most putts don’t drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just people. Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration. Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. …

“Life is like an old-time rail journey—delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed.

“The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride”

I am so grateful to be journeying through life with such an amazing friend and husband. It has been a wonderful 7 years!

Happy Anniversary to us Kev! Love you! :)