Nineteen And Counting

Monday was our 19th anniversary. Allen and I decided to go out for dinner and to see a musical to celebrate. Good times! The kids had never done anything for our anniversary in the past, but when we got home on Monday night we saw this on our garage:


Glow sticks! I love the creativity. Upon closer inspection, we realized there was more to it:

Oodles of notes from the kids! The next morning I went out to get a better look.

What an awesome idea. We loved reading every single one. They ranged from profound:

to family jokes and stories:


Some were clever:


And some were painfully honest:


Of course there was a Star Wars reference:

(ElemenoB has a thing for Han Solo)

And some cute artwork:

But my favorites were the messages of love:




It doesn't get much better than that.

PG-13 Bonus Material

(Awesome darkish camera-phone picture)

Allen and I celebrated our 18th anniversary this week with a matinee showing of Lion King, an excess of great food, some needed shopping and overnight stays at two of our favorite Bed And Breakfasts.

The second place we stayed keeps guestbooks in each of their rooms. Last year we stayed in a different suite and discovered a treasure hunt that someone had started in that room by reading the past entries in the room's guestbook. This prompted my reading the book in this year's room - but a different surprise was in store.

You would think that a simple Thanks for a great stay or Loved the room & breakfast! We'll be back! would suffice, but no. We could not believe the things that some people had written in these books; especially knowing that others would read their words and see their name signed just below what they had to say.

Would you like to see a few of the guestbook entries that we found unbelievable and/or humorous?

I thought you might. But let me forewarn you, some of them are a bit... well, racy.

Surprise, Surprise!

This last weekend held many surprises for me. I thought that our anniversary celebration from a week ago was it - but Allen had a few more things up his sleeve. Saturday morning began with breakfast in bed, including a telegram that started me on a completely unexpected wild goose chase which continued until Sunday afternoon.

Do you like picture books? Because this is sort of like one. Enjoy!

I am so lucky!

The Whole Truth

So... our anniversary celebration. That last post was the story that unraveled in my brain as I'd ask Allen to be in pictures and he would include his own unexpected faces and poses. But the truth is this: we did, in fact, stay at the Inn on the Hill, and it was beautiful. It was in close proximity to almost everything we wanted to do in Salt Lake City so we were able to just walk to our destinations for most of the weekend. One of the most wonderful things was the fact that I did not have to cook one meal for almost 3 days. Oh, bliss! I have come to realize that my favorite food is food that is prepared by someone else.

I think that the phrase "A picture speaks a thousand words" will serve me well to describe the rest of our little getaway (and be much less boring for you). So, without further ado, may I present:

Our 17th Anniversary Celebration

(You can click on the picture to see it larger if you so desire...)

P.S. Extra credit to those who notice the accidental photo repeat. The truth: I was too lazy to fix it.

The Truth Is In There Somewhere

Allen and I are celebrating our 17th anniversary this year. The official date is August 22, but because our kids start school this week we commemorated our anniversary a week early with a little adventure this last weekend.

We wanted to stay at the Inn on the Hill, a beautiful bed and breakfast in downtown Salt Lake City, but couldn't quite afford it.
We decided we could have our own kind of fun for a lot less money. Less money meant we didn't have the cash to go to the local amusement park, so we looked for something similar downtown and found this pig who gave great piggyback rides. (I am SO punny!)
Next we tried to get into a free concert but apparently not all Visitors were Welcome.
We started to get hungry so Allen foraged around for some vittles...
After eating we were getting pretty exhausted, so we stopped for a nap...
but the traffic was SO noisy! We decided then that maybe it would be worth it to stay at the fancy bed & breakfast after all. So Allen asked around about some work and was hired to do a construction job. Amazingly, he was able to earn enough cash for the remainder of our weekend.
We headed back to the Inn with Allen's earnings and were able to secure a room. We decided to peruse the Inn's DVD collection for a romantic movie to watch. I thought it would be nice to let Allen choose.
As you can see, our anniversary was absolutely amazing.

Try not to be jealous.

15th Anniversary, Day Three: The Trip Home & Star Valley

(Family barn in Afton)

Our trip home was the only plan for the last day of our weekend getaway. Just drive and enjoy the scenery. We planned to get home a different way - by driving through beautiful Star Valley, Wyoming. Star Valley, or more specifically, Afton, has always been revered in my mind as the childhood home of my mother-in-law, one of the most amazing women ever to set foot on this planet. I am always amazed when we drive through the lush green pastures and grassy hills. I wonder if she misses it all, there in the dry desert among sagebrush and Joshua trees where she has spent her entire married life.

We decided on something of a whim to stop in and visit two of Allen's uncles and their wives who still live in Afton. His uncle Lloyd and aunt Bonnie still live on the property where my mother-in-law's family ran a dairy farm. We were able to enjoy a quick visit with them before they needed to head into town.

Next we headed over to Ralph and Beth's home, where we probably overstayed our welcome but enjoyed every minute of it. We got updates on all of their children, complete with pictures. We learned all sorts of interesting things about them that we did not previously know. My favorite two were:

1: Ralph is an amazing photographer.

2: Beth is a talented painter.

When it was about time to head for home, Beth offered us some fresh produce from their garden. How can anyone resist fresh produce? So, we all went out back and picked enough to feed our family for about a month. We picked corn...

...beets, carrots, onions, squash, potatoes, zucchini, cabbage and green beans. And Beth shared with me her recipe for Milk Can Soup, which we enjoyed twice after returning home, along with yellow squash muffins. Heaven.

We also got to visit Ralph's wood shop, where he creates some fascinating candlesticks and replicas of the hay thrower his dad used when he was young, among other treasures.

I would love to have their life when Allen and I are at that stage with kids all grown and married with families of their own. Their home is beautiful, their yard is vast and well maintained, and their garden is to die for. And they have time to pursue their other interests and enter them into competitions at the County Fair. What a dream!

Here is a small portion of some of the garden fresh produce we got to bring home:
How are we supposed to top off that anniversary?

I don't think we'll try.