Happy 13th

(This photo was taken over four years ago. I better get updated.)

My hubby and I just celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary yesterday. I can't believe it's been 13 years! I woke up to a bouquet of flowers and a cute little thank you note sitting on my kitchen island. Even though the sunflowers were droopy (he had bought them the night before after I went to bed) and the snapdragons were withered, it was a beautiful and thoughtful surprise to wake up to.

Because we have been so busy, we hadn't really planned anything for an evening out, so I quickly planned something and called my sister Heidi to babysit. She was willing to watch my kids for a couple of hours even though she had been working in Salt Lake all day and had to come to my house straight from work. Thanks, Heidi! I called Darin to tell him I was taking him out; I had had a feeling he was planning something, too. We decided that it needed to be a quick night out, because it was so last minute and a school night, and so we went with my plans.

I decided to take him to a quiet little Italian restaurant that neither of us and been to, but we had heard was fabulous. However, Gloria's Little Italy was anything but quiet that night. Our waiter told us that he had never seen a Tuesday night like this. But, still we enjoyed it. The food was awesome and lived up to it's fame. We both got the Gnocchi in Ragú sauce. Yummers! It brought back memories of my mission days in Argentina (which is heavily Italian influenced) where I frequently ate ñoquis - this is how they spell it Argentine-style with a squiggly mark (~) over the "n". (I'm so proud of myself. I just learned how to write an /ñ/ in my text. Wow!) The waiter was extremely friendly and kept apologizing for the wait...which wasn't bad at all. Besides, it gave Darin and I a chance to chat between waiter time. And to make it better, because it was our anniversary, the waiter "comped" our drinks and dessert! Now, if I can say a little something about the desserts. DELECTABLE! I, of course, went with the Spumoni Gelato. I highly recommend this. It was the best Spumoni I've ever tasted. Darin got a big chocolate cake...literally the whole thing, not just a slice. It had a yummy cream inside and out and was covered with white chocolate/semi-sweet chocolate shavings. He couldn't finish his dinner, let alone his dessert. (I finished all of mine.) We went home full and satisfied and know we'll be back again for another special night out.

And now, in honor of my DH...I will tell you 13 things I love about him. (I promise not to make things "mushy". I'm not like that.)

1. He is handsome! His eyes are a gorgeous golden brown color that Makenna was lucky enough to inherit. Eyes are the window to the soul and his eyes show that he has a good one.

2. He is a hard worker. He doesn't know how to sit still and do nothing. Very rarely (with the exception of the BYU games), is he idol. He is always working on something.

3. He is honest. He gives an honest day's work for an honest day's pay. And always tries to give back in some way.

4. He is friendly to everyone. Most everyone that knows him can say that he can become someone's best friend instantly. He genuinely likes people and accepts them for who they are.

5. He is forgiving. I have been on the receiving end of this often.

6. He is a good daddy. He loves his 4 little princesses at home. And they adore him.

7. He is extremely talented. I wish I had half the talent that he has.

8. He has got a great sense of humor and can still make me laugh. His "voices" are best (the "Gay Felix" voice...the "Hi, this is Larry" voice...and his wannabe Lawrence Welk "Vern Gladston singer" voice.) I'm chuckling just thinking about them.

9. He is great with my family (in-laws, siblings, extended family, etc.). He gets along with all of them and has become a "big brother" for them.

10. He is a good listener (when he's not sitting in front of his lap-top).

11. He is patient and doesn't get upset easily. Here is another place where he "balances" us out. I can't say the same about myself, but very rarely yells, gets upset, or shows his temper. I show enough for the both of us.

12. He is athletic. He doesn't participate in many sports anymore, but when he does, he has still got it...golf, softball, snow-skiing, etc.

13. He is mine. I am so lucky to have a hubby that takes me as I am, loves me for my faults, and encourages me to be a better person. I love you, Honey! Here's to many more happy years together!

Below are a few pics from our wedding day. These were taken pre-digital days; so, they aren't the best quality. I had scanned all our photos on my lovely flatbed scanner that unfortunately had specs of dust and such on it. You can see all the "lint" when you blow the pics up. I need to get them digitally re-scanned and touched up so that they look better. But, regardless, these pics show us on that special day when we both had hair.