13th wedding anniversary!

this is the anniversary we've been looking forward to since we got married!  our 13th anniversary on the 13th day of the month in the year 2013!  it's our lucky year.  we are going on a cruise in august to celebrate.
i sure love this guy of mine.  i very lucky to have found someone so perfect for me and that loves me unconditionally. 
13 of my favorite things and memories we about him/us:

1. we don't need much to keep us entertained.  for the most part my favorite thing is to just lay in bed together and watch a favorite show.
2. we travel for food.  we love to try new restaurants when we travel and love to try new food.  we won't eat anywhere we can eat in boise and it's fun.  we scout out yummy things and plan way in advance.
3. we had 7 glorious years together without kids.  it wasn't stressful because we just enjoy each others company so much.  we knew if kids were never in the picture, we'd be just fine.
4. everything we do is an adventure, even getting our kids, and we have fun doing it!
5. kg is such a hard worker and we have no trouble working and making time for each other and keeping things balanced in our lives.  well except maybe a clean house.  but we'd rather be having fun with the girls than cleaning!
6. we always work together when one of us has a health goal, rather than one person always eating a different way and making it difficult for the other.  we make changes together and support one another.
7. we love to travel.  some of my favorites: our one and only cruise in 2005 to western carribean. it was that cruise that we knew flower was suppose to be a part of our family. we also went to disney world. our trips to the oregan coast. each time we went, a child joined our family within 6 months later.  china and it was amazing!  san fransisco in 2001 to show him all the places i loved going as a kid and then indio so he could show me where he grew up.  colorado for a concert.  we went to vegas and canada before were married.  those two trips solidified that i could be with this guy forever.  traveling, being together 24/7 and not arguing and completely enjoying each other.  now we take turns planning trips and surprising each other with the details.
8. we love to eat dinner or breakfast in bed while watching a movie or show and now include our girls in this.
9. we love ice cream.
10. we love to try new things like painting ceramics or blowing glass and he'll let me teach him how to crochet and then make cute beanies!
11. we love to go to festivals and concerts(the concerts are probably more me but he goes or supports me in going and has fun!)
12. we split all responsibilities 50/50.  sometimes he's a way better parent  and sometimes i am.  we pick up each others slack without even noticing.  most times he's a better house keeper but we both have our strengths and moments of being better at something but nothing is a 'his or her job'.  he cooks 3 days a week, i cook 4.  he does bathrooms and i do kitchen.  we both help with laundry. 
13. we are still best friends! i can count on one hand the number of arguments we've had in our 15 years together.  we truly mesh and just don't disagree all that often.  i love him!

Our official anniversary celebration

My sister and her two kids came over Friday evening to watch the kids. We were so looking forward to this date! It's our first date since River was born. Our first stop was at Bonefish Grill. Can I just say YUM?! It was delicious! KG got the house salad: farmed greens, hearts of palm, kalamata olives, tomatoes, pine nuts, feta cheese with a citrus herb vinaigrette. Lily's Chicken: Chicken breast, goat cheese, sautéed spinach, artichoke hearts and a lemon basil sauce. Potatoes Au Gratin.
I got a strawberry daquirri which was very good. I'm pretty picky about them. Pecan Parmesan Crusted Rainbow Trout: Sauteed and topped with artichoke hearts, fresh basil and lemon butter. Garlic whipped potatoes.
We each ate a bit off the other's plate but both liked our own dish best!
After that we walked around downtown. We took the camera and took photos of each other as we scouted out spots for a family photo shoot of a family in our ward. KG actually had the camera the majority of the time. I was teaching him how to use it and he was a good student!
I love this staircase. So pretty.

A lesson in depth of field. Focus on the foreground and the background is out of focus....
...focus on the the yellow shoes in the background and the foreground is out of focus.
We also ran into a different family in our ward. They posed a little for us and we played in the alley.
This is just cool! It was an unplanned thing. KG was trying to get Hannah. The dynamics are awesome!



Caught talking to Julie.
I love this photo. The angles and lines are amazing! The alley looks a mile long!


Then we said good bye and were on our own again.
He's so hot.



Love this. So much of what I miss about living downtown.
We then went to the Idanha with some specific plans but a lock had been changed and we were denied! :( We went across the street and got ice cream from Ben and Jerry's and too it on the road. We went to the foot hills and had ourselves a good ol' time. First we went to a spot with plans to lay a blanket out but were being constantly watched by a too close nosy neighbor without a life. We finished our ice cream while we watched the sun set and had some fun in the street. ;)


Then we went in search of a new spot. We found just what we were looking for. A much more secluded spot to lay out a blanket, gaze at the stars, listen to the noises and do a little somethin' somethin'. :) It was very romantic!
It was a really lovely and much needed date!

Happy 9th Anniversary to us...May 13th!

Wednesday we celebrated 9 years of marriage. I love him more today then I ever have before and more then I ever thought I was capable. He is so patient with anything I deal with or have going on. He helps with the kids and house work more then any other guy I know. He always asks me what he can do to help. He's just awesome and I am so thankful I found the perfect boy for me.

Unfortunately it was not a great day at the start. It was emotional because of a meeting Tuesday night! And I didn't realize how messed up I was over it until time kept passing and I kept getting more mad and frustrated. By the time I was ready to talk KG was at work so I texted with Marco and finally, getting some things out in writing really made me understand what I was so upset about. Before that it was all just so jumbled in my head. I'm realizing my heart can't handle a few things I thought I'd be ok with. I'm just not sure there's anything I can do about it or will do about it because I'll end up hurting someone and that's hard for me. I cried a lot. Although it helped clear my head I didn't feel any better. Unfortunately that bled into Wednesday. KG always knows how to make me feel better. He left me the sweetest anniversary card on the table and that made me cry. I promised myself I wouldn't talk or think about the meeting and just accept things and move on but that was proving difficult. I finally talked to Kris because that usually helps. It didn't. I'm still so sad. I will write more on the private blog when I can get up the energy. It's long over due. If you've not been invited to that one send me your email if you're interested. Anyway, I wanted to stay in bed all day but I had to take care of the kids, had a work lunch and I had to work. After work I wanted to come home and go to bed but I also wanted to celebrate! Even though we plan to go out on a date on Friday, I needed out of this funk!!! Soooo, we decided to go out as a family. I really wanted sushi and the last really good sushi I had was at Kyotos. I'm really glad we went because we had a great time. There were two other couples sitting at the table with us. When the waitress came over and asked if there were any birthdays no one responded so I said, "It's our anniversary!" and the people across from us said it was theirs too and then the people next to us said it was theirs as well. We said we were celebrating 9 years and the couple across said they were too and yep, you guessed it, so were the people next to us. All of us got married on May 13th, nine years ago!!! How crazy is that?! We started joking about buying a lottery ticket and apparently KG had and so had the guy across from us so the other couple said they would be buying one after dinner. :) The lady across from us was chatty and very friendly. She reminded me of Kris. She goes into a place and leaves knowing all kinds of things about a stranger. :) Had that lady not been there, none of us would have even talked to each other, but instead we left feeling like we made some friends. Kris makes friends with people wherever she goes! :) I want to be more like that. I also found out the son of the lady across from us goes to the elementary school my mom works at and the lady has seen and knows who my mom is. :)
We were excited when the waitress brought each couple two leis that she twisted together and put on us and then took our picture. We were also each given ice cream to share. It was really fun and my mood was lifted. Now the challenge is keeping it there. I'm trying really hard to go with the flow! I'm glad I have KG to keep me calm.

Gotcha Day 2nd Anniversary!

Today was such a great day!
First it started with River trying out a new toy. Flower and I went and picked it up from Mary Kate yesterday. She is being so kind to let us use it.
River like it at first. Then she got excited and straighten up kind of quick only to fall forward rather hard and face planted it, twice in a row, and the flood gates opened. She's not quite ready. :)



Today is my friend Marco's birthday! Happy birthday! I sent him a text wishing him so and he called me and we had such a nice conversation. I found out right after we left town this past weekend that they were in town. Huge bummer because we still haven't hung out with his cute wife. But the really great news is that she is pregnant! I am beyond thrilled for them. Flower talked to him for 15 minutes too and it was so sweet listening to her. :)

Although I'm always thankful for Flower and remember what an amazing time we had in China, it's nice to have a specific day to celebrate the day we became a family. Two years ago today we met for the first time. We held this scared little girl in our arms and loved her immediately.
As we were getting ready for our evening out Flower was picking out her outfit and begged to finally be able to wear her bows. She was so happy to finally where the bows she picked out at Kami's. She's been wanting to wear them since we got home but I told her they were for a special occasion, knowing she'd only have to wait a few days for that occasion. :) She was thrilled and just loves them! They are so cute on her!
We celebrated our 'family birthday' by going to Melting Pot. It was Flowers first time and so worth it. I wish we could have taken video of the whole thing. She was so excited about everything! The waitress was cracking up and just feeding her so much attention. We did all four courses and both the girls were great! Flower did have to be taken outside at one point because she was freaking out about the bugs(dark seeds) on her salmon. It was kind of funny.
When we first arrived he was jumping out of her seat to tell the waitress that she wanted a lemonade with a lemon on the glass. :)







We had a great time. I am so grateful for my little family. I am also thankful for so many family and friends who love me and dote on my kids. We are truly blessed with wonderful people in our lives!

Happy Anniversary and Photog classes.

First...Happy 30th Anniversary to my good friends Kris and Jer. In this day and age that is an amazing accomplishment. They are such good examples to us and we love them so much! I love anniversaries and all they represent!Second...I started photography classes tonight! I am so excited. I was fairly freaked out and nervous prior to showing up. That went away as soon as I met the instructor. I am looking forward to learning everything I can about something I am passionate about!
Hope you all had a wonderful Monday!

Happy 8th Anniversary to Us!

May 13th, 2000. That's the day we got hitched.
We have spent the last 24 hours in total bliss together. We dropped Flower off at my brother's house yesterday at 4:30 to spend the night. It's was her first time there and from what I understand, she had a good time. Lauren was having fun doing her hair and she slept in Lauren and Torta's room.
So on to our night. We went to Mona Lisa fondue restaurant in Nampa.Mona Lisa trumps Melting Pot any day. We used to have one in downtown Boise but they decided to just stick with their original one in Nampa. We were bummed. This is the first time we made our way out to Nampa and it was fabulous! It's so much better than the one in downtown anyway! The ambiance was lovely and the whole place was just charming! They have what they call a 'Lover's Lane' for special occasions that is on a balcony with complete privacy.There is a sofa, a faux fireplace, with twinkle lights to help create the mood.

We got the Fondue for Two. I enjoyed a Caesar salad but with their homemade raspberry vinegarette that was so yummy! KG got the Garden Salad. After the salads came KG's very favorite course, the Cheese! I think he's be fine if that's all the meal consisted of. I'm a cheese lovin' girl but when it comes to these places, I'm just not loving it. It always had the alcohol after taste or something. I, on the other hand, have a fabulous cheese fondue recipe of my own and I just can't get enough of!
Then we ate our meat course. My favorite was the Teriyaki Fillet Mignon. Oh my gosh. It just melted in my mouth!We loved the Rosemary Garlic Potatoes too!Then there's the dessert! Oh.My.Gosh. I love it! Nothing beats dipping already yummy things into chocolate/caramel making them that much yummier! We were delighted when our waiter told us that with Lover's Lane, comes the chance to write each other a note, stick it in a bottle and come back in two years to read it. So fun. We both wrote our notes as we ate our dessert. I can hardly wait for two years to come around so that I can share what I wrote with KG and read what he wrote for me! So romantic.

We enjoyed every minute of it and had a really great time. We talked about things of the last year like our favorite moments with each other, our favorite memory, our favorite trip and some of our favorite times with Flower as well.
Our waiter was awesome too.
It never looks like you're eating very much when it's fondue but we left so stuffed!
We made a stop at the Pleasure Boutique. KG bought me something fun for our anniversary that he didn't show me until we got home. Then on to Albertson's to get some heavy cream for our breakfast. When we got home we watched P.S. I love You. I really like it! It was the perfect anniversary love story.
Today we slept in, me till 10:00 and KG till 11:00. I woke up a couple times wondering when Flower was going to come prancing in to wake us up. I actually forgot she was at my brothers until I peaked in on her when I woke up to find her not there. When KG woke up we cleaned the kitchen together and then made strawberries and cream crepes together. They were scrumptious!


While we ate we watched Why Did I Get Married? It's a good thing it had a happy ending because I spent the first half of the movie pissed off and wanting to beat the snot out of one of the men. It sure made me know why I got married and makes me truly appreciate KG. I am so thankful I met the person that is the most perfect fit for me. He is my best friend and the only one I can truly count on to have my back and never judge me. I love him more and more everyday.
Remember the surprise shopping trip I took KG on last week? I bought him a flat screen tv. I bought it early knowing he'd being lying on his backside a lot this past week and thought he'd likely enjoy watching movies on it. We also got a surround sound system. Our tv was having color issues. The left side of the screen was green, the faces fusia. Not pretty. We really enjoyed it. I thought since we'd both be using it, it's basically a joint gift. Well that wasn't enough for KG, along with the Pleasure Boutique gift he also booked me a massage which I'll be taking advantage of tomorrow morning. :)
I had today off so I left at 3:30 to go get Flower while KG made dinner. We had crepes left so he made our favorite savory filling. It's a chicken mushroom number that is wonderful! She had a great time with the kids and we're so thankful for their willing to have her over so we could have time to ourselves! I took her on several errands to run including Target, the auto shop where our car is so I could get the keys I left in it and a prescription, Blockbuster, Redbox, Chevron and finally home. After I got Flower out of the car I discovered I'd left the gas cap at Chevron. Ugggh! I got back in the car and was thrilled when I FINALLY got home after 2 1/2 hours and was able to enjoy dinner as a family. Now we are watching The Great Debaters. Flower is in our room watching a movie she was able to pick out at Blockbuster for getting lots of stars on her potty chart. She chose Cinderella 3. She has been potty trained since last August but has struggled the last few weeks with not making it in time so we've resorted to some positive reinforcement this week. At 20 starts she gets to rent any movie of her choice. She was so excited! She told the guy at the counter, "I don't go peepee in my panties! I pick a movie!" She was squealing with delight. It was so cute.
I love my family.