Two Years to Eternity

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband now of TWO years!! I know it doesn't sound like very long, but to me it's a wonderful statement!

Yesterday, Brian took me out to a really nice lunch at the Cheesecake Factory! mmmm :)  We never spend that much money to go out to eat so that was a yummy treat. The food was delicious and of course we ordered two pieces of cheesecake to go!  Then we spent the evening at the hotel where we stayed on our wedding night, The Little America. Fun! It brought back lots of fun (and funny) memories of two years ago to the date and it was very romantic.  We just enjoyed spending the whole day and evening together. We went shopping at the Gateway, bought some chips and queso dip at the Cafe Rio where we had our first date and invited our besties Taylor and Becca to come swimming with us! Weird? Not really.  We are so comfortable around them and enjoyed sharing our special day with them. Besides! You can really only spend so much time in the bedroom.

So while we were out and about I also spent a lot of time in my own head (something I do quite often) reminsicing about our second year together and everything we did. And we had such a blast!

Here is our year in review:

On our anniversary last year, May 31, 2009, we were living in our new apartment in Landover, Maryland! In the beginning of May we took a very long road trip to New York thinking that's where we would spend the next four months.  Needless to say we lasted there for a few weeks then the company we were working for (Pinnacle Security) decided to move to Maryland to hopefully have better luck selling security. I was a little sad at first not to live in New York, but it ended up being the best thing ever!  Although I loved seeing Brian's mission in the short time we were there, it was hard and expensive for me to get into the city, and I was pretty nervous about going without Brian anyway. So Maryland was a new adventure and we were only about twenty minutes outside of Washington DC! 

Our first anniversary was on a Sunday, so we stayed in a cooked dinner together, then baked a cake!  I made sure to get a cute #1 candle for our first anniversary!  Then Brian took Monday off and we went to the Six Flags theme park that is in Maryland.  It was about five minutes away from our apartment! We had fun and reminisced about the six flags trip we took in California on our honeymoon!

In June we were able to do some fun things with the company we were with.  Brian played a lot of basketball and I went to the pool every morning, but one of the highlights of the trip was the Washington National's Game we went to!  We had so much fun and they even won!

Other happenings in June were (of course!) my birthday!  Brian took me out to dinner and a movie and then, if I remember correctly, I probably made him take me out to my FAVORITE Italian ice place in the world, Rita's! I recommend that place to anyone on the East Coast.  Also my friend Ashley came to visit me for a couple days and we had fun doing some sight seeing together.  Brian even came along with us for a day! We had a blast but I felt bad because it rained the whole time.

When we think back on our adventure last summer, something that ALWAYS comes up in conversation is the Fourth of July. I was a little hesitant about going into DC and chillin on the Mall along with all of the MILLIONS of people out there, but I am SO glad that I did! I wouldn't change that experience for anything. We had so much fun and I don't know if I will ever be able to experience something like that ever again.

The Metro was INSANE after the fireworks. We got lucky and got on pretty quick but we still had to wait for almost two hours to get on and once we were down there I couldn't believe how many people were crammed under the ground.

I also had a blast with my little sister Rachel when she came out to MD to visit!  I was a little worried about keeping her busy with sight seeing the whole entire time, but it turned out we didn't even need an agenda.  Granted, that didn't hurt to have a list of the MANY things she wanted to see and do, but it turned out we found a lot of random fun along the way doing other things!

.... 

 -We snuck in to a cemetary after hours through a very cool hedge.

-Found a little baby bird who couldn't fly, picked him up and named him Arly

-We went to Six Flags on what must have been the HOTTEST day all summer, but got on to every ride without even waiting in line. I think we went on the superman three times in a row without even getting off.

-We got lost in China Town and saw that the Jonas Brothers were there performing, and took a picture of some Lesbians and a car with scary doll heads stuck in the windows...

-We ate some hot dogs from a street vendor and bought matching sweat shirts

-Saw some really good street performers, and some really crazy ones

-We walked up and down the streets next to the Capitol for an hour searching for the metro.  Boy were we relieved when we finally found it!!

-We got in trouble for standing in a fountain to take a picture

-Saw fire flies up close for the first time and spent a couple hours behind a hedge trying to catch them and put them in a water bottle to keep

-set off an alarm in a museum for trying to touch the butt of a naked statue

and a few more crazy things! I love my sister and I think Brian was glad to see me having so much fun, even if it was a bit immature and silly in his eyes ;)

Brian and I also made many trips to one of our favorite places on the East Coast; Ocean City!

When August came Brian and I were getting sad to leave our new home and wanted to take one last trip to New York before we went home to Utah in case we didn't make it back for a really long time.  I had so much fun with my husband while he showed me around his mission, introduced me to some old members, and explored the city with me!  He took me shopping, showed me everything AND allowed us to splurge on a show I had been dying to see for years... WICKED!  It was so much fun!  We stayed over night in a hotel because we had to drop our friend off at the airport the next morning, then Brian's aunt Doris and cousins Kashmere and Whitney flew in that next morning.  We had a really fun day showing them around New York, taking them shopping, and ended the day by driving into Harlem.  We even saw the famous Harlem Riders motorcycle gang as well as the Apollo theater! It was fun! After we dropped them off at their hotel, we couldn't bring ourselves to leaving, so we found a table in the middle of Times Square, bought some ice cream, and just sat.  We probably sat there for an hour or more, just enjoying the lights, the sounds, the smells and the people watching.  Brian and I are so much alike when it comes to vacations and sight seeing. I will never forget our trip to New York together!

Brian playing chess with a random guy in Times Square

Aunt Doris, Whitney and Kashmere

This is James Elleby. Brian baptized him on his mission and I got to meet him.  He is one of the last living, original Tuskegee Airment. Amazing!

After that trip we were finally (mostly) ready to make our way home.  Poor Brian had to spend his birthday on our last day of our road trip home, which was the worst of all because we drove through Nebraska and Wyoming. BORING!  Sorry Brian! But it was nice to get home and see our families, especially Graci and Makenna. It's amazing how fast little kids change; all it takes is a couple of months!

Once home we wasted no time in continuing our play time! In september we had a blast going to the State Fair! We spent time watching shows, walking around in the heat and watching people.  Later on we met up with our friends Nick and Leslie, my brother Trevor and his then girlfriend (now wife) Sherstin, and my cousin Jenny and her husband Tyler to watch the rodeo!

As fall came things slowed down a little bit.  Brian went back for another semester at Weber and got a new job working for Domino's pizza and I started another school year interpreting for Davis School District.  In October we had family pictures:

and I had a fun time doing some modeling for my friend Colby Koch to use for a portfolio. Brian was an amazing support and stayed with me the entire time while helping me with wardrobe changes in the car and stading out in the freezing cold with me!

In November it was one of my best friend's weddings. I was sad I wasn't able to help more but she just got everything done herself! She is very independant like that :)

(I'm seriously a giant next to these two petite girlies)

And our friend Taylor married his love, Becca (whom we had never met)

In December we convinced our good friend Erik Tue to try out to sing the National Anthem at a Jazz Game. Brian told me he would pay me $100 if I tried out with Erik... I don't think he believed I really would because we don't have that much money. But I decided to prove to him that I could and even though I was SUPER nervous, I decided it would be a fun experience. Besides, how many people can say they've done that?!  Needless to say our friend Erik has an incredible voice and it was no surprise to anyone that he was asked to sing. So he invited us to go with him and while all the players were warming up, we were able to sit on the bottom row and watch! It was cool!

Then of course there was Christmas!  That was fun even though we kept it low key. Brian bought me a gorgeous Djembe drum; it was a huge surprise! I had been talking about getting one for a while so I could join in with him when his buddies came over for some reggae jam sessions.  I allowed Brian to use some of the money we'd been saving to by a ps3, so it was a win-win situation.

Then I FINALLY talked Brian into letting me teach him how to ski, and what happened? He was hooked! And definitely a natural. I still can't believe how quickly he picked it up!

In January Brian and I were called to teach a primary class together!  We were assigned to the CTR 7 class and we loved them so so much! They were the cutest, funniest little stinkers ever. Even when they were disobeying we couldn't help but love them!

Sometime around then we also got together for a cousin date night in which Taylor Duncan came with his new wife Becca! Brian and I immediately hit it off with them and shortly after asked if they wanted to get together with us for a double date.  We were immediately friends!  We have a lot in common and get along so well.  It really is so much fun to have another couple to hang out with that isn't a "my friend and their spouse" sort of situation.  Brian and I both get along with both of them as a couple and when the four of us are together we constantly laugh and the fun never stops.  We love our besties Taylor and Becca Duncan! Now if only we could talk them into moving to Davis County so we were closer.  Maybe some day...we'll see!

 

In February we went on another ski trip for Valentine's day and invited my cousin Jenny and her husband Tyler to come along.  Once again I was very impressed with my extremely talented and naturally coordinated husband and his ability to keep up with them!  (He can almost keep up with me but not quite)!

also in February, my brother Trevor got married to Sherstin Stewart. It was so exciting and it was a relief not to be the only one married in my family any more!

In March we went off soda!  Also, my husband once again proved how much he loves and supports me when I decided to make a business out of my recent obsession, making headbands.  I constantly had a mess of fabric scraps, headbands, hot glue, pins needles and everything else all over the table.  I was also spending all of my spare change on new fabric or plain headbands, but he never complained. Instead, he helped me take pictures of my "models" for my website and figured out the paypal crisis I was having. What a good husband!

 

In April we decided we needed a break from the norm so we planned a short trip to Las Vegas!  We had so much fun even though I was pretty sick; I like to think I was a pretty good sport about it.  We gambled on the penny slots, met up with Brian's cousin and had a fun night on the town. Sat in the sun at the pool, went to an aquarium and got hooked up with free tickets to see Blue Man Group!

After we got back we got excited for the next big event coming up... Brian's brother David got home from his mission in Samoa!

In May we moved into our new basement apartment that we were extremely blessed to have found.  We had a blast taking down the horrible wallpaper that was in the bedroom and painting the walls a really pretty teal blue color to match the new duvet we picked out together.  I love decorating with my husband! Then Brian went on a six day trip to Arizona with David, his sister Joelle and her husband Mike to help them move to their new home.  I figured I needed something to do while he was gone so I decided I'd finish the bedroom and surprise Brian with it! Even though the project was bigger than I though it would be, I had a blast doing it while trying to be creative and save money.  All in all I think it turned out a lot better than I thought it would!

I also had a piano recital this month

And of course, May 31 was our two year anniversary!

Brian surprised me with a beautiful boquet of flowers! I wasn't the only one impressed to know that he put that together all by himself... apparently there was a gay guy at the flower show who couldn't get over his color coordination and creativity. He offered him a job and possibly kissed him as he left! ha ha

I love my husband so much and can't believe how much fun we have had the last two years of marriage. I can't wait to see what surprises year three has to offer!

I love you baby!