Anniversary Weekend

Goodness, when I put in my pictures on the last blog it cut off the rest of what I had written. So let me finish the weekend.

Friday night we watched a Dave Matthews band concert from 2005 that I had recorded awhile ago and it made for a more unique date night than just watching the same old shows we always watch and it made Josh really happy. 

Saturday I went for a long bike ride and realized how important it is for me to exercise. I had been feeling down for a few days and super unmotivated but after my bike ride I felt so much better. Exercise had just become such a consistent part of my schedule that I hadn't even realized how much it was helping my mental well-being and I really miss it. I love bike riding and always have so I'm glad I get to do it at least once a week when Josh is home. I am struggling to do anything else though even though I know I need to. I can do stuff with the kids and that is nice but isn't a serious workout for me.

The rest of the day we played outside and made a fun chalk obstacle course on the sidewalk across the street. My kids liked doing it and yesterday while Josh and I were talking we saw some adults doing it as they walked by too and our neighbors, which was fun. Josh and I talked a lot and then he made us all watch a NOVA documentary about developing a robot to play on Jeopardy (science for the day). We decided to celebrate our anniversary so we went and got Texas Roadhouse for dinner and it was delicious! The steak and rolls and mashed potatoes were all so wonderful. Good food really does make me happy. Then we watched the Great British Baking show and put the kids to bed early (which Lily and Curtis were not happy about but I didn't really care). We needed some alone time and it was wonderful. 

I had the idea to watch a few minutes of every movie we watched while we were dating (so many!) and it was incredibly fun. We used to go see movies all of the time; it really used to be our thing. Part of it was because Josh worked at a theater so he could get us in for free but mostly it is just because we both really love movies. We started with Seven Years in Tibet since that was the movie we saw on our first date and we tried to go in order as best as we could remember. Anastaia was our second date, then Titanic when we first held hands, A Walk in the Clouds on Valentine's day, and then Les Miserables after we broke up but he told me that night he still loved me and always would. We used my journal to fill in others that we watched at home like when he introduced me to Top Gun and I introduced him to Emma and Ever After. Then it was Armageddon when he came to visit me at BYU fall of freshman year and then At First Sight when I went to go visit him in Florida in January. It was so fun to reminisce and watch a piece of so many great movies. We remembered kind of sneaking into a movie while he was working at the theater but couldn't remember what it was. Turns out it was The Haunting so no wonder I don't remember; I don't like scary movies! We watched So I Married an Axe Murderer and Meet the Parents, Forces of Nature, What Lies Beneath, Mulan, Princess Bride, Maverick, October Sky, Swing Kids, For the Love of the Game (that was when I went to Orlando for his baptism) and Wayne's World, which we watched with our buddy, John at his house. I am sure there were many more but those were the ones we remembered and by that point it was pretty late. It was so fun to remember and to watch the movies and we just talked and laughed and it was a wonderful night. 

Sunday was another beautiful Sabbath day. We had our church meetings then I led the kids in primary singing time. We played name that tune with all the songs they've learned this year and it got pretty competitive (not a surprise in our house). Then we had our sacrament meeting and we all shared something that we had learned during the week. Emma talked about learning to put off the natural man like we talked about in scripture study earlier that week and Brandon said he learned he needed to be nice. Curtis mentioned something from scripture study too and Lily shared that she had been trying to find things to be grateful for all week and noticed the increased family time and connection as a blessing. We also talked about the temple and the importance and blessing of being married in the temple. We tried to impress on the minds of the kids that they can and should be committed now to that goal and can and should be preparing. I felt such a wonderful spirit as we talked about it and I know that there isn't anything that is worth getting in the way of us going to the temple. If Josh hadn't been able to take me there, he wouldn't have been the husband I would have needed him to be and I wouldn't have married him. Nothing is worth sacrificing temple blessings and I am so grateful for covenants that bind us together and to God and will allow our family to be united forever. My favorite line from our wedding day was when Josh told me at our ring ceremony that heaven wouldn't be heavenly without me. So, so true. 

The kids ran off to play when we were done (their huge Lego city taking over the basement) and Josh and I sat and talked for about an hour all about our wedding and we did a marriage inventory. It was great and I am so grateful to be married to someone who is so humble, loving, kind, fun and such a great listener. We talked about what we do well and where we could improve and it was a good discussion. 

He then had church meetings while I wrote in my journal and played Skip Bo with the kids and made cheesecake. We had dinner and then gave the kids an anniversary challenge. We split them into teams and quizzed them about our engagement and wedding and it was pretty fun. They knew more than I expected them to, although it helped that I had just looked at our photo album with Emma and Brandon. We laughed a lot and had fun telling them stories and I loved it.  Then we ate our cheesecake and watched some more of the baking show. Josh and I ended up watching Ever After after the kids were in bed and I just love being with him. I could go on and on about how much I love him and how grateful I am for how he loves me, but I won't. One of my favorite movies lines is from Emma when Mr. Knightly says, perhaps it is our imperfections that make us perfect for one another. Here's to 17 happy years and counting!