Our First Decade

Yesterday marked exactly one DECADE since Clint and I were married. This makes me feel old, proud, grateful, loved, and retrospective all at once. I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who led us to each other, and has continued uniting us throughout our marriage. I'm thankful for this truly good & humble man, who is constantly serving me and our children. Clint has always had a calming influence on me. In fact, he was honestly the first guy I'd been around that I ever felt completely, 100% comfortable with. I never felt like I had to have my guard up, and we both never engaged in the "games" that normally go along with dating. I'm not saying we're perfect, or that our relationship is flawless, but it is so nice to feel safe in his love.

photo by Blue Lily Photography

Anyway, we celebrated last week, since Grandma & Grandpa are in CA this weekend. First, we dropped off the kidlets (who were sooo excited about having a sleepover with Grandma & Grandpa!). Then, we made our way to a nice Spanish restaurant in Salt Lake City. The food made me feel completely transported...their seafood & meat paella was seriously heavenly. And, while it would have been more authentic if I continued gorging myself until the plate was clean, i knew no one's feelings would be hurt if i didn't.

From there, we headed home...picking up a movie, some treats & breakfast ingredients on our way. It was nice just to take our time in the store, smooching along the way. A little freedom now and then is a nice treat!

The next day, we sleept in, then feasted on blueberry pancakes, sparkling cider, grapes and orange juice. We took our time getting ready, then dropped by the sporting goods store to rent cross-country skis for the day.


We had a lot of fun (including several crashes... a few of which ended with me laughing hysterically as I tried unsuccessfully to get up.) Clint continued to assure me that bears do indeed hibernate, so I was only on the look-out for wolves and foxes. (Paranoid? maybe a little.)



Anyhow, after a nice lunch, we made our way back to the kids. They had a wonderful time...thanks Grandma & Grandpa! And i always love spending one-on-one time with the love of my life! Here's to many more decades! (well, not too many...i'd really rather go before the dementia hits...)

A trip down Memory Lane

Ten years ago last night, Clint mustered up the courage to take me out on our first date. It wasn't anything spectacular... dinner at a 50's diner & then a movie at a sort of run-down theatre in Provo, the city where we were both going to BYU. At the time, it was really just two friends, testing out the waters of more-than-friendship. The waters, as it turned out, were quite nice...although I'd say it took one more date for us to figure that out.

Anyway, we decided to recreate that first date (all right, I decided & he somewhat-reluctantly went along with the idea) .

First, we revisited the diner...


...which is now a Japanese restaurant. They haven't changed the door, the fixtures or the main layout. And the food was an improvement over what the last place had to offer. It was fun to reminisce about our first date 10 years ago. I remember that Clint ordered a big meal, and then finished off my salad afterwards. That was my first hint at the man's appetite. Nothing's changed in that arena over the years:


Though, to be fair, we did share this "Love Boat" until we were both so bloated (the waitress may have been overly efficient at refilling our waters, if that's possible) we couldn't finish off the rest.

Then, instead of trying to find the obscure theatre (which has probably been demolished by now), we decided to take a walk through our old stomping grounds. It's been a while since we visited BYU's campus. I think the library may have been finished last time, but several more changes have transpired since then. Anyway, it was fun to walk around and enjoy the beauty of that place, in every sense of the word!


After the date that followed, we've rarely spent a day apart. It was fun to think back on the beginnings of our relationship, especially as we sat and walked and talked in some of the places where it all went down. We've definitely grown and changed, and i'm sure also regressed in some ways, over the years. We have seen places, grown to love new friends, enjoyed happy times, experienced hardships, worried over children, exercised faith, and let out many laughs along the way. Clint, I love you. Thank you for making this journey with me. (And thanks for watching the kids last night, Grandma & Grandpa!!!)