Ten Years

Today Rob and I are celebrating our TEN YEAR anniversary.  It is so crazy to think about how fast that has gone by.  Somewhere along the lines we became (what I used to consider) old!   We should be (according to my previous thought) boring, set in our ways, and established.  Sure, we have boring days...yes we definitely know how our particular schedule works, but established we are not.  Our life still feels like one big whirlwind of ever-changing elements.   I thought for our special day I would treat you all to a little stroll down Anniversary Lane.

Lets start from the very beginning:

Rob and I were married May 23, 2003.  SO LONG AGO, that digital pictures were only a new thing.  This was the clearest digital shot we have of that day.  Rob was 23 and I was 21.  Babies, I tell ya!  

We moved into this little apartment complex, and still laugh about the fact that we only paid $250/month for rent. With both of us still in school  at the time, it was actually a hard payment to make!  

To make the apartment a little bit nicer, we refinished the kitchen cabinets from dark (bottom) to light (top).  Funny that I really thought we had made some sort of improvement!  

We had two separate receptions.  One in Utah and one in Indiana.  They were a week apart, so we spent our first married week staying at some of the time shares that Rob's work let us use.  This is a shot of us at Bear Lake.  After our second reception, we went to Maui.  Oddly, I have no digital pictures of that trip.  

We spent our first anniversary at Walt Disney World on a trip with my family.  Here we are on Splash Mountain. 

A few weeks after our second anniversary, we brought our first child into the world.   This is where the pregnancy tally begins.  

Rob and I spent our third anniversary in Vegas.  It was a business trip for him, but Maddie and I tagged along.  While Rob worked we ordered room service, and watched a LOT of TV.  I am once again pregnant in this picture....but don't know it yet.  I just thought I had a bad stomach bug.  

For some reason, this is the only picture I have of our fourth anniversary.  Rob bought me a new band for my wedding ring.  Jude was four months old.  Thankfully, I am NOT pregnant in this picture - although the finger size would suggest otherwise!  

For our fifth anniversary, Rob surprised me with an ACTUAL trip to vegas - without kids.  We saw the Beatles LOVE show, ate our hearts out, and saw just about every attraction Vegas has to offer.  And yes, I am four months pregnant in this picture.  Here comes Ella!  This was the year that Rob finally finished school.  He was such a trooper - working 8-5, then going to school from 6-10pm five days/week.  

For our sixth anniversary, Rob and I went mock-skydiving.  It was an amazing experience. I don't know where all the pictures from that went, but here is a picture taken of us right about that time.  (Not pregnant!)  

Anniversary #7.  Rob and I ate at one of our favorite restaurants, The Roof.  It has a beautiful view of the city and serves amazing food.  Every year he gives me a bouquet of flowers with one rose for each year we have been married.  In this picture, I am hiding my pregnant with Claire belly! 

Anniversary #8 - Rob and I spent the night in Park City and had dinner at Ruth's Chris - another one of our favorite places.  Not pregnant.

Anniversary #9: Although technically this wasn't over our anniversary, Rob and I considered our trip to Kauai our anniversary gift to ourselves.  Seven days without kids in paradise was unbelievable!   (Again, not pregnant - must have been going for some sort of record here!) 

Which brings us to 2013, the big #10.   Anniversary details to come in a later post! (But yes....once again pregnant!) 

Together Rob and I  have:

Moved three (soon to be four) times

Brought 4 (soon to be five) children into the world

Celebrated 39 birthdays

Changed over 18,000 diapers (this is on the LOW average end!)

Held (combined) 7 different jobs

Had 7 different cars

Traveled to Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wyoming, Arizona, Mexico, Nevada, and Florida

Owned 2 pets (now more like 1.5 due to cannibalism, but that probably deserves it's own post) 

Survived 1,320 (ish) days of me being pregnant

It might not seem like the most exciting life to you, but it's our life....and we love it.  I wouldn't trade my crazy life for anything, and am so grateful to have had this amazing man stay by my side.  He is, hands down, the most loyal, honest, trustworthy man I have ever met.  He STILL does the best Arnold Schwarzenegger impression I've ever heard, and rubs my neck and feet more than any woman deserves.  He is my rock and my best friend.  I truly love him to all ends of the earth and couldn't be more thrilled to call him mine.

Happy Anniversary, handsome!