11 Years Down and FOREVER to go

We celebrated our 11 year wedding anniversary March 10th. We had a busy week so we waited until things slowed down to celebrate just the two of us. This last Monday we booked a room at The Castle Creek Inn in far away Cottonwood Heights (by the Walmart) It was so nice to forget about life for a whole day. We started out the day with a movie and then we headed downtown. We spent some time in the Visitors Center of the Salt Lake Temple. There is a small room where you can listen to a Modern Day Prophet talk on Families. We recommitted to our marriage and family. We ate the best dinner at The Melting Pot. It was a great night. Thanks Steph for taking the kids and getting them off to school the next morning.



Our Story:
We met on our Choir Trip our Senior Year in High School on the Beach in San Diego. I was tempted to body board in the ocean. As I was pursuaded by a group of friends, I requested someone show me how and he immediately stood and said that he would. Shocked, I took his extended hand and we headed into the ocean. One wave hit and then the other. Not much of a swimmer, I fell under and couldn't catch my breath. He held on. We spent the trip pretty inseparable. A friend of mine threw me in the pool and Cody rushed to my defense thinking he had hurt me. I knew at that moment I would always be protected and safe with him. The night he came home from Australia after we had both fasted and prayed, he asked me to marry him. My answer was, "Are you sure?" When he replied. "Of course!" I replied, "Then let's..." and we began our lives really young, with nothing to call our own except each other. From the moment I met Cody, I knew he was the one. The one who would protect, serve, love unconditionally, understand and look forward to FOREVER with.
Our wedding was on a beautiful, cool March morning. He arrived at the Temple before us. (Anyone who knows my dad knows that is quite a feat) Because we were both so early, we had a great deal of time in the Celestial Room waiting for our sealing. So we played paper, rock and scissors and complained we were hungry (no time to eat we didn't want to risk being late). We were sealed by Grandpa Baldwin. I remember looking around at so many who loved and supported us. As Cody and I walked back to the couch, he stepped on my train and popped off every button holding it up. We just smiled. We enjoyed our Wedding Breakfast at Little America. It was surreal. Then on to our reception at Seven Oaks Reception Center. Dad got into a fender bender and mom arrived in a police car holding my china and slip. Seven bridesmaids and seven groomsment later, we cut the cake and headed to far away Park City for our first night.
Cody makes me laugh because he is so real. I love his quirks and his obsessive way he folds his socks. We have grown-up together and I am so thankful for our life and FOREVER. I don't go a day without hearing how beautiful I am. When he asks how my day is, he really wants to know. He is so willing to work so hard for our family.

The Honest Scrap Award

I love these kind of tags. Thanks Kelley! I started blogging because I don't journal or scrapbook. So these kind of tags give me a great opportunity to journal.

Here goes the tag:
It is called the honest scrap award and these are the rules...
A) First list 10 honest things about yourself--and make it interesting even if you have to dig deep.
B) Pass the award on to 7 bloggers that you feel embody the spirit of Honest Scrap...

I am deathly afraid of the dark. When Cody works graveyard, I have a light on in every room. When he doesn't work night shift he either leaves a well-thought pathway of light for me and then returns to turns them all off. I know that there are spirits all around us, both good and bad. I just don't want to talk to any of them. Honestly, I feel them so I would just prefer to run as fast as I can out of the dark and into the light...

I am very similar to Kelley when it comes to my conversation skills. I worry all the time that I might have offended someone. I get very nervous if I am just one on one with someone. I am not really confident. I was surprised when I read this about Kelley, but finally did not feel alone.

I love to snack in bed. Pathetic, huh. I don't snack all day but something happens when I go to get into bed. I just want a little something. It can be as simple as a glass of milk or as complex as a cupcake (which I usually can't have, so often I go to bed a little honery). The worst part of this habit is I don't clean up after myself right away, so when Cody comes home in the morning...he can usually tell.

I watch Days of our Lives. OK I DVR it. I know...it's bad but it's something I have done since I swear I was 8 years old. I don't die if I can't watch it, but there is a definite effort made to watch it late at night.

I love change, almost too much. I have to change something all the time. I find myself motivated by change. I clean better if I know I will be moving the furniture. I cook better if I am changing the way I serve. I sleep better if I am changing where I sleep. Hence the 11 moves to our house, like 15 different cars over the 11 years and new and exciting painting since I can't move if I want to stay married.

I am a yeller. I have always been accused of talking really loud. (Working in a nursing home for 12 years has not helped me to tone things down.) I wish I were more soft spoken. I have been told, "I can hear you, I am not across the street" MULTIPLE TIMES Maybe I have a hearing problem or something.

I am not very patient. I can fake patient, but I truly lack this virtue.

I don't ever take my contacts out. I have managed to go as long as an entire pregnancy without changing them.

I have a really difficult time letting things go. I worry about the WhAt If'S in life so much that I literally drive everyone around me crazy and find little joy in the small things.

I am a DREAM CRUSHER. I don't allow myself to dream and make extreme goals. I am always thinking that something will never work so why even try.

I tag the following: Liza, Jamie T, Holly, Cheryl, Stephanie, Hanna & Vinessa.

Real-life walls

We are so lucky to have such good family and friends. Thanks Dad and Justin for your help with the sheetrock!