China & Cotton

Instead of going out of town for our anniversary, this year we decided to buy ourselves some gifts.  We love a good excuse to buy stuff.  We looked online to find out what the 'traditional 2nd anniversary gifts' are supposed to be.  The first site we went to said 'china' or 'cotton'.  Forget the 'or'...we got both!

We didn't get fine china when we got married, so we decided to pick a pattern and start our collection.  We both instantly loved one of the first settings we saw (Chirp, by Lenox).  We window shopped for a while making sure we looked at everything available, then decided that we really weren't going to like anything more than the Chirp pattern.  It was just our luck that Macy's was having a sale that day, so we got about $40 off the settings!

We have promised each other that we really are going to use it, it won't just sit in our cabinets!  Growing up (and still now) my mom always used her beautiful china on holidays, birthdays, etc.  I loved it (especially since her china is called "Heather").  I can picture Scott and I still pulling these plates out even when we  have grandchildren.

For cotton, our gift to each other was finally buckling down and tackling a project we've had in the works all summer.  We made our own rug! We have a pretty hefty sized living room and have been aching for an area rug to help fill it.  In the past I couldn't find anything cheap (and cute) enough to fit the bill. My sister in law sent me this tutorial  and I knew I wanted to give it a shot.  Scott and I watched The Count of Monte Cristo (the movie we watched on our very first date) while we made the rug together.  It was definitely a two person job.

We absolutely love how it turned out! It is actually pretty thick & sturdy, I think it should last us a while- maybe till we have been married 5 or 10 years!  I still can't believe we have been married two years already.  Life is good :)

It Takes Two

Heather and I often have and talk about those times when you suddenly realize that you love each other more than you did before. We cherish these rare kind of days.

Let me explain...
There are times in your relationship when you think I cannot possibly love her any more than I do now. You feel like your love is deeper and stronger than you ever thought it could be. Then after seemingly nothing has changed you find yourself in a moment where you clearly can see that your love is better than it was at the time of your last epiphany.

Well I had one of those moments just yesterday. We woke up at the crack of dawn (after a 1 am movie bender) to go to the Sealing of Heather's best friend Kajsa (to Monty). We spent the morning with them inside the Salt Lake Temple. Which is always a sweet experience because we were married there as well. Afterward we made our way to Tucano's for a Brazilian style luncheon featuring all you can eat meat. Another choice experience.

We then split up for a few hours. She went to work for a huge show. I went to the U of U to change and decide on a new major.

Later I joined her at work to help sell tickets at their biggest show if the year, Josh Turner. Her boss was kind enough to sell tickets for us once that show started so we could sit on the grass and enjoy the concert. As the night neared and the darkness filled the sky we sat together taking it all in. Josh came to a song where he asked each of us to raise our hands if we were "madly" in love. We both did so as he went into "I Wouldn't Be A Man." She was now leaning on my shoulder as my head rested on the top of hers. I was breathing in the scent of her over-priced salon shampoo and my heart began to race.

My mind quickly reviewed the significant events of the day, as only your mind can do, and I realized this was "one of those days" when the experience of the temple, and the atmosphere of the open air concert, and the realization that we will celebrate our two year wedding anniversary on Monday all culminate to make you see that you are more in love that you previously thought possible.

I love you Heather. You are the greatest ever. You're my favorite. There is no one like you. I love having you as a best friend, to be with everyday. It has been the greatest two years of my life. "We knew it from the start" but I have to say we didn't know it would be this good and we still don't know how great it will become.

Thanks for 2 spectacular years "B"!

His & Hers

Scott and I work in two pretty different job fields.  Sometimes we make our paths cross and help each other with job events and projects.

When I help Scott out, it always involves one (or both) of these things:

1. Lots of driving

2. Manual Labor

I have come to appreciate and somewhat enjoy both of these things over the years.  When I first met Scott I  learned quickly what a hard worker he is.  I am always exhausted after helping him out, I really don't know how he does-what-he-does so many hours a week.  I'm just not made of the same stuff I guess. I admire that quality in him!

Recently we power washed a parking lot together.  We were at it till 1am!

Over the years, we've delivered (for his dad) a lot too.  We aren't doing this as much this summer, but I have hours of memories driving around Utah with Scott doing this.  Some of our best ideas and funniest inside jokes come out of these long drives.

On my end of the spectrum, I love having Scott at work with me! He is a worker bee and those make the best volunteers!  He sells tickets at the gate with me, he sets up orchestra pit seating (he can literally carry 20 chairs at once...you have to see it to believe it).

This pic was at 'Rita Moreno' last Saturday (she played Anita in West Side Story...the movie!). She is in her late 70's and wore 4 inch high heels! Amazing!)

Two of the people in Rita's crew had never been to Utah before, so Scott and I were asked to take them on a tour of Salt Lake city!  We hung out downtown for 4 hours, we had a great time.  Scott was an excellent tour guide.

I'd say we both enjoy walking a mile in each others shoes from time to time.

4th of July clip

My sister and brother and I were excited to be part of a 4th of July concert last week.  Well, excited until we peeked at the audience before going out and saw how many people were there!  The little amphitheater was packed, there were at least 1,400 people (which is 2,800 eyes watching).  I got really nervous, but we made it through it!  It was really neat to look out at the crowd and see so many people wearing red, white, and blue!

A few people asked if we taped the performance.  Here is a clip from it!  We mixed two fiddle songs (Orange Blossom Special and Devil Went down to Georgia) into one.  We had fun coming up with three part harmonies for parts of it. Luke's version of Devil was created 'in his head'...so Ash and I learned it by ear (no music) which was pretty difficult to do in a week.  That is probably what made me so nervous, knowing that I didn't feel prepared enough.  But we were pretty happy with the outcome, we always have such a good time playing together.

Our Annual H.D.D.

Our tradition of H.D.D.'s (hundred dollar dinners, for lack of a better name) started five years ago, when Scott and I decided to get dressed up and go to La Caille, a famously expensive restaurant.  We loved the whole experience of fine dining, and knew we could probably spend a small fortune on those types of dates if we had no self control.

We decided to start a tradition of going out to one H.D.D. per year.  We have two rules, first: it has to be spontaneous.  No planning more than a day ahead.  When it feels like the time is right and the perfect opportunity comes up, we just go.  Second rule: go big or go home; we always get valet parking, get an appetizer, main course, and dessert, and dress up.

Last year, our H.D.D. was my surprise hair cutting party.  This year, we made it all the way to June before taking the plunge.  It was a few weeks ago, a day before Scott was going to go to a scout camp for several days.  We wanted to do something fun since we'd be apart the rest of the week. Scott suggested making that night our H.D.D. and we decided that yep, that night would be perfect for it!

Since Scott is such a big meat fan, he has always wanted to try Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.  We recently found out that there is one in downtown Salt Lake now, so we decided to go there.

We called and made a reservation, and were on our way! The meal was amazing. They bring your food to you on a 500 degree plate, it was pretty intense.  I was worried I was going to burn my arm!  The meat was the best we have ever had, it was worth it's price!  Our waiter Phillipe was very cool as well, he kept saying "my pleasure" every time we thanked him for something. So classy :)

 One of our favorite things about going to these amazing restaurants (because you know us) is the decor inside. This one had beautiful modern finishes, awesome tile work, and pillows in the booths.  We absolutely loved the look of it.

After dinner, we swung by and walked around "that place we got married", the Salt Lake Temple. It was such a nice summer night outside.

Traditions are so worth it.  We love creating our own, and also love copying adopting fun ideas that others have done.  I'd love to hear some of the traditions that you all have made up or 'adopted'!