Celebrating Ten Years

Heber and I celebrated our tenth anniversary last week.  Ten just seems like such a big number.  People who've been married for ten years are old, right?  And yet, here we are.

I remember back to getting engaged.  We were so young but knew we were right for each other.    Who you marry determines the rest of your life, pretty much.  What your house is like, what your kids are like, where you live, even how happy you are.  Yes, I said it.  If you are unhappy in your most important relationship it's a rough road. 

In the weeks leading up to the date, there have been a series of big things that have reminded me even more of why we are together (because it is a choice to be happy together).  So, you all heard about the car accident a few weeks back.  For several days after the wreck, I was just so thankful that he was alive and ok.  So many things could have gone wrong and it made me think of what I would do without him, and I'm not sure I could do it.

A month ago my hard drive crashed.  It was pretty sad.  Heber spent three weeks putting the pieces back together.  He asked around for some software and worked on my computer night after night.  Together we watched the numbers of recovered data slowly (so agonizingly slow) climb.  He tried even after I lost hope it ever recovering anything until everything was recovered.  Three weeks to the day of the crash, all of the data was recovered.  He spent every free moment trying to bring things back together for me and that is just the type of person that he is.

We celebrated the day by planning a trip.  Ten seems momentus enough to get out on a vacation.  Especially after we spent our fifth anniversary in Istanbul.
 
So, we are heading out to the beach in October.  We thought and thought about where we'd like to go and the only place I really wanted to be was at the beach.  I wanted to listen to the water and just be for a few days.  I love a good busy, sightseeing vacation but at this moment in my life, I know that I need a true relaxing vacation.  My mom is heading over to watch the kids and I get the double bonus of having a few days to hang out with my mom, it's going to be great!

To mark the day, we went out to dinner at Trummers on Main in Clifton.  The restaurant was completely empty for half of our meal and felt like we'd rented the whole thing for us.  I guess most people don't go out to eat at 5:00 on Saturdays. 

 

 

I can't believe that we are here at 10 years and yet, it seems like I've known him forever.  Happy 10 years! 

Labor Day

It's been quite the week.  We found out we are expecting a girl, we celebrated our anniversary over Labor Day.  We also heard some not so happy things about the new job (which I'm not going to get into) and we told everyone that we were moving.  Which is such a hard thing, especially with many friends who have become our family out here.

I dreaded telling some about the move.  It was incredibly hard.  These past few years have been some of our hardest but most happy.  I've learned so much about myself and we've grown closer as a couple as we faced all the changes together.

Our friends have become so much more important and it's hard to leave them behind.  I think many of them will stay "our people" for a good long time.  

Let's see some happy things from this weekend, snap us out of this dreary post. Labor Day weekend was filled with so many fun things.  It was just what we needed to cheer us up, and we needed some cheering up after this week.  We played with friends, BBQ'd, went on a date! 

Leo got to play with some of his favorite friends.  It's a little buddy picture!

We spent the morning at the Old Town Alexandria Farmer's Market.

We saw this incredible view from the top of the Masonic Temple.  I toured it years ago but it's been on our list to visit again.

The George Washington Memorial Masonic Temple.

Here's us at the top.  Yes, we were "those" people on the tour with a loud, wildy boy.  He was not happy to be there, as you can tell.

We went out for breakfast and played in a fountain.

We hosted our friends from the South, the Kudin's.  We always love having them come visit.

Heb and I got a date in Georgetown to celebrate our Anniversary!

We decided to be tourists for the evening and eat at the very popular DC Cupcakes.  They were so delicious and I don't even like frou frou cupcakes.  It was even worth a 30 minute wait in line.  Can you tell I'd go back?

 Happy Labor Day!  Best weekend of the year!

Seven

It was our anniversary last week.

In seven years we've:
- Had one baby Leo
- Moved 2,000 miles
- Visited three continents (Europe, Asia (both in Turkey) and South America(Peru))
- Experienced one Turkish bath
- Lived in three houses (an apartment, a condo and a townhome)
- Survived Logan winters and East coast humidity
- Had our car stolen and miraculously returned
- Graduated from college with 3 bachelors degrees and 2 masters degrees (whew).
- Acquired one table saw (in the garage)
- Worked at  more than 12 jobs (between the two of us)
- Spent countless evenings with friends (all across the country)
- Visited Oregon three times
- Joined an Irish dancing team and Heb took up the guitar
- Watched every episode of the Big Bang Theory
- Had so many fun adventures (San Francisco, Las Vegas, Williamsburg, Gettysburg, Monticello.......)
- Had only one car accident (stupid fender bender)
- Acquired more computers that people in our family (5 - one from work, a netbook, an old laptop, my new laptop and a desktop - not counting the 2 desktop set ups that were given  to me and regiven ages ago)
- Laughed and talked together
- Loved each other even more than the year before
- Experienced ups and downs but done it together

Marrying Heber was the best choice I ever made.  It's been good.

Christmas 2005

Putting in some stairs in our first apartment.

Heb's undergraduate graduation

Waiting for Leo.  Fall 2011

Ephesus, 2010

Night hike to the Wind Caves

Celtic Dancing 2011

San Fran, 2006

It's Been Four Years.

Yup, four whole years since we got married.

In four years we've:
Lived in two houses (an apartment and a condo)
Replaced an old car and repaired the new one
Worked at more than 10 jobs (between the two of us)
Graduated from college and started graduate programs
Visited another country
Laughed and talked together
Had our car stolen and miraculously returned
Survived Logan winters
Acquired one pink computer server
Watched every Office episode
Visited the east and the west coasts
Taken up racketball and road biking
Spent countless evenings with friends
Loved each other even more than the year before

It's been good. I am one lucky girl.