Happy #8!!

When I first met Joel I thought we were so different that I couldn't even imagine going on "a" date with him. Though I did think he was very cute and intriguing. Sometimes when I step back and look at the two of us in this marriage, I still see that we are so different in so many ways I'm surprised we've made it to eight years. But, when I look at us in the entirety and all that we've done in 8 years it's no wonder we're still going. Here are some of the highlights I thought of quickly to recap the last eight years. (and for fun at the bottom are some pictures of us along the way).

~We spent the first 7 months of our marriage living apart. Very tough. Wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
~We were able to buy a house right off the bat in Arizona. That was a great place to live and we made great life long friends there.
~We've moved 5 times in the last 8 years and live in 3 states.
~We've had kids in all 3 states
~My favorite place has been Boulder though my best memories are probably while in Arizona. Our life together started there and we had so much time to spend together.
~One of my favorite things about Joel is that he loves food and loves a good treat. I knew I could never marry a guy who just wasn't that into good food. I have friends now who's husbands don't really care for treats or delicious desserts and I just couldn't live with that. Thanks, Joel for always being willing to indulge with me!
~I love that Joel and I have totally different likes and dislikes to be able to bring to the table with our children.
~I love that Joel loves playing music. And listening to jazz. It's an experience to watch him play or listen to music he enjoys. He hears things I don't. I like music with words that you can blast in the car and sing along to with your friends on a road trip. Joel likes that, too. If it's a musical.


Here are some pictures of Joel and me~ mostly before children to remember how we started 8 years ago. Not really any particular order. I was too tired to rearrange things chronologically.

This is a picture of us at our friends wedding in Rhode Island. Joel was able to marry them. It was a lot of fun and I have fond memories of our first "big" trip together.

The picture under that is at my graduation from San Francisco State. Hard to believe I graduated from there 7 years ago. Time is flying...


The next two pictures are of our "wedding." Yes, for those that don't know the full story, you can ask me someday. But this is our elopement picture at the Las Vegas Courthouse. The security guard was also our camera man. And a lady with big blueish hair married us. Gotta love Vegas. Except this secret didn't stay there too long. I stress too long.




This is our house being built in Arizona. Well, we're on the lot anyway. There wasn't much house yet. I can still vividly remember the day we moved in. June 21st 2002. It was so fun for our first house to be brand new and all the things we got to pick out and do to it. After two kids I complained about that house being too small. I'm sorry, Joel. You did an amazing job at making sure we were taken care of there.


One of our favorite things to do would be to come outside at dusk and watch the sunset. It's no secret that my favorite color is pink and Joel and I would go out to watch the sky light up in pinks and reds and oranges. The desert has some amazing sunsets.


Here we were just driving around the Saguaro National Forrest. We put the camera on the top of the car and said "click."


We took in and trained two pit bulls while in Az. They were both good dogs. I miss them.



Here's Joel peaking in the room I was in when I was getting ready for our reception. I like this picture. A lot.



Not a super great picture~ but here's what he was looking at:


And this was us. A little less than the full 8 years but this is pretty much how we started out. Thanks, Joel. I love you. Always and forever- just like Chip and LaFonda.