15 year anniversary

 It's pretty amazing we're reached 15 years together.  Gosh, we've come a long way and have gone through a lot together and I'm really proud of us!

I mentioned this before but we share our anniversary with Avery's birthday, so we decided to have our "anniversary date" on Saturday.  We've been going to the same restaurant to celebrate for the past several years (apart from last year because of covid) and that's where we went again.  Andrew made dinner reservations at Firebirds Wood Fired Grill in Gilbert.  

Everything we've ordered there has been so good!  I tried the BLT salad and it really hit the spot! The chocolate cake is probably my favorite but there just room in my belly for it this time. ;)

After dinner we planned on getting a Thai foot massage but accidentally ended up with a body massage.  That was interesting!  This was our second time at this location, last time Christ and Kristy came, and I loved the foot massage but Andrew didn't.  It went similar this time too. :)  Andrew loves me and it was a great anniversary date.

Still hoping to have a staycation in the the not too distant future, it just didn't work out this month with Father's and sons campout last weekend, a wedding shoot this weekend, and Bea's birthday next weekend.  We're thinking Flagstaff since that's where we met.

Christmas week with the Weber family

 

We always love it when the Weber's are in town!  Our trip to visit them over Labor Day last year was one of the highlights of the year.  Our kids get along so well and they are just fun people!  When we get together with the Weber's we just don't want it to stop.  They came around lunch time and ended up hanging out the rest of the day.  Riley and Andrew picked up some Backyard Taco for lunch.

Later we did some chocolate taste testing from Trader Joes.  The hot chili and double espresso went in the trash (who would want spicy chocolate?!).  We've done taste tests in the past (eggnog one here), and want to do more, so it was awesome doing it with friends.

The Weber's are like family so when they're in town or live nearby we do a little gift exchange with them around Christmas.  They're really good gift givers.  They boys got some cool books.

Avery and Zara got these sparkly body mists from Bath & Today works they try on every time we visit.

They gifted us a gift card to On the Border so we treated them to dinner.  They're just the best friends and we're grateful to have them in our life.

Seattle date night

 Beatrix is such a sweet third wheel.  She was so good on this trip, whether on the airplane for her first time or being worn in the wrap while I walked all over the city.  She also slept well in the crib the hotel provided.

Andrew is patient with me and my need for elevator selfies. :)  We did this on our last trip too.  Last time we staying in the Men's Athletic Club hotel, around the corner of where we stayed this time; the Sheraton Hotel next door to the Seattle Convention Center.  That's where Mozcon was located.

 Mod Pizza for dinner.  Have you been before? I like that you can customize your pizza.

 Have you heard of Salt & Straw?  I thought they were only in CA but apparently they started Oregon and have a location in Seattle too, lucky for us!  It's a delicious and unique ice cream place.  Very popular for good reason.  The line was out the door!  They have classic flavors and monthly specials with some local ingredients. Checkout that cool chalkboard menu above.  Very impressive.

Andrew had the Strawberry with Balsamic Vinegar & Pepper and I got the Birthday Cake & Blackberries. 

It was so fun have a special date while we were there.  It ended up being our only one since Tuesday night we watched the Manning kids until late so Julie and James could go on a date and Wednesday night I was out late with Geneva and her sister Alecia who was visiting.  We try to make dates a weekly occurrence but that doesn't always happen.

date night

Have you ever been to Last Chance before?  It's a Nordstrum outlet.  Andrew has never been there before so we went on our date tonight hoping to find him some shoes.  He was unimpressed.  It was very crowded and picked over, and a lot of the clothing looked worn.  It's one of those places you have to really dig for the good stuff, but Andrew isn't much of a digger. :)

We had Cafe Zuppas for dinner.  Chick food, but that salad was seriously so good!  I loved just spending time with this handsome guy.  We even watched a little bit of The Office before bed.  I know everyone has seen it by now but I just started season 1.  It's ok.  Funny, but the humor is a little off color.  Andrew promises it gets better.  We'll see!

a date, a date!

Tonight Andrew and I went on a date with our little third wheel.  It seems the longer we're married the more we need these dates!  Zara is looking laid back in the high chair.  This is a new thing for her.

We started out at Paradise Bakery, went to Walmart to purchase a helmet and sport sunglasses for our triathlon, finished off The Great Wall of Chocolate from PF Changs that Andrew left at his office from lunch today, and stopped by one of our favorite stores: Barnes and Noble.

So Andrew to a peak at J K Rowling's new mystery novel and it turns out the main character's name is Barry.  Ha ha!  We thought it funny because of her epic Harry Potter books.  Also, the illustrations in the Rapunzel and Snow White books are amazing!  Children's books are all about the pictures but I also liked the way the stories were written.

a new office

Since Louise and Stanley moved out we're been planning what to do with those two rooms that are now empty. The first one we're working on is Steven's old room, Andrew's new office.  He's really excited about his "man cave".

Although it's Andrew's office he's letting me help out with decor.  Notice the door sign on the right.  Yep, that was totally me.  So far we have painted all the walls white and the inside of the door green.  Carpets were put in on Monday, with my Dad's help.  Andrew did some track lighting yesterday and some new blinds are going in tonight.  As far as the walls go Andrew has his ideas and I have mine.

In other news yesterday was 8 years since the day Andrew and I met.  We watched Sleepless in Seattle last night after the kids went to bed just for fun and are going to Le Grande Orange this Saturday for the first time to celebrate.  We don't normally celebrate the anniversary of the day we met but we felt like doing something special.  Have you been to Le Grande Orange?  I've heard only good things so I'm really looking forward to it!

"surprise date"

From time to time Andrew and I like to do what we call "surprise dates". By surprise we mean one of us plan what we're doing whether it be dinner and a movie, a double date, or flying kites (we have done all) and we don't tell the other what we're doing until we get there.

Andrew was in charge of this one and he chose archery lessons. We went to an indoor archery range in Chandler. This was a first for Andrew and he was so excited and nervous. I have done archery before, but never indoors. I prefer outdoors.

Andrew started out bad.

In fact, one arrow bounced back and another arrow

missed the target altogether.

By the end he was way better than me.

Next time maybe it'll be outdoors with

Andrew's own bow and arrows.

Valentine date night

It was so nice of my brother to watch our kids Saturday night so we could have a Valentine date. Our dates are few and far between.

After Andrew finished his school work I changed out of my scrubs to a more date-material-outfit and even wiggled into my goal jeans. You know - the ones you keep in case you loose 5 lbs. They were a squeeze but I think it was worth it ;)

We thought we'd eat somewhere different - some where we've never been, so we went to a Tai restaurant. I can't remember the name of the restaurant but it's on the south side of Main st., west of the MAC.

Our food was so yummy!

Andrew got fried rice with pineapples, raisins, and cashews.

I got a garlic chicken dish with rice on the side.

As much as I loved the flavor of my dish it was a little too spicy so we ended up switching.

For dessert we headed down the street to good old DQ and shared a cone.

♥ chocolate chocolate dipped ♥

♥ Mmmm . . .

If you have never had a choc. choc. dipped cone from DQ don't wait another day.
This is what I always crave when I go off sugar for a month.

This and a five layer brownie from Sweetcakes.

After DQ Andrew had a really fun idea. We went to Goodwill and had $5 to spend on each other. We could get an unlimited number of items but we couldn't show each other what we got until we got in the car. There was a 20 min. time limit. So the whole not showing what we got each other thing didn't work too well since we kept bumping into each other in the store. Plus I didn't have my wallet so we had to pay together, but we had fun anyway.

Since we had our Valentine date on Saturday today (the actual Valentine's Day) is low-key but I did have a Valentine Party for my kids and all their friends this morning. It was a blast. More pictures later.

♥