Eight in '08

Like the rest of the Mormon world, Jeff and I celebrate our anniversary in August. We were married August 19, 2000, and I know you are dying to see pics of that day. Sorry, but they are all still packed, and will have to wait until we are moved into our new house (however long that will be).

In honor of our eight years together, I wanted to share eight memories from our time together. These are not necessarily the best memories, but eight things that stand out. In no particular order.

#1 This comes from when we were newly dating. Jeff and I used to spend a lot of time sitting on the couch in my apartment after my roommates went to bed (or just went into their bedrooms so we could be alone). One night, as he was getting up to leave, we were standing in the doorway (door open to the outside) and he leaned over and kissed me on the cheek before he left. I shut the door and immediately began to analyze what had happened. It had totally caught me off guard, and I started to worry that he had tried to kiss me (for real) and I had turned my head. I didn't want him to feel like I had rejected him, unintentionally, of course, so I decided to ask him about it.

We were sitting in the Benson building watching the Tuesday devotional (our usual spot), and we started writing notes back and forth about it (yeah right, like I was going to bring it up in actual conversation!). He assured me that he wasn't trying to kiss me, and said, "I don't usually miss," and that "when the time is right, you'll know it."

I kept those notes for a long time. I hope I still have them. Just thinking about that really makes me laugh. And as a side note, when he did kiss me, I did know it was coming and he didn't miss.

#2 When we were first married, we lived in a little apartment on University, close to BYU. It was such a cute little place, and perfect for just starting out. There was one window air conditioner in the family room, which really cooled it down. But no air whatsoever made it into the bedroom and we really suffered at night. We started off spraying each other with a water bottle before getting into bed, hoping we'd be asleep before all the water dried. Finally, we moved our mattress out to the family room. There was just enough room to squeeze it in between the couch and the dresser that held our tv. We slept there, on the floor, for at least a month before we moved. Good times.

#3 I will never forget the first time I went through the temple, two weeks before we got married. It was overwhelming, and so much to take in. I remember going from the veil to the celestial room and Jeff was standing there waiting for me and grabbed me in the biggest hug. I had never been so happy to see anyone in my life. One of the temple workers said, "I hope you'll still greet her like that in 50 years!" Jeff said, "I will." I always love to find him waiting for me in the celestial room, and it seems like he gets there before me quite often!

#4 When I was pregnant with Kyla, I really wanted to get a new crib. The crib we had used with Damon and Allie was a hand-me-down, and while very nice, I wanted something white. I had been looking at cribs, but I knew we didn't have the money to buy one, so I just thought it was a dream that wouldn't happen. On Valentine's Day, Jeff called during lunch and told me to go look outside. He was there with his brother's truck, a white crib with a big red bow in the back. I was so surprised! He had called several consignment stores and found one that had what I wanted. He spent his lunch hour figuring out how to get it into the baby's room and put together. There was no better declaration of his love for me than that. And it proved to me that he still had it in him to plan a few surprises.

#5 When Damon was a baby, we took a trip to Chicago (about a six hour drive from Columbus). We had gotten tickets to a Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field, something Jeff had always wanted to do. We got stuck in traffic and the game started long before we got there. We listened on the radio as the game progressed, praying that the dark clouds hovering over Chicago would cause a rain delay. And it happened. With the game tied in the seventh inning, rain caused a delay and we FINALLY made it to the park. After an hour, the game resumed, and even went into extra innings. And because of the big delay, most fans had gone home. We got to sit anywhere we wanted, and we ended up just a few rows up on the third base side. The game went 14 innings (we got to see the last 7) and the Cubs won in the end. AND Jeff caught a ball thrown into the crowd by Moises Alou, the left fielder (he ended up giving the ball to a little kid). I'm so glad we got to experience that together.

#6 When I was pregnant with Allie, we took a trip to Washington, D.C. for Spring Break. We stayed with some friends, and had one of the best trips ever. We got to go to the D.C. temple, which was amazing, and enjoy perfect weather as we walked around town. On the way back to Columbus, we stopped to see Falling Water (Frank Lloyd Wright's home, built right on the water) and took a tour. It was awesome!

#7 When we were engaged, I worked as a Sports Camp Counselor at BYU. Most campers went home on Friday, but a few stayed and so a few counselors had to stay Friday night as well. It was my turn to stay a Friday night, but Jeff told me to get someone to trade with me, because he wanted to take me to dinner at The Roof restaurant in SLC. I managed to find someone to stay for me, and I called to ask him what to wear. We had been there once before (and spotted Sheri Dew there on a date!) and I remember feeling underdressed. He acted a little funny and told me I didn't need to wear a skirt. I was confused, but said okay, and wore pants.

While we were driving to SLC, he told me that I had something on my face, and I pulled down the visor so I could look in the mirror. An envelope fell into my lap, and when I opened it, inside were two tickets to the Tim McGraw/Faith Hill concert. For that night. I was so surprised! We had an awesome time at the concert, and it will always be one of my favorite memories with Jeff.

#8 Allie's birth. I have good memories of him with the births of the other two, but Allie's really stands out in my mind. Jeff and I spent the evening sitting in recliners at Babies R Us, talking about how glad we were I wasn't being induced that night because we were both tired. I hadn't had any contractions, so I was very surprised when I found myself in labor at 12:30 am. After only 15 minutes, I knew we needed to get to the hospital so I woke him up. It was just like in the movies, where the husband jumps up and tries to hurry, but is so disoriented it takes him a few minutes. I distinctly remember both he and my mom laughing at me as I suffered through the contractions on our drive to the hospital, throwing the seat belt off my shoulder. They had no idea that I was REALLY in labor, and thought I was just being dramatic. Once we got to the hospital, and I got to pushing, it was another scene from a movie, where the wife squeezes life out of her husband's hand as she tries desperately to rid herself of the child within. And even though I never want to do that again, I'm so glad we got to experience that together.

It's been a great eight years. Nothing has been perfect, but yet I wouldn't change a thing. All of our adventures have brought us closer together, and I can't wait to see what the rest of our journey has in store for us.