happy 14th anniversary

Mark & I celebrated our anniversary a few days early since that was when Grandma & Grandpa V. were available to have the boys for an overnighter. I dropped the boys off at G&G's after school on Friday and then headed back into SL to meet Mark so we could go to the temple there. I am always amazed at the architecture, murals and workmanship of that building -- no wonder it took 40 years to build! Afterward, we decided to check out Thaifoon. We had lettuce wraps, mango chicken, and pad thai -- all were very good, but the chicken especially had some sort of spice on it that I didn't care for, so I didn't eat much of that. We meandered around the Gateway for a bit after dinner and then came home. The house is very quiet when the boys aren't here -- wow! Saturday morning Mark took me on a hike up Adams Canyon to the waterfall there (the same hike he took the big boys on a month or so ago) I had been wanting to go on a "short" hike lately, so this was perfect -- about 5 or 6 miles round trip. On our way back out to pick up the boys, I dragged Mark shopping for a few anniversary presents -- two new "good quality" saute pans and a new vacuum. Hopefully the Calphalon cookware will last forever. I had seriously considered buying a Dyson vacuum and found a good price, but I just couldn't bring myself to spend the money, so we got the same Bissell that other Vawdrey family members have and have really liked -- so far I'm very pleased. We were pretty low key this year in our celebration, but it was exactly what we wanted to do. Simply being able to be alone together and have a conversation or at least complete a sentence without interruption was wonderful! It's important to reconnect and remind ourselves how much we love each other. It seems the boys have sucked all our energy and patience lately, so a little break was very refreshing. The boys thoroughly enjoyed their time with G&G (I'm pretty sure THEY needed a break from US too) --thanks, G&G!