An Ode to My Sweetie...

On Sunday we were listening to the talk in sacrament meeting. The speaker was introducing her family and talked about how they met and how long they had been married. As she was talking, I thought, "Wow...Aaron and I have been married for almost five years...WAIT A MINUTE! We have been married for five years." We had completely forgotten our anniversary. It had occurred six days ago. And neither of us remembered. I poked Aaron in the side and whispered, "We forgot our anniversary!!" Both of us busted up. I was laughing so hard I was crying. In the middle of sacrament meeting. And we obviously weren't subtle, because the couple behind us leaned over after the meeting was over and asked, "So, it was your anniversary?" At least we can both be consoled by the fact that neither one of us remembered. And I get bonus points for being the first one to remember. If such bonus points are available. So, a week (and a day) late, I'd like to celebrate my anniversary. Like any couple, we've had our rough times, but they've been few and far between. I think Aaron must be about the easiest person to be married to ever. He seldom gets exasperated with me (although I know he should far more often than he does) and he's very patient and kind. He is so much fun to be with. There's no one I'd rather spend my time with than him. He's an amazing father and his kids adore him. And he's very loving and affectionate. I sure made a good choice when I married him! I don't think I could have picked anyone who loved me more. And that's good, because I know that no one could love him more than I do. So here are our five years in review: 2004 Bridals The big day--August 24, 2004 2005 Less than a year later, on August 14, 2005, Katie Scarlett arrived. 2006 Yes, that is our living room. Apartments just weren't made for woodworking. In May of 2006, Aaron graduated from the University of Utah with his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Electrical Engineering. Baby #2 was already on the way! Our first home. Katie turns 1. On September 25, 2006 Paul Edward joined our family. 2007 On vacation in Stirling, Scotland. Paul has his first birthday. 2008 Our first limo ride together. Averi Noelle brought the total to five on September 16, 2008. Paul's second birthday. Posing for our Christmas card photo. 2009 In New York together.

Impressive and Low-Cal Dessert

We tried this dessert tonight for our family home evening treat, and it was fabulous. I can definitely see this served at a dinner party with a sprig of mint for garnish. Not only is it cheap (peaches were only $0.99 this week at Smith's), but only 98 calories. And you get a fruit serving in as well. Poached Peaches with Raspberry Sauce 4 ripe peaches 1/2 cup sugar 1 cinnamon stick 6 whole cloves Juice of 1/2 lemon 2 1/2 cups water 4 tablespoons raspberry jam (I used strawberry because I didn't want to open a brand new jar, and it tasted just fine) Peel the peaches, but leave them whole. In a medium pot, combine sugar, cinnamon, cloves, lemon juice and water. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and add peaches. Cook 5 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon, set aside to cool. When the peaches cool, halve them and remove pits. To serve, strain syrup ( it was really easy to just avoid scooping up the cinnamon and cloves, so I don't think this part is necessary) and pour 4 tablespoons on peaches. Take jam and microwave for 15-25 seconds. Remove and top peaches, placing jam in hollow left by pit. Serve with fresh mint for garnish, if desired. Makes 4 servings.

What we did in Flagstaff...Part III

Thursday: Grand Canyon On Thursday we drove out to the Grand Canyon, which is about an hour and a half away from Flagstaff. We drove by the overlooks with the kids, but they were so worn out by this part of the vacation that they were TERRIBLE. Paul especially couldn't cope with anything. Aaron and I had planned to take them home after lunch, but Kerry and Connie volunteered to go back with them so that we could go hiking with everyone else. We were just in everyday jeans and a t-shirt, but we figured that would be just fine for the amount of hiking we were planning to do. We hiked about 3 miles into the canyon and stopped for a rest about 1/4 mile from the end of the trail. By this time, dark clouds had started rolling in and it was looking quite nasty. A ranger stopped by and asked us why we were stopping here instead of at the end. When we mentioned that we thought we should head back because of the weather, he told us that there wasn't lightning yet, and that's when we really needed to worry. Trying to beat the lighting as we scrambled up the canyon wasn't something we were prepared to do, so we turned around and started hiking back up as quickly as we could. We knew that we had descended quite a bit, but it wasn't until we were heading back up that we realized how steep the trail actually was. And then it started raining. Not a soft, cooling rain, but a heavy, cold monsoon. We were absolutely drenched. And since Aaron and I were wearing jeans, we gained about 10 pounds of water weight and lost most of our mobility. It was also at this point that I remembered that I hadn't been hiking (really hiking) since before we were married. Let me tell you, that hike back up was tough. We did it very quickly though. They advise you to plan on spending 1/3 of your time hiking down and 2/3 hiking back up. Since it took us an hour to get down, we figured it would take at least 2 to get back up, but we did it in an hour and a half. A very wet hour and a half. To add insult to injury, there was no way to dry off for the long ride back home. I even went to the shops there to see if I could find a pair of sweats or pajama bottoms or a blanket or something, but there was nothing less than $30 and I was willing to catch hypothermia for that amount of money. When we got home, we literally ran to get into a hot shower. This was the time when I was the most thankful for the huge, gorgeous shower in the master suite (which Aaron and I were staying in). We were especially glad that the kids were warm and dry at home. A deer that we saw on the side of the road. It was quite large and totally unafraid of the car. Matt and Megan. The fam at the overlook. Our little model posing. This is her funny camera smile. She loves the camera! See how steep that trail is? Not fun going up. Friday: Shopping and bowling Flagstaff has a cute little old town that has several fun boutiques. Connie gave all the girls spending money and we spend the morning sans kids and guys shopping. I guess I had a hat thing that day, because I bought two hats. And I love them. I can't wait to wear my wool hat when it gets a bit cooler. It looks similar to this, but black. I love it. I feel like I'm in Seabiscuit. I also got a purse and 2 pairs of hoop earring. Tres fun. We also went bowling that evening. I don't think there's a worse place you can take photos, so I don't have many. But here are my cute kids. They obviously had a great time. t