5 Years Baby!!!

I thought I'd take a trip down memory lane with pictures

Sept. '06

Our 2nd date & I became the girlfriend! Mind you, we met the weekend before that. Ya, we're a bit quick. But when you know you know! You know?

July '07

Our first camping trip & a freak monsoon storm.

July '08

Our last trip before Brody joined our family.

May '09
Our first family pictures done by my friend Kacey Reed at kandkphotos.com.

December '10

This is the only picture I actually took of us on our anniversary. We went on a drive around the mountain & then to one of our favorite Steak Houses. *And I was definitely pregnant with Jett.

Oct. '11

And here we arrive to 2011. This is when we went & rode the ski lifts on Summer Haven in Tucson.

This year, I was in charge of what we were going to do. Since we have a lot of different things takeinf over our funds, I decided to do a 'stay-cation'. So I booked us a weekend at the Buttes in Tempe, which is right in the middle of our favorite shopping. The night before we were suppose to leave, we both ended up in bed & thebathroom with the stomach flu. One of the worst 48 hours of my life. It was terrible that we couldn't take care of the boys, let alone go on our getaway. So Lance called & rescheduled for the next weekend- which ended up being $50 cheaper! Finally we got better & that Friday came. We dropped Jett off at Grandma Eloise's, & drove to Mesa. We dropped Brody off with Granny & headed to the Mesa Temple. I think that was worth the trip. It's been a while & was totally needed. Then we got to the Buttes, which they upgraded us! It was awesome. I've been wanting to take Lance to Ikea, so we did that first. He wasn't really wanting to go, but at the end he was really glad I took him. Then we went to Black Angus, which was delicious....I love steak. We walked through Chandler Mall, grabbed some cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory & took it back to the resort. In the morning we ate an amazing buffet & then went on a little hike. I really wanted to go swimming, but Lance didn't. So he proposed I get a pedicure instead....not such a bad swap. We checked out of our room at noon & went back to Chandler Mall to finish our Christmas shopping. We picked up Brody, who was spoiled rotten, hung out with my family, & then headed home. It was such a fun & relaxing weekend!

It's pretty crazy how pictures can evoke feelings, memories, & bring you right back to that moment. The first year of marriage was awesome, probably because Lance took my immaturity very well. The 2nd year was definitely hard, especially for me. Learning that I didn't always have to be right & swallowing my pride(which I'm still learning). Then Brody was born, I had to learn how to be selfless. But I can definitely say, every year our marriage has gotten better. And every year, we've learned how to laugh more things off. Now that I look back, Lance has basically been the strong one, while I've done a ton of growing up. haha. He is for sure my best friend. I would much rather be at home with him, than hang out with friends. It's been fun to decide what we want do with our family, make traditions, & how we want to grow. I love you Lance your my bestest friend!