5 into Forever!

Five years ago today I married my best friend and the love of my life. While writing this blog today I am flooded with tender emotion thinking about this man I love. I still love that boy as passionately as I did the day I married him, but after five wonderful years and two children together the depth of our love has increased immeasurably. I count myself lucky to call myself his wife!

I am going to borrow my cousin Heather's idea and list 5 things I love about my husband-one for each year we have been married:

1. He is so kind and tender to me. He treats me like a lady. He NEVER raises his voice at me and I'm not kidding when I say that I cannot think of one fight we have ever been in. He treats me with respect and as his partner. He also makes me laugh, which is something that I love to do. Even though we have different styles of humor, he "gets" mine and will play along with me because he knows how happy that makes me. Here's a cute example of how sweet he is to me: A few years ago I got a terrible haircut. I cried and cried and swore that I would not leave the house until it grew back. That night he styled my hair for me and made it look so cute that I left the house that night to go out to dinner with him. That is just the tip of the iceberg of the wonderful man I married!

2. He is so gentle and loving with our kids, and that is evidenced by how much they both adore him. He is a wonderful father and one who is very involved in the rearing of our children. And yes ladies...he even changes dirty diapers...willingly! He is so helpful. He even wakes up on Sunday mornings (his only day off so he doesn't get to sleep in) and gets the kids ready for church.

3. He is a wonderful provider. When Ameliah was born he wanted me to be able to stay at home with her. With the exception of the few months that I worked part-time from home, he has been our sole provider. That is a huge responsibility that he takes seriously and does fantastic at. My honey has great career and financial goals and I have no doubt that he will achieve!

4. Todd is one of the most selfless people you will ever meet. Sometimes I actually get annoyed at this quality because he gives things away that I want him to keep. But that boy is a giver! He has a heart of gold. He loves his family and wants them to have nice things and selflessly shares. His generosity is not limited to his family, though. Just last night he gave our umbrella away at Jeff's graduation because it rained non-stop and he saw a woman in a motorized cart looking wet and miserable. Although I bust him sometimes for giving away so much, I also wouldn't change that about him because that is part of what makes him so wonderful. His thoughtfulness and charity make me want to be a better person.

5. He is super HOT! (Just look at the BEAUTIFUL children he has given me!) I first met him in high school and I still remember thinking how handsome he was the first time I saw him. He often goes to the gym to keep in shape for me. He also has fantastic hygiene and grooming habits and always looks-and smells- nice wherever he goes. I am grateful that he has taken such good care of himself and I am proud to be the little lady on his arm when we go out.

Here is a slide of some highlights on our journey together so far...

Tulip Time Trip

Last Thursday Tina, me and the kids got on a plane and flew to Iowa to see Tulip Time. Sherri lives in a cute little Dutch town called Pella (you may have heard of it, that's where Pella Windows is). Every year around this time they have a huge Dutch festival to celebrate the culture and there are tulips everywhere! I have been wanting to go see Tulip Time for years and I finally got my chance! It was hard to go without Todd, but I am so glad I went. Tina was SUPER helpful with the kids and it was so fun to hang out with her and Sherri.

Thursday night Sherri made us some healthy and very yummy chicken burritos. It was such a beautiful evening that we ate on the deck in the backyard.

The kids were more interested in playing in the huge, fun backyard than they were in eating. While I was sitting there eating my dinner, I saw actual deer frolicking in the trees behind Sherri's house. They were out enjoying the beautiful spring evening, too.

After dinner we joined the kids in the backyard.

My kids loved the swings.
On Friday morning we got everyone dressed up and headed to this cute little park to take pictures of the tulips.When we got there the kids found a cute turtle in the pond. Cannon wanted to get in the water and it took a great deal of effort to keep him dry. He kept crying for the water and was NOT at all interested in taking pictures.However, Ameliah was and she was such a doll! I love when she does her poses. Most of them she makes up herself and she loves to do them. I got Cannon to look in my direction for this picture, but he was still not happy about this whole picture thing. He still just wanted to go get that turtle.

I thought it would be nice to get a family shot in front of these pretty pink tulips, but he was fighting to get free in this shot, too. I didn't travel all of that way to go to Tulip Time and not get some good tulip pictures! I was determined!

Behind us is a cute little windmill. And you can't tell from the picture, but the pond is actually in the shape of a wooden Dutch shoe. It was a fun little park.

Here is a shot of Sherri's family all dressed up in their Dutch costumes. Brooke and Chelsea got to be in a few of the parades (they have 2 a day for 3 days).
Here is the whole gang.
Here is my little girl checking out the flowers.

Here is one of the only pictures we got of Cannon smiling during his boycott of photo time.

Both of my kids loved the sod under this tree. They spent a considerable amount of time playing in it. I was laughing at the fact that we came all that way to see the tulips and they enjoyed the sod more. We could have done that here!

Here is the three of us sisters together. We had a good time together.

We took pictures by the pretty purple tulips because they matched Tina's shirt.

This is one of the only times we got to see Mark the whole trip. He is a very busy guy, but he left work early to come join the festivities. He bought us a Dutch treat called Poffertjes. They are like tiny little pancakes and are cooked like pancakes, but they have the sweetest cake-like flavor. They cover them with strawberries and whipped cream. They were DELICIOUS! I am seriously going to find the recipe because I am craving them like crazy.

That night when we got home, Cannon found a roller blade and was riding it around like a little bike. He was so proud of himself for figuring it out.

The day we left the two sets of twins (we call them that because Ameliah and Luke are only a few weeks apart in age, as are Cannon and Annika) all played under the screen together. I thought it was so cute that I had to take a picture before I made them come out.

Our trip was short but packed full of fun and entertainment. I loved it and would love to go back to Tulip Time again. Thanks Sherri and Mark for being such wonderful hosts. And thank you Tina for all of your help with my wee ones. I never would have made it without you!

"We're at the mall, we're cool"

Todd took the day off on Monday and I was itching to get out of the house. I couldn't think of anything else to do, so we went to the mall. The kids saw the carousel and asked if they could ride it.

We went to the top level and Ameliah, in her true nature, picked the pink horse.

Cannon picked the white tiger. No surprise there.
I am really beginning to feel spoiled with all of the family time we have had this past week!

Show Low Family Outing

So on Friday, Todd had a last minute business trip to Show Low and the kids and I tagged along. Road trips are not too bad with the kids because we got a dual screen DVD player for Christmas and they just love it. As we were driving through Salt River Canyon we started to smell something burning. I pulled over at the first available pull-out and my brand new brakes were smoking! I didn't realize that I had been riding the brakes. I was just trying not to hit the guy in front of me. Todd said that we needed to sit and let them cool down for a while before we continued. After sitting in the car for a while, I decided to get out and look around and this is what I saw...

You can't see it very well, but the white water was leading to a pretty little waterfall.

We hadn't even made it to our destination, but my family was already enjoying our trip. I was glad that we were able to enjoy this beautiful scenery that we would have otherwise missed.

We got to Show Low and spent the day tagging along with Todd. After dinner we rented a room at the Holiday Inn. It had an indoor pool and spa. The kids were so excited to go swimming. We all got suited up and went for a dip. The kids had such a fun time going back and forth between the pool and the spa. At one point I remember watching the smiles on the faces of my kids and my husband and I said "This is joy!" Our kids are young, but they knew that this trip was just our family and that it was special.

They stayed up so late that it was hard to wake them up in the morning, but we had to get back to business. I am so proud of these little ones for how well they did in the car. We did a lot of driving and just sitting in the car and they were such good sports about it.

I can't believe how much our little family needed this time together. It was wonderful to observe and enjoy the beauty of the earth that our Heavenly Father has created for us. After this weekend I realized that I need to make it a priority to plan more trips like this for our family. I can't remember who said this or where I heard it but it goes something like..."I have learned that being with those I love is enough".

Easter Weekend

We had such a fun Easter weekend! On Friday we went to Kinley's house and we had an Easter egg hunt! Right out of the chutes Kinley set off with purpose and she would have found them all if we didn't encourage my kids to hurry and find some.

Brother looks more like he's practicing his football moves than finding Easter eggs.

He knew there was something inside, but didn't know how to get to it.

Ameliah enjoying her spoils.

Kinley enjoying hers, too. She was nice and shared some of hers with Ameliah and Cannon since she ended up with way more eggs.

Then Cinderalla and Snow White showed up and gave us a little princess fashion show.

They are such good friends. It is so fun to have cousins around the same age!

Me and Snow White.

After a very brief nap, we frosted some Easter cookies that Aunt Jodi made. They were so yummy! She had bright green, pink and purple frosting and some super fun sprinkles to go on it too. Notice the big pink sprinkle under Cannon's right eye.

What a mess!

Ameliah chose her favorite color pink to accesorize her face. It matches her pink polka dots on her shirt quite nicely.

On Saturday night we pulled the back seats out of the van and put a futon mattress in and headed for the drive-ins. We love to go to movies, but our kids have a hard time keeping quiet so the drive-ins is our best bet. Plus, it is only $6.25 per adult (5 and under are free- sweet!). You get a double feature, so you are only paying $12.50 per couple to see two movies. Can't beat that!

Me and Ameliah finding our comfy spots before the show.

This is my handsome husband. I don't know who had a better time- the kids or us! In fact, we are planning to go back tonight because on Tuesdays it only costs $4 per adult.

Cannon didn't care much about the movie. He spent most of the time pretending to drive the car and pushing all the bottons he could get his hands on.

On Sunday morning we went for a drive and found these...peacocks! They were just hanging out in someone's front yard. This guy was up on the roof across the street. He started squaking and they all crossed the street and went to the backyard of the house he is standing on. This white guy looks like an albino peacock. I had never heard of that, but he was cool looking.


Here is on of the males. There were several females, too, but they aren't as pretty so I didn't include any pictures of them here.

Here's my pictures of my kids in their new Easter clothes. Grandma has planted some beautiful spring flowers in her planter and I thought it was a perfect place to pose.

This is my little princess.

I loved this picture! It is not too often that I get a picture of them both that I like. They are such fun little kiddies.

I didn't even tell them to go hug the tree for a pose, they just did it on their own.

People were walking out of the building ooing and ahhing at their cute little poses.

In the evening we went to Grandma Porter's house to go visit and work on the puzzle. This was such a cute moment, I just had to capture it on camera. I love my handsome boys!

Ameliah was feeling a little left out, so she gave me another darling pose.

It was a quiet and peaceful holiday and we had a fun-filled family weekend. Who could ask for more?