Ten Years

Anniversaries around here are usually pretty lackluster. December 15th rolls around, and Chad and I feel so busy with other holidays that we don't usually bother to do much more than a date night, if that. But this year was our tenth. We figured we'd better do something big. So we planned a couple nights at a bed and breakfast in Sedona, at the Casa Sedona Inn. We are not usually big spenders, but it was fun to pretend money wasn't an object for a couple days.

Sedona was quiet, which we expected for the middle of the week during off-season. And the inn was really nice. Our room was cozy, with a gas fireplace and a huge jacuzzi tub in the room.

That first evening we sorted through the stack of menus in the inn's lobby, looking at what Sedona had to offer. We ended up at Judi's, a charming little restaurant with lots of character, fireside tables, and tons of festive Christmas decorations. The hostess sat us at the "lovers' table" which was next to a bay window that held a beautiful Christmas tree. I don't remember our host asking for specific seating for us when she made the reservations, but maybe the restaurant hostess figured that since we were staying in "Arizona's Most Romantic Bed and Breakfast," that we were lovers. At any rate, the service was friendly, and the place was obviously a local favorite, because several guests that came in that night were greeted by name. The food was pretty good (the "best ribs in Sedona" were not as good as Chad had hoped), but the complimentary dessert they gave us in honor of our anniversary was definitely the best part. We took our Butter Brickle Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Pie (yeah, it was that good) with us, and enjoyed it fireside in our room.

It was our first experience in a B&B, and I thought it was pretty fun. Chad didn't like being told what time we had to be at breakfast, but we were the only two people there the first morning. Breakfast by the fireplace was delightful.

Other highlights of the trip included:

Lunch at the Barking Frog, which was probably the most reasonable priced restaurant in town, considering the gorgeous rooms and generous portions of delicious food (those fries were amazing).

A drive up the scenic road towards Flagstaff, which took us into snow territory.

An impromptu tour of Tlaquepaque, a gorgeous little shopping experience that was built to look like an authentic Mexican village. The prices in the shops were laugh-out-loud ridiculous, but I'd go just to walk the beautiful grounds.

The sunset on the iconic Sedona red rocks was breathtaking as we headed back to the car.

Ten. Years.

Sometimes it feels like it has flown by, yet I can barely remember my life before I married this man.

12.15.2001

All the big stuff has happened in the past ten years.

First apartment lease.

A Girls' Camp Director.

A weekend softball warrior.

Loss of a sister.

RN graduation.

Start of my career as a nurse.

First new home purchase.

First new truck purchase.

Vacation to Yosemite.

First home sale.

First big move.

Start of Chad's career as a police officer.

First used home purchase.

First baby.

Loss of another sister.

Countless home improvement projects.

A garden that put food on the table.

First cruise.

Second baby.

A Relief Society President.

A World of Warcraft addiction.

A recovering World of Warcraft addict.

The birth of this blog.

Second cruise.

A camping trailer remodel.

Third baby.

Natural childbirth.

Loss of a child.

Third cruise.

A Primary Chorister.

Multiple home business ventures.

An "Officer of the Year" award.

Fourth baby.

Natural childbirth again.

Down Syndrome.

A Farmers' Market summer.

First trip to Sedona.

12.15.2011