Happy Anniversary to us!

Friday Ben and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. It really is hard to imagine that it was five years ago that we said "I Do" and pulled away in that sea green mini van with "Dude take it easy on my sister" on painted our windshield.

I was in St. Louis and Kansas City all week prior, so Ben had plenty of time to work on a surprise for me. He picked me up from the airport and I arrived home to a dozen roses and a new piece of artwork over the fireplace. The flowers are really pretty, a red/ white /pink hybrid kind (that IS the technical name by the way). The art, on the other hand is an original, and you thought we were cheap! He took out the old poster that I'd bought from Hobby Lobby the summer before we got married and replaced it with a panoramic picture of Sonoma Valley from one of our favorite spots, Artesa. It looks amazing, and I'm pretty sure the print cost as much as the flowers, even better! I may need to get it re-matted (Dad) but for now it will do.

Friday night Ben made dinner reservations at a place called Nada downtown. It's a high end Mexican restaurant with loud music, a great outdoor patio, and even trendier indoor seating. I had the chicken and corn enchiladas with a strawberry margarita. Ben had the chicken iron pot, which was like a tortilla soup with rice on the side. Everything was extremely good, and the service was amazing. My water glass was never less than 3/4 full (which is how I judge a restaurant).

Saturday we decided we wanted to spend the money we had so graciously received from our family members on a fire pit. We had reservations about buying one since we really wanted it for the deck, but after discovering that the traditional 5th wedding anniversary gift is wood (in our case a burning deck), the decision was made for us. After shopping around at several places we decided to sleep on it before we jumped right into the purchase. We got home changed and headed to the golf course to play nine holes. I haven't played all summer and Ben has been out a few times, so we were well passed due. I couldn't sink a putt to save my life or keep my drives from going into the neighboring fairways, and Mister I'm a Tiger Woods, decided to chip in on the 9th and kill me with his short game. Needless to say, there was no competition to be had...THIS time. We're going to try and hit the driving range up later in the week in preparation for our weekend in Nashville when we play/beat Ben's brother and his girlfriend. We finished up the round with a cold beer, a little shop talk and headed home to grill out.

Sunday we got up, headed to church, and then decided the day was so beautiful it would be silly not to take advantage of it. Ben headed out for a 36 mile bike ride and I ran 7.25 miles. We both cooled off outside before making the big decision to go ahead and purchase the fire pit we both knew would work best for our outdoor area. So last night we had left overs and spent the rest of the evening around our new addition and indulged ourselves with s'mores.

Life can't get any better. I've enjoyed these five years with Ben. Each day/week seems like a date night and we enjoy being together and each others company. Wednesday is his birthday so I may splurge and take him to Cracker Barrel for the old timers breakfast and hit up the driving range afterward! It such a lively life around here, I'm not sure how the years could possibly fly by!