Our 6 Year Journey

As of this past Easter, March 23, 2008, my husband Aaron & I have been married 6 years! We actually met & started dating almost 13 years ago, but that is a story for another time...another blog. This blog though, is to celebrate our last 6 years together & to let him know how excited I am to be spending my life with him.

March 23, 2002 - Our Wedding Day

2003

July - My mom's birthday party. We had made the un-permitted room off the side of our house into a cabana. (Yes, that is a boom box.)

August - One of our many joys together has been serving the youth at our church. For several years we were high school youth leaders. In 2003, we traveled on a bus packed with teenagers for 24 hours to Colorado for summer camp at the International Youth Conference (IYC). On our free day there, we found a a very strange, yet oddly fun river to play in with our students. It was kind of gross at first, but it was so hot, we did not care. It turned out to be a blast!

December - Aaron dressed up as Santa Claus to take pictures with our students at church

2004

February - Winter Camp. We have attended many youth camps together as leaders through the years. (This picture is a bit funny because I was never a coffee drinker until around this time. I made it all the way through college without touching a drop, but then around this time I started with the foo-foo Starbucks drinks like Frappacinos & then was drawn towards the dark side.)

April - Yes, we both love traveling; & yes, we both love our dogs. I am so blessed to have found someone who shares the same love of travel & dogs. We both enjoy traveling, but in many different formats (cruising, camping, etc.). I had never been inside Yosemite before this trip. Aaron grew up going there all the time with his family & it was so nice to be able to share a trip to Yosemite with him.

May - We started what has become a tradition we greatly look forward to every year - the annual River Trip. This was my first time going to "The River," & Aaron took me out on a seadoo for the first time.

July - Before we had kids, I wanted to go to Orlando & experience the amusement parks there as a kid. We were able to do just that in July of 2004. We crammed 2 parks (Disney World & Universal Islands of Adventure) into a very hot & humid weekend, but we had a lot of fun. We also enjoyed a delicious steak dinner at this pretty fancy steakhouse in our hotel.

August - For summer camp this year, all of youth leaders created our own camp, called, Mystery Camp. We traveled in an RV up the coast of California to our mysterious location, the American River, where we went White Water Rafting! It was quite an adventure & I am so thankful that we shared it together (& of course, with the students too). :-) (We are in the 1st & 2nd rows on the left of the raft.)

September - Helmet Stein CD Release Party

December - Since we have been married, we have tried every year to send out photo Christmas cards with our whole family, including dogs, in the picture. These are just a few attempts, neither of which made it in the card. (Yes, I had very red hair.)

2005

March - Since we have been married, we have been to Oak Glen several times; however, we are usually there as youth leaders for high school camp. This time it was for a couples retreat where our friend, Pastor Gary Enniss spoke. We shared this time with other, very dear couple friends as well. It was great to take time out of our everyday life & focus on our marriage.

April - Adventure Day in San Francisco! While on our way back from the Redwoods in an RV with our friends, we decided to stop in San Francisco & visit Alcatraz. We were not sure if we would ever actually get there...but we did...after riding almost every mode of transport in San Francisco!

May - A short get-away just for us. We went on a 4 day Mexican Cruise & visited Catalina & Ensenada. We both share a love for cruising. We have been on 3 cruises together now & look forward to our next one. We hope to go to Alaska & New England sometime soon.

September - We stayed in a beautiful Mammoth for a week with friends. Early in the week, Aaron attempted a "Live of the Fat of the Land" hike with 2 of his closest friends. Although they almost killed each other, the hike was worth it & they have great memories & stories to tell for many years. Here I am with My Stylish Fisherman Husband.

October -Aaron had been working for several years in real Estate. In October of 2005, I joined him. Not only have we been able to work together & help people buy & sell homes, but we have started yearly food drives, adopt-a-family programs & community events at our office. I am very happy to have a husband who finds it important to give back.

December - Christmas 2005

2006

February - Wine Tasting in Temecula

March - We were very blessed to have been invited to join Aaron's mom on a trip to the Dominican Republic. There, we enjoy the beautiful ocean, white sand beaches & we got to swim with the dolphins!

June - It was Positive! We were expecting! We left it up to God to let us know when we were ready to become parents. After much prayer, he decided we were ready & boy, were we excited!

September - We won a trip to Vegas with our company. We had a very fancy dinner atop the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Hotel.

December - Taking Christmas Card photos with one new addition, Bailey & one on the way, Riley.

2007

January - Waiting with anticipation to meet our precious baby Riley.

February 20th - Our little Riley Mae arrives & our family expands.

May - We still went to the River (& Riley loved it)!

June - We even went camping in Big Sur & San Simeon.

August - We went to our friends', Nick & Charity, Wedding. (This may have been the first time I wore a dress after Riley's birth.)

August/September - We & 3 other members of our family went on Family Feud. Here is where we reminisced about an inside joke about Lucky Charms joke the audition process.

September - Scotland. Amazing.

December - Merry Christmas! We got everyone in the picture!

2008

We started dating in 1995. We were engaged in June of 2001. We were married in March of 2002. Now, it has been 6 years of marriage. To some, this is a lifetime, to others, this may seem miniscule; for us, I hope this is only the beginning. Our marriage has been a wonderful journey, full of ups & downs, as well as ocassional sidetracks. All along the way, though, we have loved. Loved God, each other, Riley, family, friends &, of course, our dogs. This past year has been tough, with the real estate market turning & with Riley's scare in the hospital; we have been very humbled by it all.

I have realized how thankful I am to have such a full life. I am thankful for Aaron, my hardworking, lovable, funny, smart, good-looking, amazing husband. I am also thankful for so many other things in & around our marriage. I am thankful for our home; it is not just a house, but a home, & Aaron makes sure of that. I am also thankful for having such loving & supportive in-laws. You never know what you are going to get when you fall in love with somebody. I was lucky. I am thankful that my family, in return, are so open & welcoming of my husband. I think I sometimes take that for granted, but I do realize that not all families get along or even care for each other for that matter. We are blessed. I am thankful for having a husband who was so strong during Riley's illness this past year. We suffered together & he was my rock during that tough time. I am thankful for the friends I have made through Aaron. We have surrounded ourselves with good, genuine, awesome people that I would have never met if it was not for him. I also joined Aaron's church & am very grateful he brought me there many moons ago. They are our extended family & a great support system of love & grace.

Engagement Photo (2001) & recent trip to The Hobbit (2008)

We have known each other so long & have experienced so much. I can't wait to experience a lifetime's journey with Aaron.