may 17, our wedding anniversary

on tuesday, may 17 tyler and i celebrated 8 years of marriage. what a joy to be married to someone for 8 years who is a great husband and father and loves me through all the ups and downs. we laugh (rather than cry) about all the adventures/trials we have endured over the past 8 years. i'm so thankful our marriage and love have grown deeper and stronger because of it.

this year we celebrated by sending riley to seattle for the weekend so she could spend time with nana and we could have a quiet, low key weekend at home in bellingham with just sonja. we spent the weekend eating out, doing a little shopping, haircuts for both of us, naps, movies and playing with sonja. it was very relaxing and we are so thankful my family took riley in for the weekend. she had a blast with nana and the crew. in fact, she scowled when i walked in the door to pick her up. i'm so grateful she feels at home at my mom's house. it truly is a second home for her. her weekend was spent picking out a new princess polly pocket and barney movie, friday night pizza and movie night and lots of playing and hanging around.

last friday when i took riley to seattle i met martha and henry at the zoo in the morning. after the zoo we stopped at the park and the kids had fun running around. sonja took a ride on the slide with riley as well as a ride in the swing. riley is a very helpful big sister. sometimes a little too helpful, but we are working on that.

on tuesday, our actual anniversary, we went for a quick spin on our tandem/bike trailer combo. riley had been begging to get the trailer out and go for a ride, so when the sun was out on tuesday i thought it'd be the perfect way to remember tyler's dad (who passed away on our anniversary, 5 years ago). we loaded the kids up and took a quick ride around the neighborhood. it was sonja's first ride in the trailer and she seemed to really like it. i got pretty sentimental as i watched riley in the trailer - i have so many good memories of carting her all around town from the time she was about 6 months old. she has always loved riding in the trailer and now her long legs and tall body can barely fit! i'm hoping she is able to fit all summer long, as it's such a fun and easy way to get around town with the kids.

after we put the kids to bed i made this awesome dinner for tyler and i. it was in last month's sunset magazine and kari made it and said it was really good, so i had to try it. i loved it. i definitely will make it again this summer. we had dinner on the patio in the crisp evening air. it was a great end to a fun celebration.