8 Year Anniversary

8 years to be married to this man. I do not lie when I have been happy with my choice 97% of the time. There's times when he just bugs me but whatever. I know I bug him too! Shh! I lose everything so I know I bug him too.

Anyways to reflect on these 8 years has been great. We both said it doesn't feel like 8 years. It feel longer and at the same time shorter. :) It doesn't make sense but that's ok. It makes sense to us ♥

Mike worked on our actual anniversary and he made plan to go to the temple with this teammates. Which at first bugged me (haha) but then I realized I was being selfish. He loves the Lord and devotes his life to showing him. So how can I be made for that? So I got over it really fast.

So to celebrate our anniversary we actually went out 4 times!
Ha! We love to celebrate!

1st. We went to the Salt Lake Temple and Cedar of Lebanon Restaurant.

2nd. On,Wednesday, his day off, we went to the Ogden Temple and got lunch at Arby's and McDonald's. He knows I love Arby's Reuben sandwiches. And I know he loves McDonald's shamrock shakes. (March is his favorite month of the year for these 2 reasons. Anniversary and Shamrock shakes)

3rd. The following night we went to The Roof that's at Temple Square. It was impromptu but that's ok. That the best sort of dates. We've both assisted in cleaning this restaurant but never been guest so this would be the perfect addition to our celebrations. So we put on our nice clothes and combed our hair and went out on a nice dinner date. :)

When I made the reservation on-line it asks if this was our first time and if there was an occasion. I said it was our anniversary. So this little card was added to our table. It's for sure a nice touch.

Since we've never been to this restaurant I had no idea how things worked. All I knew was that it was $42 a person to dine there. So I asked a friend about it and she reassured me that it's a buffet like Chuck-A-Rama but just was fancier, nicer, and more expensive. Thankfully we had fasted during the day since we needed God's guidance.

When we were seated I was confused on a few things. Why so many forks? Thankfully Mike is more sophisticated and he explained everything to me. Cloth napkins go on lap, then chair, then plate when I'm done. Making an "X" with utensils. Not to re-use utensils. He was making me a real fancy lady.

Anyways the dinner there was divine. All those expensive things I'd never order or cook were all displayed for our pleasure. Yummy! Mike took a picture of me experiencing Creme Brulee for the first time.

 
Yes it was an amazing experience. !

The view for me was amazing. The 2 things God gave me. Mike and the Temple. 

The waitress was nice enough to take our photo. She better have taken our photo. Mike taught me the art of expressive tipping. I just can't do it!

After we dined we had to talk it off a little before we drove him. So we walked Temple Square.

And to our surprise we came across the Mormon Tabernacle Choir practice session. So we sat and listened to their amazing singing. I was giddy to be so close to famous Mack Wilberg. I get excited seeing him with is choir. He's so passionate on how things need to sound. Even the slightest note dissatisfaction will cause him to stop everyone to correct it. It's wonderful!

As we walked around the empty visitors centers we went up to see the huge Christus we seen our reflections in the windows. As first we took this photo since I thought it was humorous.

But after looking at it again I realized it's not funny anymore. It's more realistic. Mike and I are married because Jesus Christ is holding, helping, and guiding us. It's not been an easy road. But it's a road we have loved being on since we know we're not doing it alone. During our 8 years we've seen relationships begin and end. We've seen families change. We've seen couples try to hide their hurt but just can't make it. So I'm very thankful to have Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Mother/Father helping us reach eternity.

But back to my list of celebrations.....

Our 4th date was pizza and Redbox! Mike got home from work yesterday at 7pm. And he had to work the next morning at 3am so we enjoyed a quiet night eating some sausage pizza and watching The Intern. Then we fell asleep at 9:45. Proof we're growing old with eachother.

Happy Anniversary Us ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Lucky 7

"The 7 year Itch":

The point in a marriage where you have been together so long that you get tired and bored with your partner.

Where you start fantasizing of your single days.

That year where a marriage will either thrive or die.

The year where psychologist suggest that happiness declines in a relationship.

Yeah right!..... (*insert raspberry :P)

A marriage will thrive or die at any stage. Without some hard work it sure will bring a decline in happiness.

And we do get bored. Not with each other. But with the "every-day"life we so often get sucked into.

Work. Bills. Kids.
Work. Bills. Kids.
Work. Bills. Kids.

So if we stay on this road things do get really boring. But I'm very thankful that Mike and I both have the balls to say to each other, "I need your time!"

But when our anniversary came around we were stuck in that ^ above dull routine.

But that's where my mom and her boyfriend came along and volunteered to care for our kids for 3 days and 2 nights. I don't think they knew what they were getting into but hey that meant some much needed alone time with Mike so we jumped on their invitation.

This gave Mike and I the chance to enjoy our passion of traveling. Traveling is pricey and we're in the middle of paying off a bill so we chose someplace close but not too close.

So we headed to "Sin"sational  Las Vegas!

I found on-line a super cheap hotel and a few groupons which brought our trip to the perfect price range for us.

After dropping off our kids at my mom's apartment we started out 6 hour SILENT drive to Vegas.
Yes SILENT! We soaked up every single silent minute since it's been so long since we heard it.

Anyways we made a quick stop in southern Utah for lunch. In the excitement of leaving and making sure everyone had their favorite stuffed animals I forgot to grab out drive snacks. Oh well.....

 As we drove into southern Utah I was so happy to see red rocks! I know it's a bit odd but when I went to New Mexico years ago it was one of the many things that made fall in love with NM. All the red coloration of nature. Mike thought I was so cute and couldn't help but laugh when I was giggled with joy when I seen red dirt.

This being my first trip to Vegas I was a little disappointed when Mike pointed it out to me from the freeway. I was like, "That's it?" A spot of building in the middle of nowhere :(

But I am happy to say I was wrong!

After we checking into our hotel we took a nap. A long time tradition that we have. :)

Afterwards we went to visit  Mike's sister, Michelle. It's been so long since we seen her.

 Her special man made us dinner. Way better than anything I've ever cooked!We visited, chatted, and caught up for a while.

But after a long night from a long drive we tried to take a picture of all of us. That was a challenge...lol :) Memories in the making people. Memories in the making :)

 One last pic before bed.  Behind us is the strip.

The next day we experienced the Las Vegas Strip!

8am the Strip was empty. Crazy to ponder since in about 2 hours these streets will be packed with people. While most places were still opening Mike and I wondered around making our own adventure.

There's something about not planning anything that makes our adventures even more exciting!

 We found a magic shop with all sorts of tricks and gagdets. Mike got his fortune told. He was told
"I see in your future you taking out $2 to get a real fortune told!" lol

Anyways since Mike's side talent is magic he seen a lady struggling to get this escape trick done so he helped her out. Since of course he knew what he was doing. :)

 Then he did a little gambling :)

 I did the tourist thing and took pictures of everything inside the hotels

 We found Morgan from Criminal Minds. We're currently watching that series on Netflix so it was fun to see this photo.

 While we were walking some lady came up to us (which happened all the time) and asked us if we want a discounted coupon for some places in Vegas. Of course we did. All we had to do was watch a 20 minute TV show that hasn't aired and give our feedback.

  Easy enough! So we did and let's just say I really, really hope that the show we watched doesn't come on TV.

 But whatever this gave us the nice discount to go to  CSI:Experience in the MGM Hotel.

This is where you go about a crime scene, look at all forensic evidence, and find out who committed the crime. We used all our "Criminal Minds" knowledge and solved the crime. It was the twin brother who did it. It's always the sibling!

On our way to our next adventure we stopped off in Paris. :) Just a quick trip....lol

Next we headed to The Linq High Roller Ferris Wheel.

 There we go.... Going up 550 feet!

 This is where Groupons came in play. Half off "All-you-can drink ride. Funny since we don't drink :) But it was cheaper than the regular ride :)

 It was so funny to tell people that we don't drink. They immediately asked, "Are you Mormons? "

"Yes we are" :)

Then they would tell us a story of when they encountered a previous Mormon and expressed how much they loved the Mormons. That was awesome! So we had all you can drink Pepsi and cranberry juice. Nice!

  A little kiosk at the High Roller to take pics. Super fun!

More sightseeing on our way to our next adventure....

 I love this shirt! It's so me!!

 Amazing!

Fantastic!

 

 Us at the Bellagio... I love this hotel!

 Absolutely love these glass flower thingies :)

 Anyways on to our next adventure. We were stopped again from a sale lady that told us if we sat through a presentation that her company would give us 2 free tickets to any show we wanted and a gift card to Hard Rock. So more free stuff just for taking a break plus they would feed us lunch. So this was a no brainer. Mike and I ate lunch, listened to some presentation then collected our free swag! We've always known you can get stuff for free with a little hard work but this was the easiest thing ever.


The company had tons of shows to pick from so we picked an illusionist show. (It was the only thing that night that kept to our standards of no nudity or R rated stuff)

Anyways that show was amazing! I'm a sucker for magic! Mike on the other hand is not a sucker so he always whispers into my ear how tricks are done. But the flying trick still is stumping him on how it was done. 

After the show we headed to see the Bellagio Fountains. We picked up some food and waited to see the show. These fountains have been on my bucket list for so long.  Mike, having gone to Vegas before, insisted that we go at night. It was so amazing to see this show up close in person. I told Mike, "This might be the exact spot where Brad Pitt stood on the Ocean's movies." 

I'm so glad he accepts how geeky I can be. :)

On our way back from the fountains we stopped at Hard Rock for some free swagger. I love my new sweater! Mike got himself a new bracelet. 

Last day of our trip we headed to get some road trip food.
White Castle! I got Mike hooked on these babies when we went to Chicago years ago.

 To make sure we got enough for the both of us we got the big box!

But on our way back from White Castle we found this.... Carol's Bakery in the Venetian Hotel!


Mike and I looked at eachother and said at the exact same time, "Cannoli's!"

Our kids are obsessed with Cake Boss on TLC so this was a most! I won't lie-this place was expensive but this was a once in a lifetime opportunity and we don't mess around with moments like those.

So we ordered a lobster tail for me...YUMMY!!!
A dozen cannoli's for our kids.
And Mike ordered himself a slice of carrot cake.

Mike forgot all about the price tag when he took his first bite of heaven! 

Anyways we headed to one last place before our drive home... The Atomic Bomb Museum.

 This place was so much fun! Who knew that the US were so Pro-Nuke. We didn't know that.

 So much that JC Penney put out a catalog displaying how their clothes held up to a bomb and nuclear/radiation exposure. I guess I know where I'm shopping for our clothes now. If JC Penny's clothes can survive a bomb they should stand up great against our kids.

 Yes Mike wanted to ride the nuke... but since the old man security guard kept following us he compromised to stand next to it.
Then we went to an exhibit on Area 51!

Lame! All the "sightings" and "testimonies of being probed" made us laugh so hard. But it was nice to see a cousin of a Dalek there. 

But now it was time to head back home to our screaming kids.

But wonder why I call this post 

"Lucky 7"

Everytime someone asked us what brought us to Vegas we would tell them how we were celebrating our 7 year anniversary. Instantly with a smile in their eyes the person would say, "Lucky 7's"

This made so many people stop and congratulate us.  I loved how we got this reaction everywhere we went that I adopted this instead of the 7 year itch thing. 

I know luck has nothing to do with Mike and I being married for this long. It took lots of hard work, forgiveness, and acceptance. But above all God has helped us get to where we are now. If we didn't have our faith our marriage would not have lasted this long. ♥

I love his man so much and I know he loves me just as much. Or in his words... "He loves me more"