17th Anniversary
Honoring seventeen years of love and devotion.
We divided up our anniversary festivities throughout the week. Part one: Jer came home and we had a nice relaxing massage in a salt bath for an hour and a half ❤️. He had the best sleep afterwards, which he absolutely needed.
Part two: For the day of, we said No to all other things competing for our time, and re-planned our special day around being able to take L to the homecoming dance and caring for our baby since L got sick and needed rest.
Love on a Plate
My sweetheart made me (and the kids) a super special breakfast of heart-shaped homemade lemon zesty waffles with from scratch blueberry syrup and extra creamy whipped cream, crunchy bacon (heavy on the crunchy), fluffy buttery eggs, and flavorful sausage. All just the way I like them. No restaurant could compare to Jer’s “made for me” art served with love on a plate.
Jer has said that he knows if I’ve had a bad day, all he needs to do is make Breakfast-for-Dinner and I’m happy again 😆 I didn’t even know this about myself until he pointed it out! Am I really that easy to read, or is that just what happens when you’ve been together this long? He makes all the little details of his caring tailored just for me.
Exploring Nature Together
After breakfast we packed our baby in the car and celebrated our wedding anniversary with a little day trip in nature. Our scenic drive through the Nebo Loop made us so happy together. We held hands in the car listening to ELO, felt the wind in our faces, enjoyed the scent of the pine trees, watched the leaves change colors, gasped at the fog and the beautiful misty mountains… I was grinning so much that my face hurt—but I couldn’t stop smiling! It felt like one of those ridiculously happy moments.
The ride culminated in a turn to Payson Lakes for a stroll with our baby. It was the perfect weather for practicing taking landscape photos. Jer brought his camera and I just used the point-and-click on my phone. He tinkered with his settings and figured things out in manual mode, it was so cute watching him work on his camera. He captured a bird way up in the trees at the perfect moment.
A Special Dinner Out
Starving after our adventure, I wanted to eat something comforting and warm, at a place where we could sit down and dress up a little. We had a late lunch at Haveli Modern Cuisine, on the border of Orem and Provo. It was our first time at this Indian restaurant, and the drive was worth the lovely view of the mountains while we dined.
We were both in foodie heaven! He got the spicy version of everything haha, lamb vindaloo and chili bullet naan with a Diet Coke. I enjoyed my favorite Indian dishes Saag paneer, garlic naan, and mango lassi. They were cooked perfectly the way I like, with fancy presentation and creaminess. I’m so glad for leftovers!!
Jer and I reflected on our relationship thus far, and the biggest thing we’ve felt is that time is going so fast especially when it comes to our kids. I think it finally hit him that our daughter will be grown up and likely sitting in a restaurant like this on a date of her own not long from now.
We met when I was 17, so this anniversary we’ve been together almost longer than my life before him… It’s been instant connection but slow and steady love. We have endured so much together in that time, and raising our family has been such caring and joyful work. I can count on him in the best and worst of times and everything in between, which brings me so much peace and has healed me. God knew we needed each other when He put us together. I love you my Jeremy.
We tag teamed it feeding our baby and getting our daughter ready and on to the homecoming dance, then cuddled up on the couch with our bowls of ice cream topped with whipped cream and cherries, and watched our show Animal Control. Comfort at its finest!
I’ll write about this beautiful girl’s first homecoming dance separately but here she is after we curled her hair for a couple of hours and before she went off twirling in her “La La Land” dress.
