Who would have thought that 11 years could go by so quickly? Just 11 short years ago I was a young kid of 21. I’d only been home from my mission for about 6 months and I had myself a brand new Valentine. I’d met her through a blind date and even though she lived half way to Reno (it seemed like it at the time) I was willing to make the long drive cause she was hot and she had a beautiful smile. I wasn’t too sure what her family thought of me, but they hadn’t tried to run me off yet so I figured I’d just keep hanging around until they did. Fortunately for me that never happened and now here we are 11 years, 7 or 8 moves (depending on how you count them), 3 jobs and 4 kids later. During that time we’ve had our ups and downs, but one thing has never changed… my Valentine is still hot and she still has a beautiful smile. Not to mention the fact that she’s a great mom, a great wife and my best friend. One thing that has changed over the years is that we’ve sort of gotten into the habit of being pretty low-key when it comes to celebrating holidays (and birthdays), but I hope she knows that even though I don’t always make a big deal about it, I would be utterly lost without her. She’s the yin to my yang and she provides balance to my universe. Many things have changed in the last 11 years but no matter what other changes might come our way in the future, I will always need her and love her with all my heart.

Thanks for being my eternal Valentine Em.

I suppose it’s technically 20 minutes after Mothers Day at this point, but I wanted to post a quick note about what an amazing mother Emily is. Now I know that lots of mothers out there have 4 or more kids to look after, but it takes a special kind of mother to handle twins plus 2. The demand they place on her time and patience is something that would drive any male insane in very short order (me included). And yet, Emily is able to give them both the time and love they need while still having enough patience to deal with all the trouble they get into, not to mention the trouble that Haily and Mallory get into on top of that. And if that weren’t enough, Emily still has time for her church calling and a part time job as well as the fact that she seems unable to tell anyone no when they ask her to help out. She helps at Haily’s school, tends the neighbor kids all the time, takes on PTA projects, is always there for her family, and the list goes on. She handles a schedule that would make most people cry and she does it with only the occasional meltdown. I just want Emily to know how much her family loves her and how much we couldn’t get along without her. Of course we’re a little biased, but we think she’s the all-time greatest mom ever!

So, just like last year, Emily and I had one night again this year where we got to get all dressed up for a night out on the town thanks to Omniture. Once again I went and got a tux and Emily found a fancy dress and we went uptown to the Grand America hotel for the annual Omniture holiday party. This years party was a bit more financially conscious (no more open bar), but it was still out of control. The food was pretty good and the atmosphere was fun and the entertainment was “uncomfortable” according to Emily. We had a good time seeing everyone all dressed up and listening to Josh James’ fairly comedic monologue. We played a gigantic game of rock/paper/scissors and didn’t win anything once again. It was a fun just to get out for the evening though. Thanks Omniture for a fun night out.

I know this is late but I just had to brag about how much Mike loves me. 

The night of the Breaking Dawn release I decided not to go get the waited for book because I was going to go to the Layers Clothing sale early the next morning.  So I was very surprised when I woke up at 12:40am to a huge thud on my chest. I opened my eyes and Mike was smiling at me and said "There’s your book!" It took me a second to realize what he was saying.  Then I had to wake up all the way to hear the story because Mike thinks that me and my books are silly. The thought of him standing in line waiting made no sense. 

He had a new part on his motorcycle and had to give it a test ride and decided that he should go drive by Barnes and Noble and see how long the line really was.  He said it was crazy. Girls in prom dresses, limos…..and a huge line.  So he drove away laughing.  Then he passed Walmart and thought he would give it a try.  So he walked in and saw a big pile on a table and no line.  So he walked over and bought it with no fan fare! 

And that is how I got my book.  So of course I couldn’t just leave it on the dresser waiting for tomorrow.  I was too curious.  And then on Monday when Mike came home and not much housework was done, I reminded him that it was his fault.  But I finished it that night and now life can go on. 

Holy Moly… we’ve been married nine years as of yesterday. It’s hard to believe that nine years have gone by since we knelt in that Temple sealing room and said our “I do’s”. The time has just seemed to fly by.

In those nine short years our lives have undergone quite a few changes. We’ve lived in six different places (seven if you count the couple weeks we stayed with the Laursens). We’ve had a combined total of eight different jobs. We’ve owned six different cars. We’ve watched out youngest siblings grow up and get married (just this last week for Scott). And we’ve seen the birth of 12 new babies in our immediate family (4 of which have been our own).

It’s been a pretty wild ride and although we’ve had our share of trials over the years, we’ve also been blessed with way more than we deserve. And through it all, I couldn’t ask for anyone better to share the past nine years with. Emily is my best friend, my greatest support and my one true love. So we decided to celebrate by heading up to Park City for the weekend (sans kids). We spent Saturday going to The Dark Knight then heading up to Park City for some shopping and fun. We spent the night at The Homestead in Midway and then went back to Park City on Sunday to ride the ski lift and stroll the fair they had going on Main Street. It was a nice relaxing weekend and a great way to celebrate these last nine wonderful years together.