Drumroll, please . . . 10 years!

I was doing so well blog-journaling, and then I fell off the track a bit because I had a lot going on last week. Like, a lot. So we'll just stick with the highlight: Leif and I had our 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY! Yay for us.

Leif called me last Tuesday and said he had a chance to buy tickets to see Wicked in Vegas on Thursday and he wondered if he should buy them. Um, duh, yes. We had the luxury of roping in Grandma Jo for overnight babysitting, so off we went! Our first stop was at the adidas outlet for Leif to buy some new kicks, then we checked in to our room at Harrah's and hurried across the street to The Cheesecake Factory. Leif had the meatloaf, and I had a pasta dish with the best shrimp I've ever eaten in my life. Hands down. When the host dude showed us to our table and I told him we were celebrating an anniversary, he asked if it was our first or second, and the very apparent shock on his face when I said, "Tenth," was followed with, "You look too young to be having a tenth anniversary." We are too young, buddy.

Can't believe it's been that long.

So we ate and ran back to the hotel to change for the play, and off we went to enjoy Wicked. And enjoy we did! I was not planning on being wowed the second time around, so it caught me off-guard to be so impressed with the performance. It was wonderful. The lead vocals were amazing. Elpheba was incredible. I might have almost cried. Twice. I loved every minute.

The next morning we just checked out of the hotel and drove to Mesquite because we thought it would be better than dealing with Vegas traffic. I was really looking forward to a breakfast buffet, but by the time we got there, we had to wait for the lunch buffet so I was bummed. Then the food was just mediocre and I had lots of weird things happening--burned my mouth, choked, both my straws had holes in them, spilled marinara sauce on myself. You know, kid stuff. I must have been missing mine. The kids did great with Grandma, which was a relief since I had been worrying about Dax almost constantly.

Friday night, which was our actual anniversary, we did a movie in the backyard with all the cousins and had popcorn and smoothies. Pretty fun stuff.

And just like that, 10 years have come and gone. I look back and realize what itty bitty babies we were when we wed. I have lots of cherished memories. Some not so cherished ones. Some I wish I could erase. But what a comfort it is to know that I am married to a good man. There are lots of things I could say here, but when it comes down to it, that's the best way I can think to describe Leif. He's a good, good man. His goodness is apparent in all he does as a husband, father, bread-winner, and so on and so forth. I am very blessed to be his partner in crime and in law-abiding goodness in this life. I am happy with him and with the children God has given us. Our future looks bright.

Here's to many more decades together, Leif.

*insert photo here*