Elevensies

August 21, 1998... oh, so sweet...



August 21, 2009... interrupting a Mario Kart 64 Marathon to take a picture...



Today Chris and I celebrate eleven years of wedded bliss! As each anniversary rolls around, I always feel a little bit impressed with myself. I used to compare us to the famous celebrity marriages ("we've been married longer than Tom and Nicole!"), but those don't seem as formidable as they were when we only had a few months under our belts. Now that we're settling comfortably in the double digits, it's less about the number of years we've racked up, and more about the fact that we actually still enjoy our day-to-day lives with each other. Eleven years of hanging out with the same guy-- you have to admit, that's pretty cool.

Moving is kind of like taking a treacherous hike along your past-- it's amazing the kind of junk you dig up. It's impossible for me to clean out a closet or a drawer without getting momentarily sidetracked by its contents. Yesterday I cleaned out our "etcetera" drawer, the place where we put things we're not sure what else to do with. In addition to random batteries, Sharpies, buttons and leftover Jack-o-lantern tea lights, I also found a few old pictures. One was of Chris and me in Ensenada, Mexico, where we ate incredible fish tacos and churros, and Chris discovered the real reason why people warn against drinking the water. Another was us with big smiles and matching tee-shirts at a family reunion in Colorado, where we spent an unplanned $300 and spent nearly a week without a car because of a leaky "fuel intake valve"... whatever that is. And another was a fuzzy black and white image of almost nothing... that almost nothing that somehow turned into Neil.

I stopped my packing up for a few minutes to watch our Ten Year Slideshow and had so much fun reliving all of those different moments. It's fun to think about all of the places, the food, the friends, and the laughs we've had, not to mention the three amazing children! How can I not be impressed?

I love that Chris and I have eleven years worth of pictures together, and I love even more that each of those pictures carries a wealth of memories that sometimes only we know about. I love being reminded, again, how truly lucky I am to share my life with such an incredible person.

I love you, Hunsty!! Happy 11 years-- here's to an eternity more!

Moving is stressful.

One week from today... YIKES!!

Just a little update...

One of these days, I'm planning to do a fun little post about all of our "stomping grounds"-- places we've lived together. Since we're on the cusp of another stomping ground, it seems fitting to do a tribute to the other wonderful homes we've had. But, that will have to be on a day when I have a little more time. For today, I am just doing a little clarification/update.

First of all, yes, Chris did get a job in Idaho Falls. It's a career change, in fact, and we're both very excited about it. His first day is August 31st, which, coincidentally (or not), is also Tom's first day of school.

I've been practicing this sentence: "I'll take care of the dishes if you'll get the kids ready for bed." Since Chris has worked in the evening for more than 9 years, I don't get to say that nearly as often as I'd like. I can't wait!

We're packing up the house now, but it's still for sale. We know that there is someone out there who needs our house, so we're just praying that we can find them soon. It's a little bit stressful, but I'm really trying hard to practice the art of faith. We're moving on the 27th into... my parent's basement! Hooray!

Actually, that's not sarcasm-- I really am excited to move in with my parents. Their house is nice and roomy, especially now that almost everyone has moved out, and we'll be able to live there while we sell our house and save up a bit for something in Idaho Falls. I'm impatient and would like to buy something right away, but we realize that we'll probably be in our next house for a long time, so it's smarter to wait a bit and find the right place for the right price. Luckily, my parents are laid back and patient, two qualities I should probably try to emulate a little more!

I'll find out this week exactly which school Thomas will be attending, but I've already secured a pre-school spot for G-Man. I think I actually knew the girl who runs it in high school, but I'll know that for sure when I take him on the first day. I'm going to have to get used to the high school de ja vu, because I have a feeling it's going to happen a lot. Good times.

We're definitely going to miss Logan-- it really is such a great town. Idaho Falls is also a great town, though, and we feel like this change is a good thing. This isn't a reason to move or anything, but I am SUPER excited about having a Target in town! Whee!

So, that's our story for now. More to come, I'm sure!

DeArtons Unite!

On Saturday, Chris and I tackled the fun and exciting job of cleaning out our crawl space. I re-packed the box full of old journals, yearbooks, dance pictures--ah, the hilarity!... I think I am actually glad that Chris and I didn't know each other in high school and therefore didn't attend any high school dances together because he had posing issues... I should really do a blog post about that because I guarantee you would be laughing! Anyway, I couldn't help but read some old journal entries and thinking the "little did we know..." thoughts. Would I really have used an entire two-page journal spread writing my name with a certain boy's last name attached if I had only known that eleven years later, my initials would be ECH instead of EC...? And could Chris have imagined, when he wrote about a letter he received from a redhead in Idaho, that someday he'd be wrestling with their three sons? It's kind of fun to think about.

The real subject of my post, though, is not us, but my parents. Little did they know that nearly 31 years after their marriage that they'd be standing in a picture, wearing funny red shirts, and that all of these people would, in some way, belong to them...

That's right, there are 19 people in that shot. Little Brynnie was asleep in a tent nearby, so counting her, there are 20.

Granted, two of them are my grandparents, so not progeny, but still. Pretty impressive, don't you think?

We're big enough now that we need to have our own reunions, and this year was our first! We spent a weekend camping at Cherry Hill in Kaysville and it turned out to be so much fun! Of course, we DeArtons are very good at having fun, so that part certainly wasn't a surprise!

The cousins had a blast together! Here they are in the back of the van, playing with some light necklaces my dad brought back from Disneyland.



Nonny and Bob brought the little girls these adorable headbands from somewhere in South America. I really wanted to steal one for myself, but couldn't really picture anyone taking me seriously. Oh well. Doesn't Dall look stinking adorable?!



My parents were assigned the fun job of a morning devotional on Saturday morning, so they had us write nice things about each other. These guys look like they're concentrating pretty hard.



Most of Gordon's nice things included the word "enthusiastic".



Nearly our entire day on Saturday was spent in Cherry Hill's water park. Since my camera isn't waterproof, I had to make do with some "before" shots. Gotta love goggles!



Thomas did have a fun little event-- he lost another tooth! Little pirate! He was sitting at the table, nonchalantly eating some chips, and I came up to ask the whereabouts of something I can't remember. His reply: "First, I have an announcement," and he held up his tooth.



Our reunion ended on Saturday evening/Sunday morning, and though it was short, we agreed that it was the perfect amount of time to spend. Everyone had fun and everyone left happy and smiling-- not too shabby for 31 years, Mom and Dad! Can't wait for next year!