I {Heart} You 14...

I could post old photos and memories all day long.
I often find myself scrolling through our blog, going back and back and back, remembering the good times we've had.

Happy Valentines Day Mitch!
I'm glad I found someone I enjoy being with as much as you.
Now, let's go make some more memories.
Love you.

I {Heart} You 13...

Zions National Park 2005.

For some reason the picture of Mitch and his buddies is one my absolute favorites! I think it captures a side of Mitch that not many people see. Its the side he only shares with his closest friends and family and me, of course.

Its the silly side, the spontaneous side, and the sexy side all rolled into one goofy picture. Ha. He makes me laugh! (And yes, he is resting his head on his own hand.)

I {Heart} You 12...

Year after year, Mitch is a good sport and gets decked out with me for Halloween. Whether we're clowns, scuba divers, dalmatians, super heroes, or if he's dressed up as a lady, track star, or a cowboy, he does it with pride.

Hmmm.
I'm a little embarrassed to post this picture. Not one of our better years.
Clowns are downright creepy.

It was last minute, and I was out of ideas. I saw the costumes for the three of us, bought them, and was out the door. I regretted it the second I left.

I'm glad I have a partner that appreciates the ridiculous as much as I do!

I {Heart} You 11...

Hiking Donut Falls up Big Cottonwood Canyon in 2004.

Trying to get a cute picture of the two of us.

Mitch decides to pick my nose.

Lovely.

I {Heart} You 10...

Back in the day, I used to have a running partner.

Mitch and I were the self-proclaimed "running couple".

We ran several half marathons together and had a blast!

Then I ruined it. I made him run a marathon with me, and it was all over.

But, when we were running together, he never left me.

He never ran ahead to get a better time, or prove his manliness.

He stayed right with me, and I stayed right with him.

Maybe we'll do another run together.

I'd like that. Hint. Hint.

I {Heart} You 9...

Our First Anniversary.

Washington D.C.

I do love traveling with my man!

I {Heart} You 8...

Our very first Christmas!

First home, first tree, first dog.

Mitch gave me my little puppy Tuscan as my gift. I had begged and begged.

I remember we were so into 24. We would pile quilts on the floor and all three of us would cuddle up, Tuscan right between the two of us, and watch hours and hours of the show.

Just thinking about it makes me a little homesick for the days it was just "us". But I wouldn't trade my current craziness for anything in the world!

2004

I {Heart} You 7...

The Honeymoon.
We almost missed our flight out of SLC. We over slept.
Luckily, we didn't and there we were on our way to paradise, newly married, and madly in love.

We arrived in Kauai, rented our convertible Seabring, and were off.
Our first full day there was a Sunday, so we got up, went to church, and then started to explore the island. We drove all the way up to Princeville, saw the lighthouse, got our car stuck on the sandy beaches (and had to be pushed out by a gnarly Polynesian), stopped for lunch at a fun little dive, and enjoyed our second day as a married couple.

Our trip was spent soaking up the sun, discovering waterfalls, boogie boarding, eating, hiking the Napali Coast, snorkling, cruising pirate caves, and realizing how A.D.D. my new husband was!

I still haven't gotten used to the fact that Mitch can't sit still for longer than 30 minutes, but its something I've grown to love about him. Oh, and his love for chocolaty desserts!

I {Heart} You 6...

Something you need to know about Mitch is, he's been a New Orleans Saints fan before it was cool to be a New Orleans Saints fan. His grandma gave him a hat when he was a kid, and whabaam! ever since he's been theirs.

Sara and McKay were living there at the time, so I looked up their schedule, found a non-Sunday pre-season game, and We. Were. There!

New Orleans was so much fun. Of course, Sara and McKay showed us a good time taking us to the Mississippi River, Bourbon Street, Preservation Hall to hear some real Jazz music, and last but not least, Cafe Du Monde for some or-ig-i-nal (say it in a southern accent) Beingets.

Mmm, mmm, mmm!

Gosh, just looking at these pictures makes me want to go back. Or, maybe I'll just grab a powdered donut. Not the same, but a quick fix to my current craving.

I {Heart} You 5...

Around the 4th of July, we often think to ourselves "Hey, we should get some tubes and float down the Weber River...its warm enough!" But what we fail to remember year after year, popped tube after popped tube, is this: it may be warm enough, but the water isn't nearly deep enough!

We hop on the tubes, and just as we start our relaxing float down the river, SHOCKA, you get a rock right in the rump. Then, KABWAMO, another one, and another one. You try to suck up your bootie, but its too hard to hold for very long. Then you realize you are starting to get more and more wet, and are hitting more and more rocks...what's happening?

Popped! Not just your brilliant idea bubble, but the tube you are trying to stay afloat on. It's fun no matter what, I just don't get why we think one of these years we're actually going to get a quality tube ride.

*My favorite memory is seeing my brother come down the river, tube completely deflated, just hanging on for kicks. You probably had to be there!*


2003

I {Heart} You 4...

Overlooking Weber Canyon Road in Oakley.
So many memories here.
This is where my family cabin is, and where Mitch and I got engaged.

Check out Mitch's shades! If I remember right, he picked those bad-boys up at Sea World for whopping 5 bucks! Both these pictures were, of course, my favorite self-timer option balanced on the front of the four-wheeler.

The bottom one is so cheesy.

What can I say...we're tree huggers.

2003

I {Heart} You 3...

Ahh, Lake Powell.

We have so many wonderful memories there:

Running out of gas in the channel; being towed by foreigners in a rickity rental boat; Mitch accidentally snuggling up to one of my best friend under the stars (ya, right), helicopter search down our canyon, Tuscan going cra-zy in the sand, bathing in the lake water, trying to catch a rat on our houseboat, double wakeboarding, double surfing, racing up the sand hill, teaching finnley how to ski, and I'm sure, many many more to come.

2003

I {Heart} You 2...

I'd like to say I turned Mitch into a cowboy,

but I know he already had it in him.

Wrangler butts drive me nuts!

I {Heart} You...

During our recent move, I came across a ton of old pictures from when Mitch and I were dating. Man, do we look young (and boy, do I feel old)! I wanted to share them, and heck, February seemed like the perfect month! So, here you go.

These particular pictures were taken at Ensign Peak.

This place is one of our spots.

This is the place we realized we liked each other more than friends.

We'd hung out as friends all summer long, but finally on an August night in 2002, we went from just friends to "more than friends". We were cruising around town with a bunch of friends and decided to head up to the Salt Lake City cememtary. After walking through it and creeping ourselves out, we ended up at Ensign Peak. Nobody wanted to hike the trail except Mitch and me. So there we were, hiking in the dark, walking close together, and SHAZAAM! We felt the spark. Later that night was our first "cuddle shesh" initiated by your's truly. He asked me out the next night, and the rest is history.

We visited Ensign Peak for a second time the night before Mitch left to sale security in San Diego. He was really sad to leave (notice the fake cry below), and I was really really sad to see him go. It was the best thing for us. I think we both realized we didn't and couldn't live without one another. Gawash, this post is getting kind of sappy! I'll finish it up, but look forward to more blasts from the past.