5 years!

on december 1st, matt and i celebrated 5 years of marriage.  it's is hard to believe we have already been married for five years!  it certainly doesn't seem like it's been that long since we walked down the aisle and enjoyed our hawaiian honeymoon, but it also seems like things have always been this way -- that he's always been part of my life.  i guess that means we are doing something right!
of course, the first fell on a saturday, which is one of the few days of the week that we *both* work, so not only could we not celebrate, we actually didn't even see each other all day.  matt left for work that morning around 7 am and i didn't see him until i returned from work sometime around 8 am on sunday morning.  despite that, we still managed to find time to celebrate this milestone, largely with help from my mother who agreed to watch the kids, not just once, but twice!

on sunday afternoon matt and i went out to grab some firehouse subs (something we both love), then to see Wreck-it-Ralph, a movie we had both said we wanted to see (and yes, it's a kids movie, but we did that even before having kids!), and then enjoyed a leisurely coffee at starbucks.  the weather was actually nice enough that we were able to sit on the patio and talk for a while.  now, this might sound totally un-exciting to most people but there were a few major factors at play here: 1) these are all things you can't do with kids aged 21 months and 3 months ...well, not if you really want to enjoy them, 2) we had a limited amount of time and didn't want to be fighting weekend/holiday crowds, 3) this was a typical date for us back when we were first married and pre-kids.  it was absolutely wonderful!

and as wonderful as that was, the big surprise was actually on the friday before, when matt planned a special get-away for us while my mom watched the kids.  he went to the trouble of setting the whole thing up without my knowledge with the help of my father.  i should start by mentioning that i had recently started watching a show called Fast N Loud after the kids went to bed.  if you know me, you know i have special love for two things: making things look nice and cars.  this show is about "flipping" cars -- basically taking old/beaten down cars and restoring them.  it specifically features muscle cars and hot rods, but that's not even the best part.  the garage -- Gas Monkey Garage -- is actually located in downtown dallas.  i had mused aloud several times that it would be really cool to go visit sometime, since it was so close, and see what they were working on.  well, matt listened and surprised me with a trip to the famous garage under the guise of helping my dad pick out a christmas present for my mom (clever, right?).  so when we pulled up and i realized where we were it was absolutely amazing!  unfortunately, the owner and master mechanic weren't there, but we did get to meet some other people i recognized from the show and i got to see what they are working on for their next season.  i was allowed to take pictures, but i can't post them until those episodes air....sorry!  in the meantime, you'll have to settle for some pics of the outside of the garage and such.
so, here's to 5 wonderful years of hard work and great rewards!  i love you, honey, and i'm so glad you're the reason for my "happily ever after!"

in front of the garage

love for the mustang

with christie