Happy 4 year Anniversary!

Man, 4 years....each year gets more crazy and crazy to think about. Time just flies by so fast, it's like a year isn't even that long anymore! As I'm writing, I realized I didn't take any pictures of this (sad day!), but on the morning of our anniversary I surprised Andy with 4 hanging clear balloons in each doorway that he would walk through that day (in our apartment anyway). On each balloon I wrote the number 1, 2, 3 and 4. And in each balloon was a piece of paper that contained my favorite memories of that specific year of our marriage. It was really fun to reflect back on each year and think about the things that happened in that year. I told my mom what I had done and she said "Oh, wouldn't that be fun if I did that for 34 years of marriage?" Could you imagine that? I wouldn't be able to do that....4 years was hard enough to think of a specific memory in that specific year. Anyway... I think Andy liked it, except I don't think he appreciated the loud noise of popping balloons that early in the morning.
We went to work and we were able to get off around 3:30 (after I had received my lovely flowers from my lovely husband). Oh, another tradition that popped up for our anniversaries - I always want to be able to remember what we did on each anniversary. So whoever plans the date that year (we switch off each year) has to do something that was done in an anniversary in the past. Like, on our first anniversary, Andy and I drank orange soda in goblets while eating our wedding cake. So last year for our anniversary I had orange soda in goblets with our dessert when we got home from dinner. This year was Andy's turn, and he got me my stargazer lillies because that's what my bouquet was when we got married. Make sense? That's really hard to explain for some reason... Anyway, so I loved my flowers  EXTRA this year, because Andy put some thought into them instead of just buying whatever.

After we got off work, we headed downtown to Seattle. We did a little shopping while killing time before dinner (I bought 2 pairs of pants for $25! Yay! Love me some H&M). Andy also bought a skinny little wallet/card holder (very exciting, I know)... We went to dinner at Mexican Cantina, which is a delicious Mexican place where Andy and I ate when we first came to visit Seattle. I love that place...the BEST chips I've ever had, I think. If Jan remembers, she can attest to it because we ate there when she came to visit. Again, anyway.........after dinner we headed over the 5th Avenue Theater to watch Rent. This is Andy's favorite play and I was very excited to be able to watch it with him. (I'm super annoyed because I can't get the other pictures to upload that aren't sideways!! So this is all you get, at least it's not a bad picture of me. Ha!) I really enjoyed Rent. The music is fun and full of meaning. The actors did a really good job, too. Plus, our seats were amazing, I even had a clear view of the stage.

Overall it was a really nice anniversary. I've always been so grateful that Andy and I are able to spend as much time together as we have. I'm not sure how I would ever be able to handle it if Andy had to work crazy hours and go out of town a lot. I'm grateful for all of the struggles and trials that we've been given in order to make us grow closer together. Throughout the 4 years we've been married, we have really learned how to work together as husband and wife - and that is so important! We've made so many fun memories and I honestly cannot wait to see what the future has in store for us. I love you Andy Tolton! Thanks for having the patience to deal with me on a daily basis and for showing me your unconditional love every minute of our lives. Happy Anniversary!