8 Crazy Years!

"Happy anniversary," were Doug's first words to me yesterday morning.  He's more of a morning person than I am, so it took me a little longer to get my bearings and remember what day it was. :)

Our 8th anniversary!  Yippee!  Doug then brought me my gifts: A bronze statue, gummy bears, and chapstick.  The bronze statue is significant because bronze is the traditional anniversary gift for 8 years.  The gummy bears--well, they're my fave.  And the chapstick--maybe for smooching?  ;)  Hee hee.  Anyways, it was very sweet. Then he led me into the living where he had a slideshow of pictures through the years playing on the t.v.  Not gonna lie; I got a little teary-eyed.  I love how thoughtful and romantic Doug is.  He always puts a lot of thought into his gifts.

I, on the other hand, was more practical in my gifts for Doug.  He needed some running shoes anyway, so I got some new ones for him.  He's also been wanting an Isotopes baseball cap, which I thought would be easy to ascertain (is that the right use of the word?).  WRONG!  The particular color that he wanted was not available at ANY of the stores I went to!  Add that to the fact that I don't know his hat size, and well... The story had a happy ending when I found his hat size (finally) and discovered that the hat he wanted was at the ball park!  Success!  So I guess all the work I put into it makes up for the fact that it is just a hat, eh?

The best part is that both of us got cards.  We always get cards, and write special notes in them.  I guess we've been together a long time, because we ended up getting the exact same card!  Oh, the nerdiness of it all!

"Day by day, year after year, side by side...  Being with you has been the adventure of a lifetime."

We had dinner at Farina Pizzeria, a place that serves gourmet (and gluten-free!) pizza.  Yum!  Then we went to an Isotopes baseball game (so Doug could try on his new hat ;) ) We had a really nice time.  Our seats weren't the best; the sun was in our eyes for the first hour or so.  But once the sun went down, it was nice and cool, and we could see the game just fine.  The point is we were together.  And we always have a good time when we're together. :)

Squinty!

New Blog (Not a Replacement)

We've started a new blog specifically about the struggle that we have been going through with trying to build our family.  This is a very personal issue, but we've been wanting to blog about it for a while now, both to help us process and document the process, but also to share it with friends and family, and others who may be going through something similar.  Here is the link, if you are interested: http://trialsoftrying.blogspot.com/

Thank you.
Doug and Amanda

Wow, we haven't blogged in a looong time!  Lots of lovely things have happened, but blogging takes time (as you know).  Now that I'm on summer break, you might be hearing from me more often ;)

This weekend was beautiful, and we had a great time.  Friday night, we decided to go on a free date.  Albuquerque had a free movie showing at an outdoor venue--JAWS!  So scary.  I'd never seen it.  So don't make fun of me.

Saturday, we decided to take a hike on the Armijo Trail near Tijeras.  It was a beautiful day, and a nice trail.

Charlie was super excited!  He hadn't been out enough (according to him).  He smelled just about every plant we walked by.  You know what they say; always take time to stop and smell the flowers.

Freedom!

Fun times together!

Beautiful wildflowers.

This HAS to be the BEST picture we've ever captured of Charlie!  Look at it!

This is not just a stroll through the bushes--this is basically at the edge of a cliff.

We were there.