Our 8th Anniversary

George is not what you would call "spontaneous." I've been trying to "fix" him over the last nearly 9 years to make him more spontaneous, but alas, I've all but given up.

So when I told him our anniversary date was entirely up to him, he froze. Nope, it wasn't cold outside. He was nervous. And yes, I love doing that to him.

I was at Time Out For Women (TOFW) all day Saturday (05/01/10) having a fabulous time being spiritually uplifted. George took the kids and went to Rob's, along with Dad Leppert, so they could have their "man" time. They played the Wii. They ate chili. They had a good time.

Shauna took me back to her house after we got done at TOFW so that George and I could commence our anniversary celebration, sans kids. Rob and Shauna watched them for us, which was super nice of them. Once we got to Shauna's, here is the conversation that ensued:

Me: Honey, are you ready to go?
G: *surprised look on his face* Yeah
Me: What do you have planned?
G: Uh.....
Me: You were here all day and Dad Leppert and Rob didn't give you any ideas?
G: Uh.....
Me: Okay, then I'm calling the shots.
Rob: Rhiannon, you need to go outside for a minute, and close the door behind you.
Me: Okay.

After about 26 seconds, George emerged from the house with a grin on his goofy face. He asked me if I was ready to go (practically sitting in the passenger seat, so excited to go, go, GO!), I said yes, and we were on our way. Rob's suggestion to George was to go to a flower shop and buy me a dozen roses. My husband knows me so incredibly well. I love flowers in their natural beauty, but not so much in a vase. Don't get me wrong, I love them when given to me. But I would never suggest he buy me flowers, as they're not really my thing in that context. George thanked Rob for the suggestion, and told him I'm not that into cut, dead flowers. (In fact, one year, G got me an arrangement of fake flowers just *so* he wasn't getting me flowers that would wilt)

***Author's note: Jon, Maryanne, and their kids got me flowers for my birthday this year and I was so grateful! So please do not think I'm some prude who hates flowers.

Moving forth.

We hit 32nd Ave. heading east toward Sullivan Rd. when George asked me what I was in the mood for. Mongolian BBQ came gushing out of my mouth faster than I could control!! I love Mongolian BBQ, and especially the one on Sprague/Sullivan! They have such a great variety of healthy foods to choose from, and you add your sauce and then have the cook grill it for you. So yummy! This time I put garlic, ginger, curry, and lemon juice in mine, and it was delicious! Mmmmmmm..... if it were open at 12:33 am, I'd probably be there right now.....

After we finished eating at Mongolian BBQ we stepped outside to a nice rain shower. I love the rain, so it didn't deter me at all. George goes along with it. :) There were dark, ominous clouds off to the east, but there were also two rainbows stretching across the sky! It was absolutely gorgeous.

Here's where George started to really get creative, spontaneous, and deliciously unpredictable. He drove to Mirabeau Park, parked the car, and we took a walk, hand-in-hand. There is a beautiful trail going through the park, and we ended up at the waterfall and pond over there. Now, being an Aquarius, I love the water. So naturally, I was drawn to the pond like a bulldog on meat. It was pretty chilly in that area, so we didn't stay long, but it was such a nice walk. On our way back to the car I asked him two simple questions.

1.) How do you think our marriage is overall?
2.) If there was one thing you could change about our marriage, what would it be, and why?

His responses?

1.) We have a great marriage!
2.) More sex. Every day would be nice.

Should've seen that second one coming. Ease up there, Casinova! LOL Please don't harrass him about that one... the poor thing would melt into a puddle right where he stood if he were called out on that!! :)

We talked about quite a bit of random subjects from there, and continued our conversation throughout the rest of our date. He took me to DQ for ice cream. I had the Midnight Truffle Blizzard (what else *is* there??!) and George had the Georgia Mud Fudge Blizzard. So incredibly tasty!!

After dessert, we headed back toward Shauna's. I had one special request, though, before we returned. I asked him to go park at the temple so we could just sit and talk some more. He did. We reclined our seats and reminisced about the old days. How we were at a dance at the East Stake Center and George pulled me from the dance to go walk around the temple with him (this was before he ever proposed, before we knew we'd get married). We talked about the "edge of the world" that I created at the end of the sidewalk on the south side of the temple. We talked about why we married each other, things in our past that we would rather not have there, family history and our relatives that have passed. We talked about anything imaginable. I cried. Yes, I cried because I remember thinking George would never marry me if he knew what kind of person I was before I ever got baptised. What I had subjected myself to. But when I told him about my past before we set foot in the temple together (don't worry, it's probably NOT what you're thinking, folks...) he hugged me tightly and told me it was exactly that: in the past. All had been made right, and I didn't need to beat myself up for it any more. And for those of you who don't know, a big hug from George is like being wrapped in the most comfortable blanket imaginable. I love listening to his heart beat.

After having been at the temple for awhile we decided it was time to go back and retrieve our kids. We got there and continued to have a great night, even getting in a couple games of 10,000 with Shauna and Rob. Grandma Leppert would be proud. :)

All in all, my not-so-spontaneous husband set up a WONDERFUL date for our anniversary. And he didn't even sweat over it. He knows me and knows how I like the simple pleasures in life: walking, talking, water, eating good food, reminiscing, going to the temple (we would have gone to a session, but it was late, and our other clothes were at home), and just being in his good company. I couldn't have asked for anything more.

Well, okay, so I informed him last night that I have only one more lavendar bubble bath worth of liquid left in the bottle, so some more would be great. Dr. Teal's Therapeutic Lavendar. Smells so good, and works great to relax my stressed out nerves.

Where are the pictures, you ask? Why, they're in our memories, of course! I forgot the blasted camera in my TOFW bag.... at Shauna's house......... So use your imagination. Or better yet, create your own memories (and photos!) by getting out with your spouse and enjoying their company!!