Anniversary Weekend

Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy 5th Anniversary!

Thursday, December 16th was our official anniversary. Dave surprised me with flowers - he's so awesome, huh?! - and then we had some of my closest girlfriends & spouses over for an impromptu house-warming party/anniversary party/dessert potluck. Loads of sugar plus good friends, sprinkled with some holiday cheer = good times galore!

On Friday, we planned to attend the temple with the Asbells. Unfortunately, Brian got sick and then I got stuck in some random accident traffic on I-5. Added to that mix was the fact that we would be fighting crazy-bad Friday night traffic over the the eastide, AND Dave was still feeling sick, so we just decided to raincheck the temple session until next week. Instead, I quickly called Arnie's on the Edmonds waterfront (the place we've celebrated the last four anniversaries), and we had our back-up plan in place. Seated with a beautiful view of the water and marina, we had a wonderful time (thanks to Ben & Kathleen, our babysitters); Dave had cedar plank salmon and garlic green beans while I savored the miso-flavored flank steak with almond spinach. That place has some seriously good food.

After dinner, we went on a little Christmas shopping spree for Benjamin. We picked up a sit n' spin, an Elmo cell phone and a package of Nerf sports balls. We went back to pick up Benjamin then drove home in the chilly, clear night.

Saturday was a whirlwind of activity. We drove across the valley to downtown Snohomish, where I shipped David & Rachel's Christmas package at UPS. We ran a couple of other errands, then went home to get ready for our excursion to the mountains. Linda & Mark met us at 11am, and we headed for Leavenworth. Of course, we made a quick pit stop at Zeke's Drive-In; they have the best milkshakes - they made them especially thick and tasty this time around. As we drove past Skykomish, the landscape went from green and rainy, to a white-washing of freshly-plowed snow. I dozed off for a bit after singing Benjamin into a sweet slumber; we both awoke as we were driving down the hill into Leavenworth.

Leavenworth, for those out-of-towners, is a quaint Bavarian village on the other side of the Cascade Mountains. Every Christmas season, they hold a tree lighting festival, complete with Santa hat-topped carolers; a velvet-robed Father Christmas; chestnuts roasting on an open fire; restaurants filled with people devouring pints, sausages and sauerkraut; buildings festooned in greenery and Christmas lights; and, of course, SNOW. In fact, as we parked and started layering for the 20-degree temps, a light snow started to fall.

The streets were teeming with people, so we darted into stores with names like Kris Kringl, the Fudge Hut, the Nutcracker Museum and many more. Unfortunately, there were so many people and we were dressed in so many layers, we could only stay in the stores a short time before we started overheating. While I went to find the fudge - it's a must when you go to Leavenworth - Dave surprised me again. The fifth anniversary is the "Wood Anniversary", so he bought me a Nutcracker (a signed one, no less!) from one of the stores; I absolutely loved his creative gift idea to commemorate our #5.

Benjamin LOVED being outside and rolled around in the snow like a pig in its pen; he was in heaven. We walked around the village, where we saw a horse-drawn carriage and greeted various dogs, including many who had been decorated in jolly Christmas garb.

As the day started to darken, the festivities went into full swing. There was a lot of music and merriment, interspersed with blessings from Father Christmas, words from a pastor, and lines from the Christmas story. I loved the religious tone they took with the program - it made the real meaning of Christmas shine. The pinnacle event of the evening was the lighting ceremony. From either end of town, a woman shaking jingle bells led the carrier of The Star. As they past by, each shop turned on its Christmas lights. The two stars met at the pavilion, where they joined to light the trees; suddenly, we were bathed in a warm light from the thousands of lights. As people joined in Christmas carols and the snow continue to fall, it just felt like Christmas.

I loved it and I hope we don't wait so long to visit this snowy, winter wonderland again.

Thanks to all the people who made this amazing weekend possible. Ben & Kathleen, and especially M & L who accompanied us (and drove across the snowy pass). We are so lucky to have such great family and friends.

What a perfect day... and the perfect weekend to celebrate the last 5 years. I love you so much, Dave - thanks for all you've done to make them the best 5 years of my life!