March 30th. Our Anniversary Love.

We got married today.

13 years ago.

It was a windy, sunny, beautiful March day.

We got married in the Salt Lake Temple at 11:00.

A ceremony full of endless promises and words of wisdom.

Our Wedding breakfast at the Lion House at 1:00.

The menu:

Chicken Alabama, rice pilaf, veggie medley, garden salad,

and Lion House's famous hot, fresh, rolls

(with warm honey butter of course.)

Dessert: Cheesecake with fresh strawberry drizzle.

It was such a lovely day.

The flowers were in bloom, the temple grounds were beautiful. (amazing!)

We were surrounded by our family and all of our friends.

My bridesmaids, Amber, Brooke, Kim, and Em.

Ry's best man: his best friend and my brother Brandon.

It was fabulous.

The wedding reception at The Shalamar.

It started promptly at 6:00 and the line did not stop until 10:19,

hundreds and hundreds of people greeted, hugged, and thanked.

Ry looked at the looming line and took my hand and said, "Let's go!"

We invited 850 guests and I think they all showed up.

(more for our parents than us.)

Ry's Mom owning a dance studio and my Dad Stake president at the time...so many people!

We drove away to the Honeymoon Suite at the Hilton....

A month later we took a plane (after finals at BYU) and flew off to Palm Springs.

A hot, sunny, romantic week getaway on a beautiful golf course.

What a day. What a journey.

I have so much to say, I could go on and on about our love

and our crazy and fun 13 years. (but I won't here!)

The best part?

The birth of our four children, Ashlyn, Austin, Jake and Mace.

Our family. period.

We have been through so many ups and downs, twists and turns.

Our journey is ours.

And I would love to post a few pics.

But they were stolen, all gone in our move.

So I put a few of my favorite's of Ry.

Sad about the pics but I have all the memories in my mind and my heart.

That's whats important. I will always remember how I felt that day.

few of my favorite quotes on marriage:

"In a time where where there is nothing more certain than change, the commitment to one another has become difficult and rare. Yet, by it's scarcity, the beauty and the value of this exchange has only been enhanced. ~ Robert Sexton

"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person." ~Mignon McLaughlin

(yes so true!)

(Ry coming home from work)

(love this one...)

"Never go to bed mad. Stay up and fight." ~Phyllis Dillar Housekeeping Hints, 1966

(we just go to bed..much easier in the morning. haha :)

"Marriage is a partnership in which each inspire the other, and brings fruition to both of you."

~Millicent Carey McIntosh

(yes! yes!)

and one of my favorite quotes:

"Chains do not hold a marriage together. It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads, which sew people through the years." ~Simone Signoret

Happy Anniversary Ry.

Love you.

and yes, I think marriage is bound by: commitment, true selfless love, loving our faults and forgiving each other mistakes. Marriage is continuing on each day with each other always in mind, working together for the same goal.

I have a husband I love.

A father who cherishes his kids, his role as provider and our rock in our home.

I feel blessed to have Ry every day in my life.

Like the last quote said,

we have had hundreds (more like thousands) of tiny threads that sew

our story

together.

Each experience makes us stronger, more loving,

and more appreciative

of each other.

(Man I am cheesy right now..but it's true...)

(You love each other MORE now than you did when you first married...!)

I am a lucky girl.

I am grateful for our time spent together, for our happy and hard (yes!) journey

Cheers to many more to come.

(and wish I had a scanner to download some other pics or a blog that worked again. In due time... in CO we will buy a Mac. And for our anniversary, I got a new Nikon 5000 camera! (yay sooo happy about it!) I need to learn all about it and so excited to have great pics.)

Love you Ry,

xo!