August 4, 2010 was the 10th Anniversary of our wedding day. We celebrated on August 13-15 in Salt Lake City, thanks to the generosity of our parents.
We dropped off the girls on Friday at about 1130-1200; Katie with Grandma Paula, and Elayna with Grandma Irma. We met with a man about refinancing our home (by only increasing our payment by $20 a month, and getting a lower interest rate, we can pay off the home 5 years early!), then went to the bank, post office, and back to our house. I think we actually went back to our house 4 or 5 times that morning for things we had forgotten.
We went to see the movie "Shrek Forever After" and ate at a little place called "Le Baguette"-which is not French, just so you know. We enjoyed the movie, and the food was really good at this restaurant. It was a really small family-run-restaurant. But it was clean, and the food was really yummy. We had some sandwiches on ciabatta bread, with meat, cheese, pesto and artichoke hearts on them. Really good. We also took 2 eclairs and 4 pastries with us. (I had bought a coupon that we had to use or lose, so why not spend it on pastries? Yumm.) We stopped at a couple of toy stores on the way, but we finally made it to the "Little America Hotel". This is actually where we stayed. In the Garden Rooms:
We checked in, and they had this "Honeymoon Package" that we had decided to get.
Chocolate covered strawberries dressed in Tuxes, some delicious Peach Fizzy drink, real linen, china, and stemware, and a key engraved with the date of our 10th Anniversary. It was fun to enjoy the food and drink, and feel kind of pompous.
We glanced around the room, then crashed for about 1 and 1/2 hours. Then we played Phase 10. This is a game we have always enjoyed. You have to lay down a phase each turn. If you don't lay down your phase, you have to lay it down next time, and so forth. Since we have played it so much, we made up 5 new phases. The normal phases are:
2 sets of 3
1 set of 3 and 1 run of 4
1 set of 4 and 1 run of 4
1 run of 7
1 run of 8
1 run of 9
2 sets of 4
7 cards of one color
1 set of 5 and 1 set of 2
1 set of 5 and 1 set of 3
So our phases are:
5 pair
2 sets of 5
10 of one color
5 each of 2 colors
2 runs of 4
We sometimes do these in order also, but sometimes we just chose the phase we want to complete, and play until we pass off 13 phases. We have fun with it. I won by one phase this time when we played.
After that, we were hungry, so we decided to go eat at Olive Garden. We have been to this building a couple of times, so we didn't get directions first. I bet we spent most of the 15-20 minute walk there talking about where the building was, what side of the street it was on,
what street it was on, etc. Luckily, Ryan knew where we were, and where we wanted to go. We only walked about 1 block too far, and it was a nice evening for a walk, so we didn't mind. The wait was very long, but the server gave us Ryan's meal for free, because it took so long. We just talked until the delicious food came, so we didn't mind the wait.
When we got back to the hotel, "The Fugitive" was on. We watched the last half of the show, then slept until 10 AM the next morning. How nice!! We went to the Hotel's Weekend Buffet. It was so fancy! I had no idea. I felt very out of place in my t-shirt and capris, but Ryan said nobody noticed us, and I'm sure he was right. The food was really good. Ryan loved some crepes that he tried, and the Eggs Benedict. I had some Belgian Waffles with Raspberry preserves and real whipped cream on top. Mmmm, it was all pretty good.
We took Trax to the Salt Lake Art Center, and played "Contemporary Masters--Artist Designed Miniature Golf". It was a fun experience.
This piece was called "Three Graces" (the 3rd girl is laying down, and a light pink color. You can't really see her) The wooden frame to the left of me was a tower, with a pile of salt on the floor directly underneath it. There was a ramp, and you were supposed to go over the pile of salt. If you landed in the salt, you lost 3 strokes, I think.
This one was titled "Pissing in the Wind"-the Par on it was infinity. It was just sheet metal, with a small hole at the top. The hole even had something in it, so the ball couldn't fall in. If you set the ball in, it would stay. That's about it.
This hole was called "Pi Hole". The par was Pi (3.14159265). The green thing behind Ryan was an oddly shaped item covered with fake grass. It looked like a funnel inside, so you just had to put your ball on the piece, and it would get a hole in one. It was called "Take it Easy".
"Putting to the Center of the Earth"-fuzzy wool balls and different patters made of fuzzy stuff. "Untitled" was a big metal tree with plastic owls in it.
"Donkey Kong" had 3 arcade machines set up so that when you got the ball in, it would make this loud gonging noise, and there would be credits on one of the arcade machines so you could actually play 2 games.
"Take-Out the Clowns" was the ugliest, worst thing I think I have ever seen. It looked like pieces of garbage had been melted together, badly. Ugh. It is the thing in the bottom left corner of this picture:
"The Golfstar (Constellation Virgo) was a black platform, with golf tees glued in a pattern all over it. Trying to get around them was a nightmare.
"After The Summit" looked like a study. The tee-off place was in front of the desk, and the hole was on the other side of the desk. Unfortunately, there was a plastic barrier in between, that was clear, so you lost a shot by finding that out.
"Three Graces" again, from the back. "Industry" had a bike, studs, a sheet metal covered with obstacles, with a cinderblock on a platform. It was tough to get the ball in, but it was an interesting piece. You can see "Putting to the Center of the Earth" better in this picture.
There were lots of different pieces. 18, to be exact. It was really fun and interesting.
There was also a photography display upstairs that portrayed how the insignificant moments in a young girl's life build the girl into the woman she becomes. None of the pictures in themselves really caught my eye, but the display as a whole was neat. It was a little like seeing my life pass before my eyes.
We went to the Church History Museum and looked at some amazing photos made from glass negatives! George Anderson took some pictures of the areas the Joseph Smith would have been in, while he was alive. He took them in 1907, and it was absolutely amazing how clear and precise they were.
We also learned about the Tabernacle, and the trusses that support the roof. The wood is latticed 9 feet wide, with 6 boards stuck together with wooden pegs, then arched over the top, and rooted at the bottom with huge pillars. The shape is actually how it retains it's strength. We came home, read, took a nap, then did some shopping. We wandered aroung West Valley City for about 45 minutes, trying to find Chili's. We finally ate, came home and played another game called "Hand and Foot". This time, Ryan won by 700 points!
This is a bell that sits on Temple Square. It is a monument to the Relief Society Sisters, with the Nauvoo Bell hanging in it. My Uncle Ed and Grandpa Charles were working on another project down the street. They had a crane with them. The church workers came and asked them to help put it back into place (it was being refinished or something). I always remember my Mom telling me someone in my family had something to do with that Bell, but I couldn't ever remember the story. Hopefully I got it straight this time.
The beautiful flowers, fountain, and Salt Lake Temple:
Sunday morning we slept late, and didn't check out until almost noon. We had some yogurt and fruit we had bought the night before, then we went to Temple Square. We wandered around the temple, went into the Visitor's Centers, and took some pictures. One of the Visitor's Centers has an exact replica of the inside of the Salt Lake Temple. There are videos shown on a display in front of the model that explain what each room is used for, and lights up that room on the model. You could also go right up to the model and look closely, but you tended to be in other people's way when you did that, unless you were careful. One lady decided she was better than anyone else, and didn't need to be courteous, so she just stood right in front, blocking everyone's view. Oh well, we weren't in a hurry, so we just looked at other stuff until she was done.
We decided we were starving, so we headed home. We saw "The Cheesecake Factory" on the way, and ate there. I really enjoyed the sandwich, salad, soup, and fries I ordered. It was weird, but it cost less to order all that, rather than just the soup and salad I wanted. So Ryan ate the sandwich later that night for a snack. Ryan wasn't thrilled with what he ordered. I guess he wishes he would have ordered an omelet instead. On the way in, we saw this beautiful Lamborghini. Ryan had to get some pictures by it:
When we got home, the girls were still in church with Irma, so we watched some "Monk" episodes, took another nap, then went and got the girls.
I missed them, but I knew they were in good hands, so I didn't worry about them. It was so nice to just enjoy the time with Ryan. We did whatever we wanted and it was almost like the beginning of our marriage. But it was more enjoyable, I think, because we love and know each other better now.
If someone had told me I would love Ryan more now, than when I married him, I wouldn't have believed them. But it is so true. I can't even put into words how much he means to me. He makes me laugh when I feel like crying. He simplifies my concerns, so I don't get all riled up about them (for too long). He puts my life in perspective, and always listens as I cry until the wee hours of the night. He knows I will feel better in the morning, but he just listens and tries to console me. I love him so much!
Happy Anniversary My Love!!
From Ryan and I: Princess potty seat that is cushy, and doesn't have a plastic rim that hurts her, Pet Doctor Barbie, (so she can put clothes on her, since some of the clothes don't fit the Barbies we have), Animals book, Counting book, and a Princess floor puzzle.
Irma and Jerry brought over a Chocolate Cupcake first thing in the morning:
Dancing with the beautiful outfits she got from my Parents:
GG and Grandpa Joe got Elayna a "Princess Set". It had everything you could possibly want to dress as a princess. Crown, earrings, necklace, gloves, 2 rings, shoes, dress, and purse. Elayna loved it. When she saw it, she said, "Wow!" and wanted to wear it all right away. 
We love Elayna so much! Her laughter and smiles make me happy.
