35 Years of Wedded Bliss ?

Well in a few days in will be May 19, 2008, my 35th wedding anniversary. Being the California "Valley" girl that I was, who would have ever thought I would have moved to Utah ( BYU) , married a boy from Nebraska, moved to Nebraska, moved to Illinois, moved to Alabama, and ultimately moved to Virginia ? When I was 17, I predicted I would marry someone from California and live there, be the oldest in my Laurel class to get married, travel the world, and become a dental hygienist. None of that happened.

I was one of the first girls married in my laurel class ( too young in my opinion now) to a guy 7 years older than me. I decided dental hygiene was not for me, after interning as a dental assistant in high school. I became a nurse instead but decided I didn't want to do that unless I really had to. I have ended up doing a million different things over the years and now have a notary signing business with Greg and work as a program manager for seminars the last several years.... in our semi-retired state.

I have become an east coast girl and love the beautiful green, change of seasons, and old architecture and history. I still hate the humidity in the summer but accept that is the price I have to pay for this lush terrain.

I have been able to travel quite a bit..... not the whole world but a good part of it. I have been in 49 states of the good, old USA. Alaska is on my list before I die. Greg and I have some great memories of fun places we have been......like flying over the rain forest in a gondola in Australia when we went to get Jordan from his mission... and then seeing the Great Barrier Reef. Or going to Europe with our whole family to pick Denton up in Austria from his mission. It was a THRILL. Or all those trips across the country in the van to Nebraska and on to California with my darling, always well-behaved kids :) Disneyland and the Beach many, many times. I will leave all my "girl's trips out of this post. Some of our most fun have been just been weekend get-a ways doing simple things. But now I say just take me to the IMAX.....you can see everything in it's fullest with no hassle.

Life is so unpredictable. So much goes down.

Greg and I have had many interesting and exciting experiences over the years. We have had the highs and lows with all the experiences of life, like most people. I thought the fire and losing the business were the worst but I have to say his cancer scare in the last few years has been one of the most unnerving. We are so grateful he is cancer free thus far....knock on wood.
It really brought me to my knees and helped me appreciate life more fully. We have survived it all so far and are still living to talk ( and whine) about it. Our temple marriage and activity in the church has been the glue that has held it all together. A highlight of the week was Greg bringing me breakfast in bed and 2 very fun gifts ( An Elvis DVD and an " eat your vegetables" plate) for Mother's Day......something he is always good at and I appreciate.

Probably the thing we have done the best together is raise 5 great kids.... and gain 4 in-law kids.....who have produced 10 beautiful grandchildren to date. Greg has been a good father and now grandfather . It is one of the things I love about him and I know one of the things that he values most. I also put family first on my list. I love the quote : "Other things might change us, but we start and end with family". I am so grateful for the example of both sets of our parents who have had long, strong marriages and taught us how to solve our problems and work things out.

We are going to spend our anniversary with our immediate family (all 21 of us)... for a week at the beach for a family reunion. And we can't think of a better way to celebrate 35 years of wedded bliss :)

In honor of marriage, you have to watch this funny video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWH-VToohro