16 magical years

I love that I get to wake up to this guy every morning.

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December 27th is our anniversary. It is usually spent with me home with the kids and Clarence out hunting somewhere through the new year. Nice Anniversary, right? I can only think of a handful of times we actually celebrated our anniversary on the right day or even at all. However, we do find plenty of time to spend together when it's not our anniversary. Here are my 16 favorite things we did this year:

1) Go running together. During the warmer months we would spend a couple of times a week together running. I talked a lot and he did what he does best: listen.

2) Shopping in Flag. Clarence really doesn't like to shop... ok, not at all. But I love that he is willing to go with me and read his hunting magazine and drive me around so I can get all the things on my list without the help of kids.

3) Shooting our Bows together. For my birthday Clarence bought me a new pink bow that he has been teaching me how to shoot. He is an excellent teacher and I love the time he dedicates to teaching me the art of bow hunting.

4) Going to the temple. We try to go once a month together and have been doing pretty good. I love our drives to the temple and our dinner at Evas or ice cream at McDonalds afterwards.

5) Buying new furniture. This was not the best day for me but Clarence is extremly patient and is always right when it comes to picking things out for the house. He really does have more sense than I do and knows what will work for our house. We bought some new couches and an entertainment center for the upstairs. I love that Clarence is so level headed and can put up with my crazy moods sometimes.

6) Going to Denver to see the Docs with our girls. This is something that we do every year for Kaitlyn and Karly with their disease. I know Clarence doesn't enjoy these trips, but the fact that he's willing to go with me and help out makes it on the list. It really is a highlight for me to meet with the docs and check on the progress of our special girls. Clarence makes the plane ride fun for the kids and keeps them calm and happy. Seeing him take an active role in our kids life is a favorite of mine.

7) Planting Grass. This year we finally planeted grass on the east side of our house. It was a lot of work but nice that we did it together.

8) Visiting the taxidermist. Weird to most, but a highlight of our trips together. We would go to the taxidermist to check on the progress of Clarence's latest animals and check out what others have shot. It was a real treat when we got to bring home the coudi, the coues deer, and a Muley deer Clarence had got. They now have become a permanent part of our living room.

9) Going to Colorado for Memorial Day. This was our first "vacation" in a long time and we loved it! We brought up the travel trailer to Ground Hog, fished, rode the quads, and hiked Flat Top a couple of times. It was a real treat to get away for an extended weekend.

10) The new Store Room! I love it I love it I love it!!!! A lot of hard work but time well spent.

11) Our canoe rides in the pond in the backyard.

12) Our family trips. From the Wildlife park in Phx to Colorado to California we did it together.

13) Hiking the Grand Canyon. This was a year of many 1st for me, and this was one of them. I decided last minute that I wanted to go and I don't regret it. Maybe the first 3 days afterward when I could barley move, but so worth it. Clarence is an awesome scout master that is so patient with these boys. I'm grateful I got to see him doing what he does best.

14) Scouting for elk in Colorado. We went up for a weekend with Derron and spent the good part of the weekend hiking through some crazy thick stuff. I loved every minute of it. We were rewarded by seeing some big ol' elk and getting within 15 feet of a couple of them! It was so neat to see these animals so up close and in the wild.

15) Hiking Lone Cone together. This was not what we had intented on doing that day, but at a spur of a moment we decided to throw caution to the wind and hike it. I don't think I'll ever do it again, but the fact that I got to do this and share it with my best friend made it all the worth it!

and 16) My favorite part of the year was having Clarence home for our anniversary and celebrating it before the end of the month!!!! Thanks for 16 magical years together.... may we have MANY more adventures that await us together.