5 years, and only getting better with time!

August 2008

Disclaimer-- I didn't realize how many pictures I actually have, so many of them are going to be random!

5 years. Dave and I have now been together for half a decade! Dating for such a long time makes me wonder how we could ever start with a 1 year anniversary after being married. So much has happened over the past 5 years. We have both changed tremendously, and it started me thinking about how lucky I am to be with such an amazing man!

April 2004, in Washington DC

We don't really know when we started dating. We had the same group of friends and at some point he and I would stay up until 3:00 am, just getting to know each other. I was fascinated by the stories he told about growing up in the country. I learned that hunting was not the massacre that I had once imagined. I learned how to put faith in someone else, and that gave me more trust in myself! So sometime in March (right before we left for Spring break), I asked him the question all our friends had been asking us... "are we dating?" And after that we answered that indeed, we were dating. We decided that it was probably around Valentine's Day that we started dating. We picked Friday, February 13th, 2004 as our 'anniversary'. I think it was mostly so that we could go out and celebrate both! That year Jon and Rachel got engaged on or around Valentine's Day, so I met his parents in February and we went out to dinner with Rachel's family. Ironically, we did not claim to be dating at that time!

February 2005

Above is a picture of us on our 1-year anniversary. (Well, sometime around Valentine's Day, 2005). We went to an amazing little restaurant in Columbus. It was VERY pricey, (but would have been more with wine!), and the portions were not huge. But every bite was amazing! It was nice to go out on a special date, so we seem to go out for a nice (although not quite as nice) dinner each year.

The years start to really run together, so I'm going to continue with a few stories about why I am so happy to be with Dave!

April 2006

There are so many things I love about Dave. He does little things to make me happy, like buying me a Snicker's bar when I am having a bad day... or cleaning off my car in the morning before I left for class. And he stays with me even if I drive him crazy, mostly by calling me on the craziness so we can actually work it out. He's willing to give up his favorite thing in the world (hunting) if something happens to me, like being sick.

Spring 2005

This year I have realized how independent I truly am, regardless of Dave being around. Yet I instantly relax when he's around. My tension just disappears. There is this indescribable comfort and happiness that I feel. He teases me constantly, but knows when to stop. --I remember the first time he met Giselle. I was so excited that they could give each other a hard time --but instead they both gained up against me! June 2008

Anyhow, this year I have realized that no matter how busy I am, how crazy life can be... it is simply better to be with him. (I already knew this, but it was confirmed at a very different level). Being apart from him is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.

August 2006

Then there's our families. We are both youngest children, which is probably why we pick on each other so much and let things go so often. I have deeply enjoyed getting to see Dave with my nephews and niece. This summer on our vacation at one point we were sitting on the couch with a kid on each lap, and one between. It had to be one of the sweetest moments.

August 2008

And Colin just loves to cuddle with Dave.

2008
2006

I could go on forever. The last memory I want to leave with is our celebration from this past weekend. Not quite the glamour of celbrating 1 year, but certainly one of my favorite anniversaries yet. Nothing went as I had imagined. Dinner was very good, but not spectacular. We got dessert from the grocery store (chocolate cake with mint moose icing or something like that-- it was like heaven!). And then the 2 movies we wanted to see were both sold out! So we ended up going to Best Buy and buying a movie instead. I thought to myself, this is perfect. We don't need anything fancy to be happy, just eachother. And while getting all dressed up and going to a nice dinner or out to a movie is a lot of fun, it's always nice to be reminded that we have a good time regardless!

I am so excited that this is the person that I am going to marry. What an amazing 5 years it has been. I can't wait to see what happens in the next 5!

MORE PICTURES FROM THE LAST 5 YEARS

May 2004, at Chris Lucas' pond

October 2005, ready for game day!

July 2006, at Jon and Rachel's wedding

Jan 1, 2007

July, 2008