25 years is how long we have been married. It has been a road of never ending change.
Moves: 7, Kids: 4, Pets: dog, beta fish, guinea pig, with some cat/dog/bunny fosters along the way, States: 4, Cars: 10, Adventures: more than I can count.
Brandon is, above all, loyal. To me and to his kids. Thomas recently described him as 'Santa Claus' who is full of fun, hugs, chortles and gifts. (Mom is the scheduler, driver, and motivator). Brandon is a kid at heart. He loves movies, Disney, and singing at the top of his lungs. He loves to go out: dinner, movies, shopping, plays. He believes in autonomy, letting the kids decide when they want to participate in a family activity. He is amazingly intelligent and quick to make connections. I love 'debating' a range of issues with him, although he sometimes gets frustrated with my 'devil's advocate' approach. Although his introversion and my increasing need to be around people sometimes clash, he is always willing to participate in things important to me. He is constantly thoughtful: bringing home flowers or a sentimental gift or offering a backrub or to cover a chore when he knows I've had a hard day. Or just because. He has a gift in explaining gospel principles. I look forward to family scripture time because I learn and get a broader perspective than I have before. He has always encouraged me in whatever venture I want to do in life. Although our hobbies differ broadly, we also have a lot of overlap: singing in the car, rock climbing, biking, decorating and renovating our home, doing creative 'projects' (the full size Big John 'Solo' frozen in carbonite comes to mind), and spontaneous road trips all come to mind.
Through the years we have regularly reevaluated the roles we each play in our family and relationship. Who does finances (me- excepting one small stint where he took it off my plate to try to reduce my stress- it didn't), yardwork (usu Brandon on the lawn and I do everything else, although kids have done lawncare for the past 5 yrs or so), financially support family (primarily Brandon, with myself increasing my contribution in recent yrs), make appts (usu me), housework, repairs and checking in on kids schoolwork (both throughout our marriage, but definitely weighed on my side early on with Brandon balancing it out now that I'm working). I'm grateful for having a husband that is always willing to step in and support me. A husband that helps me to keep life a little 'lighter'. A husband that wants to be in this relationship as much as I do. Love you, Brando!
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| And so it all began. February 16, 1996 |
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| Thomas and Brandon in 2019, spiffed up before heading out to a 'broadway play'. Brandon encouraged us to get an annual subscription to plays at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. We get about 8 pairs of tickets a year and have seen many a musical we otherwise would have missed! Plus we like supporting our community. |
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| Hike at Painted Mines in Calhan, CO 2019 |
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| Kitchen demo 2020 |
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| Rewiring an outlet |
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| Infamous post prayer family hug (...I mean 'smash') |
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| The kids were sad about holiday traditions being disrupted during our reno. Brandon make sure we still had a full Thanksgiving spread. He started the tradition of everyone getting their own bottle of martinelli's at dinner. |
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| We often get an ornament to commemorate that year. This is the back of our very first one. Note the inscription, '1st Christmas -Vancouver Dec 25, 1996' |
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| Brandon is king of bdays. There is always a morning spread of presents, games and the themed cake. This one was Star Trek, 48 yrs. |
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| Finishing touches on the built in shoe bench we created. |
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| Climbing in Red Rock Canyon, Colorado Springs with our old La Grande friends, the Olsons, earlier this year. |
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| About to go under at the Mollie Kathleen Mine in Cripple Creek, CO, June 2021 |
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| WDW trip for our 25th. This was at a German restaurant at Epcot where we had a 4 course meal and sang along with the performers. It was amazing! |
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| Compiled after riding 'Spaceship Earth' at epcot. The ride where you are actually in the big ball. |
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| Manatees at Crystal Springs, FL! My favorite. Thankfully our tour provided a photographer. Brandon and I have always been hand holders and while snorkeling was no exception. The manatee wasn't too happy about it, though, and rose up, separating us. As we used to always say to our kids when they were little and tried the same maneuver 'It seems that something has come between us' ;) |
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| My favorite shot of the trip taken on the last day as we looked out over the bay watching the sunset |
