Happy St. Paddy's Day, and Happy Anniversary to my love.
We have been married six whole years now. That seems like such a long time, but it's gone by in the blink of an eye. And it's been eleven whole years since that fateful day when we first met at Kells and set this whole crazy journey into motion.
Time flies when you're having fun, I guess.
This past year has definitely thrown us the most challenges, as having two children certainly isn't for the faint of heart. But we've also gazed in wonder at the little family we've created, marveling at our ability to turn mutual attraction and a shared love of green beer into a magical life together.
To celebrate our anniversary this year, we decided to run the St. Patrick's Day Dash in Seattle.
We have done it twice before, but the first time Stew pushed me through in a stroller due to an unfortunate snowboarding accident, and the second time we had Ryder in a stroller so we mainly walked. This time I was determined to run the whole thing if it killed me! I hate running.
Somehow, by the luck of the Irish, I managed to get through the whole race without walking!
My Aunt Karen raced with us this year, and I have to give credit to poor Stew for tolerating our extremely slow pace. He probably could have completed it in half the time, but instead he stayed nearby and cheered us on.
I love the energy that the Dash pumps into Seattle Center. After crossing the finish line, we headed into the pavilion for some well-deserved Irish beers. The whole place was filled with green-clad runners who went to work building giant towers out of their rapidly emptying plastic beer cups. Not long afterward, the live band and the Irish jigs started.
After hanging out for a few hours, Stew and I headed back to the hotel and prepared to go out on the town. My mom and sister were watching the kids for the night so we could spend an evening alone.
First off was lunch with my dear friend Heather, obviously including beer and whiskey.
Afterward, Stew and I excitedly headed down to Kells, because we thought it would be fun to reminisce back where it all began...
Unfortunately it turns out that my 25-year-old self had a lot more stamina... this time around I had myself back at the hotel and in bed by about 6 p.m. It was a long day! We did go downstairs around 11 p.m. for a nice dinner in the hotel lobby, and although we were disappointed that we didn't end up partying like the rock stars we once were, it was nice to wake up refreshed the next morning and head home to our kiddos.
Of course they dressed up for the occasion as well!
Happy Anniversary Stewie. You've still got whatever it is.
