10 Years

Dave and I celebrated our 10th Wedding Anniversary a couple weeks ago.  It gave us a wonderful excuse to reminisce throughout the day about where we were 10 years ago....what we were doing...and all the wonderful memories we've shared since then.  {a quick disclaimer: the following is written with rather a twinkle in the eye and tongue in cheek.  :)  Just wanted to be clear.  :)}

If you had told me that I would spend my 10th Wedding Anniversary............at the Southside Speedway in Chesterfield, VA.............I would have laughed heartily and prayed with fevered breath that you were wrong.  I mean, most people spend their 10th at least at a nice restaurant....never mind the trips to the Caribbean or other romantic destinations.  I knew our trip to Colorado in a couple months would be part of our celebration but still....

......if you had told me that my dinner, the night of my 10th Wedding Anniversary, would be slices of pizza and cans of Miller Lite (in honor of my dad)......I would have boldly called you a "liar".  And yet...this is how I spent my 10th Wedding Anniversary.  And let me be clear before anyone gets the wrong idea: I did have fun.  :)  It was actually a lot of fun.  {is it how I would have thought to spend the day...no...but I did have fun} Make sure you read to the end to find out what else Dave surprised me with for our anniversary!!!!

Our neighbor and her family very generously offered to watch Jeffery and Dave and I were off to the track.  As my dad has taught us, we positioned ourselves in Turn 1....Southside Speedway (The Toughest Short Track in the South) is 1/3 mile track..... and settled in for qualifying.

In the note that Dave wrote to me that day, he said that being with me has allowed him to be "blessed and enlightened with the refinement of high culture".  He continued that the "dark night of ignorance and barbarism has given way to the dawn of lofty knowledge and wisdom" thanks to my guiding hand and the example of my father - Jeff Bob.  Our night at Southside Speedway was to celebrate this "cultural awakening".  {Excuse me while I am sick for a moment.} :)

I can't believe it has been 10 years.  We have been through so much together, we have done so much growing up together....and I wouldn't have it any other way!  

A sunset worthy of Arizona!!!  You don't get to see many sunsets like these in VA.  While I love the trees...it does make one claustrophobic sometimes and makes this Westerner long for the open spaces and views of the horizon.  

The video is of the first laps of the Late Models.  This was the billed highlight of the night....though Dave and I more enjoyed the Champ Karts and the U-Car races!  In the U-Car races, there were four 14 year old boys driving!  Insane!!!!  Dave is convinced this is how Jeffery (Jeff Bob Jr.) and his "pa" (Dave Bob) and maybe his grandpa (Jeff Bob) are going to spend their summers when Jeffery is a teenager.    Oh help!  :)

Dave had one more surprise up his sleeve.  And THIS was worthy of a 10th celebration!  :)  A week after our anniversary, we had a friend come and watch Jeffery almost all day long while we took a day trip to Staunton, VA in the Shenandoah's and about 2 hours away.  We went to see the American Shakespeare Company perform "A Mid Summer's Nights Dream" in the Black Friar Playhouse.  It was FANTASTIC!!!!!  The theater is a replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theater and is a beautiful space.  And Dave got us the best seats in the house.  Look at the picture below.  See those people sitting ON the stage?  Yep!  They're called "stool seats" and that is where we sat....amongst the players.  In fact, the actress playing Hermia was VERY hands on with Dave at one point and the character of Nick Bottom (after he's been turned into the "ass") made me laugh SO hard that 1) he totally played off of it, drawing the attention of the entire theater, 2) I was crying I was laughing so hard, 3) I came VERY close to snorting, and 4) I was afraid I wouldn't be able to stop myself.  VERY entertaining!

The afternoon was one of the most enjoyable afternoons I've had in a LONG time and I am so thankful to Dave for arranging the day for us!  Anyone in Richmond...anyone in VA....you NEED to go to this!!!  It is too good to not go.  :)  

So...10 years are behind us and we look forward to the years in front of us!  We have been so blessed and are so thankful for the time we've had together.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love Never Ends.