9th anniversary and recap

Per the usual, while we were out at dinner, Nathanael and I reviewed our past anniversaries. There are always a few that we can't remember what we did. This year was no different. Here is a previous post, with additions, where I have captured most of the events our anniversaries. This will be a fun list when we have 50 anniversaries to review.

1. On our first anniversary, we returned to the place it all started. We ate at the Duval Beach Club in Key West. It's where we got married.

2. Our second anniversary was a little less glamorous. We spent it in beautiful Fresno, and ate at the Cheesecake Factory. It was a week day, and Nathanael was working at Apple and had to close a store in Fresno. The weekend before however, we went to a Death Cab for Cutie concert and ate at the Stinkin' Rose in San Francisco.

3. Our third anniversary was spent hiking Half Dome in Yosemite, and I know that my friend Val prepared a delicious dinner for us at the cabin upon our return, but I don't remember what that was. What I do remember is the trail mix that got me through the rough patches of the day and the hard boiled eggs that I carried in my pocket all the way to the top.

4. Our fourth anniversary was spent at Donner Pass. At the time I had a morbid fascination with the Donner Party. Nathanael humored me with an anniversary trip to the memorial site and we gazed upon graves as we celebrated the day we were wed. We ate at Smash Burger for the first and almost last time (we moved to Oregon 2 weeks later).

5. Pacific Pie Co. was the eatery of choice on this special day, our fifth anniversary. A favorite of ours since we moved to Oregon, I had yet to visit their new location. I think we've eaten pies from Pacific Pie Co. more than any food from any other restaurant since we've moved here. Australian savory pies are my favorite!

6. Ezekiel was at Grammy and Poppa's house. We went to Ikea, and who knows what we bought. It could be any number of items, since our house is littered with Ikea items. And we think we saw Midnight in Paris. But we're not sure. Portions of this anniversary will remain shrouded in mystery.

7. This year our anniversary was on a Wednesday. Having 2 kids really dampens one's ability to go big. We had burgers for dinner, and after bible class, we watched our wedding video. After which, we riffled through a box of cards, scrapbook pages, ticket stubs, and other memoribilia. This was more fun that we expected. We had a lot of good laughs. 

8. This anniversary was on a Thursday. I don't remember it specifically, but I'm pretty sure we didn't do anything celebratory that day. However, my mom came that weekend to stay with the boys, on Sunday night we stayed at the Black Walnut Inn in Newberg. We ate dinner at Recipe, also in Newberg. It was a beautiful evening, and we had a very memorable dinner outside on the patio. The room had a great view, and we watched some soccer, I think it was the US team lose their final match. It was a lovely anniversary celebration. We loved the Inn.

9. This year the boys were both gone at Grammy and Poppa's house. It was the first time that they both were gone, and it was a very strange feeling. I got a lot done, and enjoyed myself immensely. Nathanael took the day off on Friday, our anniversary, and we spent the day around the house and out doing stuff. We spent a lot of time planning the construction of our dining room table, which included trips to Home Depot, OSH, MOR furniture, and a woodworking store. And we moved the furniture around to prepare for it. It was really nice to just be at home, just the 2 of us, doing whatever we wanted. We went to dinner at Mio Sushi and came home and watched a movie.