5 Years

Exactly five years and one day ago (the night before our wedding day) Brian and I were playing Risk with some friends. Being the extremely competitive people that we are, things got a little bit out of hand. Lots of finger pointing and name calling and by the end of the night we both left in a huff. I was so mad that I wasn't even sure I wanted to get married the next day. I'm certainly glad that we did though. (And I've kicked his trash at Risk twice since then:)

We both wanted a winter wonderland wedding. The problem was it hadn't snowed in Provo for about three weeks before our wedding. Everything was just dead, brown and ugly. We decided, I kid you not, to pray for snow. And the night before our wedding our prayers were answered with about two feet of snow. I spent about an hour shoveling snow but I was so happy I didn't even care.

It was cold outside, but honestly I was so happy I really didn't feel it. The ceremony was at 1:30 and we took pictures for over an hour afterwards. Then we had lunch at Ottavio's and went home to change. Then we all went cosmic bowling. No joke. Brian's lifelong dream was to go bowling on his wedding day.

Overall, it was the perfect day. It was very low-key and because it was just close family and friends it was very relaxing. Which was nice because the next few days were filled with a 14 hour drive to Tucson, a stressful reception, lots of family bickering and drama, and then a 17 hour drive to Logan where we spent our honeymoon. But I have nothing but happy memories of our wedding day.

Here are a few things that five years of marriage have taught me:

Just because you share a bed doesn't mean that you have to share a blanket.

Don't pull out the big guns for the little things.

Save the big guns for when your husband insists on naming your first born Wolfgang.

If you gain weight, your husband will lose weight. If he gains weight, so will you. There is no justice in this world.

The back of the closet is THE best hiding place for recent purchases. And then when he asks "Is that new?" I can say "Oh, I just pulled it out of the back of the closet."

It may be wise to get some sort of prenuptial agreement for the names of future children. DO NOT just wait till you are pregnant to find out that your husband wants to name your daughter Weeko.

Convincing your husband that roses are the most overrated yet expensive flowers is hard to do. I would much rather have a gift card than something that is just going to die in a few days.

Back rubs can fix just about anything from arguments to illnesses. They are practically a form of currency in our home.

Being married to someone who has NEVER once thrown up makes morning sickness so much harder to deal with.

Taking your wife to a cemetery on her 25th birthday will trigger a quarter life crisis.

Nothing says "I love you" like coming home to a clean house and dinner on the table. Brian does this for me all the time. I have yet to return that favor.

If you hate cooking marry someone who loves it. Or else you will both starve.

Our idea of a romantic dinner means Aussie cheese fries and hot wings.

For gift ideas hints just don't work. Amazon wish lists do.

The family that naps together is the family that stays together.

The most important thing to share is a sense of humor.