8 years already!

It was 8 years ago today that we were married!
Who would have guessed that our first 8 years would have consisted of...

Our first apartment together and the celebration of our 21 birthdays
A deployment to the Siani Peninsula for 10 months
while I lived with friends to keep me company (who has roommates when they are married!:)
Our first big purchase - my Volkswagen New Beetle
I graduated from Wartburg College and got a job at the credit union
Then an amazing trip to DisneyWorld for 10 days which was really like our honeymoon
Lots of fun with friends and family
We bought our first house
and our first puppy, a black lab we named Krypto
Then another deployment to Iraq this time for 23 months
but a surprise pregnancy from a pass home for the holidays
Our first born son arrived on September 11
and baby and I survived 10 months together until daddy got home
we learned to be a family and adjusted to the post-deployment life
Another roommate, this time Mark's brother Matthew
And what do you know baby number 2 was on the way
a little more fun and laughter later, our second son was here
and it was time for me to go part time at work
and to upgrade to a new house
it was a sad day in September when our puppy was hit by a car
and we had 3 stops at the ER this winter and early spring
Mark graduated from UNI and got himself a truck
and a new job
A million trips to the park later,
here we are today as happy as we were 8 years ago, really even happier!
I can't wait to see where we are in 8 more years!

Thanks Cliff and Lo for watching the boys so we could have a date night at Lonestar and Menards (to buy a dehumidifier:) Don't worry we also went to Bed Bath and Beyond and bought a piece of artwork for the dining room and to Staples to buy a cord so we can play "our game" again (Age of Empires). If someone told me 8 years ago that would be how we CHOSE to spend our 8 year anniversary I would never have believed it.
I suppose that's what happens when you get old! HA.

Happy Anniversary Honey!!