let's rewind 6 years...

dating. july 4th 2003.

it was not the biggest surprise.

in fact, i kinda knew what was gonna go down that day.
it didn’t help that my sister had called & asked what i was wearing.
it didn’t help that i knew about a month prior he went to ask my dad for my hand.
i mean, i picked out my own ring for heaven’s sake.
i knew it was coming, i just didn’t know when, where, how.
still, i played dumb & went along with the plan.

he picked me up & we headed to laguna. it was such a beautiful day…we held hands, laughed, sung at the top of our lungs all the way there, took a million pictures of ourselves, toes in the sand. we bought tim some new sunglasses @ a local surf shop, held hands some more. there were no nerves…being with him made all of that sound silly…we were so giddy in love. laguna beach. proposal day 2003.
we changed clothes at some funky bathroom by the beach. i put on the perfect black dress. he looked so handsome in his gray button-up, smelling like the ocean. he drove us to the chart house in dana point where he had surprise reservations. we had the best calamari…couldn’t take our hands off each other. engagement photos
the dinner ended & we took a walk. honestly, i thought it would’ve happened by then. i started to doubt the hype from family & friends. maybe today wasn’t the day after all. he walked me up to a small cliff overlooking the ocean.

his hands were sweaty.
he was so nervous.
he asked me to dance.
there we were, dancing on the cliffs as the sun set, just me & him.
it was perfect, like no one else even existed in the whole world.
he started to tell me all sorts of wonderful things. how he wanted to grow old with me, love me for always, & then it happened.

it was not a big surprise, and yet it was.

we stopped dancing as he got on his knee & asked me to marry him. now i was the nervous wreck. as he opened the box that lit up my ring, i lost it. the tears wouldn’t stop.

i said yes. (surprised?)

he insisted we stop by my sister’s house on the way home to “surprise” them with the news. we opened the door to a celebration of family & friends, champagne & tears. a great surprise.

after almost a year of being engaged, we said our i do’s in front of people we loved & loved us right back. a day we'll never forget, 04-04-04. we didn't even plan that date to be cool (even though we are so cool), it just so happened that was the last date available. lucky us. it was so surreal, standing up there, promising to love each other no matter what. honeymoon. maui 2004.

now, tomorrow, we celebrate anniversary #5! 5 years filled with a lot of no matter whats. sure there’s been fights, arguments, love spats, & lots of learning, but the good far outweighs the bad. 5 years later i’m in the place i’ve only dreamed about…as a mother, as a wife. we're headed back to laguna for the weekend, & i'm so giddy & excited!

finding out we're expecting TWINS! 21 wks pregnant. 2006.first family photo. robles ranch. 2006.anniversary #4. santa monica. 2008.

it’s a darn good place to be. right here, celebrating 5 years next to the man i still love the same...

& Lord willing, 60 more :)