Happy 49th Birthday David!

Today is David's 49th birthday! (I turned 49 in June so I am sooo much older!)

So I thought we'd take a little stroll down memory lane...

David - 4 years old. Isn't he just adorable!



Look at this cute family!



Here is one of the few pictures that David is taller than Pat. David is 5 and Pat is 3.



I had to include at least one embarrassing photo. This is 7th grade. What is up with that hair? And get a load of the print shirt and the pink vest! I am the same age as David and even I think this outfit is ridiculous. The 70's was a crazy time for fashion!!



Ahhh... 9th grade. Looking better! I don't know about other couples but David and I sometimes look at old pictures of each other and play the "Would I have liked you then?" game. Even though I have said that I wouldn't have liked him in 7th grade and I wouldn't have liked him when he had his silver tooth in the front, the truth is... I most likely totally would have. He is and always was exactly my type.



This is what he looked like as he headed for BYU. (He's just about to meet me!)



Even though I am not that big of a baseball fan, I love a guy in a baseball uniform! Don't all girls?



This is one of our first dances together as freshmen at BYU. (My goodness dance dresses are soooo much more fun now! I look like I'm wearing a fancy nightgown!!)



This is me and David serving as Maid of Honor and Best Man at our roommates' wedding. My roommate married David's roommate. We used to joke about switching roommates!



The happy newlyweds... (Hats were very "in" that year so give me a break!)



David and I are 49 and we just celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary. It's crazy when you reach the age that you have been married longer than you were single. Memories of a life without David hardly exist. Being together that long has its ups and downs. Unfortunately, I know him way too well! I know exactly which stupid thing he is thinking before he says it, so he gets in trouble without even opening his mouth. I know that's hardly fair but that's what happens when you can read each other's minds!

Recent example -

We wanted to grab a bite to eat the other day before Brad headed back to BYU. (It was David, me, Kendall, Bryan and Brad - Courtney and Kylie had already left.) David called J's Teriyaki to order ahead as we were driving there. They told him they were about to close because they had to get ready for some remodeling. David told them we would be there in 5 minutes and we would take it to go and didn't really give them a choice in the matter (in true David style!) So the guy agrees and we drive up and David hops out to get it and tries to get us all to come in and we told him we would just wait in the car.

I told the kids, "Here is what's gonna happen. In about 30 seconds, your father is going to lean out of that door and wave us in and tell us it's fine." Sure enough, it happened right on cue. Then as we were walking in I told them, "Now we are going to walk in and sit down confidently thinking that Dad has cleared this with someone only to find out that he hasn't and he is just doing what he wants." Everyone sort of chuckled at this thought we walked in. There were still a few people sitting and finishing their meals in the restaurant but the employees were frantically cleaning up. David told us to go sit down and so Brad and Bryan sat down at a table and we could see the panicked look on one employees face who was trying to mop and stack chairs. I asked David, "You didn't ask anyone if we could eat here, did you?" He said, "No, but look there's other people in here. It's fine." We assured the panicked employee that we were not staying and all was well. David looked at us and shrugged his shoulders with that cute smile of his that is similar to the look a 2-year-old gets when they have been into the cookie jar without permission. I really don't relish being right when I predict David is going to do something embarrassing that the rest of us don't want him to do, but I'm afraid I usually am! He's an acquired taste but we love him!!!

But, alas, David is the yin to my yang...

• He is bold and confident and likes being the center of attention while I am more reserved, full of self doubt and prefer to blend in.
• He thinks most rules are not meant for him, and I think all rules (even trivial ones) should be obeyed. I always assume someone has put some thought to the rules.
• I hate uncomfortable situations of any kind and David thrives on them. He doesn't get uncomfortable (and I still don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing? I do know that it's not easy being married to the person who doesn't get uncomfortable!)
• David is always happy and positive and sees the good in everyone and everything. I am the realist who worries about every little thing that could go wrong.
• David's answer to most anything the kids ask permission for is "yes" and mine is "no."
• David loves adventure while I prefer to be surrounded by familiarity.

We are definitely best friends and soul mates. It seems like we were childhood sweethearts even though we didn't meet until college. It's been so long. One of our claims to fame is that neither of us ever told anyone else that we dated that we loved them (except each other.) I was pretty confident when he left on his mission that he was the one for me. I couldn't help but think that if he wasn't the one for me and if there was someone better than David out there for me, then I was one lucky girl!

Well, I am one lucky girl and I love all 49 years of him!!!

Happy Birthday, David!