Happy Anniversary to Us and Meal Plan, Week 31

Today (well, Monday!) is our 2nd wedding anniversary and our 22nd year of knowing each other! Brian is my best friend and I am so honored and blessed to be his wife. He is such a loving, supportive and caring husband to me and the kids. I really couldn’t ask for better… he’s all I could want. 🙂

I am so, SO lucky to have married into such a great family. His family really is SO sweet, they always make me feel loved and welcome. Brian’s friends aren’t too bad either. 🙂

I love all of the adventures we have been on… we always joke with each other that we need to go on a ‘relaxing’ vacation sometime. As a couple we’ve been to Paris, Disney (and I ran the Wine & Dine half during it), Chicago and NYC (oh, and one haunted bed and breakfast by Elephant Rocks)!! Some major walking was done in Paris… NYC involved quite a bit of walking, too! But, it has been so fun experiencing all of these new places with Brian. And, it is great that we share a love for theater, art history and food/good wine!! 🙂 Oh, and a cupcake here and there… or, a crepe if you’re in Paris! Haha! This photo was from a half day of biking and eating in Chicago!

I also find him to be very attractive… haha, ok, no TMI here… just saying I love my mans looks! 🙂

He’s also an incredibly great dancer… and, I love being in his arms! I also love when he memorizes songs that I like (even country songs sometimes) and sings them to me in my ear while we dance with ear buds at home.

Brian never says no to any of my brilliant ideas… such as running Warrior Dash 2 weeks before our wedding. haha.

And... the Cardinals won for Aut's first game!!

My kids just adore Brian… they really do think of him as more then ‘just’ a step dad. Brian bends over backwards for them… he helps Nathan with his homework and Cubscout projects, he plays doctor and dolls with Autumn and gives her roller coasters around the house. We ALL love the bread he bakes for us (especially Nathan!).

Brian always writes the sweetest notes to when he sends me flowers. I have kept all of these notes on our refrigerator with magnets, because I love to look at them everyday. He can be so romantic in such small ways. 🙂

Go! Halloween Run!! Smurfette finished at 56:43! 10K PR for meee!

He supports me and my love of running… by running with me!!! and in costume!! Here we are as Gargamel and Smurfette!

And at the Color Run. I really think deep down Brian loves running with me… I can tell by his smile in this photo… that is why he’s training for a marathon with me next Spring (right honey?!). Wow… three photos I have posted so far have been of races… we spend a lot of time running together as a couple. I promise, we do have other similar interests!

Just lounging on a couch with some Chambourcin. with a very handsome man. Waiting on a massive cheese and sausage spread. Life is good. ❤️

I love all of our traditions as a couple… such as paddleboat picnics, sunset winery dinners, Vin de Set on our dating anniversary, etc., etc.

And, our fun little traditions with the kids… a ride on the Metrolink to the Balloon Glow each year is sure exciting… look at their smiling faces!

Oh, and I’ll never forget when he proposed to me under the Eiffel tower in Paris! Here I am at dinner inside the Eiffel tower with my engagement ring on my finger. I look mighty happy, don’t I?!

At our wedding he presented me with this book (see photo above) and an opened lock. When we were at Paris we saw the Pont Des Arts bridge together and we didn’t get a chance to put a lock on the bridge. Brian had a special lock engraved and shipped to a photographer in Paris, that put the lock on the bridge and took photos of it. He also had a duplicate lock made that we locked together on a frame during our wedding reception. It was so romantic looking through the book that had photos of our lock on that bridge in Paris. 🙂 Brian really comes up with some romantic ideas.

Going back and looking at these photos makes me smile, I really can’t wait to see what the future holds for us as husband and wife.

Are you ready for the meal plan for this week?

Menu Plan for Week of October 5, 2014:

Sunday – Family Pizza/Movie Night and Crescent Roll Smores, recipe HERE
We were going to do this on Saturday, BUT… since I had a half marathon this morning, we decided it’d be best to relax and unwind with pizza and homemade smores tonight… since, I’m REALLY tired after running 13.1 miles. Whew.

Monday – Taco’s

Tuesday – BLT’s with Chips

I still have some leftovers to make these again this week one more time. If I bought the stuff, gotta use it up before it goes bad!

Wednesday – Baked Ham and Cheese Sliders with Chips, recipe HERE

This recipe has gone viral on Pinterest and I’m interested in how good it really is… SO, I’m going to try it out.

Thursday – Tortellini Slow Cooker Meal with Crusty Bread, recipe HERE

Never tried this slow cooker recipe, but it sounds interesting… and, it sounds like it would be really good with some crusty bread.

Friday – Award Winning Chili with Sweet Cornbread (trying a new chili and cornbread recipe this week), recipe HERE

Saturday – Eat Out, Celebrating Our Wedding Anniversary!!
We are going to try a new restaurant in Clayton that is rated #5 on Tripadvisor (I trust Tripadvisor way too much! 😉 )… also, we’ll get to dress up and they have scallops as a main dish, so I’m game!