ONE YEAR DOWN, AN ETERNITY TO GO

It's been a whole year already, can you believe it?? We decided to go somewhere away from home for our anniversary, and chose Grand Junction, Colorado! Phil worked there a couple summers ago and I have a few friends from there, so we decided to make it a weekend trip!

So I have this list of things to do before I die, and one of them is to have something named after me. So Phil made it come true! I'm not a big star/constellation kind of person, but it was SO sweet, and I love him for being so thoughtful and cute! Oh, and his nickname for me is "Schlubbie," so he named the star "Emily, My Schlubbie".

What a romantic.

On the road to Grand Junction.

"We've got a golf course baby, out here in Carbonville..."

My in-the-car entertainment. Don't judge me.

It's a tradition we started on our honeymoon. Cactus Cooler is "our drink."

Phil's been ranting and raving about this sushi place, No Coast, in Grand Junction since the day I met him. It was pretty much one of the main reasons we picked Grand Junction for our anniversary. So naturally, he was really excited. First thing when we arrived Friday night after check-in was dinner.

I love sushi, but only when it's cooked tempura. I don't do the whole raw-slimy-fishy thing. But holy smokes...

Our waitress gave us an extra roll of the K.A. (which is the most amazing roll ever) cuz it was our anniversary...mmmh! And holy smokes, that dynamite sauce (the peach-ish one) was the BEST. EVER.

SO FULL.

But happy.

Of course we had to hit Denny's for breakfast.

And I looked online and found this outdoors adventure place, Rimrock Adventures, that offers horseback riding and river rafting, so we stayed busy Saturday doing that!

That's my cowboy.

First time Phil's ever been on a horse!! He loved Zoonie!

My horse kept creeping up on Phil's, and actually passed them!

Phil's horse was just taking her sweet time...

And the terrain was actually pretty fun! Big drops and hills and rocks to go over...

And the scenery was GORGEOUS!!

Gettin' my tan on

And of course we had to go to the Main Street Cafe for lunch. Phil got the BLT (if you know Phil, you already knew that). Our waitress was retarded, but it was good, and I just love eating outside! AND we ran into a big group of my friends from BYU while we were there! Go figure! Then we walked around downtown and looked in some souvenir shops, and got a BEAUTIFUL stone chess set!! We're excited to start our little collection of things that would actually be worth passing on to our posterity.

For rafting, I started out with my camera in a zip-lock bag, but the water was pretty calm so I decided I would rather have pictures I could actually see. But I love Phil's smile in this picture.

Hopped in the water!!

The water felt SO good in the middle of the afternoon!!

Our guide let Phil take a stab at the oars...of course he loved it.

But if you know Phil, you already knew that... :)

Chillin'

Okay, pause. So for dinner Saturday night, everyone from Grand Junction said we had to go to The Winery. And HOLY SMOKES. I got the Pork Tenderloin with an Apple Peppercorn glaze...HEAVEN. I wanted to die it was SO good. The restaurant was beautiful (and expensive...once a year, Emily, once a year) and we had a great time relaxing after such a busy day talking about the past year and all the things we've learned and loved.

These were my gifts for Phil this year. A new razor head, cuz I got him a razor for our wedding last year, his favorite movie, and our new favorite game, Pandemic, with the expansion. What a lucky husband I have.

We made it! Our one-year mark! They say if you can survive the first year of marriage, you can survive anything, and I believe it! It has been the most challenging, emotional, rewarding, and happy year of my life, and I feel so lucky to be married to the best man in the world. I don't know another person who is so quick to forgive, easy to love, and willing to serve. I've learned so much from him this past year, and know I will keep learning the longer I know him. I'm trying every day to be worthy of all he does for me.

Love you baby.