8 Years! and Father's Day

Saturday June 14 was Justin's and my anniversary. We have been married for 8 years! I can't believe it has been that long. I asked Justin if I was getting that old, to be married 8 years. He said no. It's true, I guess I just got an early start. I wouldn't recommend getting married at 18 to anybody, but we have been happy and are more in love today than ever. This first picture was taken the night before we got married. (We had no idea what we were about to get ourselves into. ;) It was so windy the day we got married that most of the pictures that were taken at the temple have my veil or hair blowing in our faces.
We got to go to Sydney, Australia for our honeymoon and it was great. One of our highlights was when we got to climb the Sydney Harbor Bridge. We had a great view of the city and especially the Opera house (which we went to an opera at.) We spent our first anniversary in Maui. This pic was taken on our anniversary while we were at a Luau. Justin looks so young...
Here we are today...married 8 years with 3 daughters. I think I can speak for both of us when I say we are very happy and still look forward to our future together. I know that Justin is the best and only man for me (mostly because I don't think anyone else could put up with me. ;)

For our anniversary we went out to dinner at Bonefish Grill; it was really great. Then we went to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It was nice to spend time with Justin after he has been gone for 2 weeks.

Now onto Father's Day...

I wanted to get some pictures of Justin with the girls, but the girls weren't cooperating.

I finally got all of the girls to look at me at the same time and then I cut Justin's head off because I was too busy trying to get the girls' attention. Oh well.

I like to make a nice big breakfast on Father's Day, but because we go to church at 9 am (which is too early for us) we had a breakfast-lunch. I made fresh blueberry pancakes with real whipped cream, bacon, and sausage. I think Justin and the girls enjoyed it.
The girls helped Justin open his present.

The girls had a lot of fun making him a shirt that says, "My girls love me!" They loved getting their hands traced with paint. I got Justin an ipod so he can take it to Afghanistan. To personalize it, I made a video of the girls and me telling Justin that we love him and blowing him kisses and put the video on the ipod. Now when he is gone he can watch that video anytime and know how much we love him. (oooh so sweet, right?)

I better express a little about how great of a dad Justin really is. He is such a fun-loving guy that he can't help but be a great dad. The girls love him so much and he loves them so much too. He is so willing to help with them and play with them. I could go on and on but I will just say that I really don't think that there are too many better fathers out there.

I also want to say that I am so lucky to have had such a great example for a father. My dad may be a little "rough around the edges" and slow to show affection; but he is quick to give advice, good advice, and has a lot of wisdom to share. He has been an example of a hard-worker. He is creative and talented in so many ways. I remember asking him when I was little if he felt bad that his siblings were richer than him. His response was, "I don't think they are "richer." They might have more money, but I have a wonderful wife and kids and a job I enjoy. I live a "rich" life without having the most money." My dad has always been great with words. He doesn't seem to say a whole lot, but when he does he is definitely worth listening to.