Nine Years Ago Today...

Dave and I had our first date.

It's been wonderful and amazing ever since. I remember calling my mom afterwards and she asked what we did. I replied, "We laughed." It was great. There was mini-golf and Pita Jungle in there, too, but mostly it was just laughing and laughing together.

Dave was only supposed to be in town for a few weeks visiting his dad as he drove across the country to start his film career in LA. I was coming off a bad breakup of a long-term relationship and we both thought it would just be fun to hang out for a few weeks.

Those weeks turned in to months and before we knew it, Dave just never left Phoenix. We did actually take a road trip out to LA shortly after we started dating to find him an apartment, but he never moved. I did get a great picture of him on the beach in Malibu, though.


It's crazy that he was 22 and I was 24 when we met. Doesn't he look so young?




Now, here are a few more pictures from the last nine years as I stroll down memory lane today.

At Rachael's 30th b-day disco party in Austin.





At his mom's house in Florida when his short film was in the Florida Film Festival.

At his dad's wedding Vancouver in Sept 2003.



This is the closest thing we have to an actual engagement picture. We got engaged on December 10, 2003, then on January 15, 2004 we decided to scrap all the wedding planning and just get hitched in Texas in two weeks.



And we did. :) This is the big day, February 1, 2004. Could my grin be any bigger? Hard to believe we're quickly approaching the fifth anniversary of our wedding, too.

We took a great two week honeymoon to Hawaii a few months later.

And this is us celebrating our first wedding anniversary.




By the end of that year, I was Dr. Benah. Fin arrived and turned us into parents less than 24 hours after this picture was taken. No one believed me about being in labor during graduation. Heck, I didn't even believe it myself!



And this is the most recent picture that I have of all four of us. We've come a long way in nine years and I'm so lucky to have Dave as my best friend, husband and partner in everything.



I love you, cutie butt! Thanks for an amazing nine years already!