Six years!

Today Mike and I are celebrating our 6th year wedding anniversary. Six years ago today we got married in a park over looking the ocean in California. It was one of the best days of my life. Perfect spot. Perfect amount of friends and family (except for a few out of state friends we missed). Perfect person for me to marry. Since then we have moved to two different states, somehow lived through the deaths of my two beloved pets (which I'm convinced I couldn't have done without Mike), had two adorable little kids and moved into our first official house. Wow. That seems like quite a bit for just six years. The one thing we haven't done yet is taken a honeymoon. Maybe for our ten year anniversary??

Not every day since then has been perfect because I am not perfect. As hard as I try I know I am a difficult human being to live with. So I thank my hubby for putting up with me and for doing so with a smile on his face almost all of the time. I thank him for not seeing the bags under my eyes or the wrinkles on my face. I thank him for taking over with the kids when he sees I've had enough. And I thank him for working so hard while going to school to give us a better future. You're awesome honey!

We've actually been celebrating this anniversary for the past two weeks. Mike arranged for a babysitter a couple weeks ago and took me out to dinner (yummy shrimp tacos) and a movie. Then, a week later we did something wild and crazy. Something that we had both wanted to do for years. Something that says, "yeah, we're married and old and tired but we're still super cool." We decided to forgo the traditional six year gift of candy, iron or metal and opted for ink instead. Ya'll. We got tattoos. Because nothing says I love you like permanent marker.

It was really a fun bonding experience for us. We drove into down town Austin and went to this place called Electric 13. The two guys there were awesome. Mike knew exactly what he wanted (USMC on his arm) and even took in a picture of the font he wanted it to be done in. I, of course, was more on the vague side. I wanted a small cross and a small, realistic looking dolphin. I was thinking something tiny on my ankle or foot. Well. My tattoo artist, Mig, drew up something combining the cross and the dolphin that was really cool without looking like the dolphin was being crucified. But I felt it was too big for my ankle. So I opted for my lower back.

The entire time we discussed doing this I was really worried about Mike. He has a fear of needles and pain. I may have done a little smack talking. But I've been pregnant twice and had two c-sections so I really thought I could handle this tattoo stuff. Well. It hurt. The parts on my spine hurt a lot. I even said owie once but trust me I was thinking of other words in my head. Mike did really well aside from his arm falling asleep during the procedure. Three hours after arriving we walked out with fresh ink and a new zip to our step. And no sooner had we gotten in the car than Mike turned to me and said "what do you want to get next time?"



Pardon the back fat. When did I get that??! It's really hard to get a decent photo of the tattoo without showing a little skin. I apologize, but some of my friends have been hounding me for pictures. And yes, my dolphin's tail is a little disconnected from his body. Several people tell me that's how it is supposed to look but I'm considering going back in to get him to fix that.

We also went to a wedding Friday night. Mike was a groomsman. It was nice to get all dressed up and go out!