Way to go Cougars .... NOT!

Dave celebrated his 34th birthday on December 20th. (I know I'm a little behind!). So, lucky for him, the Cougars were playing that day, and he wanted nothing more than to have a party, eats tons of junk, watch the game, and cheer the cougars on to a win in the Las Vegas Bowl. So it started out okay ... he was a little nervous.

And there were even a few highlights ... and he was all happy.

And then as you all know ... THEY BLEW IT. So the birthday boy was a little cranky. But the ridiculously good bigger-than-his-head chocolate cake from Costco definitely helped. I also got him an Iron Gym pull-up bar that he was all happy about, so it wasn't a total loss, but it would have been better if they could have won JUST THIS ONE GAME for the birthday boy. Whatever.

Love ya hon! Happy Birthday!

Happy Anniversary

This past weekend, Dave and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary. We were married on December 13, 1996. It was a "Friday the 13th" by the way, and yes, that was Dave's idea. So here is the story:

I met Dave's cousin Adie at Snow College in 1995. Dave was on his mission at the time. Adie and I spent a lot of time together and I got to know her whole family pretty well over the next year or so. In the spring of 1996, on a weekend trip to Adie's house, I saw a picture of Dave on a mirror in her room, so I said to her, "He's cute. Who is that?" She said, "That's my cousin David, but he has a girlfriend, and she's gorgeous." Uh ... okay. So, I replied, "Well, when they get in a fight, let me know." Not very nice I know, but it worked. They got in a fight in June, and Adie and her family worked out an impromptu get-together softball game at a park so we could meet (June 28th). The problem is, Dave was really shy that night, and although we were introduced and talked a little, he didn't make his move, and there was another guy there .... Anyway, Adie and her husband Brice got married the following week in the Manti temple (July 2nd). So a bunch of us girls (I was a bridesmaid) and Adie's family (including Dave and his cousin Danny and some others) went to Manti the night before the wedding. Dave and I went for a long walk around the streets of Manti the night befor her wedding. We weren't even alone, but somehow it seemed like it ...

So at Adie's reception, with a little "friendly" prompting from Danny and Aunt Tish, Dave asked me out for the next weekend (July 6th). We got Subways and went hiking up to the water pipeline in Provo Canyon with two other couples. It was fun and we had a nice time. He called the next week to ask me out, and I couldn't go, and even after I turned him down, we still talked on the phone for over two hours (very impressive).

Our next date was August 10th, and we just went alone. We went miniature golfing at the old Sports Park in Sandy and as I recall, I won handily. That date was amazing and so fun and something definitely clicked. When I got home that night, I went to check in with my parents, and my mom said, as calm as can be, "You're going to marry him, aren't you?" And I said ..... "yes I am."

So I guess you could say the rest is history. Over the next few weeks, we got talking about the future, and Dave suggested that we fast and pray about our decision. I said, "You do what you have to do, but I know I am going to marry you." (You'd think he would have realized what he was getting into at that point.) I was just so sure. So he prayed and fasted and worked it out (probably nervous to take on such a big project). He asked me to marry him on September 14th 1996 on the top of Ensign Peak in Salt Lake City. He was trying to time it just right to be up there at sunset, but we got a late start, so he drug me straight up the front of the mountain and didn't even bother with the trail that winds around and eases nice and slow up the mountain. Anyway, funny when I think back on it.

We were married on December 13, 1996, in the Mount Timpanogas Temple. Interestingly, my sister Melanie was married on October 22, 1996, so my parents had two daughters get married within six weeks of each other. Melanie and Jason were actually the very first marriage performed in the Mount Timpanogas Temple - pretty cool. My dad was also released as a bishop and called as a stake president during that same period of time. He was almost both signatures on my first temple recommend. You could say that was a CRAZY time at our house.

(Mostly I just posted this picture so you could see Dave's stylin sweater. I swear I just got rid of that thing a few years ago. Yikes.)

So from the time we met, June 28th, to the time we got married, December 13th, was less than six months, and we have never regreted that. As goofy as it sounds, when you know it is right, why wait? It was fun to have a wedding in December. It is such a romantic time of year, and it is a fun time of year to celebrate our anniversary every year. With all the craziness going on in December, we always take the time to get away for a few days, and I love that.

So 12 years later, we have moved six times and been in over 10 different wards. We have bought two houses, Dave has earned three degrees, and we've had four amazing kids. We have been through a lot of challenges, had some amazing, happy, wonderful times, cried a lot, laughed a lot, played hard, studied hard, and worked hard. I love having a best friend. I love that he is patient because I am not. I love that he can make me laugh every day. I love that he lets me be me. I love that he calls me from work and asks in a quiet whisper how to spell some random word. I love that I can beat him at tennis and he always wins at basketball. I love that he ran a 5K with me and stayed right with me the whole way even when I doubled his normal time. I love that he always compliments my haircuts and prompts the kids to do the same. I love that he is a crazy insane BYU fan. I love that he always offers me a bite of his food (even when it is something he knows I hate) or half of the last cookie. I love that he got up at 6:00 a.m on our anniversary to come to my spinning class with me and then sweated like crazy, was totally sore the next day, and admitted it was harder than he thought. I love that he brings me a glass of water every night before bed. I knew then and I know now that we were made for each other.

So if there was a song that describes this anniversary, I would say "I'd Choose You Again" by the Forrester Sisters:

Lookin at my life,
Through the eyes of a young girl
Growin older all the time
Maybe just a little wiser,
I can clearly see
All my mistakes keep coming back to visit me
Pointing out the roads not taken,
So much I'd like to change
But one thing I'd do the same

I'd choose you again
I'd choose you again
If God gave me the chance to do it all again
I'd carefully consider every choice and then
Out of all the boys in the world,
I'd choose you again

Times weren't always good
Seems like the Lord gave all the easy parts away
But every time the road got rocky
You'd look at me and say
You had all you needed
As long as I was there with you
You're the reason I kept going
If I could start my life anew
The first thing that I would do

I'd choose you again
I'd choose you again
If God gave me the chance to do it all again
I'd carefully consider every choice and then
Out of all the boys in the world
I'd choose you again

A Christmas Carol

Last week our school put on a musical production of The Christmas Carol. Austin came home a few months ago and asked me to sign a permission slip to participate in the play. We were totally surprised since he has never expressed interest in performing anything before. He was excited and we were anxious to support him. They performed the play three times last week, once during an assembly and twice in the evening. He was nervous but excited all week. The performances went well and Austin had a great time.

I was asked by the director to work backstage and help get the kids where they were going and make the set changes and stuff. Having me there too made our week even more insane than just having Austin involved, but it was actually a lot of fun.

We are so proud of Austin for trying something new. He has always loved the story of "A Christmas Carol" and I'm glad he had such a good time being involved in the play. He put in a lot of time and effort and really got out of his comfort zone. Way to go Aust!

Grateful for Warm Weather

As holidays go, Thanksgiving is not one of my favorites. Spending the whole day cooking for a 20 minute meal and spending the rest of the day cleaning up has always struck me as a little strange. I guess I don't need all that to remind me to be grateful. Most "Thanksgiving" food doesn't really appeal to me (surprise surprise), and I don't like pie crust .... so there you have it. However, that side of the family (the Tischner side) always makes this amazing salad that I LOVE. It is a mix of chopped apples, mandarin oranges, pineapple, pomegranates, walnuts, grapes, raisins, celery, and bananas, and the dressing is whipped cream. It is so yummy! So I filled up on that and rolls, had a bite of everything else, and that was that.

Despite the cooking/cleaning complaint above, I am a big fan of getting together with the family and I REALLY like going on vacation, and every other year, Thanksgiving means a vacation to St. George. This year, we decided to rent a condo at the Sports Village in St. George, and I must say, that was one of our better decisions (thanks to Jake for the tip!). That place was great! Who would have thought we would spend Thanksgiving Vacation in the pool - OUTSIDE! It was nice and warm (almost 60) and the pool was heated, so it felt great. The condo complex where we stayed had a clubhouse with air hockey, ping pong, video games, a workout room, a pool and hot tub, tennis, raquetball, and a playground.

Jake and Nicki and their kids flew in from Wisconsin and we met them in St. George. It was really fun to see them and catch up with their family. My Grandma and Grandpa Tischner live near St. George in Ivins, so we got to see them too. We actually ate Thanksgiving dinner at their church which was nice becuase the kids just played in the gym and we had plenty of room in the kitchen. It was a great idea. We crashed at Aunt Kati's for pie and games several times over the weekend and let the adults play the Wii. That was a riot. I think Jake and Brady boxing on the Wii might be more violent than an actual boxing match. We even got in a little shopping at the outlets, some breadsticks from the Pizza Factory, and a carmel apple from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Fun stuff.

We also went to one of our favorite places in St. George - Pioneer Park. The kids hiked around and ran all over the place. Dave found a cool slot canyon that he could barely fit through. At one part, he had to crawl down sideways on his elbow and knee to get through. He was so excited to make it through since most of the other adults were getting halfway up and then turning back. Dave loves stuff like that and well ... I took pictures. It was nice to get away for a few days and spend time relaxing. The kids were so grateful to have Dave all to themselves for a few days. It was a great opportunity to remember what we are thankful for, and this weekend, I was thankful for my family and for warm weather and for the opportunity to make memories.