Thursday, January 15, 2009

Happy Anniversary XoXoX

Brent and I have been happily married for 13 years and are celebrating our 16th anniversary today. What a day it was to get married in Cardston, Alberta. It was F-R-E-E-Z-I-N-G and if his parents hadn't wondered before then, I know they were contemplating the wisdom of Brent's idea to marry some crazy orange-haired girl from Canada. It didn't help that the entire town showed up to the reception and told us how lucky we were that the weather had warmed up for our special day!

We're headed to St. George sans the little Zims to bask in our ability to endure. We are going to run races on Saturday--a 5K for me and a 1/2 marathon for Brent to represent our respective marital coping skills. We may even consider seeing a movie and going to dinner at a restaurant that does not serve anything in nugget form. I'm still in the almost-over-a-cold stage so I'd be happy for a nap that doesn't end with high-pitched promises of maiming a sibling.

Here's what we have to show for our 16 years together.

16 inside jokes an hour. We crack each other up even though no one else (read, oldest child) appreciates our wit.
15 Pilling nieces and nephews.
14 Zimmerman nieces and nephews.
13 days total spent away from the kids. (We need to work on upping this number!)
12 nights on the couch for one or the other of us ;)
(Not really...I'm too fat and Brent is too tall
to sleep comfortably on the couch.)
11 siblings between us.
10 (give or take) arguments a day but we still love each other.
9 Jobs. Me: Home Economics teacher Wasatch Middle School and Provo Young Mothers' High School. School Psychologist for Davis School District.
Brent: Computer Programmer for BYU Geography Department, Waterford Institute, Brooks Automations, Acclaim Entertainment, Waterford Institute again, Control 4.
8.25 years in our Layton home.
7 cars--Ford Tempo, Pontiac Acadian Scooter, Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Sonata, Toyota Camry, Toyota Sequoia, Honda Civic-SI
6 months after our wedding I dropped Illegal and added Resident to my ALIEN status here in the good ol' U.S.A.
Thanks for the Green Card, Honey.
5.5 years in our Provo home.
4 speeding tickets between us. Yeah, I'm bringin' up the average on that one.
3 smart, funny, beautiful kids. Thanks for that great
Zimmerman DNA, Sweetie.
2 marathons together...so far.
1 happy life.

Happy Anniversary, Brent. I'm glad I married you.
Thanks for asking!

TCBOTB

16 comments:

bdz132 said...

I love you, too, Rita! Thanks for being the best part of my life.

My anniversary gift to you isn't scheduled to arrive until Monday. Since we often celebrate our anniversary on MLK Day I'm OK, right??

Russ said...

Congratulations guys! I hope you guys have fun on your St. George trip.

Rockelle said...

which 3 years were the unhappy ones?
Rita you always make your posts so fun to read!
Congrats on 16 years...thats awesome!

Kristen said...

I love your opening line. So funny! Congrats on 16 years! We'll be celebrating ours in May.

Hey, we're heading to St. George this weekend too. However, our trip will not include any running of any kind. Jeff states he hasn't run since grade 9. I think it's awesome that you guys race together.

Since you're going to be down there the same time, would you mind babysitting for us? Jeff and I could really use a nice quiet evening together - a romantic dinner or something. Is that too much to ask? We could pick up a couple of frozen pizzas and deliver the kids completely hyped up on sugar and junk food! Let me know where you're staying and I'll drop them off. Maybe a sleepover? ;D

Scott said...

When Brent married Rita, we said that if anything goes wrong, we get to keep Rita. I'm glad you've stuck together through thick and thin. (It really does sound like a Scott and Bev marriage.)

And yes, we did think you were both crazy for getting married in Canada in January! But we immediately fell in love with your Canadian family.

Thanks for the wonderful, clever, funny post. Enjoy SG. It's not Hawaii, but it's not a bad second.

Atkin Family said...

Make sure you have nice matching Nike outfits when you run your race -- have you picked out what you're going wear yet? You might consider black -- you can't go wrong there. JK -- congrats on making it 16 years!!! Q

Beverly said...

Congratulations and here's hoping you have several more sets of 16 years together. We love you Rita.

Amy and Brad said...

What a great post! Congratulations to you both on 16 years!

Eric said...

Congratulations on 16 years! Hope you have a nice anniversary...even though it sounds like Brent's gift to you won't be there in time. :) Love you both.

Debbie said...

Hooray for winter weddings. Congrats on 16 years. You are a clever writer, Rita. It would have taken me FOREVER to think up this post. You guys are great. I'm so glad we are back in touch. Aren't blogs wonderful?

I love Brent's comment too. Can't wait to hear what he ordered for you. Have fun in St. George.

Shelley said...

Congrats on over a decade and a half of bliss and good luck on the race. P.S. it is chinooking here in Cardston so the weather is fabulous. The big melt is on.

Deanna Quinton Larson said...

Yay for 16 years!! Congrats. I love Brent's comment! What a sweetheart. Such a cute entry. I love the countdown.

bdz132 said...

It came right on schedule! The projected delivery date was overly optimistic. When I got home Rita had the gift in her hand. I couldn't have planned it better if I had tried.

The gift was a personalized Krazy Straw in the shape of her name.

Jana said...

Congratulations on celebrating -- and yes, sometimes surviving 16 years together! That's awesome! You can truly feel how much you 2 love each other! Good luck and have fun in St. George!

Colett's Corner said...

Congrats Rita and Brent!!!

Anonymous said...

Happy Anniversary! Here's to 16 more!