these days

Friday we marked ten years of marriage.  That's a lot of years :)   

I started the day with an early morning trip to the (in-town) grocery store with Lydia. 

She wore an elephant mask.  Which is pretty awesome if you ask me. 

It was a big long trip but having my girl with me made it so much fun.  It's hard to be grumpy about shopping at a frustrating mega-store when you're with Lydia.  She's a trooper, and she loves a strawberry shake at check out :)

That evening Matt and I enjoyed a great date night.  We're currently a "two babysitter family" and are so blessed to have a host of folks willing to watch the kids.  I'm just not ready to leave all five with one sitter.... it's quite a bit on me when Matt is away, and they are MY kids!  I feel much better with two sitters, especially with Luke (still so young) and John Paul (some tricky communication needs). 

So we left with one friend on the living room floor, surrounded by laughing children, and another in the kitchen, finishing up dinner prep.  As usual for any date night, I'm just glad to be leaving the chaos behind :)  Once we're out of the house and far enough away that I can't hear any residual noise, the date is already a huge success in my book! 

We're eager to enjoy a longer get-away and big celebration of ten years, but are choosing to wait until next spring when we'll be closer to fun vacation spots and grandparents who can watch the kids for days (not just hours!) at a time!