5th Wedding Anniversary

Duane is so good to me and our boys. Sometimes I feel embarrassed to fully express all that he does for us because I'm afraid to make others feel bad. I guess the truth is though that we all have special traits that make us wonderful for our spouse's. So, even if Duane does somethings for me and our family other husbands do special things that make their wives and families happy. With that said, I'd like to brag about my hubby, guilt-free.

Duane gives the best hugs (a trait I think he learned from his mom, thanks mom!): long, close and sincere.

Duane can write the best cards (my favorite part about my birthdays and our anniversaries). For example, this year on our anniversary, he wrote this:

Yes, he came up with all that on his own. 

Duane listens to my rambling. I know that he's not totally fond of small talk (in general) though I love to do it and he is usually patient with my lengthy stories that drag on.

Duane is quick to forgive my impatient moments. I'm not the best at waiting for things to be done right. Instead, in the moment, an okay job is fine with me. I appreciate that he takes the time to make things the right way so that in the long run, it works better and looks nicer.

It's not hard to keep Duane happy. If I don't get dinner out every night, or don't do the laundry for a couple weeks, he doesn't get mad. Instead, he'll help out with the chores and meals and with a smile on his face. Awesome! Because I don't know that I would do the same, sadly.

Duane respects me. He would never speak ill of me to anyone (I think he learned this from his father).

Duane loves me. This is probably the most important thing for me is to know that he loves me, no matter how bad I may look, or how stinky I can be, or even that sometimes I say things that contradict and don't make since. lol He loves me and I am so grateful for that.

On our anniversary, I was having a lazy day. I really wasn't expecting anything from Duane and he had taken the boys out in the morning so I could get a few things done with photography. He came home with these:

 and got it all on video.


Shortly after giving the flowers to me, he brought out this camera as well. My point and shoot broke a few months ago and he replaced it with a waterproof/shockproof/freezeproof Panasonic camera. Yay! Not so many cell phone pictures now!

That night we went to dinner and spent too much money, but had a great time! We went to The Melting Pot which is a fondue restaurant. We were able to pick the cheese for dipping bread pieces and veggies in, the broth for cooking our meats, and chocolate for the strawberries, marshmallows, rice crispy treats. It was a fun experience, but next time I think we'll just go for the dessert because it's not too expensive ($8 for 2 peeps and $16 for 4 peeps). I think everyone has to go at least once.

 It was funny because we told our waitress that we don't drink alcohol so she wouldn't bug us about trying their amazing wines. About half way through the dinner (that lasted almost 3 hours) the owner of the restaurant came by and talked with us a few minutes. He was very friendly and fun to talk to. About 15 after he left, he came back with champagne to help us celebrate our anniversary. We laughed after he left and Duane tried a drop. He gagged and said it was pretty gross.