Jac and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary earlier this week.

8 years.

We looked at each other over supper and wondered if we were any wiser for we surely felt older.  We agreed that this was not where we had imagined ourselves to be at this point, though we really hadn’t thought this far ahead on that day when we made our vows. We are the parents to FOUR kids and can’t get over the oldest being seven with one foot firmly planted on the road to being a young man.  We have a house that we’re in ALL THE TIME because we homeschool – we really didn’t see that comin’! And a dog.  Somehow the dog seals the “adult” deal.

We spent our day sharing memories and making new ones, often with laughable irony.

– We woke up at the lake to mist and fog and COOOOOOLD. Who would’ve thought that our wedding took place during a drought on the hottest day of the year?  A forest fire raged in Deadwood and we weren’t able to have a campfire at the lake that year.  Compared to our present chilly, damp morning, it was funny.  We tried to remember how hot we were during our nuptial Mass as we shivered and shook in the shower that morning.

– Our wedding day was spent with friends and family from all over including a large California contingent.  Those Salida folk were gracious about coming to celebrate with us as their celebrating was done in the kitchen or over a hot barbecue while they made and served our wedding meal.  The head cook and his wife returned with their grandsons this summer and passed the day remembering with us, too.  We headed out to the Badlands and Wall Drug with Aunt Cristie in the car and then switched after lunch so that the van was filled with us and 5 kidlets.  Not exactly the definition of romance but memorable, nonetheless.

– While the kiddos and folks headed up to Circle B (they were slightly disappointed we didn’t agree to the Chuckwagon dinner and show . . . ), we went to Minerva’s for a fancy dinner.  We stuffed ourselves silly unlike our wedding day when we were too distracted/nervous/hot to eat much of the fabulous California fare.

– Afterward, we took a beautiful sunset drive through the hills to Circle B to ‘sneakily, sneakily’ get a book on tape we had left in the van.  We giggled about the need for stealth and remembered how Jac, in the excitement and chaos of our wedding day, had forgotten to get his overnight bag into our getaway car.  It was only as we got out at our hotel that he realized that his bag with his contact supplies and glasses were still in the church parking lot where everyone was breathing and airing out after our send off.  Dang.  What to do?  On that day he did manage to acquire his bag and make it back to the hotel without being intercepted and chastised for leaving his bride.  Together, we were not as lucky.  We barely made it to the ranch in time to get our goods before the clan headed back up to the lake.  The kids, unsurprised and unimpressed with our arrival, breathlessly told us of their evening and climbed into the van to inspect their loot from the night.  We drove back to Rapid in the dark and laughed at the author’s words.

– Lastly, we picked up Ellie from her godmother and received a lovely bouquet from the Hofer’s. Ironically, the card was the days page from their calendar.  Fitting, apt and as lovely as the day had been and the flowers a beautiful reminder of things yet to come.