Our Twenty Seventh Anniversary

We were home for our anniversary this year. We've chosen over the years to travel during the same week as our anniversary, and that made for some pretty spectacular July twenty eighths! 

I remember this anniversary with us in Hawaii. That was a pretty spectacular day! 

We were such a young family then and it was awesome to share our day with our girls. We spent the day at the beach, we had a causal lunch overlooking the ocean, we renewed our wedding vows with our girls, and then we drove to a different part of the island for a spectacular dinner at the same resort we spent our honeymoon twenty years early. 

Twenty One was right before our trip to Disney World and it is the same place we had lunch yesterday. 

I won't go into all of the anniversary posts with links but we've had some spectacular ones: we were in Canada on a cruise, in Alaska, Vancouver, British Columbia.... and we've actually loved being a whole family on the anniversary day. We've loved 'sharing' it with our girls over the years. We want them to know the 'feeling' the day has and our story. 

But this summer we weren't away on July twenty eighth so we had to figure out what would 'mark the day' and make it special for us. 

We chose to go to morning Mass at our local church. It was quiet, short, lovely. Sitting in that pew next to my husband was the perfect way for us to celebrate. Our wedding twenty seven years ago was a Mass and a deeply religious-Catholic sacrament and our faith has certainly carried us through our lives, so it felt fitting that this was the place to begin our day. 

Next we went out to breakfast. We chose a local, small, adorable, homey breakfast place that is in our town. Nothing fancy but the best food in the world! 

We headed home and sat on our porch swing for a while and actually just talked about the upcoming school year - changes we wanted to make, things like that. I wrote fast and furious our ideas in a notebook. I think we've got some good ideas. {I'll share more on that as the school year unfolds}. 

We waited for Anna to come home from school {her job this summer} to have lunch with Abigail and we headed out for the whole afternoon. 

First we ate lunch here (this us us back on our anniversary years ago) and loved our yummy sandwiches. There were the most amazing looking desserts too but wanted to wait a bit. 

Collinsville is a quaint New England town with several wonderful antique stores that we love meandering through. I was looking for something for our porch and found it! {oops, no picture of that - wish I took one} and we carted that thing home. {I'll share of a picture of it on our porch as soon as I get it all decorated}. 

We headed back to order desserts. I was so happy with the cake I had. It tasted just like our wedding cake and it was delicious! 

We took our time on the way home {the girls wanted us to stay out all day so they could talk and hang out together - love that about sisters} and listened to a fun / sappy/ emotional / silly play list I put together for our anniversary. It was all the songs we've loved over the years, our wedding song, and even newer songs that we just love. 

It was home for a cozy night at home. We watched our long wedding video with the girls. It had been years since we'd seen it (usually away traveling this week) and it was fun to see it! 

We had a cozy night in eating dinner with the girls. 

I think wedding anniversary's are just the sweetest day in the whole year. 

My oh My! It's Been Twenty Six Years

I have been married to this handsome, love-of-my-life for twenty six years today!

Dearest Anna and Abigail -- 

Don't wait

Fall in love with your best friend

Get married -- 

not when your career is in perfect order

not when your bank account is ready for everything you think life will hold

not when you 'feel ready'

It's simple really, 

Fall in love

Get married --

Make it so that all of your 'big life moments' are with THAT PERSON. 

Don't date to date.

Date someone who you might marry. 

Don't waste your precious time. 

I have spent every day with your daddy for twenty six years. 

And all of our 'big life, best moments' were together 

Oh, and by the way, the best moments were you! 

 And to my darling Scott, 

Thank you for these years. 

Every year I fall more and more in love with you. 

I love holding your hand. 

I love talking and talking and staying up way too late - together. 

I love your smile that is just for me. 

I love your eyes. 

I love your kind heart. 

I love that I am still your girlfriend after all those years. 

Oh how I love being your girl. 

You are my boyfriend forever. 

Here is a post I like from 21 years. 

Here is a dance in the kitchen one Valentines Day long ago. 

Here we are back in HIGH SCHOOL!!! 

Here he still seeks me. 

Here is our Twenty anniversary in HAWAII!!! 

Here is a little story of us. 

Here is our 20th Christmas

Here is our 19th anniversary 

Here is a cute picture of us

Here is another post of us

Here is a Christmas kiss 

Here oh goodness is that 'one date a month' for his 40th birthday!

Here is a post called 'Marry Me Day'

Here is 16 years. 

Here is another Christmas kiss. 

Here is 15 years. 

Here is 24! and Here 

Here and Here is 25 years. 

Here are my thoughts on weddings and our wedding. 

Here is our 18th 

Here is our 17th

Here is our 16th

He Buys Me Flowers

here's another thing I don't ever want to forget.

He buys me flowers... like ALL THE TIME!



Any flowers you see in my home on this blog he's bought. Usually weekly but sometimes more. I just want to remember.

New Principal (phone shots)

Oh I have so much more to say about this ... on another day... because there is so much to say and I want to get it right. But right now I want to remember...

• Just how beaming proud all three of his girls were of him tonight
• How it felt like surreal, listening to him being recognized in front of all of the principals of the district
• The words that I tried to hang on to with every bit of me.  I tried to memorize when the superintendent spoke, and when Scott spoke.  I couldn't hold on to every word but I remember...
• Scott and I go way back from the time he was assistant principal of Squdron Line school and I was principal.
• Scott turned his elementary school around, closed the achievement gap with a love for children and an incredible skill for leadership and family
• He will bring his skill set to the middle school 
• I want to remember how Scott introduced me and his girls.  "My wife, Tara, 4th grade teacher at .... school."  
• I want to remember watching the girls soak in how they were talking about THEIR daddy.
• I want to remember how Scott said we are and education family and much of our conversation is about school.

There is oh so much to remember from this evening and I will do a 'proper post' one day but for now I must say that emotions are running deep in our hearts.

• To watch him say goodbye to his beloved elementary school where he was for 9 years. 
• To watch him accept this new role with excitement and grace
• And to be there right by his side, as he was with me.  

More, more, more coming soon! 

21 Years

I can't believe that I forgot all about these pictures.  I was looking through camera chips to clear them off and found these!

So last week we celebrated 21 years.  Scott took the day off and we went out to breakfast with the girls.  We sat outside, and it was lovely.  Not Hawaii, but so lovely.  Something about that date, right?  Don't you just feel all 'lit up inside' on the day of your wedding anniversary.  There's something special about that date.

After breakfast we went on a long walk in a pretty town near us.

We grabbed a sandwich at a cute deli.



We meandered along the path.



"tara + scott" We told the girls Scott carved our initials in this bridge years and years ago. (he didn't)



As special as a day is, when you share it with children you never know that can happen, right? If you look closely you can see Abigail very stiff and her daddy trying to correct something that happened. By the time they caught up to us there were tears.



Love chatting with her.



Cutest little ice cream shop.



WE meandered through antique store after antique store, so much fun!

When the sun was almost down we realized that we didn't take a of us. But you HAVE to mark the day with a photo, right?



We decided to make homemade ice cream with the girls that evening.





And even though we had to use coconut milk instead of real cream for allergies it was amazingly good!





And if the strawberries are fresh and you made the ice cream yourself, it's perfectly fine to have for breakfast the next morning, right?



Yup! We made the chocolate the next day.



The love of my life for sure.



Anniversaries are the sweetest day.