Sept 22 No.2

September 22 was one year since we met outside of the temple on that inspired night.

We made it a date.

We did sealings, reenacted the "event", and ate at Cane's.

We finished the night off with some ice cream...just like that first night.

We look forward to continuing this tradition for years to come.

This is where our story began.

Is he not just one crazy beautiful man??
I am grateful to have such a righteous priesthood holding Husband!

Step right up! Step right up!

Husband and I have had a tendency to win free stuff.

It just happens.

The opportunities just gravitate to us.

And then they turn out well.

We won't complain.

Well, one time, we were leaving the mall, and we spun one of those "WIN A CAR!!" wheels...

..you know...the ones you usually avoid..? 

Ya. I normally do too.

But for some reason, we went for it.

Noor won a free cookie.

..and 3 vouchers for a local improv comedy club..

..and a free appetizer to a cool restaurant in Houston.

It was in an aquarium! 

It was pricey, but with the free app..

and when we shared an entree.. 

and drank water instead of soda..

 we got out with a decently cheap night out.

..AND it was a really cool experience. 

There were some intense fish in that tank!

The food was good too. It tasted better than this picture portrays.

And yes..that is a fried pickle.

Also better than the picture portrays.

I spun and won a free 3 day/2night trip to one of 6 places, airfare included.

(after the whole timeshare schpeel... painful..but worth it...we think.)

We then also won another trip..this one to ARUBA!!

We are so excited for our anniversary trip next year!

Since then, we have received a free Nook color 

and discounted front row seats to WICKED..in New York City!

We have learned that if you go out on a limb sometimes and give some offers a try, 

they can pay off sometimes.

..and when those sometimes happen, we sure enjoy it!

Wednesday morning bliss.

When I worked at In-N-Out,
they were always using different ways to reward their employees for good performance.

Sometimes it's be a gift card or a candy bar. Sometimes a t-shirt or a custom schedule.

But for a while, they would highlight an employee for their exceptional customer service
by awarding them with a tire pressure gauge.


It sounds strange, I know, but the story behind the pressure gauge was a true one. One about a manager that would do all that he could to make sure the customer was taken care of...no matter what. Even if the thing that customer needs is a tire pressure gauge.

It was a fun reward to receive.
Anyone who had one would wear it in their "pen" pocket on the front of their shirts.
People would ask about them...and you'd have a good story to tell.

Well this morning, as Husband was leaving for work, he kissed me and turned the lamp off.
He walked to the door before he came back to the bed, knelt down and said,

"I forgot to give you something."

He turned the soft light of the lamp back on and placed a small tire pressure gauge on the bed in front of my sleepy eyes.

"This is for being the best wife ever," he said....kissed me...and left for work.


I held it in my hand as I drifted back to sleep..
My heart is full.

What, did you hear, "Get your Phillycheesteak here," in the background?

Philadelphia was such a fun place to be on business!

It allowed us some really great dates!

One night, we walked to Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell.

They were closed because Husband gets off too late from work, but we enjoyed being there.

It looks like the Liberty Bell is glowing behind him...
I love it..LIBERTY should be beaming in our nation.

We then ate at The Melting Pot!!

It totally blew our minds.

It was a really neat experience that I hope to have again at least once before I die.

It was REALLY hot that day. Please excuse my mess that is me.

This was where we ate lunch & dinner often. It is like a super-awesome farmers market.
We even saw Food Network filming a show in there one day!

Our date on a different night..a walk in the city and dinner at a diner.

I also got to see a friend of mine that I haven't seen since high school and her sweet little baby!

What a blessing to have such a great friends, even if they live far away!

We wished we lived closer to them...

Being here also let us see New York City! (see separate post)

Instead of 2 weeks in Philly it ended up being 1 week in Philly and 1 week in New Jersey.

This was the view from our room one evening. I'm not a sunset person...but this was impressive.

Our time on this trip ended too soon, but our good times and blessings were plenty.

Labor Day at Moody Gardens

Husband was blessed to have Labor Day off of work..

..and I was blessed that he wanted to treat me to an all day date in Galveston!

We spent the day at the Moody Gardens Resort.

There are like a billion things to do there...SO many things to see!

First we walked through the aquarium pyramid. Yes...it was inside this super cool pyramid building!

Seals, and sharks, and sting rays, penguins, sea horses, and all sorts of other fish.

Here I am laying next to a shark(s)!!

We went on a steam boat ride too! It was a nice way to rest our feet after so much walking.

It was kinda hot outside, but we refreshed ourselves with some BlueBell ice-cream. 

That stuff can make anything better.

I have wanted to play a massive piano with my feet since I saw the movie Big.

This one was NOT as cool. Half the keys didn't work...

I was like taking the stairs in the dark. Ha!

We the saw a Body Worlds exhibit.

Freakin Amazing.

After that, we went into an even COOLER pyramid building. This one was all made of glass and on the inside was a rainforest! Really...the trees were real..the air was HUMID..the monkeys were swinging in the branched right over our heads! So neat.

Crocodiles, tropical birds, pirana, rainforrest cats, and so much more! It felt so neat! 

(The larger and more dangerous animals were kept in enclosures obviously)

..but it was a good hour walk we spent in there. There was so much to see!

Please ignore the face..I don't know what face that is.

No words. 

Well I guess thats 2 words.

And now its 7 words..unless you count the numbers..

but what else is there to count with besides numbers..?

..I ask you.

At around 5, we headed over to their water park. We spent time in the lazy river and splashing in the wave pool! It felt so nice on a hot day. 

We were completely wiped out when we got home that night

 and we had a flight at 7:00am the next morning to Philadelphia, PA!

What can we say..?

We like to play play play!