Valentine's Day Countdown

Valentine's Day marks the anniversary of when Scotty's and my super duper romantic relationship began... way back in the olden days of 1999 (read more about that here). We've now been a "thing" for 22 years. 

Obligatory photo of us being in love circa 2019. Do we even have any current photos of us? Not really. Is my hair even that color anymore? No.

How are we celebrating? By hanging out at his mom's house. 

But leading up to this day of love, we wooed one another by going out to eat a couple of times without kids (Thai food on Thursday and Philly cheese steak sandwiches, fries, and chicken wings on Saturday - yes, I eat like a dude) and playing four very competitive games of Wingspan (three of which I won) and two rounds of Ticket to Ride: Europe (both of which I won). Scotty claims he let me win for Valentine's Day. That is not romance! That is a cop out! Winning fair and square - that is true love.

Love it or hate it - this holiday is significant in the Brittish household. Maybe not in the flowers and chocolates sort of way, but in the "Hey look! We're still together after all these years, so let's celebrate by ordering an immersion blender on Amazon so you can make milk shakes, and I can puree canned tomatoes to hide from the kids in soups" sort of way. 

(The blender arrived yesterday morning). 

In honor of Valentine's Day, here's a countdown from 14 (let's pretend that I didn't just use this format the other day).

14 Things we love to do together:

14. Play board games

13. Go to movies

12. Surprise our kids

11. Go out to eat

10. Prepare awesome food

9. Plan vacations

8. Splurge at Sam's Club or Costco

7. Do puzzles

6. Go on road trips

5. Lay on the couch (but we fight over the good spot)

4. Google actors we recognize and try to figure out what other show we know them from

3. Complain about stuff

2. Go camping

1. Watch movies with the sound bar turned up really loud

13 Big purchases we've made:

13. Two vans

12. Three cars

11. One truck

10. The play set in the backyard

11. A couch

10. A digital piano

9. The laptop I'm currently typing on that's on its last leg

8. Sod

7. A bulky, old school, big screen TV that a neighbor kid hit with a bat and cracked

6. Two dishwashers

5. Two dryers

4. A fridge

3. Annual passes to Disneyland for 2020 (that we just got prorated refunds for)

2. Carpet

1. A wedding ring that I haven't worn for 12 years

12 Traditions we have:

12. Familyversary dinner for our wedding anniversary (the anniversary of when we became a family)

11. April Fools Cafe

10. Buying postcards for kids when we travel and writing memories from the vacations on the back

9. Having German pancakes for breakfast on (most) Sundays (funny that I should write this today when we didn't have enough eggs)

8. Eating at Jack in the Box on vacation

7. Birthday dinners

6. Going camping for Father's Day

5. Everyone picking out a Christmas ornament

4. Going to Grandma's on (most) Sundays

3. Celebrating summer with BLTS and corn on the cob

2. Playing Clue for Scotty's birthday

1. Getting stamps and cancelations in the National Parks Passports

11 Places we've traveled together:

11. South Carolina

10. Disneyland

9. San Francisco

8. Lake Tahoe

7. East Carribbean

6. West Carribbean

5. Mexican Riviera

4. Colorado

3. Yellowstone

2. Saint George

1. Las Vegas

10 Facts about our dating life:

10. We were "together" for nine months before we kissed

9. Scotty had braces when we started kissing

8. Scotty was in 12th grade, and I was in 9th when our relationship began

7. We went to the same high school, but not at the same time

6. Scotty left on his two-year mission for the Church two days before I started my junior year of high school

5. He came back two days after I started college

4. I "waited but dated"

3. We used to hang out on the side of my house after our church youth activities and hug. Yep. Hug. Scandalous, right?

2. Our church leaders started escorting me home, and I was furious

1. Scotty used to drive past my house every night on his way home from work, and I would wait in the window to wave. My house wasn't on his way home.

9 Things I love about Scotty:

9. He's really funny

8. He's a hard worker

7. He is pretty even-tempered

6. He respects his parents

5. He's fun to be around

4. He puts up with my big ideas

3. He doesn't have expectations for me to fulfill "women's" roles

2. He's a wonderful dad

1. He treats me so darn well

8 Concerts we've been to together:

8. NSync

7. Carrie Underwood

6. Brad Paisley

5. Rascal Flatts

4. Maroon 5

3. Toby Keith

2. Jon Schmidt

1. Beach Boys

7 Things we've accomplished together:

10. Survived two years of separation while Scotty served a mission

9. Played Ma & Pa on a stake trek

8. Had four kids

7. Earned our degrees

6. Bought a home

5. Served as Cub Masters

4. Finished a basement

3. Completed a lot of building projects and renovations

2. Ran a Spartan Beast (hard to believe)

1. Came in as "Second Place Couple" in the West Fest 10k

6 Things we love to eat together:

6. Thai food (especially fresh spring rolls & peanut sauce, Massaman curry, and mangoes and sticky rice)

5. Sushi

4. Burgers

3. Breakfast sandwiches made at home with slightly runny eggs

2. Sandwiches from Jimmy Johns with seasoned fries from Wingstop dipped in ranch

1. Sundaes and cheese fries from Leatherby's

5 Things he does in the relationship:

5. Makes German pancakes

4. Changes lightbulbs

3. Files the taxes

2. Flies kites with the kids

1. Takes care of the vehicle stuff (unless he's in another country and the battery in the van dies, and I have to have my neighbor give me a jump so I can drive to Auto Zone to get a new one)

4 Things I do in the relationship:

4. Pay the bills

3. Manage the family calendar

2. Most of the laundry

1. Paint things

3 Things we disagree on:

3. Whether hash browns should be eaten with ketchup

2. Having the window rolled down

1. Gyros being delicious

2 Goals we have:

2. Pay off our house

1. Have a Lego room when our kids move out

1 Thing about us I would change if I could:

1. I'd give us names that could combine to make an awesome couple name. Cuz Brotty and Scritt aren't great options.