my weekend in Eden
Kelly and I celebrated our 12th anniversary this weekend. Kelly surprised me with a wonderful weekend away. He took care of all the details, including the babysitter (and that is a huge deal!!!).
After Kelly got home from work on Friday, we packed up and headed north. We dropped kids at Grandma Hot Tub's house and hurried out the door, anxious to be kid free for a couple days. I had no idea where we were going but was quite happy to just relax and let Kelly run the show. I felt more and more relaxed as we drove through Ogden Canyon and ended up in the beautiful and serene Ogden Valley. Our destination: Eden!
We loved the old worn barns mixed with beautiful new homes, the green fields surrounded on all sides by mountains... it felt isolated from our busy world and you couldn't help but slow down and enjoy the view. We had dinner at The Red Dog Grille, located in the General Store and dripping with small town charm. The food was fabulous! We ate outside in the late evening sun while we laughed and reminisced about 12 years together. Some of the highlights include the birth of each of our children, traveling, and ballroom dance classes.
After dinner, we checked in to a gorgeous condo at Moose Hollow. Kelly brought my favorite candle and bubble bath so I could take advantage of the jetted tub. We went to bed early because the BIG surprise was early Saturday morning.
We got up at 6am and headed out to a huge field where there were several hot air balloons in various stages of taking off. One of them was for US!! It was so fun to watch the balloon fill with air from this heavy duty fan and then see the balloon tip up as the pilot heated the air. We hopped in the basket with 4 other people (including the pilot), excited to go up in the morning sky. We were first up in the air, which was fun. (Oh no, maybe I am more competitive than I thought!) We hovered low for a while, hoping to catch a south breeze, but the breeze had already died down. So we went UP! We flew for about 45 minutes and then landed in a field (full of grasshoppers!) where we helped put the balloon away. It sounds like we did all the work, but it really was fun and our pilot, Mark, was so nice and easy to talk to. You can tell he loves what he does! After the balloon was loaded, we went back to the field where we were parked. Before we left, we had a glass of sparkling cider in honor of the first pilot. (He landed in a field, scaring the farmer who then tried to hurt him with a pitchfork, so he started bringing champagne as a gesture of friendship for landing on someone else's property!) It was an AMAZING adventure and a great way to start our day!
Our other activities included:
As if the balloon ride and get away weren't enough, Kelly bought me a present for our actual anniversary (Sunday). I think it is the best gift he has ever given me! You may disagree, but I am so totally amazed by his gift! I don't know how he even knew- if I made a comment, it would have been so slight and offhand. But, still wrapped in the priority mail envelope was a copy of the book Jelly Beans for Breakfast! It is out of print. It has been for a long time. If you know me, you know this is the perfect book for me and when I was little, I LOVED this book. I have a black and white photocopy of the only copy I have seen since loving it as a child, found in a learning center at BYU. Kelly, my ebay wiz and very thoughtful husband, found a copy and I am ecstatic! I read it to him as he nodded off to sleep last night, exhausted from making it a wonderful weekend for me! I loved every minute of my weekend and it is all thanks to Kelly who really went all out! How lucky am I?!!! Thank you Kelly, for a wonderful weekend in Eden!
After Kelly got home from work on Friday, we packed up and headed north. We dropped kids at Grandma Hot Tub's house and hurried out the door, anxious to be kid free for a couple days. I had no idea where we were going but was quite happy to just relax and let Kelly run the show. I felt more and more relaxed as we drove through Ogden Canyon and ended up in the beautiful and serene Ogden Valley. Our destination: Eden!
We loved the old worn barns mixed with beautiful new homes, the green fields surrounded on all sides by mountains... it felt isolated from our busy world and you couldn't help but slow down and enjoy the view. We had dinner at The Red Dog Grille, located in the General Store and dripping with small town charm. The food was fabulous! We ate outside in the late evening sun while we laughed and reminisced about 12 years together. Some of the highlights include the birth of each of our children, traveling, and ballroom dance classes.
After dinner, we checked in to a gorgeous condo at Moose Hollow. Kelly brought my favorite candle and bubble bath so I could take advantage of the jetted tub. We went to bed early because the BIG surprise was early Saturday morning.
We got up at 6am and headed out to a huge field where there were several hot air balloons in various stages of taking off. One of them was for US!! It was so fun to watch the balloon fill with air from this heavy duty fan and then see the balloon tip up as the pilot heated the air. We hopped in the basket with 4 other people (including the pilot), excited to go up in the morning sky. We were first up in the air, which was fun. (Oh no, maybe I am more competitive than I thought!) We hovered low for a while, hoping to catch a south breeze, but the breeze had already died down. So we went UP! We flew for about 45 minutes and then landed in a field (full of grasshoppers!) where we helped put the balloon away. It sounds like we did all the work, but it really was fun and our pilot, Mark, was so nice and easy to talk to. You can tell he loves what he does! After the balloon was loaded, we went back to the field where we were parked. Before we left, we had a glass of sparkling cider in honor of the first pilot. (He landed in a field, scaring the farmer who then tried to hurt him with a pitchfork, so he started bringing champagne as a gesture of friendship for landing on someone else's property!) It was an AMAZING adventure and a great way to start our day!
Our other activities included:
- a nap
- a visit to the monastery in Huntsville where they make flavored honey (we bought orange and raspberry- both are delicious!)
- lunch and swimming at Pineview Resevoir
- Pirates of the Carribbean: Dead Man's Chest (again, and I liked it even better!)
- dinner at Ye Lions Den in Ogden (you may have heard of it if you like to listen to KSL's movie show!) a five course meal, every course was good- especially the prime rib!!
- and then home, where Kelly let me go to bed and he did the grocery run and woke the kids to see the meteor shower/shooting stars
As if the balloon ride and get away weren't enough, Kelly bought me a present for our actual anniversary (Sunday). I think it is the best gift he has ever given me! You may disagree, but I am so totally amazed by his gift! I don't know how he even knew- if I made a comment, it would have been so slight and offhand. But, still wrapped in the priority mail envelope was a copy of the book Jelly Beans for Breakfast! It is out of print. It has been for a long time. If you know me, you know this is the perfect book for me and when I was little, I LOVED this book. I have a black and white photocopy of the only copy I have seen since loving it as a child, found in a learning center at BYU. Kelly, my ebay wiz and very thoughtful husband, found a copy and I am ecstatic! I read it to him as he nodded off to sleep last night, exhausted from making it a wonderful weekend for me! I loved every minute of my weekend and it is all thanks to Kelly who really went all out! How lucky am I?!!! Thank you Kelly, for a wonderful weekend in Eden!
{our digital camera is kind of on the fritz, so you'll have to wait for pictures. Sorry!}
posted by jenn | 8/14/2006
10 Comments:
All I can say is, "WOW!!!" You deserved every minute of it. I am so glad that you had a wonderful anniversary. Kelly is on the top of my list right now. Amazing!
Jenn- I agree.. wow. What an amazing anniversary weekend. I cannot believe he found you a copy of your favorite book from childhood. He gets extra points for paying attention to such a small reference.
Congrats on 12 years.
Happy anniversary! I am so impressed! What a fabulous weekend. And a present for Sunday, too? Kelly is quite a guy. I agree with Jana, Kelly is on the top of my list. He definitely wins the best husband award for the month!
What a great weekend! I am so happy for you that you got away for a little while....without having to do the planning AND a very thoughtful gift. I love that he was listening for something you really wanted.
Happy 12th anniversary!!!
What a fantastic anniversary weekend! Huge points to Kelly, what a man! I would love to go in a hot air balloon. I'm so happy you had such a fun weekend and were able to do so much during that time. The present on Sunday was an added bonus, and so creative and thoughtful. I'm so impressed.
What a great guy you have! The copy of the book just blows me away- how awesome. Glad you were able to have such a nice weekend to relax and reconnect.
WOW is right! How incredible of Kelly to plan everything AND get the child care taken care of -- that is huge! It sounds like you had a fabulous weekend, totally deserved. And the out-of-print book: how cute is that? Congratulations Jenn & Kelly!
It sounds like you had an incredible weekend. I would love to go up in a hot air balloon!
I have to agree, I think that is the best present Kelly has every given you. I remember that book. It was wonderful. I am so glad he found a copy for you. Definite points for Kelly for such a thoughtful and meaningful gift.
Congratulations on 12 years together!!
I can't believe he found that book. That is awesome.
What a great weekend he planned for you. It's nice you had a chance to get away from the daily routine and look back over where you've been. Congratulations on 12 years! May there be many more, and may they be happy ones.
Happy anniversary! You told me about this over the phone so you already know I am jealous, jealous, jealous, jealous, JEALOUS! But, in case you forgot... I AM SO JEALOUS! I can't wait to see what Micah thinks of 11-and-a-half years from now. :)
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