The Tale of Our Fourth Ten Anniversaries

Happy Anniversary to Us! 

This is #40. It doesn't seem possible, but then do extra special milestones ever really feel any different than regular ones? Unlike our first 30 anniversaries (1-10, 11-20, 21-30), these last ten have all been during the days of blogging, so remembering what happened is much easier. And I met my goal to write this post in honor of our 40th anniversary!

These collections of family stories are really for our children and grandchildren, but if they bring happiness to anyone else, that's wonderful too. So, here are my memories of our fourth ten anniversaries. I guess I'll have to come up with a new plan for next year's anniversary post!

Anniversary #31 - (2013, a Tuesday) - Mid-week anniversaries, particularly during the first week of school (although our kids had all graduated by then, I was teaching early-morning seminary), aren't all that exciting. But we made up for it by traveling to Hawaii a week later for Dallin's baby blessing - Hawaii Day 1.

2014 Anniversary Roses

Anniversary #32 - (2014, a Wednesday) - Here's another mid-week anniversary, also at the beginning of the school year. However, this year I was teaching an online seminary class, which meant I didn't have to set a 4:30 AM alarm. We "celebrated" by welcoming Steven home from his mission, hosting Brad's family who surprised him, doing a family sealing session at our "new" temple, and getting Steven and Michelle ready to head off to BYU. However, once they were gone, as empty nesters, we got to celebrate every day. It was also the year I decided to start recording some family stories, although the planned monthly posts quickly turned into a yearly one! Wedding Gifts and Wedding Rings

Anniversary #33 - (2015, a Thursday) - This was the first year of a series of staycations to celebrate our anniversary. We spent a night at the Holiday Inn Express in Juno Beach, and enjoyed a visit to the International Raceway. It's a good thing we went then, because now the racetrack is no longer in business. Story post from that year: Oakland Temple.

Anniversary #34 - (2016, a Saturday) - The next year we went to the Best Western Plus in Palm Beach Gardens, had our fancy dinner at Seasons 52, and explored a quaint shopping area - Downtown at the Gardens. Story post: Our Reception.

Anniversary #35 - (2017, a Sunday) - The summer of 2017 we were busy preparing for our daughter's wedding, and so I didn't write many blog posts. Maybe some day I'll catch up! The Friday before our anniversary we enjoyed our little staycation at the Embassy Suites in Palm Beach Gardens, with dinner at the Capital Grille, and lunch at Rocco's Tacos while exploring PGA Commons. However, knowing that we'd be in Seattle for a day soon after, we decided we'd also celebrate by having dinner at the Space Needle. We actually spent some time in Seattle on our honeymoon, but couldn't afford a visit to the Space Needle then; we figured it'd be an appropriate splurge for anniversary #35. Can you believe that long after we booked our reservation, they decided to close the restaurant for renovations??? When the restaurant called to cancel, they were more than willing to rebook a new time, but that wouldn't have worked for us, since we were just in town for a family cruise. They did give us free tickets to the observation deck, which was quite thoughtful of them. And we enjoyed a second anniversary dinner at a different, but very nice, Seattle restaurant - Anthony's on Pier 66.  Story post: Tale of the Dress.

Anniversary #36 - (2018, a Monday) - The previous hotels for our anniversary staycations were nice, but nothing out of the ordinary. That can't be said for the next few. The Waldorf-Astoria Resort in Boca Raton was very fancy and exclusive, and we thoroughly enjoyed being pampered for a day or two. Story post: Tale of Our Car.

Anniversary #37 - (2019, a Tuesday) - I met Wayne for lunch at City Cellar on this mid-week anniversary, then fixed scallops and asparagus for dinner at home. It was a great way to celebrate on the actual day. We planned our staycation for a couple of weeks later. The Brazilian Court Hotel in Palm Beach has been a favorite anniversary memory. Maybe we'll save our pennies and go back for our 50th celebration! This is the year I started posting about our previous commemorations: 1st Ten Anniversaries.

Anniversary #38 -  (2020, a Thursday) - With retirement, we no longer have to have Friday-Saturday staycations, and can both take advantage of cheaper mid-week rates and go on our actual anniversary. The pandemic made our visit to the Singer Island Hilton in Riviera Beach a unique and memorable celebration. The annual blog post chronicled our 2nd Ten Anniversaries.

Anniversary #39 - (2021, a Friday) - The White Elephant in Palm Beach was another exclusive hotel where we felt welcomed and pampered. Any establishment who leaves chocolate covered strawberries with a handwritten note has to be awesome! They definitely deserve the #2 spot (maybe even #1) on the "15 Best Resorts in the continental United States" list by Travel & Leisure magazine this year. (And #19 in the world!) Blog post: 3rd Ten Anniversaries.

Anniversary #40 - (2022, a Saturday) - We took our staycation earlier in the week; that just means the celebrating can continue for days! We're back to "normal" hotels, at least for a while, but even they serve the purpose to get away from the usual routine. This time it was the Travelodge in Riviera Beach, followed by a yummy celebration dinner at home on our actual anniversary. And this is this year's blog post of memories!