Anniversary on the cheap?

This is one of those pictures that when we take it I like to yell out, "OK now lets pretend that we like each other."

This weekend Dr. J and I celebrated six years of happily married bliss. My DH bought me the broach I so desperately wanted (aka - the little ipod shuffle that clips to your clothes so I could have it for running) and I bought him a new dwelling place (aka - a tent so he can do the father son camp out). We had a nice breakfast together and then Dr. J worked on his dissertation while I took the kids to a few garage sales (including the awesome one below). Then at five we met up again. Our awesome babysitter showed up with a friend and took the kids to the playground. We headed off to the Japanese House with a picnic basket full of food and a football. We ate on a blanket by the lake and had fun pretending we were young and crazy for each other like all the other couples at the lake are :) Then we headed over to the Moonstruck Cafe for hot chocolate. Finally we ended up at Pages For All Ages (a local bookstore) reading books and listening to accordion music. We saw our home teacher and the dean of Dr. J's college, Reggie, while we were there. Both asked what we were up to and when we told them we were celebrating our anniversary they both had shocked looks. I could see Reggie thinking, "Wow we must not be paying him enough." See here is the thing though. We got married the day after finals but finals at BYU are several weeks earlier then finals anywhere else. That means that pretty much every year since we got married Dr J has had to teach the night of our anniversary, or is proctoring an exam, or is at the hospital, or is at class, or we still have a breastfeeding infant. So we have had these awkward, rushed, sometimes over compensating for the lousy timing anniversaries that just stink. This time we were able to be relaxed and enjoy each other company along with the ever improving weather. We were able to hold hands in the park. We were able to play catch without a three year old stealing the ball. When Dr. J put his hands on my sides while we were waiting in line for our hot chocolate I about jumped out of my skin. It's funny how when you have kids and you are busy hauling things and rushing and prodding people and junk around you forget the power of a simple touch, of a quiet moment, of a lazy afternoon where no one has to rush. So I guess what I'm saying is Reggie you don't have to worry about me. Singing along to an accordion at the book store was exactly what I wanted for my anniversary...well that and the IPOD! That little clip ROCKS!