Our 5th Anniversary

Saturday, April 14th, my hubby and I celebrated 5 years of marriage.

5 years...WOW!!!

It doesn't seem like 5 years have already past by, but then again, I feel like I've know Robby all my life.  I can't picture my life without him.  He's helped me grow in so many ways, esp spiritually.  He's my rock.  Whenever I am having a hard time it usually only takes him to wrap me up in those arms and I start to feel better.  There's something so peaceful and loving about those arms.  I can't explain the feeling, but every time I'm in them...sigh...I just love it :)  Another thing that is so neat is some times just touching him on his arm, shoulder, hand, back, etc, helps me feel better.  It's definitely a spiritual thing, because it's hard to explain.  That's what I love most about our relationship, our spiritual connection.  We both love God so much and are seeking His will every day.  We're not perfect by any means, but we're trying.  God's been teaching us so much over the past 5 years and I wouldn't want to do this with anyone else.  God, thank you for this man. 

♥ I am truly blessed to have him in my life. ♥

I've been looking at some of our wedding photos the past few days, and my lovely sister, Melissa edited a few for me.  I think one day I will get her to edit all of them.  I hate to brag, but my sister is awesome! haha She's so talented with taking pictures and doing photoshop.  

Check out her blog sometime.

 

We started off Saturday by doing some work to get ready for our sweet cow.  This has all been really tough work and a bit stressful, 

but it's going to be so worth it!  

Mom, Melissa, and Dad cooked us a yummy late lunch, early dinner.  

Per our request: 

Cheeseburgers with french fries and sweet potato fries 

Homemade buns. Trust me, they tasted as good as they look!

Daddy grilled these for us.
Mmmmmmmm my mouth is watering again just looking at them!

Delicious sweet potato fries.  Melissa sliced them up and Mom fried them.

French fries.  Again Melissa sliced them, Mom cooked them. Yummy, yum, yum!!!

Please excuse my roughness.  I was working hard outside until time to eat =P
At least Robby looks adorable ♥

♥ So in love ♥

Giving Robby his gift.
Yes, we got into our pjs after that hard work haha

He was surprised =D

haha! I love this!

I got him those family stickers you put on your car.
He's wanted them forever and I finally decided to get him some!
I thought we'd put it on our car, but nope,
he wants them on his work van. hehe
♥ ♥ ♥ I just love him ♥ ♥ ♥

I think I was a little excited lol

Awesome! Pink work gloves and glasses!!
I've needed some really bad.
May not seem like a typical anniversary gift, but I love it!

Bullitt always wants paper or bubble wrap haha He loves tearing it up.
The funniest thing is when he gets bubble wrap.
He uses his front teeth to pop each bubble.
I'm not making this up! He's such a goofball.

Again with my over excitement, geez louise haha
I just love the look on my hubby's face though *le sigh*

I love this picture.  I've been wanting this movie for several months.
What a fantastic surprise!!!

Now the best part of this day was our "camping" trip!!!

Instead of traveling somewhere and wasting gas, 

we just parked on our property. 

I forgot to take a picture of the van down there, but that's our spot =)
It was sooo nice.

Also, since the ground is so not level with them farming, and there are still stobs from the cotton being harvested last fall, it would be hard to pitch a tent.  Instead I had an idea about making Robby's van into a tent!  We both loved it!  Not only was it super cozy, it was very comfy because it was our mattress in there hehe

Isn't this awesome?! I can't wait to do it again!

The ceiling.  That sucker wasn't easy hehe

Getting us water to take "camping".

Mom and Melissa made us brownie cookies, oatmeal cookies, and popcorn.
We got this basket from the place we got married, Colonial Country Club.
They had put extra food in it for us to take to the hotel.
Melissa fixed this up with what they made, napkins, and fresh milk. Yum!  

 This was one of the most enjoyable things Robby and I have ever done.  We set the laptop up on the cooler at the end of the bed and watched Mr. Deeds & Finding Neverland 
while eating our cookies and popcorn. 

You could hear the wind blowing through the trees when we started falling asleep. It was so peaceful.  
Seriously the best camping trip I've ever had!

The after math haha  See the opening in the front?  We kept it like that with the front windows open and the back doors cracked open a bit.
That let a nice breeze come through.

  

I'm so thankful for this time I got to spend with just my Robby Hood.  
It was a perfect way to spend our 5th anniversary.

I will never forget it.

Mom and Dad's 28th Anniversary

On April 7th Mom and Dad celebrated their 28th anniversary.  =D  On that day we actually worked our butts off! haha  Dad and Robby were doing some roofing for the lean-to while Melissa, Mom, and I moved wood.  Wow, that about killed me!!  Seriously some of that wood we had to move was ridiculously heavy!  Anyway, after all this we made yummy pizza.  I ♥ our pizza!!  Even though we worked hard that day, we all still enjoyed it.

I know what you're thinking.  Some romantic way to spend your anniversary right??  Well Jessica, Melissa, Robby, and I actually did something real special for them on Wed. April 4th because Jessica had to work on that Saturday.  They were planning on taking a trip to Italy for their 25th anniversary, but things didn't work out.  Mainly they just didn't feel peace from God that it was the right timing.  Well we decided we could make this big fancy meal instead...but that never happened =/ So for about 3 years that has really weighed on me!  I have always felt bad for never doing something real special like we had told them we were going to do.

I decided we were NOT going to go another year without making it up.  So us kids decided to create an Italian Bed and Breakfast. 

 After a normal breakfast Wednesday morning we told Mom and Dad to spend the day together.  Dad left his phone with me so they wouldn't be disturbed.  They went riding around the property on Daddy's tractor.  It was adorable!! I could tell that they were having a blast.  I think it's just what they needed.

Back at home Melissa and I were frantically decorating the house in our Bed and Breakfast while Jessica made pizza dough for lunch.  Thankfully Robby had the morning off and was a big help!  He helped Jessica in the kitchen while Melissa and I finished getting the B&B together.

Once the decorations were in place, we called Mom and Dad back to the house.  Melissa had made a sign that was hanging on the front porch and Mom & Dad loved it! They were very surprised by our idea.  Us girls talked in Italian accents...wait, that should be attempted, attempted to talk in Italian accents haha There were times when I got it good, but other times that it was, well, crap lol

Aren't they so cute?!

For lunch Jessica, Melissa, Robby, and I made them Pizzette's, which is small pizzas, and a small salad.  They were DELICIOUS!!!  

We made 3 different kinds:  

Garlic, Rosemary, Parmesan

Ground Beef, Onion, Gouda

Mozzarella, Basil, Tomato

Dad really enjoying his Pizzette hehe

 After the pizza, we served them some Raspberry Sorbet.  It didn't quite make it to the correct consistency, but it tasted great.  I normally do not like raspberries, but I really enjoyed this.  Jessica was the creator of that dessert.  

Once lunch was over Mom and Dad moved into the den and watched a movie, then went back outside on the tractor.  Well by the time Jessica and I got a plan for dinner, and the 3 of us girls cleaned up from lunch, it was time to start preparing for dinner. =P  We were already pooped! But we so badly wanted to do this for Mom and Dad that we didn't mind.  

Mom and Dad really loved lunch, but it was nothing compared to our dinner!  We gave them a 5 course meal.  Let me tell ya, that's no easy task!  Mom and Dad ended up eating for about 3 hours haha Obviously not the entire 3 hours straight.  It worked out great though, because Mom said it was just like being in a restaurant without all the noise.  They got to have some good conversations and the food got to settle between each course.  Next time we do something like this Jessica and I know a better way to make it move faster, and smoother.  We learned from some mistakes =)

So on to the meal!  Jessica has an authentic Italian cookbook so we got all our recipes from there.  That way it would feel just like they traveled to Italy.  I actually helped cook a bunch which is a MAJOR change from 3 years ago hehe  Jessica still worked her magic on each dish, but she has such an amazing talent!

1st Course: l'antipasti
(Appetizer)

Melanzane alla Campagola

Country Style Marinated Eggplant

What you have here is eggplant that was salted and drained for an hour.  Then we drizzled olive oil over the slices and baked them for 5 minutes on each side.  The stuff on top and in between is a mixture of tomatoes, garlic, & parsley.  Man this was soooo good!  I wasn't sure how much I would like it, but everyone, including myself, thoroughly enjoyed it.

2nd Course: Insalate
(Salad)

Insalate con Rucola e Parmigiano

Arugula, Fennel, and Parmesan Salad

This is kind of self explanatory =P  It is mixture of arugula & fennel (that was thinly sliced) that was tossed in a vinaigrette.  Then shavings of Parmesan and Roasted Hazelnuts were placed on top.  Oh dear lord that was one amazing salad!!

We forgot to put these cute little bread 28's that Jessica had made on the salad.  So when they were about half-way through eating it we made them close their eyes and pretend it was there when we first brought it out hehe

3rd Course: Frutti di Mare

(Seafood)
Gamberetto e Pettini

Grilled Scallops, Shrimp & Tomatoes with a Cream Sauce

The shrimp were marinated and skewered with some grape tomatoes.  The shrimp/tomatoes and scallops were grilled outside.  Then Jessica made some kind of cream sauce.  I didn't eat any of it, but Mom, Dad, Jessica, and Robby really loved it.  Mom and Dad said it was the best scallops they ever tasted!
Way to go Jess!!!

4th Course: Manzo

(Beef)
Bistecca Marsala con Timballo Verde

Steak Marsala with Vegetable Timbale 

 

The steak was marinated for awhile then grilled.  Jessica is real good at cooking steaks, so she got this job.  They tasted AWESOME.  We served the Timbale as the side item.  What its made of is potatoes, fresh spinach leaves, and parsley.  It was pretty good except there could have been A LOT less parsley than what the recipe called for, but we made it like it said.  Italians love their parsley that's for sure haha  Next time we make it I think we'll have to tweak it just a smidge.

5th Course:  il Delizioso Dessert
(The Yummy Dessert)
Cioccolate Calda

Italian Hot Chocolate with a Strawberry garnish

Wow...just wow!!  What a yummy treat to end a meal with.  Especially dipping a strawberry into it.  Mmmmm, pure heaven!

So that was dinner!! We also served them some wine and amaretto sours.  One of my favorite drinks.  Instead of a sour mix though, we made our own from lemonade.  It was fantastic!  We also bought them two orchids, since the 28th anniversary present is you guessed it, an orchid. =D

 Since this was a bed and breakfast, we made them breakfast of course!!  We got up early and fixed up some coffee and hot tea.  Coffee was for Dad, and hot tea for Mom.  

Desayuno

(Breakfast)

Castagnole Fritte Venetian Ciambelle con Fragola Salsa

Venetian Doughnuts with Strawberry Dipping Sauce

Asparagi alla fiorentina con Crema Salsa e Pancetta

 Asparagus over fried eggs with cream sauce topped with bacon

 

Then I made up the dough for the Italian doughnuts and fried them.   

I ♥♥♥♥♥ those things!! They have such an awesome flavor and are so easy to make.  In Italy they are served and well known at their carnivals.  I can see why everyone wants to eat them! We actually decided to serve them with 2 dipping sauces: A fresh strawberry sauce and some of the Italian hot chocolate we had left over from the night before.  Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, delicious.  

 While I was cooking that, Jessica cooked up the asparagus and then fried the eggs in the same grease the asparagus was cooked in, plus some bacon grease.  The asparagus were placed over the fried eggs and a cream sauce she made was drizzled over them.  

I can even begin to explain how awesome this breakfast was...wow...we are awesome cooks lol

My parents had the most amazing time and said that was probably one of the best anniversary's they ever had.  My heart was full of so much joy.  I love them soooo much and it was worth the pain I felt in my back & legs.  =D

And from what I heard...my grandparents want to make reservations for their anniversary in June.  Who knew our B&B would be so good! ;-)

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