The Chipman Family

In 2013 Mike and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary. We can't believe that is has been 10 years already. We have been through so much together, both good and bad, and we are still the best of friends. Mike's mom always wonders how we make it work because in some ways we are complete opposites. But, we've decided that being opposites is what makes us so great together. We balance each other out and help keep each other sane.

Over the last 10 years we have lived in 4 different houses/apartments, both graduated from college, had 4 kids, one dog, one cat, and a ton of fish. We have gone through job changes, a death of a loved one, a miscarriage, and multiple health scares for our family members. Through it all, we have been there for each other. Tried to be understanding of each other. And always talk out our problems.

Mike is still the cutest guy that has ever lived. I remember when we were dating, we were watching the movie She's All That with Freddie Prince Jr., and I thought, Mike's way cuter. It was at that point that I thought, uh-oh, I might really like this guy. If Mike will stay with me after our first date and all the craziness of that day, then I think he will always be there. I knew he was a keeper when he drove 1 hour to my house after I had my wisdom teeth out because I told him I wanted to see him. (If he's still with me after seeing me with chipmunk cheeks, I think we will always be together.) I knew he was a keeper when we were talking in his car and I said something about me being a liar when he replied, "I didn't know angels could lie." I've know he's a keeper every day since when he has dealt with all my emotional craziness with a level head and a loving voice even though he knows I am being completely irrational. He's pretty much the best. I know he's a keeper because instead of choosing worldly wealth, he chooses to be a teacher where he can help and make a difference in the lives of kids every day. I couldn't ask for a better guy or be more blessed to have him with me forever. When I prayed about our decision to get married, my soul leapt for joy when I got the affirmative answer. When we got engaged, I wanted to run around telling everyone there, "I get to be Mike Chipman's wife!"

For our anniversary we did a stay-cation in the phoenix area. My mom was kind enough to come and stay with the kids so we could spend the night away and just have the two of us. She was awesome to do it and we are so, so grateful to her for letting us celebrate our anniversary in such a fun way. It was one of those amazing trips where it felt like everything was going our way.

We started out going horse back riding. It was fun to see color in the landscape as we rode.

The guide had the coolest dog (an Australian shepherd, which I have always wanted) and it was fun to watch him play and run around as we rode.

My horse was slow and lazy, but it was still an enjoyable ride. One of the cool things we got to see was an eagle's nest with newly hatched chicks in it. Our guide said that the chicks hadn't been there the day before. The mom was in the nest with the chicks while the dad was sitting on the edge keeping watch. It was pretty awesome.

We also got to see some wild cattle that were poking around the shrub.

For dinner we went to Benihana's. We got seated at a table with a guy who builds custom, high end homes. He showed us some of the things he had done and it was beautiful. One of the bathrooms he did had a wall of quartz in the shower that was back lit with colored lights. Another home he did had petrified wood as one of the counter tops. At the end of the night he insisted on paying for our dinner and made us get dessert. He was so nice and we were so grateful.

The next day when we woke up (after sleeping in!) we went swimming at the hotel. It was so nice to take our time getting ready without being interrupted. We went to a spring training game for the Mariners. It was pretty warm, so we didn't stay the whole time. Plus it was hard to be away from our new little baby boy for so long. We had such an amazing time. Here's to another 10 years and many more after that!