Eight Years

Have Rob and I been married too long? No, of course not. So what, then, does it mean when we woke up yesterday morning and said Oh it's our anniverary today. We should do something. It's not that either of us forgot this important day, we didn't. But after eight years it just isn't the same anymore. Sure we'll do something special for our ten year anniversary, but eight?

As it turned out, it was a really great evening. When Rob got home from work and said "Are you ready to go?" I assumed we would just grab a bite somewhere. We had Isabella with us, so it's not like we could go to a fancy restaurant or anything. Then he made sure we put sunscreen on. Okay, so maybe a picnic? It was a gorgeous day, sunny and really hot. Perfect for a picnic. But we drove right past our regular place. You may be wondering why I didn't ask Rob where we were going, but perhaps you don't know Rob. He loves tormenting me with mystery, giving very vague hints which are always misleading anyway. At first it worked; I was tormented. But after several years of this, I kind of gave up. I let him have his secret, and instead torment him with my seeming indifference. It's awesome.

Anyway, a few kilometres and several hints later (none of which I gave credence to) we parked downtown. I could hear loud music, so there was obviously some event going on. It made me wonder about my favourite summer event here, Taste of Edmonton. Had we missed it already? I voiced this thought, and saw a nearly concealed smirk on Rob's face.

Ah.

Taste of Edmonton is a brilliant idea. There's a large square in downtown Edmonton, and now it's completely filled with the booths of dozens of local restaurants. Each restaurant offers two selections, usually one main course and one dessert. So hundreds of people jam into the square, trying new foods and enjoying old favourites, listening to the current band, looking at the street vendors wares and perhaps having a caricature drawn.

So Rob and I stuffed ourselves with good food and enjoyed the sun. We tried to get Isabella to go wading in the fountain (don't worry, that's what it's there for) but either the cold water or the sheer overwhelming-ness of the situation did her in, and she refused to go anywhere near the water after the first step in. It was hilarious seeing her cling so tightly to Rob that he couldn't put her down in the water.

We also had an artist do a caricature of Isabella. He made her look about 40, but it's still pretty cute and a fun thing to have done (first time for me).

After a few hours we were very hot and tired. So on the way home we rented a movie and just relaxed. Isabella even went to bed early.

And to my honey bunches I'd like to say: thank you for coming up with such a fun evening for us! Happy anniversary darling, I love you!