24 Years

What better way to spend our wedding anniversary than with our children. David came home from work a little early so we could beat rush hour traffic on the 17. Believe it or not, it was 90 degrees in Santa Cruz! We rode some rides, ate, and played at the beach until the sun set. I am so blessed to have six amazing children that resulted in David and I getting married. 

Twenty-Three Years

March 10, 1993-David had flown me to Rexburg, ID (where he was attending school) for my birthday. 

Twenty-three years of being married to David. We've now been married longer than we were single. 

Happy Anniversary David.

20 Years of Surprises

Twenty years of marriage deserves a childless get away. Right! David booked us a room at Oceano Hotel in Half Moon Bay. We love this area. I always feel so blessed to live in such a beautiful and diverse part of the country.

The hotel room was gorgeous! It was decorated with all my favorite colors. We even had a balcony that overlooked the ocean.

After checking in to the hotel, we drove a short distance to a Mediterranean restaurant called Cafe Gibraltar. Our table was on a raised platform with pillows as chairs. I tried to convince David to order the "Wild Boar", but he played it safe and enjoyed a perfectly prepared steak. My dinner choice was duck. The food didn't impress me. It was bland. 

We were disappointed to find all the little shops in the downtown district to be closed already. I guess everyone was preparing for the "Holy Ghost Festival". On our way back to the hotel, we stopped off at Safeway to pick up a few snacks for the evening. As we were racing our way to the beach to watch the sunset, we got a phone call from a worried Steven. We learned that putting our 18 wanna-be-adult son in charge wasn't the best decision. He wasn't where he said he would be and had no intention of coming home. Deceit and concern cut our trip short. (But isn't that what 20 years of marriage is all about?) SURPRISES! Always full of surprises. 

Note: The first thing I did when we got home was throw up my dinner. Yeah...My stomach disliked it more than my taste buds.  

May Day

(The drive there was gorgeous. The hills are now covered in yellow wildflowers which highlights the beauty of the slopes,)

David and I spent out 19th wedding anniversary hiking to the peak of the Pinnacles. It was a beautiful, peaceful, yet exhausting 10 mile round trip trek.

Here we are about half an hour into the hike.

It's hard to tell from this picture, but David and I are standing on a rock (ledge) that was jutting outward over the canyon below.

We are almost at the peak!

Wildflowers adorned the trail throughout our hike. May is the best time to visit the Pinnacles.

Carved out stones with a railing took us to the peak.

We made it!

While eating our lunch, David says to me, "We have a little visitor." I turned my head and saw a squirrel eating beside me. He brought his own food; but when that was gone, I fed him some of my spinach tortilla.

When we made it back to the car, David and I thought it had to be 2:00 or 3:00. We were both shocked to learn that it was only 12:50. We had actually completed the hike in three hours (and we stopped A LOT!)

Our reward? This Chocolate Reese's Peanut Butter Cake. I got the idea and the frosting recipe from here. (I used my own chocolate cake and ganache recipe.) Then I made a may pole out of ribbon (purple from our wedding colors) and a straw. This is now one of my favorite cakes. Words can't describe how yummy it is.

Happy anniversary David. Thanks for being my hiking partner. We've been through many low valleys as well as high peaks in our marriage. I am grateful that I am married to a man who is committed to working on an eternal marriage.

Love you!

ZFR: Day One-The Golden Anniversary

I made a goal to continue my workout routine while on vacation. So, this morning I dragged myself out of bed and ran/walked to the end of Clausen Rd. with my shadow following at my heels. I, being accustomed to living at sea level, began experiencing shortness of breath (thanks to the high altitude). Nonetheless, I pressed on, determined to finish the two miles alive. In the end, my shadow was victorious.

I spent the rest of the afternoon with my sister-in-laws and nieces in preparation for Mom and Dad Zinn's 50th wedding anniversary celebration. We went to the party store, picked up a veil, a boutineer, and the cake. Oh, the cake! That was a nightmare! It was a gigantic sheet cake that was supposed to have been decorated using gold accents. The cake decorator must be colored blind (I can't think of any other excuse)for she used bright Halloween orange for the piping and edging work. We didn't have the time for the bakery to redo the cake, so Lori and I brought it home trying to convince ourselves that it would have to do as is. Once home, we opened the lid of the cake box silently praying that it wouldn't look as bad as it had in the store. Wrong! If we put the cake in a dark corner away from the pink and red roses maybe no body would notice. In the end, we whipped up a batch of pink frosting, removed the orange piping, and replaced all evidence of orange with the rose color. Suzy added a few roses for the finishing touches.

The evening festivities was a success. Before guests were to arrive, Mom and Dad Zinn were presented with the veil, boutineer, and a memory book from the family. It was a very touching moment. We prettier ourselves up and welcomed the guests. Among them was my niece, Melissa's, fiancé, Megan's boyfriend, and Matthew's "friend" who is a girl that he enjoys holding hands with.

(Michael and David...Mom Zinn and Suzy)

(Michael and his mom...Justin, James and Gideon)

(Becca and Mitchell...Me and David)

(Dad Zinn...The boys checking out the food)

(Morgan and Matthew...Parker and Melissa

(Melissa, Parker, and Mark holding Dave-o.....Megan and Nathan)

(The anniversary couple stood at the doorway to greet the guests.)

(Mary and Kirsten...Gideon, Steven, and Cameron)

A local cowboy entertained the crowd with stories and catchy tunes; A ward member catered the affair with delicious finger food; and the happy couple enjoyed being in the spotlight amongst their family and friends, as it should be.

Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary Ray and DeLona. I love you both!