Happy 8 years to us!

It has been a slightly difficult month (to put it lightly), so when our anniversary came around, we were completely worn out. Our anniversary fell on Memorial Day this year, so we had a picnic with Jonathon's family and didn't do anything else (for most of the day, I thought Jonathon had actually forgotten about it... haha). As the week wore on, we decided that we really needed to get out and relax and have some fun. With some quick last minute planning and Chantel (the wonderful soul that she is!) being willing to watch our kids overnight, we got away for a much needed break.

We have a bunch of airline miles that we had no plans to use, so when Jonathon found out that we could use some to stay in the fancy Marriott in downtown Salt Lake, we decided to go for it. Our budget this month was tight after the surgery, so a free hotel stay was exactly what we needed. 

Our first stop of the night was dinner at the Red Iguana. It was voted the best Mexican food in the state, so we were excited to try it out. It had the appearance of a total dive, but there was a long line out the door. The little hole in the wall restaurants seem to have the best food, and this was no exception. We ordered a huge combo plate and split it. Among the things we ate: an enchilada, tostada, chile relleno, taco, flauta, chips and salsa, and a virgin mango margarita. Everything was delicious, but the flauta was AMAZING! I am drooling just thinking about it. YUM! 

Posing with the red iguana

After dinner, we checked into the hotel and then walked over to the new City Creek Center in Downtown Salt Lake. I have wanted to go see it ever since it opened, so this was the perfect chance. It is a beautiful outdoor mall with many really unique and cool architectural elements. It was a lovely evening, so we took our time wandering through the area looking at the stores and cool fountains. When we found the Rocky Mountain Chocolate factory, we couldn't help ourselves, so we bought a few little chocolates to share. Mmmm! I really enjoyed our stroll. It is such a fun place, and I think it will be really good for the downtown area. I thought the landscaping and architecture was so pretty that I took lots of pictures. Here are a few:

Some of the cool fountains

 Some pretty views from inside City Creek Center

One of the most glorious things about the whole trip was getting to sleep in until 9 AM, uninterrupted. What a rejuvenating time! Then Jonathon and I went to the hotel's gym and worked out for an hour. We have both been trying to exercise more, so we couldn't pass up the chance. Plus, we needed to work off all of that Mexican food! After the gym, we headed over to Temple Square for lunch at The Nauvoo Cafe. We finished just in time to catch the next showing of the movie at the Legacy Theatre. They have been showing "Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration" for several years now, but we had never seen it, so we were excited to have the chance. It didn't disappoint... beautiful and powerful!

Lastly, before we went home and back to real life, we arranged to meet our good friends, Jared and Michelle, for a mini-golf date. They gave it to Jonathon for his birthday 2 months ago, but so many things came up, that today was the first chance we got. We had so much fun. They are some of our favorite people in the whole world, and it was so fun to hang out with them for a few hours. Michelle kicked everyone's trash in mini-golf, but luckily, we have no pride to damage when it comes to golf. It was a fun course and a fun afternoon.

 Lining up the shot...

 This particular course had wheels that you spun before playing some of the holes. They had fun things that you had to do to make the hole more interesting (e.g. stand on one foot, blind shot, trade spots with another player, etc.) In this shot, Michelle had to use only her hand for the first shot.

All four of us. Thanks for the fun gift!

We came home to two very happy kids. They pretty much ignored us for the first 10 minutes and didn't want Auntie Chan to leave. She did such a great job, and they had so much fun with her. We are so grateful and lucky to have family around that are willing to help us out. We feel happy and thankful to be able to have had this time away. It was so needed and so perfect. Happy 8 years to us!