A Story for Adam's Birthday

One summer evening, Adam and I decided it would be lots of fun to attend an outdoor showing of Pirates of the Caribbean, the Curse of the Black Pearl. It was showing on campus on the quad near the testing center. We got there nice and early with our blanket and staked out a nice little spot in the midst of a huge crowd. And then we waited. And then we started to notice how we were surrounded by single college students who were only there to flirt. Silly us, we had come to actually watch the show!

After a half hour of trying to watch the movie, we realized we could go home and watch it from the comfort of our couch. We packed up our stuff, stopped by Chris and Julie's to borrow the DVD, and headed home, where we finished the movie snuggled up together on the sofa. It was much better this way.

Maybe this made us old married people. Well, we were okay with that. :)

Dad, do wishes really come true?

"I wish some guy would walk into my life

who is so exactly what I want that I fall head 

over heels for him & he does the same for me.

Only in my dreams."

Oct. 22, 2004

"There's Adam who is in the Nerd Radio Club

& plays the trombone in the orchestra.

Sadly, I have just the tiniest crush

on him, but I'm sure he doesn't

reciprocate."

Oct. 10, 2005

"First and most important, I have

the biggest crush on Adam Cox...

I just feel so happy around him that

I hate to leave.  I don't count the hours

at work anymore, I relish them."

Oct. 23, 2005 

"He loves me!  I really

don't think one person can bear

so much happiness!"

Nov. 23, 2005

Do you hear me talking to you

Across the water, across the deep blue ocean

Under the open sky, oh my

Baby I'm trying

Boy I hear you in my dreams

Feel you whisper across the sea

 Keep you with me, in my heart

You make it easier when life gets hard

Lucky I'm in love with my best friend

Lucky to have been where I have been

Lucky to be coming home again

They don't know how long it takes

Waiting for a love like this

Every time we say goodbye

I wish we had one more kiss

I'll wait for you, I promise you, I will

Lucky I'm in love with my best friend

Lucky to have been where I have been

Lucky to be coming home again

Lucky we're in love in every way

Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed

Lucky to be coming home someday

-Jason Mraz

Happy Birthday to my Amazing Husband

Happy 26th Birthday, Adam my Love!  I am so grateful that I have you for my husband.  I love you so very much.  I can't even tell you how happy you make me.  Just the thought of who you are makes me giddy with joy.  I never imagined there could be someone as thoughtful, kind, sweet, considerate, handsome, righteous, romantic, fun, adorable, loving, good, protective, crazy, smart, nerdy, and hot as you are, who plays the trombone, to boot!  You are the best man I've ever met and I still think you're crazy for loving me back.  But I'm certainly not going to complain!  I hope you have a wonderful birthday, my Love.  I'll be enjoying some awesome goodies on your behalf.  I hope I got the right kind of gummy bears!  I love you forever!

Well, I guess these gummy bears will do...

  

I had a Devil of a time finding a suitable basket...

This might be a little out of order but I get my dates mixed up a lot and I just want to talk about this tonight.  This is one of the many, many reasons I love and adore Adam Ross Cox.

One Thursday afternoon I accompanied Julie and the kids to the splash pool just down the road from her house.  I had gotten off work at noon but Adam had to stay until 5 pm.  When he got off duty he came to pick me up and informed me that we were going out that evening.  I had no idea what he was scheming, but I could tell it was going to be awesome.  

While I was getting myself cleaned up and free from sunblock and chlorine, Adam was out running errands and getting everything set for our date.  When Adam came home to pick me up, he had the car packed with a blanket, camp chairs and a full picnic basket.  I thought I had it figured out.

But then he got on the interstate.  And then he drove for  half an hour.  This was going to be some picnic site, I figured.  He didn't stop until we reached an outdoor amphitheatre.  And what show was playing that night?  None other than The Scarlet Pimpernel!  That's right!  My adorable husband had heard an advertisement on the radio that day and thought, "Mel would love that!" and decided to make it happen.  

I loved the whole experience.  We got seats in the grassy section in the back which actually seemed to have a better view than the real seats upfront.  Picnics were encouraged here and Adam had done an excellent job preparing ours which featured sub sandwiches, one of our favorites.  The show was great.  I had seen it before but Adam hadn't and I loved sharing the experience with him.  The Scarlet Pimpernel is my most favorite novel.  I always liked the fact that it starts where most novels end off.  It doesn't end with a blissful wedding.  It begins with an unhappy marriage that is transformed through the events of the plot.  I always loved how Sir Percy adored his wife, even when he couldn't tell her.  I always used to consider him the perfect, most romantic hero.  Well, that was before I met Adam. 

Not all good things must end

Well, eventually we had to come back home to Utah and get settled into our new life together.  I'd say after our honeymoon ended, but it never really has ended.  So, once our Disney tickets were up, we packed our bags and headed home.  We were met at the airport by Marmee and Julie who drove us to our perfect little apartment where all of our wedding gifts were waiting for us.  Our families had taken great care to get the apartment all set up for us so it would be a home when we got there.  It was a perfect homecoming.  

The next day was back to the old grindstone as we headed off to work at 7 am.  Fortunately for us, we worked at the same time for more than half of our hours so we got to spend a lot of time together, despite both working full time hours.  Life was going splendidly.  But it wasn't long before Adam decided something must be done.  He needed some wheels.  

Usually we either borrowed Marmee's car while she was out of town (which was a lot that summer) or walked to work, but that was getting old and Adam really wanted a scooter.  And when one day he found just the exact scooter he wanted for sale on the Wilk Board, I knew he'd be getting it.  I was all for purchasing transportation, I just preferred the kind that can be used year-round and that I could drive, too.  (I had just recently earned my driver's license a couple weeks after we got back from our honeymoon.)

So, I could tell you all about it, but I think I'll let Adam do that.  He does such a cute job!

One day Adam took me to a parking lot and tried to teach me to drive the scooter.  It took me all of two minutes to decide I was never gonna drive it!  I mean, what is a clutch anyhow??Besides, I much preferred riding behind Adam.  I must admit, it was a pretty sweet ride.  We had a blast driving that scooter all around town.  It really turned some heads! (Or was that the awesomely hot guy driving it?  Of course it was the guy!!!)

One Magical Week

Adam outside the Akershus Royal Banquet Hall where 

the princesses would all stop by and visit us at our table!

Adam and I got to spend an entire week frolicking around Disney World.  We were able to visit all the parks as well as Downtown Disney.  We had tickets to both water parks as well but we never had enough time to go!  We also got to dine every night in one of Disney's exquisite restaurants.  Adam had planned this out all in advance and made reservations for us and everything.  I felt like royalty. 

At DownTown Disney outside Planet Hollywood.

One day we had reservations at Planet Hollywood for dinner.  During the day we visited the Animal Kingdom where we rode the river rapids ride and got thoroughly soaked.  I was pretty keen on going back to the hotel to change before we visited the restaurant, so Adam and I got in line for the shuttle bus and waited.  And waited.  It was getting close to our reservation time and so we decided to take a bus directly to DownTown Disney thinking my clothes might eventually dry (in Orlando.  Right...).  As soon as we got out of line for our shuttle bus, it showed up, but by this point the line was so long, we wouldn't have gotten on the shuttle.  So instead we headed to the DTD bus only to discover that there wasn't a direct shuttle!  Of course, my husband the eagle scout wasn't at all daunted by this little predicament.  He found us a shuttle to another resort and somehow managed to get us from there to downtown just in time for our reservations!  It was awesome, even if my clothes were still damp!

In front of Mount Everest, home of the Yeti.  Pre-rapids.

Just chillin', waiting on the parade.

When my family  visited Disney World when I was a kid, they generally avoided parades and special shows.  But Adam insisted that we caught every single one.  We waited eagerly for parades, we got almost front row seats for Cinderellabration, the coronation of Princess Cinderella, we attended StoryTime with Belle.  And Adam kept track of everything.  It was so sweet.  He took me everywhere a princess should go at Disney World.  

Posing outside the race cars at the Magic Kingdom.

Thought we'd get a photo taken in front of our new home.  

I wish!!!

Adam is so adorable!  And we had a magnificent and memorable week.  We're so grateful to Mom and Dad  Cox for making this awesome trip possible.  It was so nice to visit a place that is so special to both of us and be able to make our own memories there together.  While there we decided to make Disney a family tradition and we hoped to take our children there so they could enjoy the magic of Disney.  I hope someday we will be able to put that wish into action.