32 years

Last night we celebrated Brad's parent's 32nd wedding anniversary with a wonderful dinner party that Ashley, Brandon, and Alicia planned.  Brandon put together a slide show of pictures from their wedding and early marriage.  Brad was 8 when his parents got married, so it was fun to see pictures of him as a little boy.  Ashley planned a few games, first a "Newlywed" game with questions to Morgan about Vikki and vice versa.  Vikki won, and Brad answered almost as many questions correctly about them as they did about each other.  The next game was trivia questions about both of them and events from 1978.  Somehow I won that one!  

Then we each gave a toast to Morgan and Vikki.  I loved hearing what everyone had to say about them.  Alicia talked about how supportive her parents have always been to her, how they've emphasized the importance of education (she's in graduate school getting her Master's in education), and how they have taught her to work hard.  Ashley thanked them for always being there for her and helping her in any situation she needed help with.  Brad quoted a poem his dad wrote when Brad was a kid:

"O little worm, you work so hard
to burrow in the ground.
You work all day, in the heat
without the slightest sound.
Watching you work so earnestly,
I'm glad that you can't talk.
For then I'd have to tell you,
You're digging on a rock."

And he talked about his dad's sense of humor.  Kylie echoed that and told the "chihuahua joke", her favorite joke that Grandpa has told her.  Brandon talked about how when he wanted to ask Ashley to marry him he wanted to get permission from Morgan first.  He called around the Stake to find Morgan's phone number and everyone he talked to had so many good things to say about the Van Aken family.  Nate and Jillian both commented on how they enjoy spending time at Grandma and Grandpas because they get to eat lots of junk and watch TV late into the night. And I thanked them for their love and their great ability to be non-judgemental and accepting. 

I'm so thankful we live close to Brad's family and have the opportunity to spend time with them. 

Jane fell asleep during dessert.  Never leave your sleeping two year old unattended around Brad's family!