Celebrating Five Years Together

July 2nd marked the fifth anniversary of the first date Dave and I had.  We had dinner at Basil, a Thai restaurant in Cool Springs, and he paid for me.  That's how I knew it was more than just a friendly date :)

In the beginning, we were just friends who cooked together

(Cooking at the Dorias)

and hung out together.

Then we decided to give dating a try.  We went out with friends and on our own

(With the Dittus' at the Williamson County Fair)

(Watching comedy at Zanies)

After our first summer together, we had to head back to college.  But we still managed to visit a few times...

once in the fall in San Antonio,

(Saw the Alamo!)

over the winter break in Albany,

(It was much colder up in Albany)

and spending our back-to-back spring breaks in Texas,

(At the Tower of the Americas restaurant)

 then New York.

(It was still much colder in Albany)

One day in the winter, David nervously asked me if I would move to New York to be with him while he continued his schooling.  I said yes.

We had a fun, yet difficult time our first year, learning how to live together, learning more about each other, growing independently as individuals, but also as a couple.

(At the Saratoga race track)

We adopted two kitties, who became the loves of our life.

(Bebop!)

(Ella!)

And after a year, we moved into a new apartment, where we've been ever since.

We made great friends, and took fun trips with them

(Annual Daniels family apple picking)

(At the Saratoga race track another year)

(Skiing in Massachusetts)

and each year of our relationship, we've visited an amusement park for a day in the summer.

(2006--Six Flags Over Georgia: Atlanta)

(2007--Six Flags Great Escape: Lake George) 

(2008--Six Flags New England: Springfield)

(2009--Hershey, PA in our sweet ponchos in the rain)


[I could cry because I vividly remember the security guard taking a
photo of us (in fact, waiting a very long time so that the roller coaster
would be behind us at precisely the right time), but I can't find it :(  ]

(2010--Six Flags Great Adventure: New Jersey)

Then in 2010, Dave was given an opportunity to visit Italy for an educational seminar.  Of course he accepted.  And I decided I would tag along for a week prior to his conference.

We flew out of New York on our 4 year anniversary.

(On the plane!)

And when we landed the next morning, within hours we were engaged :)

The last year has been a whirlwind of planning a wedding,

me graduating and starting a new job,

(SPH graduation in May 2010)

Dave working hard on his PhD, accepting a position at the Army Research Lab in May 2012, and living life to its fullest.  This will be the last July 2nd anniversary we celebrate, and while I'm so thankful for all the memories the past 5 years have given us, I can't wait for the future October 1st anniversaries ahead.

xoxo