Into the wood

Unbelieveable as it seems, today is already our fifth anniversary!

Unlike last year, with its improbable 4th anniversary gift tradition of fruit, flowers, and appliances (?!), the fifth anniversary has a more standard and gift-accessible "wood" theme. Books are indeed made of wood, so I was pretty well covered with gifts for Meh. (Of course, Zachary enjoyed his gift as well - the wrapping paper.)

We had a jam-packed day of activities, and it was just so nice to spend some quality time as a family (and of course even nicer that the little man was happy throughout most of the day). After the morning walk/jog (Meh has been adding jogging to our routine so gradually that I'm actually almost able to deal with it without whining), we all came home and had a nice breakfast - Zachary had a variety of fruits and yogurt, and we had tasty Meh-made crepes. Then Zachary took his nap, and that sounded so nice that we both joined him for a doze. Refreshed, we all went out for lunch/brunch at one of our favorite restaurants, then ran errands at the local outdoor mall. The weather was fabulous, so we walked all over the mall while Zachary took his afternoon nap. I picked up new running shoes, where I was doubly amused that I had to choose from women's styles (not that there's much difference; the smallest guy size was just slightly too big for my feet), and that the cushy ones that I chose were branded "Nimbus", which immediately made me think of Harry Potter. (I was so unimpressed that both Meh and the salesperson at the shoe store were looking blankly at me; the Nimbus 2000? Fast brooms? Anyone?)

In the evening, friends L & R had graciously offered to babysit, and arrived in time to watch Zachary's continuing adventures in backwards bathtub scooting. We headed off to a nice quiet dinner together. Quiet is perhaps an understatement; for the second time that we'd been at this place, it was completely empty when we arrived (and we felt sheepish mentioning that we had a reservation when we walked in, but why would you pass up those OpenTable dining points?). My only guess is that since it's attached to a lodge/resort/spa, maybe Sunday nights are quiet with lodge guests departing? Still, the food was phenomenal as always, and the setting was great - outdoor on their patio, with a nice fountain, grape vines winding overhead, and a little vegetable patch up against The Herbfarm (where we had an incredible meal almost a year ago).

The restaurant did start to fill up slightly (e.g. one couple sat at one other patio table) throughout the evening, so maybe we're just earlybirds. Speaking of birds, there were plenty of fauna around to keep us entertained between the scrumptious courses -- some tiny birds were taking baths in the large fountain/pool next to us, a few eagles or hawks flew overhead, and a friendly neighborhood hare hopped into the patio's strawberry patch halfway through dinner. We also shared a bottle of a more recent vintage of our wedding wine (we've actually still got a few bottles left at home, though as a white wine, they're probably not aging particularly well at this point - like we'd know, connoisseurs that we are :). Afterwards, we strolled through the Herbfarm's gardens, looking at all of the plants and flowers, visiting our friends the truffle-sniffing pigs-in-training, and also seeing two tiny baby bunnies hopping around the grounds. It was a wonderful evening to complete our first five years together -- now here's to eighty more!