Turn Down For What?

One night at dinner, we got talking about the school talent show. They both expressed an interest in doing something in it and they were telling us their ideas. At one point, someone suggested they do something together and then all of these ideas started to get thrown out. Well, the one that stuck I was a little nervous about, but the kids did it and i think they did a great job. Check it out below.

Some photos from the night:

15 Years

This year for our anniversary our beloved Honda Civic died and we had to sell it. 

We had a good 15 year run with that car, it saw us as newlyweds, brought two of our babies home from the hospital and near it's end, took many tow truck rides.

I've had this idea of grouping things that have been around for as long as our marriage, for a few years now and seeing that the Honda is gone this year, I thought it would be fitting.

I was surprised to see that we have downsized so much. Most of our original wedding gifts (well, the stuff that I wanted to save until we had more space) are "back-stocked" at my parent's house. So, here we go...

Snake Skin Blanket - Was on our registry at Target. Ryan really wanted it, I hoped we wouldn't get it. We didn't get it, but we did get a bunch of store credit, so it was snatched up by Ryan the next time we went to Target. It has a name and it's name is Snake.

The Roald Dahl Treasury - Was given to me by Ryan the Christmas before we got married. It is included because when we were dating, we would always give each other children's books and write something in them. So this just represents that. It is 15 years old but we have some that are a lot older.

Betty Crocker's Bridal Edition Cookbook - I think I received this at my bridal shower as a gift. One day I will dig around and see who got it for me. This has all the need to know answers for someone who is 20 and doesn't know a thing about cooking, besides microwave cooking. Plus, my favorite artichoke dip recipe is from there.

Rice Cooker - We got this from my Mom's cousin and boy has it lived for 15 years. Many a meal has been made with this little guy. It has been mistreated. (I don't think it goes in the dishwasher, but we run it though anyway.) But it has really been a champ all of these years.

Rooster Carafe - I think we registered for this, but didn't get it so I went back and got it for either Valentine's Day or Ryan's Birthday. It came with two cute little matching juice cups, but they both broke. This has served Raspberry Lemonade Crystal Light that Ryan whips up at many many dinners.

Ikea Rectangle Vase - That clear glass vase hiding in the back, was once used as a center piece for one of the tables at our wedding reception. It carried red roses in it. It now carries whatever it needs to and I'm surprised it has survived all of our moves.

Chrome Toaster - My sister Kelly bought this from off of our registry. I had to have it because it reminded me of the Brave Little Toaster. And look at it, after 15 years he still is toasting our toast and now our children's toast, just plugging along and believe me they love toast.  

Ben Folds CD - This CD represents how young and dumb we were. We had so many gift cards and we chose to spend our money on the dumbest things. I think we both feel like the bulk of the money went to snacks and CD's. For some reason the Ben Folds one is always the one we remember buying with a gift card. But it did also serve as a soundtrack of our lives during that time and every story needs a good soundtrack.

Boxes and Boxes of Matches - When we were first married money was pretty tight and I sent Ryan to Macey's to get some groceries and Ryan came back with everything on the list plus this lifetime supply pack of matches. I was mad and he said it was a great deal, needless to say, it's been 15 years and we still have packs and packs of those mini matches. I had to include them on this list.

Surfing Cookie Jar - Ryan had to register for this little gem that played "Surfing Safari" every time you opened the lid. It was another thing I hoped we wouldn't get, but his childhood friend Mark Bravo came through and there it was wrapped up among the presents. We had it out for a while and then for a while it was boxed up and now it's out again in the office. It doesn't play anymore because if the kids found out, it would be their new toy. Ryan was so happy when we got it, so I'm pretty sure it will be a Stephens forever.

This is what 15 years looks like in household items. Can't wait to see what the next 15 years brings.