A citizen, an anniversary, and the good stuff

Dania got her citizenship on Friday without a hitch.  She asked me in the directors office: "now can I stay with you forever?"  We took her to the mall to eat lunch while our van was having some scheduled maintenance, and that was a brand new experience for her.  Sometimes I forget that she hasn't done certain things or seen things that I take for granted.  She had never seen a food court, an escalator, or the merry-go-round.  She was scared to death to step on the escalator, but I forced her to do it a dozen times while Nate sat on a comfy sofa and watched the spectacle.  She got to pick what kind of food she wanted to eat, and while I choose county fair, she choose pizza and spaghetti. (she is getting the hang of what American kids eat)

My paper chase and her citizenship quest all ended on our 16th wedding anniversary.  I have now known Nate half of my life, since we dated for 4 years.  I am so grateful for the good, bad and ugly that has been our journey of marriage.  I couldn't be happier, and I don't say that very often.  Saturday my parents took the kids to Blue Grass, so that I could have a casual dinner party with friends at our house.  The weather was perfect, the food good, and the company delightful.  Sunday, Nates folks picked up the kids so that we could go on a nice long motorcycle ride in the fallish weather.  The evening ended with pizza and cake at their house.  Today, I laid around in my pj's and read outside on the deck.  The only work I did was, load the dishwasher and make the bed.  It was a perfect long weekend.