Here’s what I posted to Facebook today:

To my smoking hot wife on our third anniversary:

Normally people like to post pictures from their wedding on their anniversary, and normally that’s what I’d do. But this picture captures so much of what’s going in our lives on this, the day we celebrate three years of marriage. Milly’s growing up, Fawkes and Phoenix are keeping us busy, we’ve got New Baby (are we saying his name publicly yet?) on the way. And there we are: you and me, as in love as ever (maybe even more, if that’s possible).

Thank you for telling me, “I’d say ‘yes,'” because those words opened the door to the adventure that is our life together. (And yes, it’s still an adventure, with so much to look forward to.) Thank you for being my best friend, for loving me the way that you do, and for allowing me to love you the way that I do.

The day itself wasn’t super eventful. It was a Milly day, so I packed Fawkes and Phoenix up in the car to pick her up. On the way back I explained to her that I’d be taking her back to her mom’s a little earlier than usual tonight. Tristen and I were going to go out to eat downtown for our anniversary, and between getting the boys ready for bed and getting ready, if I didn’t take her back early I didn’t know what time I’d get her back. She was cool with it. She wished us both a happy anniversary.

I didn’t think about it until just now, but Tristen and I have been married for a third of Milly’s life and we’ve been together for almost half of it. Milly’s told me before that she doesn’t really remember me and her mom being together.

Anyway, Tristen fed the boys while I took Milly to Amanda’s. Torrie came over to watch them and helped Tristen give them a bath. I got ready, she got ready, then we headed out.

It was a nice night, and we planned to eat at The George, but when we got there we found them closed. That’s the second year in a row that our chosen restaurant was closed on our anniversary, last year being The Little Dipper. I told Tristen it must be some kind of sign or metaphor for something, though I couldn’t figure out what.

We walked down the street to Elijah’s and had a nice dinner with an exchange of small gifts. The third anniversary is for leather gifts, and as much as I wanted to get her some nice strappy leather outfit, I figured I might not see it for a bit so I got her a leather bracelet with an inscription on the inside: “my heart, my mirror, my all” and a leather tray with an inscription of part of her wedding vows inscribed on them. That one made her tear up. She gave me a leather keychain with “a love too deep for words” inscribed on it. They’re lyrics from a Mumford and Sons song she texted me a couple weeks ago that I liked.

So no crazy big gifts, but it was all very nice.

I tried my best not to look at the score of the Duke-Wake game during dinner. Tristen didn’t even know the game was on tonight until I said something as we were turning off of Market Street downtown. She asked what time it was coming on and I told her, “Nine minutes ago,” with a grin. She said we could have stayed home and watched it, or we could have made sure to go somewhere with the game on, but I told her I intended to watch it tomorrow on ESPN3.

As it turned out, Elijah’s had the game on at the bar, though I couldn’t really see the score. I did check it a couple times and I think the first time I looked Duke was up three, then they were up eight at the half.

We talked about getting a cupcake for dessert from one of the cupcake places downtown, but they were closed. Then we thought about going to Wake N Bake for doughnuts, but they were closed, too. So we went without dessert, which is just as well, really.

Tristen and Torrie chatted a bit when we got home. I watched the end of the game. Duke was up close to 30 at one point and won by 20 after the key players were taken out of the game. Zion Williamson had another great game, hitting a scoring record for himself. Javin DeLaurier and Marques Bolden did a really nice job covering the 5-spot.

I started watching the UNC-NC State game after that while Tristen went to take a shower. State kept it close, but they lost, of course. Tristen did a drop-in using the Amazon Echos to let me know when she was done. I think that’s the first time she did a drop-in, which lets you use the Echo like an intercom.