6 year anniversary follow up...

Okay, so Aaron broke onto the blog with my FULL permission.
After "the incident" (as I like to call it), and he was certain that the stunt he pulled would be considered FUNNY (whoa whoa whoa... i gotta chime in... i don't think i ever thought this was going to be a "funny" incident... but when it was over i thought everything that had happened was in face... FUNNY! / all the writing in green is mine(aaron's)), he asked if he could post it on the blog and see what our friends had to say on the matter.

Vindication. Validation. Ahh, the smell of victory... I knew I was justified when I read your comments. Gracias, friends and comrades. (yes, yes... you definetly won)

Let's retell the tale from my point of view.
Because Christmas was two minutes ago, and then follow it up with Valentine's Day + Aaron's birthday in another few minutes---let's just say, we don't go all out for our anniversary. Heck, we don't go "all out" really, ever. We cheap (true true true). We're easy to please. We like hanging out whenever we can (with or without the kids), so you can imagine my SHOCK when Aaron waltzed through the front door on the day of our anniversary with a BIG beautifully wrapped box from Tiffany's. Seriously. Jaw dropped. Utter confusion. Is this MY husband?

My friend, Ashley, can attest to my disbelief. We were waiting forever for Aaron to get home so we could go visit another friend. Knowing we were WAY late, I decided to hold off on opening it. So, we left, but I couldn't stop talking about how crazy it was that Aaron actually PLANNED in ADVANCE a present for me. And, hello, it's got to be nice considering where the box was from... Yada yada. Ashley made a comment that "Maybe the reason why Aaron's held off on gifts in the past is because of no real income, and that now, since he has a real job..." I cut her off. No, I was sure that's not it. :)
Anyway, I get home, still in awe that he did something. I kept commenting to him, "I can't believe you did this..." as I was opening the box. And, he was just beaming with pride through it all. (untrue... so untrue... i don't remember a single beam of pride!)
Little did I know that he'd be on my black list within seconds...

So, I open it up to see this jagged-rock-crystal-jewelry-box-situation and I was still trying to be really pleased and excited so he wouldn't see how weird I thought it was. In my mind I was going, "He knows I don't really wear jewelry... This is a nice gift, but I'm not really into crystal... why would he get me this? How much did he spend? I hope he got a good deal..."

And to find out it was just a weird present given to the doctors at his work? Lame. Not funny. It was just weird. And, when the day had started, I had ZERO expectations in the gift department. But, after the little teaser before I went with Ashley, I had all sorts of expectations.
p.s. does anyone else think it's weird that the docs at aaron's work all got crystal jewelry boxes? okay. me too.

Anyway, how did it all get resolved? Well, we found out that there was a Tiffany & Co. at our fancy pants mall. So, I did my best to look fashionable so that when the employees saw me enter, they'd know that I was definitely worth their time. I'm sure they'd know I was made of money and regularly shopped at their establishment.
Pipe dream.
By the time we finally made it to their store, my previously slammin' hair-do was flat and wet. Maybe I resembled a wet rat? Yes, the rain ruined the dream. Or, maybe my cover was blown when Aaron and I had to tag-team the double doors to get our double jogging stroller through their beautifully heavy glass doors. Or maybe it was when my 2.5 year old started running toward the crystal goblets? It's a little foggy at the moment, but let's just say I wasn't kidding anyone.
Aaron, among other things, is perceptive. After I told the guy my situation (the reader's digest version, "I received this as a gift, and it's not really my style. Is there a way I can exchange it?"), and he told me that they don't carry very many things in that price range ($75. And of course they don't!?), Aaron leaned over to me and said, "You should spend more money and get something you want. Seriously. I'll take the kids out to go play. Take your time." (i just didn't want to be in trouble anymore)
Insert "Awwww, good one, Aaron" here.
That was a really great thing he did.
And, seriously, if Tillie was in that store any longer, I think I would have gone crazy.

So, after looking at all the charms and deciding I didn't want anything that said, "Tiffany & Co." all over it, I asked if there were any plain/simple rings. The guy was trying to be nice, but said flatly, "The rings START at $100." I tried to play it cool. I said, "oh, yeah, well I could pitch in some of my own normal money..." Yeah, cool. Play it cool.
Whatever. The lowest priced rings still had "Tiffany & Co." plastered all over it. And then there was another one with their New York address inscribed all over the front. Why would I want that? Like I need to know their address. Why? so I can send them a postcard? Weird.
I know, I know. I kid. I get that Tiffany is an establishment in NY. There is a ton of history associated with their company. I know. Lots of people are into it, but, honestly, I'm not really.
So, seeing that I wasn't going to fork over any of my REAL money, the guy switched gears to their "leather goods".
In the end I bought a 2011 Planner.

My mom has been buying me planners for YEARS. They have never been used (sorry, mom). But, he said I had to get something right then, b/c with no receipt they couldn't do something for me unless there was a transaction? What? Lame. Now I have a $27 credit. Meaning I spent almost $50 fake money on a really pretty blue planner. What?! I'd better use it. It is really pretty, though, right? That blue... So, moral of the story, let me know if you want my $27 gift card, b/c I won't be using it. Seriously, let me know if you want it.

Also, Aaron and I are happy. Even though we sometimes drive each other crazy and do things we think are funny, but the other person thinks it's rude (in fairness, we BOTH make mistakes. Like sometimes I tickle his feet, and he gets SO mad). We have fun. We are glad we got married. We make a good team. We still like hanging out with each other the most.
My sister sent us a few funny e-cards in honor of our anniversary.
My favorites were "I can't believe how much I'm not sick of you."
The other one said, "Let's celebrate the day you gave up on finding anyone better than me."
Pretty funny. good times. happy 6 years.

In case you want to SEE if we are still fans of each other, here's proof. We had a photo session tonight. Sunday night lounge clothes. Kids were in bed by 6:00 p.m. (church starts WAY late this year, so the kids missed their naps and were BEGGING to go to bed. literally.) We had the night to our selves. This is how we spent it.
Enjoy.
p.p.s. I'm a huge fan of the remote control at the ready. Nice. Thanks, Aaron.

re-enacting a few poses our photographer wanted us to do on our wedding day.

gazing at me. remote control still near by.

that's a lucky guy. great pucker, melissa. don't you all wish you had someone with such a great pucker?

...and the hits keep coming. My sisters and I used to say, "Kiss the Royal hand..." I thought it was funny (per my usual). Aaron thought it was a little odd. hA!

Aaron is a good sport. Looks like he's done with the photo-marathon-session.

Welp, th-th-th-that's all folks.