Happy Birthday, Dan!!!

Happy Birthday, Dan!!!

I woke up this morning and when I walked into the living room, Dan must have heard me coming and quietly started singing "happy birthday to me..." and started moping about not getting breakfast in bed for his birthday. (I was thinking that if he wanted to trade and get up and feed Sienna during the night, I'd make him breakfast in bed every day!) Anyway, I made him some orange juice and let him lick the beaters for the cake I was making him. Doesn't that make up for not making him breakfast in bed? I think so...

Anyway, I wanted to just post some pictures and some of the things I love about Dan. First of all, I love that he puts family first. He is really close to all of his family and he has always been a great brother and the best uncle to all his nieces and nephews. He is a great husband, and now, he's the best dad ever to our little Sienna. I love seeing him with her. She already has her daddy wrapped around that tiny little finger! He is so great with kids and has been a fabulous "surrogate" uncle to lots of our friends kids as well.
I love that Dan is a "gamer," since I love games. He is super competitive, so most of the time my strategy involves simply not letting him win!

He loves the outdoors. I love that he loves Lake Powell as much as I do. He has always made a special effort for us to be able to go on my family vacations to Lake Powell--even if it meant driving 13+ hours for a weekend trip to Lake Powell.

Dan is adventurous and he loves to travel. Since we've been married, we've been able to go on some really fun trips. One of my favorite experiences was backpacking in Europe for a month. I love to travel, so I really appreciate the fact that he does too. I love traveling with him (even though he's a bit more "spontaneous" than I am when it comes to planning!) I think we make a pretty good team!
Gimmelwald, Switzerland

Rome, Italy


Hawaii

Florence, Italy

San Francisco

Havasupai

Dan spoils me. He always says that it's my world and he's just passing through it. He is very sweet and thoughtful. I love that when I'm needing an opinion about which earrings to wear or which shirt looks better , he pretends like he really cares. And he's always great about coming up with thoughtful birthday gifts, tickets to my favorite show or concert and he's great about buying my favorite flowers. He's a trooper!

Dan's a great athlete and avid sports fan. Basically, he's good at most everything he does. Although I don't always love the amount of time that he spends on sports (real and fantasy), I have to admit that I love the passion that he has for them. Uncle Rico
Dan loves to read. I admire the passion he has for learning and education.
Dan is an amazing friend. He is a non judgemental and committed friend. I really respect his ability to love unconditionally. I love that if you're a friend of Dan's you can be assured that he will always have your back.

Now, don't get me wrong. There are times when I ask myself, "Did I really marry this guy?!!" (See below...)


Having said that, usually these moments are fleeting and I find myself extremely grateful to have him in my life. I am so blessed to have a husband who lives the gospel and honors his priesthood, has integrity, is ambitious, works hard, who loves to have fun, has a great sense of humor and is an amazing friend.

I love you, Dan!
Happy birthday!!!