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It all started 10 years ago when...Hold up, wait a second...NO, it all started 15 years ago when...

Mark (hopefully he is laughing when he reads this and not planning my murder) first took out my oldest sister, Leslie. And to clarify, she asked him out because he is devilishly handsome (...or they were friends and she wanted to go to the dance).

Then,

Mark took out my second older sister, Nikki. There's no getting out of this one, HE took her out because she was (and still is) a rockin babe with the curves in all the right places...(ok, that's probably not why he took her out...at least not the entire reason, but they did date!)

After Mark returned from Australia, he found that he no longer liked Nikki. So, after dating around and not just the right girl, he knocked on my door...Literally. But, I wasn't home. When I returned home from work that day my mom informed me that Mark had come by to see me.

"What?!? Why does he want to see me?" I was exasperated.

My mom, in her all knowing voice replied, "Erin, if he wants to ask you out, then you say yes and you better be nice to him."

To my mom's credit, If she hadn't threatened me, I probably would have said NO. But, I said yes. We went out, and the sparks flew...at least for me they did. After our second date, Mark decided he'd had enough of my wild ways and wanted a girl a little more, shall we say, BORING!

But, NO ONE turns me down, so I STALKED him relentlessly...and the rest is history...at least 10 years of history.

Here is a walk down our 10 year memory lane:

1. A year after we had our first son, George, we moved out of state was to Cashmere, Washington. And we found this wonderful little bakery...if you are driving from Wenatchee to Leavenworth, you must stop at the Anjou Bakery!

2. Our first family pet was the fatty hermaphrodite cat - SMOKEY (remind me and I will tell you the story of Smokey's gender confusion)3. Our first home was a 1926 brick bungalow home in the great state of Utah. I loved this home...and all the friends I made while living there. In fact, those friends were a big reason why we ended up returning to the same area to buy our second home. 4. Our second son, Henry, came while we lived in our first home.

5. Then, after a few job layoffs and a need for direction in life, we packed up and moved to HAWAII! (really, isn't that what everyone should do when they're laid off?)6. While living in Hawaii, Mark took the big Leap! Not only did he get his MBA at University of Hawaii, but I finally convinced him to jump off the 'Rock' at Waimea. He did it (after deliberating on top for 30 minutes)!7. We had our Third son, Teddy. (And for the first time in my life my hair had a crazed life of its own thanks to Hawaii's humidity)8. After 2 1/2 years living near the beach, we packed up, and moved back to PG where we bought our second home. 9. After 3 wild boys filled with energy, we had our sweet RUBY JO!

9. Of course we've had our ups and downs. But it's good to say after 10 years we're happy, we have our little family of 6 and each other. What more could you ask for in 10 years?