26 years to Celebrate
26 reasons I love you
26 reasons you should be pleased with yourself and be happy on your birthday even though we are half way around the world in a smelly country that doesn't meet our sanitation expectations.
1. I love that you are older than me so that there is a reason for you to be wiser than me. I love that you are in fact much wiser than me. I love that today we wont be the same age for another seven months.
2. I love that you have a perfect memory. Sometimes it's to my disadvantage, but I love that you remember the good things, the happy times, and the memories that make traditions special. I love that you are a nostalgic person and little things can trigger a memory that makes you so happy.
3. I love that you can see the big picture, you know what things are important in life, and you know what things aren't worth stressing over.
4. You have an incredible singing voice that I love listening to. You are humble about it, but not afraid to share your talent when you are asked to sing in church etc. My favorite dating memory is pretending to be asleep so I could just listen to you sing to the radio all the way home to Cache Valley. I love when you sing in the car and I really love when you sing parts with hymns.... thanks for even helping me with the alto parts :)
5. I love that you don't waste time when it comes to school and getting into a career that supports a family. You are such a hard worker and I'm proud of your effort and endurance that keeps you pushing through long hours of studying, especially when you are "hating school." I love that are going to be finished with your MBA in one year because of your hard work!
6. I love that spending time with family is one of your favorite things to do! I know that you will always put our family first and we will make time for family fun.
7. I love that you are a wonderful teacher and speaker. You capture your audience with things they can relate to by using analogies and examples. Your charismatic personality draws people's attention. I am included in the many that love listening to you teach and learning from you.
8. I love that you are so good at laundry. At first I was embarrassed when you would scold me for leaving clothes sitting in the washer or leaving them in the dryer too long, but now I just appreciate that you keep me on my toes and that you do way more laundry than I do! I love that you fold everything perfectly and that all of the clothes are put away so organized. I love that you like to do a load every day so that dirty clothes never pile up. I love that you fear the smell of mildew and will do everything possible to avoid it.
9. I love that you have curly hair. I know you didn't do anything to purposely grow curly hair, but you still deserve credit for being so handsome. I hope you pass that gene along with many others to our children.
10. I love that my parents love you. Of coarse I married you because I love you, but having my parents love you too makes life so nice. I think they even think I don't deserve you!
11. I love that you have such great life balance. Time for family, time for work, time for church, time for exercise, and time for play. Even when you are really busy you find time for a basketball game, movie, or dinner with friends. You still always manage to get done what you need to because you prioritize and have such a good life balance.
12. I love your Blue Eyes. I am lucky in get to look in them for the rest of my life.
13. I love your ability to empathize with others. I can think of many examples where you put yourself in someone else's shoes and were able to help them or support them in a way that could only be done with that deeper understanding and effort. You sincerely care about others.
14. I love that you are the banker of our family and take care of the money. One day you'll be too busy to do it all (like now), but it is sure nice that you are so organized and on top of it!
15. I love that you are a natural leader. I want to be like you. I can tell that your friends and family look up to you and many seek your advice. People trust you because they know you are a good person all the way down to the core. You have had many opportunities and experiences in your life that have shaped you in ways that make you a good leader. You relate to others. People admire you, but people are also comfortable around you. I know I just said it, but it's worth repeating- I want to be like you.
15. I love that you can impersonate almost any voice. I don't know how you remember all of the movie quotes you do. You surprise me and keep me laughing constantly. Of coarse my favorite is "Little Landy" but I also love the apostles and Milosh.
16. I love that you are going to be the father of our children. They are so lucky to have you for a Dad. I love watching you play with our nieces ad nephews and how much fun they have with you. I love that you just know how to entertain them and take the time to play with them when no one else wants to jump on the tramp or play the "sleep game." You were an awesome primary teacher and the kids absolutely adored you. You make friends with stranger's kids, that's how good you are with children. I think you'll be an awesome father but mostly because you'll take the time to be with them and you'll be an example to them no matter what age they are.
17. I love that you are so productive. You make me wonder if you have secret powers because I don't know how you get everything done that you do. You will be successful in life because you are organized, prioritize, and are extremely productive. I am very jealous of this great quality, but instead I'll be thankful that one of us has it!
18. I love that you want to spend time with me. I love doing things together- folding laundry, going to the grocery store, running errands, cleaning the car, working out (even if it's on opposite sides of the gym). I love that you love quality time and that you have turned such an independent girl into someone that loves being with you so much.
19. I love that you listen to conference talks when you are getting ready in the mornings and that you use the extra few minutes you have in your day to better yourself and grow spiritually. Thank you for setting an example for me.
20. I love that you are clean and that having a clean home is important to you. I love that you want to vacuum daily and clean the house before you sit down to study. I love that you always pick up and take out the trash before leaving to go somewhere. I love that you want to come home to a clean house. I love that you buy more scentsy candles than I do and that you love the smell of clean lemon in any shape or form. I love the process you go through to wipe off the counters and sanitize them. I love that you are a better househusband than I am a housewife but you are still willing to go to work and provide for our family while I put forth my best effort to be half of what you are at home!
21. I love that you do hard things. You make up your mind that you will do it and you do. You ran four marathons in one year, you wake up at 6am even if you went to bed after midnight, you studied for the GMAT until you got a score you were pleased with. Many people give up on things like that- but you do hard things.
22. I love that you are patient with me. You tell me I'm "cute" if I say something stupid or don't get something that I should. You patiently ask me to lock the doors, close the lids tight, not set my wet towel on the bed, or leave the laundry in the washer multiple times. Thank you for being patient with me, I'll try to do better.
23. I love that you have things you are passionate about and brands you are loyal to. I love that you are patriotic and love the USA, that you love country music, that you love Nebraska football, and that you passionately love your church and family. I think it's great that you are true to Apple, Nike, Tide, & Downy :) You find a car wash, bank, or pharmacy that you like and you are a loyal customer. I love that you find something you love and sell it or convert others to your love as well, that's just how passionate you get about good things.
24. I love that you love your Mom and take good care of her, no wonder why you are her favorite.
25. I love that we share favorite foods. It makes splurging on brownies & ice cream, Chill's chips and salsa, popcorn, and diet Coke so much more fun. I love that we can read each other's minds when we want a treat and that we always give in.
26. I love that you are the man that every girl wants to marry and somehow I got lucky enough to be the one to wear your ring. I love that today is your birthday so we can celebrate what a wonderful person you are. I only scratched the surface of your good qualities and attributes and now I feel like I could keep writing for hours! I love you Landon Boyce Pitcher.
Happy Birthday!
(written on my iphone in a stinky hotel in Beijing, China)
This is from my Journal entry that day:
Landon was dressed and ready for the day, but before he left I made
him change into a new blue stripped shirt I bought for his birthday.
I made Landon a strawberry protein shake for breakfast and a half
PB&J, not an ideal birthday breakfast! After he left I finished off
the last sip of Strawberry milk I bought to add to his vanilla protien powder.
The milk had chunks of strawberry in it and I thought it was gross. He
didn't say one word about it, so maybe he was being nice. I took Lisa and
Megan with me to Carrefour and shopped around for a bit (that's what we do best
these days!). There was a sale on clothes and we found some pretty cute tshirts
for $6. Lisa and I bought the same one, same color and everything.
I found some insulated bags to put the wrapped ice cream cones in and got
Cookies n cream, strawberry, & chocolate and nut flavors. As soon as
we made our purchases I got a taxi to the East gate of Peking University.
It was so hot today that walking in the sun would have melted the ice
cream in less than 5 minutes! I google translated where we wanted
to go before getting in the taxi. I know the application on our iPhones
isn't perfect translation because it takes people a minute to read it, but it's
been pretty reliable. The only time it didn't work exactly
was at the "duck restaurant" when I asked for fried rice and soy
sauce. The servers brought out everyone's fried rice with soy sauce mixed
in with it... Even though I just wanted a side of soy sauce. It tasted
fine, but I felt bad for everyone at our table that didn't want soy
sauce. No one complained. Landon was planning to meet up for
lunch and told me he would get out of class at noon. We got there just a
few minutes after noon but Landon's professor didn't let them out of class
until 12:20. I was so worried about the ice cream melting, but luckily
with the air conditioned building and refrigerated bags the ice cream was fine!
I think the class liked it, maybe I embarrassed Landon a little, but I
think he liked it too. We went to the cafe by his classroom and got spicy
chicken and rice for lunch. It tasted pretty good, I wouldn't order it
again if I was in the States though. After class Landon came home to his
birthday present- some polos, peanut butter packets, chocolate protein shake
mix, qtips, gum, cashews, mint chocolates, and a coupon for backrubs an
footrubs. Landon worked out and I fell asleep, it should have been the
other way around! Wednesday is Pizza Hut's supreme pizza and salad half off
special, and that's what Landon wanted for his birthday dinner. He's so
easy to please. Lisa and Megan offered to buy Landon a birthday cake.
I told them Landon already told me he didn't want one so if they really
wanted to do something he could get him a brownie at pizza hut because he
misses brownies. They were so sweet to offer! Brett asked me if he should
get Landon a birthday cake too, I told him the same thing but his response was
"Landon may have told you not to get him a birthday cake, but he didn't
tell me." After we finished eating Lisa ordered Landon a brownie type cake
and shortly after Brett and Don came upstairs with a huge birthday cake!
The cakes tasted so good. Landon has great friends and I know the
cake surprises totally made his night. I wish Landon had the rest of the
night off on his birthday, but his accounting group was meeting for their
project. Landon took the leftover cake to his meeting and worked until
midnight. I think despite the homework he had a good birthday.
