It's hard to believe that Lori and I are about to celebrate our five year anniversary this weekend.  As everyone says, it doesn't seem like it's been that long, but in a way it does.

We've been married five years, but we dated for four -- so really, we're only a year away of celebrating our ten year anniversary of "being together".  It's weird because we've been together so long, it's hard to remember what it was like not knowing her. (Not that I care to remember.)

I do want to take the opportunity to say something. I just want to say how lucky I am to have a wife like Lori -- I really am.  In so many ways she is what I am not ... and I guess in the same token, I am what she is not.  To me that's what makes for a perfect fit.  We both bring many different ideas and traits to the table that has allowed for so much growth -- which has made the last five (nine) years a true learning experience.

Ok, I know, enough of the mushy talk.

So, this weekend we're heading down to Hill Country to celebrate.  We're doing the whole resort thing just west of Austin, nestled right in middle of the Texas Hill Country (which, believe it or not, was ranked as the #1 summer destination this year by the New York Times).  We're planning on taking in several wineries while were down there, as we've heard that the Hill Country is second only to Napa as a wine destination.  We might as well take advantage of our proximity, right?  Maybe we'll do Napa for our 10th anniversary.

On a more serious note, we had some bad news this week.  My maternal grandmother passed away on Tuesday in Houston.  It was pretty much expected, as she had been suffering with a number of health problems over the last few years and had made a turn for the worse this month.  It's the first of my grandparents to pass away, so it's a bit of a foreign feeling.

We'll be headed down Friday and leaving Saturday afternoon (after the funeral) up to Austin.  Yes, the funeral is actually on our anniversary.  One thing is for certain, we'll always remember this anniversary.  At least it's not as bad as what happened to my parents.  My dad's grandmother actually passed away on their wedding day.