So late last night, my parents were arriving in LAX from their trip and I had to pick them up.  Andrea, being the sweetheart that she is, offered to come keep me company.  Keep in mind that she wakes up at 5:00 A.M. to go to work and she lives about 30 minutes from my house.  She usually passes out around 9 P.M. just to get a full night's sleep.  To top it off, my parent's flight wasn't arriving until 11:30 P.M. but Andrea wanted to come anyways.  She also loves spending time with my parents and wanted to hear about their trip.  Andrea and I cherish the relationship that they share and would like to model our relationship after theirs.  I'm glad that my future wife and my family get along and love each other because it's very important to me.

So anyways, we had a great time just hanging out waiting for them to arrive.  My parents were very happy and thankful that she came to pick them up with me.  We had a nice drive home together hearing about their trip and just chatting.  

Andrea constantly puts me before herself and makes sacrifices in our relationship.  This is the type of woman I look forward to as my future wife.  I know that she will continue to make sacrifices for me and our children in the future.  A healthy marriage requires a lot of effort, sacrifice, and compromise and from what I've seen in our relationship we're on the right track =].

On a nice day you can rent a canoe, rowboat, or even a pedal boat and head out to the middle of a lake or out in the ocean. If you are the poetic type you can bring poetry and read it to each other or just relax, chat, and enjoy yourself. We like to do this out in Balboa and we usually just get a pedal boat because it's a good leg work out too =]. It's actually very relaxing and fun if you like the ocean. And pedal boat rentals are pretty cheap too, try it sometime.

This year, we accidentally got each other the same Valentines Day card from different stores! At least we know we're on the same page!! :) haha

THE CARD:

I Want to Grow Old With You

 

Whenever I see an older couple

holding hands, I pause.

I imagine all they have experienced -

jobs, maybe children,

worries, vacations,

homes, disappointments,

tragedies, joys.

I see their entwined fingers.

I see them walking

in perfect cadence,

comfortable in being quiet.

I see in them the gentle joy

that a lifetime of loving can give.

And I look forward

to the privilege

of growing old

and holding hands

with you.

What I wrote to Tony:

I love you so much, I feel like this old couple is us already (meaning: I see the things talked about on this card as stuff we already do -> not that we're boring). =) I just love experiencing things with you. Seeing your face when something is new, and you watching mine... And I love the effort you still put into things to impress me and make my day. I am so in love with you and look forward to every new day that we get to talk or see each other. So many people never find what we have in each other. I will cherish you, and us! forever.

With all my heart, Habibi.

What Tony wrote to me:

My love, I never thought that my attraction for you when we first met would lead to the love we have today. You make my world so beautiful and I look forward to sharing my life with you and one day being that old couple still holding hands. The day I met you was truly the luckiest day of my life because you changed it forever. I love you with all my heart and soul.

Your Valentine Forever.

As Andrea’s and my relationship started to get serious several years ago, I began thinking about the future. As perfect as Andrea is for me, the thought of marriage was a scary thought. I’ve never been in a serious relationship like this nor have I ever felt like this about anyone. I still felt that I was young and wasn’t even sure if I ever wanted to get married. Time went on, and my love for Andrea continued to grow as impossible as it seemed. All the anxiety that came along with the thoughts of marriage simply went away whenever I looked at her, or even just heard her voice after a long day. She was the reason that my life was so great. She is the reason that my life is great. Andrea is my escape from this world, and I would be a fool to not want to spend the rest of my life with her.

Now, I can’t wait until we are finally married. We have so many adventures and so much more love to share as husband and wife. I’m ready for whatever path lies ahead, as long as we walk it together.

She is my heart, and I can’t live without my heart. I love you sweety, always and forever…

This is another great date that Andrea & I loved for when we were feeling artistic.  All you need to do is, pack a picnic, a pad of paper, watercolors, crayons, colored pencils, pastels, or whatever type of art you would like to try.  Once you’re ready, head off to a nice scenic spot where you can both sketch together and enjoy a beautiful day.  We’ve tried this at the beach and a nice park and both were great.  I think it works better if you and your date are on the same level of skill in terms of art.  Andrea and I are both pretty bad, so it’s a lot of fun trying to figure out what the other person is drawing =P.  Afterwards, depending on the spot you chose, you can both watch the sunset and maybe do another picture on that.  It’s a great time to enjoy each other and nature.  Also, if you like art, you should check out Color Me Mine sometime with a date.  Have fun!

Some Scenic Locations in O.C. that we like:

• Hillcrest Park
• Yorba Regional Park
• Hidden Beaches in Laguna (You'll have to do some exploring =])
• Corona Del Mar
• Tri-City Park