The Barri (more than one Barrus): Twenty-two Years

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Twenty-two Years

Kent and I have been married 22 years today. Doesn't that seem like an awfully long time? It is a long time, and yet it doesn't feel like it was all that long ago. Time is strange that way. Marriage has been good; I'm glad we did it. I've been happy with Kent, so grateful for him and all that I have learned as we have navigated through life together. He is a fine man, incredibly patient and kind, looks for the good in others, is always willing to serve me, the children, and others, and sees all my potential. I'm still pleased when he get home from work each day, and like spending time all alone with him.

To celebrate, this morning we went to the temple together. Thursday is our go-to-the-temple-day anyway, but I usually go in the mornings and Kent goes in the late afternoons. We went up together, however, and did sealings just across the hall from where we were sealed. One of the sealers who was in our session acting as a witness was Richard Oveson who was the man who sealed Brandt to us ten years ago today. It's Brandt's eternal day. Our session was very nice and we were happy to be in the temple.

Here are two pictures from our wedding day. We look remarkably young, even though neither of us really was. I was 24, Kent a week shy of 38. It was an unseasonably warm day, and we were comfortably outside without coats on, basking in the sun, even though it was January. It was a happy day!

This evening, in the company of Janie and Ty Rasmussen, we went to Deer Valley for Fireside Dining. We'd heard about this from the Pugmires, and I'd been wanting to try it. It is Ty and Janie's anniversary on the 17th, and we invited them to join us to celebrate both our special days. The restaurant is fantastic; they either prepare or keep warm lots of delicious food right next to huge, roaring fires. We had raclette, one of my very most favorite things to eat. In addition to all the regular things one eats with raclette, they also had a strawberry chutney and a fig mustard, both of which paired beautifully with the cheese, pickle, potato, and cured meats. I wanted to eat three plates of the stuff, but there was too many other delicious options to stop there. We had a fiery poblano leek soup, pickled beets, a gorgeous salad, and a housemade focaccia. That was followed by beef medallions with a blue cheese marshmallow, trout, and rosti (grated and fried potatoes) with veal and mushroom ragout; all incredibly tasty! We had leg of lamb that was hung in front of the fire and cooked as it spun around on string. I'm not a huge lamb fan, but this was very moist, very flavorful, and served with a herbed au jus that added real depth without detracting from the texture or taste. It was paired with pumpkin risotto and roasted asparagus, both yummy. And to finish off dinner, they had dessert fondues, three flavors. There was a dark chocolate, an almost bitter caramel (I loved it!), and a white grand marnier (orange flavored), and then a whole variety of dippers--fresh fruit, cookies, biscotti, meringue. It was a wonderfully delicious end of an incredible meal. It was quite expensive, but both Kent and I felt it was worth all we spent.

In addition to the fantastic food, having Janie and Ty with us was wonderful good fun. They are excellent company and we talked about interesting things as we drove to Park City (dicey as we went up the canyon in the snow), had dinner, and drove home (through Salt Lake to avoid the canyon). Deer Valley had received lots of snow, the lighted trees were covered, there was snow hanging off the eaves, and from our table, we watched horse drawn sleighs go by. It was a magical evening and felt like a true celebration of our marriage. Hooray for us and 22 years!