Two Years.

Of marriage, that is.

 

I can't believe two years ago today I said "I Do" on a beautiful, sunny April afternoon. 
Right now it's 25 degrees with a chance of snow.
What the hell is that? 

 

To say that these two years "flew by" would be a lie. 

 

We savored every moment....

 

 

.....as we have done since we fell in love 5 wonderful years ago.

 

Year two of marriage wasn't all rainbows & butterflies. 
The fights get a little deeper and take a little longer to resolve.
There were sleepless nights.  
And yes, a few slamming doors. 

But I wouldn't trade any moment of this past year, fights and all. 

 

....because I'd rather fight with this guy than be with anyone else.

 

Year two started with the second best decision I've ever made,
second only to marrying you of course.

Getting a breast reduction.

Something I never would've had the courage to do without YOU. 

 

 

Not many men would love their ladies to get their tata's cut off....all while wearing
a Hooter's shirt saying "Goodbye Hooters."

But you, my love, didn't bat an eye.

 

On a "lighter note" (pun totally intended), we enjoyed an AMAZING year of concerts.

Justin Moore, Miranda Lambert & Eric Church to name a few.

 

I'll never forget the night of the Eric Church concert this past fall! 
It was your birthday weekend and for your present, I surprised you with this....

 

 

 

 

 

When I look back over the year, the moment we'll always treasure
was the day we signed the papers on our very first home.

 

 

 

And well, apparently we couldn't just stop at a house. 

 

We added a green machine to the family as well.

 

 

And more recently, an 'ol boat.

 

 

 

We cruised across the Caribbean.

 

 

We trekked across Jamaica.

 

 

Horseback rode on the coast of Grand Cayman Island.

 

 

And kayaked in Mexico.

 

 

But none of these things compare to the joy that our family experienced
when these 3 little ones made their debut!

 

Wyatt Frank

 

Charlotte Ann

 

 

Emmett Alexander

 

Who knows what year three will bring us....maybe our own little one?

;)

 

 

I do know one thing that's for certain.

As I look over the past year in pictures, I realized something....

 

 

 

I love you more today, Mr. Flintstone, than I ever have before.

 

You really are my sunshine.

 

Happy Anniversary!

 

Marriage.

I promised when I began this journey of blogging that I would strive to always be honest, even when tackling the tough subject matters such as Marriage.

It's such a beautiful journey however sometimes the journey is tough.  Let's get real.  It's not always butterflies & roses.  It's not always hot passionate sex.  It's not always candlelight dinners on a furry rug in front of the fireplace.

Now, I love the fact that I get to share my life with someone, day in and day out. 

However there are some days where I just want to slap the guy in the face.
(Love you babe)

But you know what I love the most? 
I love that he evokes those emotions deep within me.  Those deep passionate emotions. 
Even on the hard days.

But sometimes those tough fights are just unavoidable. Those fights where you argue, walk away, think about it, think you've calmed down so you try & talk again and still end up arguing. 

On those days, I call one of the few people that will always keep it real with me. 
My Mom.

And you know what she said to me when I called her this morning after a tough night in my marriage, "You have to always be willing to fight for your marriage."

And man, that is so true.  SO true. 

You have to ALWAYS communicate, ALWAYS talk it out even when it's tough to find the right words.  And most of all,
(like I vowed on that beautiful spring day a couple years ago)
I promise to ALWAYS love that man even when I don't like 'em very much.

That I vowed then, now & forever.

Especially when he sends me flowers that look like this.  I mean, c'mon. 

How frickin' cute are these?

Romance.

If I had to choose one word to describe our past weekend....I would choose romantic.  There's something about the nostalgia that comes from re-visiting that site where your marriage began.  As much excitement as I felt, I underestimated how truely romantic the weekend would be.  Not to get all sappy on you all, but what I love most about my husband is that I absolutely love just chillin' with him, you know?  Having an afternoon beer....or two, or three, or.....

I just love hanging out with the guy.

However, in enlarging this pic...what is up with that creeper mustache he has going on? I just noticed that.  I may have to have a talking to about that this evening....

When we arrived Friday evening, I just couldn't wait to get inside the resort to see the remodeling they had done.  Luckily, they left all the special stuff just as I remembered it!  But the rooms...they were just GORGEOUSLY redone.

We headed out that evening to enjoy the downtown strip for Excelsior's monthly "Second Fridays" party, which basically consists of the little shops staying open later than usual and a live band on the strip. 

Blue Raddish was my FAVORITE stop.  Hello, they serve free Blue Margaritas to their shoppers.  Jon & I thought they were pretty weak at first...and then 20 minutes later, a nice little blue buzz hit us. 

We had a nice dinner that evening at our favorite italian restaurant called Ventana Grill.  You're supposed to load up on carbs the night before your race.  And believe me.  I took FULL advantage. 

And I know I didn't mention it beforehand...but I had another race Saturday morning.  Because it was "Pet Retreat" weekend at The Elms, there was a little 5k race to raise money for the local shelter.  Hello...sign me up! 

I didn't tell you ahead of time as I was worried I'd get into the wine and not actually run it.  But apparently the blue margs, 2 glasses of wine and night cap of Jim Beam helped this sistah out.

I finished it in 29 minutes 50 seconds.

I did had a great cheer squad.  Jon & Belle. 

Best cheerleaders ever.

Before heading downtown to celebrate, we decided to enjoy some of the "Pet Retreat" events including a doggie kissing contest.

We totally should have won. 

Assholes.

We were up against some fierce competition.  And I'm not fully convinced that this dog is actually alive. 

Creepy????  I think so.  We were out of our league with these pet enthusiasts.  I mean, listen.  I love my dog but I don't like to MAKE OUT with my dog.

After a fun little photo shoot outside the gazebo where we had our ceremony....back downtown it was!

We sampled some local brews.

Shopped.

Drank wine.

And drunkily kissed on the street.

Then it was back to the resort for our COUPLES MASSAGE!!

They warned us that we'd probably feel more drunk after the massage as they would push the alcohol thru our bloodstream.

And based on the look of my face in the above photo (taken after the massage), i'd say they're correct.

But we decided to have another sangria anyway. 

Then we headed upstairs to get ready for a WONDERFUL dinner in the new resort restaurant. 

But not before I busted a few dance moves in the ballroom where our reception was held.

Food.  Wine.  Margaritas.  A Race.  More Food.  Dancing.  Shopping.  And Kissing.

Lots of kissing.

The makings of a great weekend.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Romantic Weekend for Deuce.

Deuce as in two.  Not deuce as in a nice poop.  Just to clarify.

This afternoon we are headed off for a romantic weekend at the resort where we got married last April.  I don't think it's possible to be more excited than I am right now. 

A little back story.  We had our romantic getaway booked a few months ago for our one year anniversary (April 23rd)...and the Tuesday before our weekend retreat, they called us and had to cancel our weekend. 

Assholes.  I know.

They took on a multi million dollar reno the fall after we got married and needless to say, they were behind schedule.  I was hysterical.  We had planned long before we got married to spend our anniversary weekends there...and to not be able to, for our very first anniversary, was just devastating.

Yes, I may be a bit melodramatic.  I'll own that.

Needless to say, they hooked us up with a romantic weekend for two INCLUDING a gift certificate to their Spa for any weekend of our choosing post reno....hell yes.

It'll be so nice to go back to where Jon & I first began this journey we call marriage.

The spa where I had my hair trial the night before....and spent they day of the wedding, surrounded by my amazing bridal party.

To enjoy time in our suite where my girls & I (including Miss Belle) spent the day of the wedding, kicking back and laughing our asses off.  All in anticipation of that moment where you slip your gown on for the final time....

To walk down the aisle again to the beautiful gazebo where we said "I Do"...

My Handsome Nephew, Jack

My Beautiful Mom & Aunt Nancy Directly Behind

To visit the antiquated downtown strip where we took our pre wedding shots...

And enjoy some cold vino where we hosted our rehearsal dinner @ a little family owned Winery, The Mercantile.

And to step into the ballroom where we partied the night away in celebration of finally becoming Mr. & Mrs!

My Beautiful TriD Sistah's

 Oh, to go back to that day and do it all again! 

April 23rd, 2011 

Best weekend of my life & I'm so thankful those memories are just a short car ride from Kansas City!

Bring it on weekend. 

Bring. it. on.