Six years.

Today is our 6th wedding anniversary! With Sean being away we aren't doing anything to celebrate (though we did sneak in a date night before he left!) but it also has me feeling very nostalgic. It's so fun to go back and look at photos and I think it's so important to document events like this. It makes me realize how far we've come, all of our accomplishments and milestones. Though we've been married 6 years, we've been together for ten! So... I entered down the windy road of google photos INCLUDING wedding photos (!) and decided to share some my favorites. There are a lot of favorites (ha!) --

To give a quick recap -- if I was going to tell a story about the collage above it would go something like: the time I acted like I could skateboard when I really didn't know how at all. The time we got fancy and went on a dinner train even though I didn't eat any of the food because it was too fancy for me. The time I wanted to be something pretty for Halloween but Sean ended up picking and it was the first time I bought and wore something from the Salvation Army. The time when we used to take photos with cameras! The time I got such a sunburn in Maine. The time we were invited to a "prom party" in our 20s. The first time we went to Seattle together. The time we got the first set of keys for our very first apartment. The time we went to a wedding together... for the first time. The time we got engaged. The time we left for our honeymoon. The time that ended up being my favorite NYE. The time we celebrated our first wedding anniversary. The time we celebrated my birthday... still in my 20s. The time Sean made me try mac & cheese with pulled pork and it was amazing. The last time we attended a wedding before I got pregnant!

Since I clearly skipped a whole thing (like the wedding) in that recap -- here are some of my favorites from just that day -- 7.16.11:

A lot has changed in the years we've been together and it's amazing to think of the differences and what remains the same. I'm so excited for the future and to find out what is still in store for us. :)

Two years of marriage.

Today is our two year wedding anniversary. I can't really believe it. I know people always say this when they think about how much time has passed but it's really true; it seems like just yesterday...

I think everything in life is a learning experience. So what have I learned?

- Don't ignore the little stuff. The small, every day things are the most important sometimes. They're the path from point A to point B in a marriage and in life. I'm learning not to dwell, but also not to pretend they don't exist.

- Treating your husband like he's a child, doesn't go over well. There's a fine line between caring for someone and treating them like they're incapable of caring for themselves.

- Sharing experiences makes the time more enjoyable. Whether it's a vacation together or grocery shopping together -- there's a reason you chose to spend your life with this other person. Plan things so that both of you can be a part of it.

- Money doesn't equal happiness, but life glides more smoothly when you have it. However, there's a difference between watching your pennies and guarding your paychecks like a hawk.

We've done a lot in the past year (all of which is documented in the archives!). It's so exciting to spend every day with my best friend. :)  I'm happy to be able celebrate another year of marriage -- we're getting pretty good at it!

Niagara Falls.

A few weeks ago, Sean and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary. 

We celebrated that day, of course, but also the following weekend when we drove to Niagara Falls in Ontario. It was quite the ride (about 8 hours) and when we got to the border we were harassed, literally, made to get out of our car and they tore it apart. There are still pieces that we haven't put back together because we're not sure where they even came from!

Once that was done, we checked into our hotel: The Tower which I would very much recommend. We were on the 29th floor. 

Here are some pictures from our first day:

We ate at Margaritaville.

Saw a crazy man successfully walk on a tight rope from the Skylon Tower to a hotel.

Walked a lot.

Saw the Falls (pretty hard to miss!) and acquainted ourselves with the area.

And saw the Friday night fireworks show over the Falls.

Very impressive.

Scrapbooks.

I've decided to make an album of pictures from our first year being married.From July 2011-July 2012. Obviously, I could make this myself but in an effort to spend a little less I've decided to order one. I don't understand why it takes more money to do things yourself...

But anyway.

I've used Shutterfly, Blurb, and Snapfish, in the past. And I've loved all the books I've gotten. I also develop pictures from Clark, and the obvious... walmart, walgreens, cvs, etc.

But I wanted something new.

So I started browsing.

The first thing I was told about that seems AMAZING is:

Printstagram.

They'll take all your instagram pictures and put them in a cute little book. 100 pictures for $12! I think that's worth it because if you've ever tried to get those babies developed they look awful and are all disproportional. It's sad. 

BUT THOSE TEENY TINY BOOKS! I can't wait to get one. But I don't think it's right for this kind of project since you can't put the photos in a specific order. But when I'm ready to make a book of Apollo... I know just where I'll go.

The next thing I found was Mixbook. And I was hooked. I worked with it for hours last night (thanks, summer vacation!) and I only got to the month of January. It's so easy, and personalized. You can really do anything. Here's the screen shot of our month of July:

 I love it so much. 

It takes a while to do, clearly.

I can't wait!

6 month anniversary!

Today is our 6 month anniversary!

We celebrated by making dinner and watching our wedding video.

(for the first time!)

It was wonderful.

Maybe, you've noticed I haven't been around (blog land)?

Well, things have been BUSY.

We moved.

And didn't have internet.

And then we got internet.

But didn't have furniture.

And then I had to go away for work for basically 5 days.

See? There's no time.

But now, we have internet & furniture.

So I'm back.

Hopefully for a while.

My plan is to make our place look more like a home.

And then post pictures!

Hopefully it'll be soon.

I'm tired of living between boxes.

Till next time...

Oh, and yesterday was Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday and today we celebrate him and his message (in Massachusetts it's a holiday and places/work is closed).

I hope that however you celebrated this day that you kept MLKJ in your thoughts and didn't just rejoice in the fact that you (maybe) didn't have to work. I think it's a good day to reflect on how far we've come but realize how far we still have to go. It's important to remember what you believe in, what your hopes for the world are and how you can help make your vision for the world come true.

“Those who love peace must learn to organize as effectively as those who love war.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

3-month anniversary!

We carved pumpkins last Monday. It was fun and exciting but I have to admit I'm not very good at it! I cut the top too small and it now just falls right inside... oh well! Maybe, next year will be more successful.

 

I'm sooo close to being done with my wedding scrapbook. It's beautiful. :)

We celebrated our 3-month anniversary TODAY by going for a drive to look at foliage. 

Sometimes, New England is so pretty... and then the snow comes. :(

One month anniversary

We've been married for one month today! :)

So, I thought I'd show some pictures from the last four weeks to celebrate.

Wedding day.

1 week.

2 weeks.

3 weeks.

4 weeks.

I can't believe it's already been one month. It goes by so quickly!

No recap today... instead...

Today is a really special day. And since, we're in Ireland ON OUR HONEYMOON (yup, this is totally a pre-scheduled post) I'd like to stop our wedding recaps to acknowledge another couple's anniversary: my parents. :)

So, mom and daddy (who read my blog, pretty faithfully since I constantly ask them to read it and may or may not even have their emails notified when a new post is up), Happy 5th wedding anniversary.

Oh, yes. I said 5th.

The funny thing is, they've been together since high school -- but only decided to get married five years ago... oh, and their wedding was in Las Vegas. And about 40 family members and friends flew out to celebrate. It was so much fun!

Since, I can't seem to find a picture with the three of us from their wedding... I'll have to show you these:

2006: my mom, Chelsey & Brett (my MOH's), and myself

2006: my dad and I dancing

It really was so much fun. And I don't know many people who are able to say they were at their parent's wedding (at age 19)... other than if it's a second marriage or something.

So, since I'm away and can't celebrate in person -- please know, that I'm with you in spirit and say, congratulations, happy anniversary and thank you.

:)

We're in the teens.

The teens, ladies. That means less than 20 days until the big one. Crazy? Yes.

Last Thursday, was our four year anniversary. ;) and how fitting that we went to the town hall and filed for our marriage license on the same day?!

This has to be quick, because I'm super exhausted -- remember how I told you I started an intense training program this week. Well, today was the first day. It takes 1.5 hours to get there, it lasts for 9 hours and then takes almost 2 hours to get home. :( but it's enjoyable and without the commute it'd be perfect.

I'm trying to think of things that I've been doing... and honestly -- there's so much it's hard to remember. I don't know that I'll have time this week to show all the DIY projects but hopefully this weekend there will be time.

Goodnight!

The 23rd...

The number 23 is pretty important to us. His birthday is on the 23rd. I feel like great things always happen on the 23rd and it seems to be a common answer to "what's your lucky number?" [at least in my experience].

I guess you could call it our anniversary number, since we became official on June 23 some time ago.

And when we were planning our wedding it was a date that really stuck out for us because of all the above reasons.

Unfortunately, June 23, 2011 isn't a Saturday... or it would have fate! And July 23 is my mom's birthday so I didn't want to take that away. And so we settled on the week before -- July 16th.

But I feel like even after we're married we'll continue the tradition of saying "happy anniversary" on the 23rd of each month. You may say it's become a little bit of a ritual for us. Actually, it's a competition... to see who can realize the date and say the phrase first.

By the way, this month -- I won.

Happy Anniversary to us!

Today is our three year anniversary!
♥