Anniversary Photos!

We also got our anniversary pictures last week! Enjoy!

One Year Anniversary!

We celebrated our one year anniversary this past weekend! We have been married MORE than a year :) I cannot believe how quickly time flies! It was one heck of a first year of marriage and if it's true what they say about the first being the hardest (I think I'll go ahead and say someone made that up), I think we'll be just fine for forever.

We started the weekend off right by going to eat burgers at The Bracken Store. That's where we had our rehearsal dinner. Grandma was in town so we all went for dinner.

Saturday was our actual anniversary. It was like Christmas all over again. I could not contain my excitement thus we were up at the crack of dawn. Since we were up anyway, we opened gifts in bed and then had cake for breakfast :) We had saved a hunk of our wedding cake and after one bite, we were both glad I had gone ahead and ordered an anniversary cake. Year old cake is not the greatest. I had gone to the store Friday and come home to set our dining room table up as if it could have been at our wedding. I found this great little wooden slice cake stand and everything!

Jesse got me two new charms for my Origami Owl necklace: a February stone and a 1. He also got me a custom puzzle as my "papery" gift.

I was so excited about Jesse's gift. I photoshopped the lyrics to our first dance song, "I Wanna Grow Old With You," onto his favorite wedding photo. Then I framed the picture with the note cards (his "paper" gift) that we wrote our vows on for the wedding. I knew we needed to do something special with them so I kept them after the wedding :)

 

We decided we wanted to do something nontraditional to celebrate so we decided to go play some paintball! We found a place in Boerne, Grandpa's, that would let us play some 1 vs. 1 and on teams. I have never played and it had been awhile since Jesse had so we are definitely amateurs. We first played one on one. This is when I had second thoughts! Jesse nailed me twice in the stomach and man did it hurt!! In total, I came home with 6 welts and Jesse had 2. Once we were on a team, I was shot in the chest and boy was that little guy ever proud of himself for shooting me. Although painful, we had a good time and left covered in electric yellow paint :)

Once we got home and got cleaned up, we went out for dinner at BJ's Brewhouse. It was super delicious! We started out with some mozzarella sticks that were awfully tasty. I had chicken fried steak and two kinds of potatoes for dinner and Jesse had Cajun chicken pasta. It was dessert that I was really excited about! Pizzokies! We had the trio: red velvet, chocolate chip, and Oreo (THE BEST ONE!). We for sure went home very stuffed!

I couldn't be more blessed to have Jesse in my life. He has certainly gone above and beyond in the husband department. Every day I feel more loved than the one before. I cannot wait to see what the next 100 years has in store for us!

Valentine's Day 2014

Valentine's Day marked our LAST first holiday as a married couple! In just a few short days, we'll be celebrating our first wedding anniversary :)

V-day landed on a Friday this year so we were both at work. Jesse arranged a special surprise for me! He conspired with mom to have her drop some flowers off for me at work. I have never gotten flowers at work before! 

When I got home from work, Jesse had another surprise for me. I walked into our bedroom to find a big ol' hippo and some candy. 

I think it's tough to get gifts for men for Valentine's Day so I did what I do best, I scoured the internet. I found this cute thing to put together for him...

He's no millionaire but he did win $2 haha We finished our day with a pizza night in cuddled on the couch!

We decided to celebrate with a date on Saturday. We went to Alamo Drafthouse to see Lone Survivor. We ate hamburgers and devoured some delicious chocolate chip cookies! Let me just say, that was one super intense movie. I could hardly stand to watch knowing that these men went through this, actually much worse I imagine. I was intrigued so on the way home we stopped by the bookstore and picked up a copy of Lone Survivor. I've read a quarter of it and it's fantastic! I just want to know more about Marcus Luttrell and his story. I can't even imagine being in that situation. It is absolutely insane to think of all he went through, physically and emotionally, and that he made it home. I can only imagine the struggles he still faces.

We finished the weekend with an anniversary photo shoot with Bethany (our wedding photographer). We met at the San Marcos outlet malls and had some fun. Bethany is so good at what she does and makes us feel completely at ease. She's posted a couple of sneak peeks already and we LOVE them :)

 

And for Bethany's viewing pleasure, our big ol' Valentine! 

Daddy Daughter Dance!

When I was a little girl, my dad and I would attend the annual Daddy Daughter Date Night dances in San Angelo. Every year was a different theme. Every year I went out and got a new dress. Every year dad would get me a corsage. We'd go and we'd dance and we'd have refreshments and just enjoy a night together.

Turns out our church, Grace Point, also holds an annual Father Daughter Dance! When I first heard about it I just knew we'd have to go. So last Sunday I bought us tickets!

Funny little side story: When we were purchasing tickets, the lady selling them kept addressing Jesse. It was kind of odd because I was the one purchasing the tickets and I was the one asking questions and I was the one filling out the paperwork. Then she kindly says, directly to Jesse, "So how old is your daughter?" I quickly informed her that I was the daughter and I'd be bringing my dad. She was a little surprised and told me that there were two other "mature" daughters that she knew of who were going so I wouldn't be alone.

Anyway, Dad and I put on our party clothes and headed out for a fun night this past Friday. Dad got me a corsage just like when I was little. We went out to eat at my favorite restaurant, Alamo Cafe. Then we headed to the church. It was setup so nicely. The theme was "Light Her Way." There were beautiful chandeliers hung everywhere. They had refreshments setup. There were photo rooms upstairs to have professional pics made. They had the main hall setup for dancing. 

So, we danced and we ate and had our picture taken. There were two balloon drops. It was such a fun evening!

It was nothing short of heartwarming to see so many (over 1200!!) dads and daughters. The dads were such good sports! Dancing to Justin Beiber and One Direction. I was shocked that the little ones knew so many old songs, including Thriller, which they all seemed to know the moves to. Some even left in style, there were two limos waiting outside. Absolutely adorable to see so many wonderful dads, some juggling multiple girls, taking time to make these memories with their daughters.

There's really nothing more special and more sweet than a dad who is genuinely glad to spend time with his children. I can't wait until we have kids because I KNOW people will see Jesse with them and think "wow, now there's a great dad!" 

7 years!

Today marks 7 years that Jesse and I have been together! 7 YEARS!!

Seven years ago, I was sitting with Jesse in his dorm room in Delaney. We were watching the Super Bowl, Colts vs. Bears. At some point during the game, Jesse leaned over and kissed me. After the game I ran upstairs to my room and Tiffany knew immediately that something was up. I couldn't shake my stupid grin! 

Jesse and I have been inseparable ever since :) It has been the most wonderful 7 years of my life! I am truly blessed to share my life with Jesse. And in a couple of weeks we'll be celebrating our first wedding anniversary! 

We didn't do anything super special for this day because now we have a wedding anniversary to celebrate, but I did put together a simple little token of my affection. (Pinterest for the win, again) It's always nice to acknowledge every special occasion :)