Happy Anniversary to Us!

We did it - we made it a full year! And, what a year it's been! We had many ways of celebrating our anniversary this weekend, and I'd like to document how we "rang in" Year One!

On Friday afternoon, I treated myself to a manicure and pedicure with my favorite little girl. Mara and I relaxed after two full weeks of back to school, getting our feet and hands massaged and beautified. Then, Sam and I joined our cousins/friends for a nice dinner on the restaurant patio in the perfect September air.

On Saturday, we slept in before packing up to go back to "the scene of the crime" where we got married. We checked in to the Marriott hotel around 3:00, watched the Texas/Rice game, then got ready to walk around the area. We ate dinner at a nice Italian restaurant, again sitting on the patio enjoying the beautiful weather. Then, we got an ice cream treat and walked around the pond, stopping on benches to talk and reminisce. Finally, we returned back to the hotel where we played Scrabble and hung out watching movies.

Our suite
Before dinner in our hotel room
Out enjoying the night air!

On Sunday, we slept in again before we got ready to check out of the hotel. We walked around the lobby, looking into the rooms where we made our vows and where we partied, took a few pictures, then left for a breakfast at Original Pancake House. We came home to relax a little before heading to a childhood friend's wedding.

A year ago, there would have been a chuppah here and we would have been standing under it with friends and family all around us!

Reception Room: first dance, cake-cutting, toasts, serenade, etc!

On Monday, our actual anniversary, we slept in before we cleaned the entire house, worked in the yard, and picked up groceries for the week. After a brief Labor Day visit to Sam's parents' house for family time, we cooked dinner for just the two of us and ate while we watched our wedding video. It was kind of fun to see things we had forgotten about or even to notice things we had never been made aware of before. We teared up at certain parts, while in others we were laughing hysterically.

Around 8:00pm, our parents came over with last year's cake to taste. Although we were all expecting the cake to be horrible and completely freezer-burned, it was actually pretty delicious! We all agreed it certainly didn't taste like it had been in a freezer for a year. Thanks to Mom's amazing wrapping skills to keep it well insulated and to our baker, Lauren, for baking a sweet, delicious cake, we were able to enjoy it again with all of our parents.




After our parents left, we exchanged gifts. For this, our "paper anniversary," Sam gave me a beautiful card and a very generous gift certificate for a long massage! I don't know who was happier - me for getting the massage or him for not having to be the one to give it to me! :) I gave him a card and a "virtual photo book" - a DVD documenting our first year together week by week. He was completely surprised by the video, and he was emotional through most of it. I have been working on this project all year - literally starting the second week after we got married - so it was nice to see that he appreciated it so much. While working on the DVD, I noticed several things that I included in writing at the end of the video: We are surrounded by so many amazing people in our lives. Our friends and family truly love us. With every upset, there has been a blessing. With every frustration, there is some kind of peace. In every scary moment, we were there with each other. In every celebration, we smiled with each other.

To my husband: I love you more than you could possibly know. I am grateful for you, for us, and for our marriage. Happy 1st Anniversary! I cannot wait to see what Year 2 holds for us!