A Year Ago Yesterday...

I married the love of my life in Las Vegas! 


I took the day off to celebrate 365 wonderful days of marriage with my two favorite boys.  It was perfect.  We slept in, ate lunch at the Chimes, went Halloween costume shopping, went for ice cream, and then wrapped the day up with some family pumpkin carving.  Before bed we watched our wedding DVD.  This was our first time watching it and Andrew got a kick out of it.  "Ew I like those feathers in your hair Do-Da!"  "There's Mimi and Maw T."  And of course he covered his eyes at the kiss!  (I've noticed here lately he even covers his eyes during commercials advertising "girl toys." lol!)


New York was pretty much how we celebrated a lot of milestones this year, but my Tiffany's necklace was my anniversary present from my Boo, Drew.  So far marriage is everything I hoped it would be, trying at times but always worth every minute of the challenging times.  Drew and I love life and new adventures, and marriage is an adventure all on its own you just have to find the right person to experience it with.  And we have! :)  Drew supports me in my ever changing career, he keeps me grounded and slows me down to enjoy the good things in life, he cultivates my relationship with Andrew, he let's me be my own person (not that he really has a choice!), and loves me for who I am flaws included.  He has his work cut out for him, but no one could fill the role as my husband better than him.  I look forward to growing old with his hand in mine.

Sunday we took family pictures and we took one just for our 1 year anniversary.

Hop on over to Be Still Photography to see some of the other images.  Julie is so sweet, we just love her!

An anniversary is a time to celebrate the joys of today, the memories of yesterday, and the hopes of tomorrow. ~Author Unknown

The Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon should be a stop on everyone's Bucket List.  It was awe inspiring and rendered Drew and I both speechless with it's raw beauty.  Enjoy.

 Here's our ride into the Grand Canyon!

 Can you tell we were giddy with excitement! :)

Hoover Dam:

 The Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge opens to traffic later this week.

It's the second-highest bridge of any kind in the United States and 14th in the world!

The Mighty Colorado River flowing into Lake Mead :

 

 Yep that's exactly where we landed, right in the bottom of the canyon!  It was an amazing ride!

 Our picnic spot

 A toast!

 The rock formations amazed me, but then again I've always loved rocks.

I collected them when I was little, but what kid didn't.  Andrew is going through a collecting stage right now...I found a pretty special rock to add to his collection! :)

 

 Riding shot gun back to the airport!  My little pilot!

And so our Happily Ever After begins....

Celebrate good times, come on!

After our wedding ceremony we all headed downtown to Fremont Street and to eat tapas at Firefly.  Big thank you to Drew's Dad for taking us all out to eat, man was it yummy!

 Firefly Downtown

 Oh Yeah!

 Just Married!!

LOHS Friends:

 My girl LinZ :)

 Shelby and Drew

 Fremont Street Light Show

 Headed to Vanity @ the Hard Rock to dance the night away

 Brittany Las Vegas, the girl in the know! ;)

 Hey fellas

 Bust it!  Bust a move!
Drew's cousin Andy showing Vegas what "the Day dance" is all about! HAHA!

 The ceiling lights changed in rhythm with the music.

 Cheers to forever, to always, to what's always been...to us!

 My sister-in-law! :)

 Drew and Aunt Dana

Cyndi Lauper said it best: "Girls just wanna have fun!"

 "They just wanna have fun..."

 The Bridal Robot
HAHA!

Downtown Rick Brown and Drew Baby

We had a blast!  We are so grateful to our friends and family who made the trip out west with us.  Our Vegas wedding was definitely our style:  low stress, fun, and a time to never forget.  All thanks to each of you!  I wouldn't do a thing different and I hope it was a weekend to never forget for you as well.

Ten/Ten/Ten!!

I'm not sure how I expected to feel on my wedding day but I must say I definitely ran the gambit of emotions:  I woke up nervous as all get out.  I left the salon feeling anxious.  But as soon as I was in my dress, I knew without a doubt that I was ready to meet the love of my life at the end of that isle.  I couldn't wait to get there, to see him, to say I Do, to kiss him, and then spend the rest of my life with him as his wife.

 Keepsakes for my wonderful parents who have always been there for me.

 Keepsakes for my soon to be mother-in-laws. :)

I couldn't imagine not having my Mom put me in my wedding dress, I'm so glad she was there for the happiest day of my life. 

Time to make our way down to the garden:

My sisters:  Phyllis, Paula, and Stacie. :)  

They'll never know how much their presence truly means to me.  

Sisterly Love:  She is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities.  She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best, and loves you anyway.  She is your partner in crime, your midnight companion, someone who knows when you are smiling, even in the dark.  She is your teacher, your defense attorney, your personal press agent, even your shrink.  Some days, she's the reason you wish you were an only child.  ~Barbara Alpert

I love you all so much! 

Now on to our version of the Perfect Wedding:

I felt an overwhelming feeling of love as my Dad gave me away to my boo, Drew. :)

"With this ring, I thee wed."

Proofs brought to you by Imagine Studios

Something that Brian, our minister, said during our ceremony stuck with me:  

"Always remember that love is not an emotion; it’ s a decision. And it’ s one that you must make, each and every day of your lives."

I've been making this decision every day for a very long time and I have no doubt that I will continue to do just that for many, many years to come. 

Time to CELEBRATE!