One Year Ago Today...

We got all dressed up in a gown and a tuxedo...

We joined our friends and family...

We stood before God and the people we love most...

We vowed to love and honor each other forever and ever...

We laughed...

We exchanged rings...

We kissed...

We became husband and wife...

We ate cake...

We danced...

... and then we left in a vintage Rolls Royce amidst a flurry of sparklers.

Now, one year later, we're happier than ever and we're SO, SO glad we got married on this day a year ago. There's something about being married to your best friend that is just so comfortable and incredible. We've made it through our first year as a married couple, and honestly, it was really easy! We just love being together, and although it's not always perfect, marriage has been just blissful so far!

We keep waiting for that infamous first big married couple fight, but so far... nothing. Haha. Marriage is truly a beautiful gift, and I'm amazed by the graces God has given us during this past year. It's been a wonderful, amazing first year of marriage, and I can't wait to see what the next year brings!

Want more wedding? Take a look at Spirals & Spatulas' "The Wedding" page!

Jeff - Thank you for being my everything for so many years already and for so many years to come. Thank you for being a husband I can truly be proud of. Thank you for your love... not only the love you give to me, but also to my family and my friends. Thank you for making me laugh hysterically, making dinner when I can't get home in time to do it myself, and making me get up and go to law school when I'm convinced I can't take it anymore. Thank you for putting up with me when I walk in the door and burst into tears because I've just had a horrible day, or when I wake you up on a Saturday morning because I'm bored and I just need someone to play with, or when I make you hang 426 things on the wall and get obsessive about exactly how high and how centered they should be, or when I beg you to let me get a puppy even though I know we're way too busy for that right now. I absolutely love being married to you, and you'll always be my best friend and the love of my life.

All photos by Kelli Nicole Photography.

A Trip on a Ship

Okay, so it wasn't really a ship. It was more of a small boat. But, "A Trip on a Small Boat" doesn't rhyme. So I exaggerated in order to get a rhyming title.

Moving on... my little sister Karoline just turned 11, and she had a birthday party that was a day full of tours of interesting things in Houston. They got to tour the Mrs. Baird's bread factory and see all the loaves flying around and eat freshly-made bread! Unfortunately, I could only make it to the last tour of the day due to a little thing called working-business-hours, so I missed out on all the hair-netted, hard-hatted bread factory fun.

I did get to go on a tour of the Houston ship channel though! The Houston ship channel is east of Houston in the industrial side of town, and I had never even been in the area before. The ship channel is a major reason why Houston is such a thriving business center today, so it was fun to go see what happens over there.

The birthday party girls waiting for the boat

Houston Ship Channel!

We rode on a little boated called the Sam Houston, which thankfully had a nice air-conditioned inside!

Once everyone was situated on the boat, we headed off into the Ship Channel!

We saw a ton of big ships,

This one was from Singapore...

This one was from Virginia...

This one was from Nassau...

Those blue rectangles are the doors to the big cargo holds. They just open them up and the cranes go right into the ship!

We got to watch this ship being unloaded!

There were plenty of things to see besides big ships! The photo below is the spot where Sam Houston captured Mexican General Santa Anna when Texas was gaining its independence from Mexico. It's hard to see it, but right to the left of that center tree is a little concrete plaque that marks the spot!

We saw a coal distribution facility...

We rode under Loop 610 (a big highway in Houston)...

After a while, we went back inside to sit in the A/C for a bit. It's HOT in Houston!

We rode by the biggest recycling plant I've ever seen. They recycle cars, planes, trains, and even small buildings at this place!

We even saw a drywall factory:

Towards the end of the tour, they offered sodas to everyone. The little girls were pretty excited about it. Haha!

They were so cute... they even had a "birthday toast" for Karoline:

I really enjoyed seeing a new part of Houston, and the girls thought the whole thing was so interesting! I'd definitely recommend the ship channel tour if you're in Houston - it was just so fun to see everything!