I can't even fathom 40 years of marriage

Way back in May...May 23 to be exact, my parents celebrated forty years of marriage.

They are the most difficult people to do anything special for...because they somehow end up giving back to their kids tenfold whatever is given to them.

So, instead of something material, we decided to put together a book of memories for our parents. Since there are four of us kids, each of us wrote up the top ten most vivid memories...either of our childhood or adult life...with one or both of our parents...siblings present or not. Knowing that some of the memories--like time spent in Sunriver--would be duplicated, it was pretty fun seeing what everyone came up with.

Our parents put us first and continue to put us first even though all of us are grown and married. We did everything as a family, always. We sat down to dinner every night growing up, and when sports interfered, a hot dinner was always waiting in the oven. When we started fighting through dinner, as siblings and teenagers do, we began watching Jeopardy while eating, and I swear that's when my love of trivia began. My parents didn't leave us much--I can remember only one occurrence when we had a babysitter. I know there were a few more, but they just chose us over most everything else. Maybe to a fault sometimes. Nonetheless, they were and are shining examples of parents.

Thanks for sticking together through it all, Dad and Mom. We are beyond blessed. Happy happy anniversary, again...just a few months late.

Um. I don't know why I can't rotate this photo. Christmas cookie decorating. If you can see my face, I'm super stoked to be eating frosting!

And I can't rotate this one either. Ugh. This was B.K. (Before Kate)...Joe and Elizabeth's birthday at Farrell's. 

730 days of marital bliss

May 3 is my favorite holiday. Our anniversary.

I love our anniversary because it's a private holiday. Unlike a birthday, very few people actually remember your anniversary, but there's that special little feeling...a glow you wear around all day--just like it's your birthday. It's special.

And because our anniversary comes just after the end of tax season, it's been our tradition (can you call something a tradition if you've done it only twice?) to lie low...to plant our garden and tidy up the yard...to splurge on a farm-fresh locavore dinner out in wine country.

And we like keeping up with the traditional wedding gifts.Two whole years of marriage is commemorated with gifts of the cotton variety. I got Taylor a new set of cotton sheets for our bed, with our monogram in our wedding colors. Taylor laid out new cotton beach towels (extra long!) and sunscreen for our upcoming summer of paddleboarding and outdoor adventures. His presentation was on point.

It's hard to believe we said "I do" two years ago. There are details of the day I can recall like yesterday, but then there are other moments that are already slipping away into the depths of my memory. We've already packed a lot of experiences into our marriage.

Not every day is a honeymoon, of course. I can say with certainty I know I am a difficult person. And Taylor is quite a saint for putting up with me and loving me unconditionally. I am so thankful for Taylor's patience and compassion. His threshold and tolerance for my moments of near-insanity is uncanny. Our minds work differently--his more analytical, while mine more creative, but we tend to complement and balance each other out. Taylor is really good at pushing me beyond my level of comfort when we're out exploring. We climb a little higher, run a little farther, and always take the scenic route. We're *always* in agreement when it comes to "the experience," and have no qualms about prioritizing and paying for the things that will make us memories versus material things.

Finally got that wedding album made...and a special foodie treat from my mom.

Nice presentation, T.B.

Our new favorite winery: Vista Hills--where they jam to records on the record player.

Of course we brought man's BFF along...

This guy's always wanted to take me to the rooftop bar in his college town, so we sipped margarita above the town of McMinneville.

We actually ended up at Nick's Italian, a well-regarded resto in Mac-town...crab lasagna and this beast of a pizza. Not too shabby.

And finally, some recently uncovered wedding photos of Hazel and Leo.

Until next year...

1 year down; a lifetime to go

I promised myself I'd post about our anniversary before I couldn't say it happened "last month" anymore. I'm really pushing it, writing this June 30.

But summer's been too uncharacteristically non-Portland drizzle so far, and we've been soaking in every moment, holding our collective breath that it won't rain tomorrow. We've been pretty darn lucky, and we hope that streak will continue through mid-October.

I haven't spent too many evenings at the computer now that I've got the hang of my not-so-new-anymore job. I did have a couple of late nights of freelance work, but those kind of make me feel alive in a way..pushing my limits and working until I fall asleep, or during the wee morning hours when no one, not even the cat, is rustling around the house.

And this post has taken a turn away from why I sat down to write.

Taylor and I celebrated one whopping year of marriage May 3, 2014. How the pages of the calendar turned so fast during those twelve months, I'll never really know, but from what I hear about the future, time just keeps speeding itself up.

Since we married on a Friday night, Saturday was all ours this year, and we decided we would create a day of favorites, and let our passions be our guide. We planned a trip to my favorite city of Austin the following week, coinciding with a work trip for Taylor (score!), so we didn't want to leave town on our big day. In fact, we really and truly didn't want to leave our house. Although we moved in in late-January, with Tax Season and some intermittent travel, we hadn't spent a whole ton of time together in our home.

I took a deep breath the moment I awoke, and I felt that special warm feeling in my belly that accompanies a birthday or Christmas. It felt like a holiday, but such a personal one. Sleeping in is such a treat for us, as Saturdays typically involve some sort of marathon workout in the morning. We almost didn't know what to do without the alarm clock chiming. Almost. We exchanged traditional first anniversary paper gifts, and then we decided to roll out of bed for make coffee and think about running.

Time was ticking on our day, so we opted for a quick bite so we could optimize our ideas for agenda items. First, we wanted to hit the Italian coffee shop up the street that not many people know about. Each drink is prepared with such precision, infused with sheer artistry. We had been wanting to visit this coffee shop since we moved into the neighborhood, and we checked that line item right off our list.

Then we decided more than anything we wanted to get our yard in order for the spring and early summer. We picked up a push lawnmower and headed to the local nursery for plants and flowers. Our little yard isn't much, but we have a raised bed, and we were determined to fill in all the empty spaces in the yard with edibles or other intriguing plants. Taylor wanted to grow hops up the pergola, not for any other reason than for the aesthetics. So, we planted, weeded, and trimmed our yard to near perfection that afternoon.

It was a truly serendipitous day. Even a trip to a different grocery store than our typical led to a free fiesta in the parking lot, complimentary roses at the entrance, and a beer tasting to boot. I told Taylor it felt like people knew it was "our" day, even though it was just coincidence.

We squeezed in a quick trip to the gym before we headed out to wine country for a multi-course meal at an adorable French restaurant we'd heard much buzz about. We were semi-planning for a farm-to-table dinner, but luckily we pulled the plug on that idea ahead of the torrential rains that graced the Portland area that evening. We were lucky with the weather while we planted, but boy did the clouds open up as the sun went down.

The owner of the petite restaurant also happened to be our waiter, and we outlasted all the other patrons for an intimate experience. We tried all the specialties, and we sampled all the desserts on the menu. It was perfect. There's no other word to describe it. And afterward, when the rest of the small town went to sleep, we sauntered across the street to a cafe, which provided live folk music and the friendliest, most welcoming strangers.

I didn't want the night to end because the entire day was so magical. We knew we would have a good time not matter how we chose to celebrate our anniversary, and following the day as it unfolded before us ended up being the most perfect plan of all.
 
I feel so fortunate to have found my other half in Taylor. Someone who balances me and supports me. Someone who challenges me and also just lets me be me. Someone who drives me crazy and yet elates me. We certainly do not agree on everything, but we know how to compromise (most of the time), and each other's happiness is our ultimate goal on a daily basis. I know the best is yet to come, and I am blessed to be able to experience it with Taylor. And for that I say, thank you, Taylor. I love you!

Why did I feel I had to take a pic of the parking lot party? You can't even tell what's going on in this pic, but I love that our anniversary coincides with the Cinco de Mayo holiday weekend. 

We literally could not fit any more plants into our truck. 

You should see this bed now. 

And these hops! Whoosh!

The dramatic "before and after" photos are definitely needed! 

From the most thoughtful Kelley. These lasted for weeks. Hats off to Sammy's.

Of course we had champs at one point during the day.

Taylor loves ending a fancy dinner with espresso. And I do, too. 

Happy Anniversary!

Rocky and I celebrated one year together this summer. Whodathought?! He bought me my very first flower and we opened a special bottle of champagne. Rocky surprised me in December after a long day at the Brady ranch and took me to an awesome vineyard/winery outside of Marble Falls. We sampled a lot of amazing wine with the owners, and, knowing my affection for the bubbly, Rock bought me a bottle of their almond champagne, and I held onto it until we celebrated our one-year.

Cheers to many more!

I'd like to say thanks for your outstanding patience and acknowledgement of the fact that I am a cranky, unmanageable mess when I don't eat every few hours. You are a true horse whisperer, and your incredible talent in numerous arenas of life and learning astound me. You're amazing.