11 Years
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It’s hard to believe that 11 years ago today, I was standing in a little chapel in Las Vegas getting married by a minister with spiked hair and a tail. A pink plastic corsage was affixed to the hot pink Betsey Johnson mini-dress I wore and I had a bubblegum machine pink light-up plastic ring that was used when we exchanged vows. My real ring was being made.
Scott has lost so many wedding bands over the years that I can’t even remember what his looked like. Put that man near an ocean, and watch him lose a wedding band.
What I do remember is that everyone said it wouldn’t last. Well, we lasted. Over a decade and a child later, we lasted.
Scott is my best friend, my confidante, my cheerleader, one of very people in the world whom I truly trust; the only person I want to talk to when I’ve had a bad day, and the first person I want to call when I have amazing news or something fabulous happened.
I always loved my husband and the majority of days I’ve even liked him. I won’t say we’ve never fought. We’ve had our share of doosies; we’re both passionate people and when you put two of those in a room, every once in awhile all that passion collides and fireworks ensue. But we always kiss and make up.
I fell in love with my husband in a whole new way just over 5 years ago when Skylar came on the scene. I took this picture Friday afternoon with my iPhone at a Mother’s Day luncheon at her school. Scott and I were both in attendance and couldn’t believe what a big girl she is now and how much joy she brings us.
He is the most amazing father. I could not ask for a better father to her. I am truly blessed and she is truly blessed to have such a doting, caring, attentive, giving, and loving father.
She made this for me for Mother’s Day at school and all the kids presented their moms with their gifts. It’s a little easel, with a tiny canvas she painted and decorated, and a photo of her is affixed to the canvas. And there was a hand-made card, too. I melted.
It’s been quite the 24 hours for me. Mother’s Day and my anniversary.
I need to go buy more Kleenex. Lots of Hallmark happy tears have been shed.
It’s been a crazy, wonderful, exciting, and amazing 11 years with Scott, and 5+ as a family. I can’t wait to see what the future brings.
Ironically, on this day last year for our 10 Year Anniversary, I was sitting in the Atltanta-Hartsfield airport en route to Aruba. I’d like to buy airline tickets as our belated anniversary present to us, to our family, but I have to wait for the school year to wrap up and then maybe we’ll get lost for awhile.
I should probably cook something special for dinner tonight. But I’m not.
And we’re not going out. We’re homebodies these days.
However, I took care of the beverages. That’s the next post. Holy moly, so good.
Dessert? I’ve got that covered, too. I’m thinking these. Funfetti is always fun for a celebratory day.
Do you have any dating, wedding, or marriage stories?
In some ways it feels like just the blink of an eye that we were saying I do. In another sense, it feels like a lifetime ago because I can’t even imagine what it feels like to be single or without a child. Overall though, 11 years have gone fast. Really, really fast. I can’t even believe it some days!
Any Mother’s Day stories?
I had a wonderful day. I cooked and baked a ton, we went for a family power walk, the sun was shining and it was in the low 70s. A picture perfect day.
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86 Comments on “11 Years”
OKAY, here I go on my soapbox… ahem…
I love this post! I feel like so many woman bad-mouth their husbands these days, like they’re just some random idiots they live with. I love when I see a couple who actually enjoys each other, as I do with my Guy. Sounds like you and yours are full of love and I wish you decades more together (even though it’s a little late!). Oh and your sweet little girl – gah! What an adorable package of cuteness she is!
Thanks, Erin. Yes, not to sound cheesy, but we actually are more in love now than 11 years ago. It’s a deep, patient, through-thick-and-thin kind of love that has grown. I hope all those bashers find their soul mate one day :)
Your blog is such a joy to follow and I thought of this post today on MY own 11th wedding anniversary. I have two kids (4 and 2) and my older daughter and I spend so many evenings and weekends on your blog, going through the all of the beautiful photos and picking out easy treats to make together. I’ve commented many times before, but really wanted to say just a few things here-
1. Congratulations on a great marriage and 11 years going strong!
2. Thank you so much for creating a blog filled with easy, delicious treats for women like myself – working moms, who want to share in fun kitchen projects with our young children. Your recipes are not scary and you use ingredients that I almost always have in my kitchen already, or can access easily at the regular grocery store. I’m all for specialty ingredients, but they’re simply not a part of my life right now with two kids and zero spare time!
3. Skylar is such a beautiful child and I’ve enjoyed watching her grow over the years also!
Cheers to you!
Thanks for this wonderful comment, Neena. It’s fun for me to hear that you spend time with your daughter picking out recipes and cook together. I love hearing from people like yourself who make my recipes b/c you almost always have the ingredients in your pantry and the recipes are do-able. Yes, that is my goal! I am so glad that they work for you and your life and thank you so much for reading this comment…it made my day!! :)
Happy Anniversary to you and Scott. Your wedding sounds awesome – please post us some pics if you have them. Skylar is a doll!
You are so sweet, thank you! And thanks for all your pins you do! You are so good with that!
Happy belated anniversary to you and Scott, Averie! This post gave me the goosebumps, such a nice story. :) And I love the LV wedding story, that’s a classic! I’m all for simple weddings, save the money for cake mixes, right? ;)
You are so right…and thanks :)
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!! ;D congrats on making through everything~ i`m not married or close to even being married, but i do agree that my boyfriend is my best friend. it makes life a lot easier knowing someone is always there! anyways, CONGRATS AGAIN! ♥
What a sweet comment…thank you!
I just shed a tear or two just reading this sweet post Averie. Congrats to you guys and Happy Anniversary. I just don’t know where the time is going….
Thanks, Marla. I agree…I just don’t know where time is going either!
Time sure does seem to fly by fast. I can’t believe I met my husband almost ten years ago. And it really does feel like a lifetime ago/not that long ago all at the same time. Happy (belated) wedding anniversary!
I am dying to see your wedding photos! Happy Anniversary! We will be celebrating 10 years this fall. Your daughter is beautiful.
And DH has lost his share of rings too! haha!
Thanks for the nice comment and glad to know we’re not alone in the DH losing rings!
What a darling little girl you have:) I had to laugh at your husband losing wedding rings in the ocean:) My husband has lost about three or four wedding bands (I’ve lost count) while surfing over many years(we’re grandparents)! Happy Anniversary!
Mine has lost at least that many. We are done buying them and populating the ocean floor with them :)
Happy Anniversary & Mothers Day, Averie :-)
thanks :)
Happy Anniversary, Averiiiieeee!!
Aww, I am sorry I missed this post yesterday! Happy Anniversary, Averie! You are such a tenderhearted mother and person, it’s delightful. What a gift, truly, that your relationship with your husband has grown and deepened into what it is today, especially when everyone else said “it wouldn’t last.” May you be given many more years together in such love and joy! Skylar’s precious gift is what being a mother is all about. Those are treasures that no jewel could ever replace.
My wedding anniversary to Isaac is next month, June 4. It will be our 17 year wedding anniversary, although we are going on 22 years together. Like Scott is to you, Isaac is my dearest friend and confidante and although we are quite opposite – he is a computer engineer, I am a nutrition consultant/musician, we couldn’t be a better fit. I love him so much and each year gets better. The boys, too, like Skylar to Scott, have brought out a nature in Isaac that wasn’t there before they were born and grew up in our home. Thank God for our families!!
I am glad your day was rich and blessed. You deserve it!
How did I not know you were a musician? That is so amazing, Michele! See, I knew you had a strong creative sense about you. It shows from the creative things you make in the kitchen to your music. So happy you and Isaac have had 22 years together and that your boys have such a wonderful father :)
xo
I thought I had told you I was a musician! If you click on my name up there, it will link you to a myspace page where I have some music uploaded for fun. Myspace stinks, I know, but it’s all I have out there for now. The songs are mostly musical theater, one cover song of Sarah McLachlan’s Angel and a piano instrumental I wrote and recorded last year! Let me know if you have a listen sometime. I know you’re so busy, so…whenever! xoxo
happy birthday to your sweet little girl!
thanks…but it wasn’t her birthday!
Happy anniversary! No special dating or wedding stories. We were pretty traditional. Met at work, dated 3.5 years, got married in a church. Almost 16 years now.
I think it’s funny that people said it wouldn’t last…since 50% of marriages end in divorce, that’s not exactly going out on a limb anymore, it’s called playing the numbers!
Mother’s day was busy with work…bought some new storage cubbies and spent the day building them and starting to get organized so we have space for the new baby.
It was my first mother’s day without my mom, so it was a tough one.
Sorry about it being your first without your mom. HUGS!!
Aw, what a sweet post! Happy Anniversary! Hubby and I eloped to Vegas also after being engaged for nearly 12 years! :-) It was an all-inclussive chapel package that broadcasted the ceremony online for family to watch which was perfect since making either of our families travel was not an option.
Congrats on your anniversary-how wonderful! It is amazing to see your husband grow and your relationship transform and become even stronger after being parents. Hope you guys get a special date night this week to celebrate :)
Thanks for this sweet comment!
Yay! Congratulations on your Anniversary! And all that pink sounds like my kind of wedding! I have a whole pin-board dedicated to the color pink!
a whole pinboard of pink? I love the way you think!
Dear Averie and Scott, Happy anniversary! I had to grab a kleenex while reading this post, so sweet, so beautiful! Best of all for both of you and Skylar for many-many years to come! :)
I had a Kleenex-filled couple of days…all GOOD reasons, though :)
Congrats on your anniversary! As divorce gets more common, it’s awesome to see relationships that last!
Me an my boyfriend will have been dating 6 years in November, it’s crazy to think about considering we started dating in high school (I was only 15!) and we’ve lasted this long!
I hope you and your husband have many more happy years together!
That’s like a third of your life! Congrats on making your relationship work and so true what you said re lasting relationships and making things last. :)
What a darling Mother’s Day gift! She did a great job :)
Happy, happy anniversary.
What a sweet post :-) Happy Anniversary to you two!!
:-) congratulations to proving everyone wrong, and what looks like a beautiful 11 years. :-) i think i remember you saying you don’t post photos for his work…? but regardless, you do an awesome job painting a picture for us.
my anniversary with EP was last week, but it’s just a dating anniversary.
happy anniversary to you two, too!
Congratulations on your anniversary! Ours was May 11 (16 years ago) and we came to SF for our honeymoon so this trip is our “2nd honeymoon”. My husband used to get migraines a few times per year (triggered by stress or weather). So guess what he had the first day of our honeymoon? Yes, a big honkin’ migraine. He told me he’d try not to get one this time and I told him everything should be fine because we weren’t getting married before this trip. So far so good!!
Glad you made it there, this time with no migraine! And happy anniversary to you two. You’re 5 years ahead of us, almost to the day!
This is such a great post, Averie! I want to see pictures from your wedding!! And Skylar….wow. I hadn’t realized how long it has been since you’ve posted a photo of her until just now. She’s so BIG!! She’s like a little person now. Aruba last year at this time/!? Crazy.
WHOA. I just realized that exactly one year ago I walked across the stage to get my PhD! Wow. That went FAST.
NO Mother’s Day stories, and clearly no wedding stories for me. But, my brother is getting married in 5 weeks, and I can’t wait! I love a good wedding party and I just bought a hot little red dress to wear. Dancing, dancing, dancing….!
Oh I want to see pics of you in that dress! And how did I not know he was getting married?! Congrats!
omg that is so sweet! You are a lucky woman!
This is the cutest Mother’s Day post that I have read!
This post was real-talk. So awesome! It was like getting to read one of your old posts. Keep it up :)
awww how sweet is this?
she is just gorgeous.
sorry i’ve been missing, got a new mac and still adjusting
no apologies necessary..new computers…and transferring files, pics, etc..SUCH a headache. Good luck!
Love those photos of Skyler and everything else. Picture photos are beautiful! Happy Mother’s Day to you!
thanks for saying hi!
Congratulations! I vividly remember your airport tenth anniversary post. You’re an unconventional but awesome couple–and unconventional is definitely good.
So nice to see a pic of Skylar–so beautiful and so grown up!
love
Ela
It feels like just a blink of an eye that I wrote that airport/anniversary post! :)
I love you’re wedding story so much, its so fun and spontaneous. Me? I want a small wedding, nothing extravagant someday… who knows when. It’s so funny to hear you say you can’t imagine your life any other way, before a family… because here I am single about to graduate college and I can’t imagine myself ever settled down. But I’m sure it’ll feel like a blink until I’m feeling the way you are (maybe!). Anways, happy anniversary and Mother’s day to you!
I never thought I’d talk that way…trust me. I couldn’t have imagined it. I went from single, to married..in about 4 months time. And we moved across the country together. It all happened so fast, like out of the blue fast. You just never know what life (or who) is going to present.
Happy Anniversary Averie! What a beautiful story of your lives, Averie. True love at its finest. Skylar is so beautiful- I love that smile!
Thanks, Sally :)
So sweet! Congratulations on your anniversary, and a happy belated mothers day to you. I spent mine lounging around the house. I put off the laundry and cleaning for the day, which was nice, and we went out only for some brunch. :)
Awww, sweet post. Happy Anniversary!!
I love it! You two are so darn sweet. Happy anniversary!
that was incredibly sweet and skylar has the most beautiful smile! happy anniversary and happy belated mother’s day!
thanks, Marissa :)
Lovely post. :-)
Happy Anniversary, and belated Mother’s Day!
Happy anniversary!!! Jason and I will celebrate 14yrs on May 16 and Sarah will be 13 on May 20. Time just flies by WAY too quick!!
Yours is on Wednesday…Happy Anniversary, Krista. And yes, time flies!
Happy Anniversary Averie!!!
Your daughter is adorable! Congratulations on an amazing 11 years, and cheers to many more to come!! :)
happy mothers day, happy anniversary, happy Monday, happy day! I’ve heard the story of Vegas and The Hot Pink Dress, have you ever posted a photo? :D as a Betsey Johnson fan, I’d love to see the wedding day!
No, I was given a disposable Kodak camera with 24 pics on it. About half turned out when I had them developed. They’re in an album…somewhere. In a storage locker. Need to track those down :)
I want to see your wedding pic! You guys sound like an adorable couple. I’ve been with my bf for 5 1/2 years but I feel like the best is yet to come.
I was given a disposable Kodak camera with 24 pics on it. About half turned out when I had them developed. They’re in an album…somewhere. In a storage locker. Need to track those down :)
Happy Anniversary!!! And what a sweet Mother’s Day gift from Skylar– she’s so beautiful!
before you know it, Lila will be big!
This was so nice to read. Your wedding story is a doozy and your little girl is so pretty! Lucky you to have such a strong family. It’s nice to hear that after such a long time together, you guys are still holding strong. Happy anniversary!
Such a sweet post. Happy Anniversary!!!
Happy special day wonderful woman!
Happy Anniversary!
Happy anniversary! We’re married just about half that time but it has flown by, I’m sure 11 years will be here before we know it.
Yes the 2nd half has gone way faster than the first half!
Happy anniversary! I just love the story of your wedding too and that little easel is just adorable. What a wonderful post!
it’s a story, alrighty! :)
Averie – this might be one of my favorite posts. It’s so heartfelt. So full of love. This made me smile. I wish I could give you a hug. Happy Anniversary!
Considering you’ve probably read at least 1000 of them over the years, thank you, so much, Heather :) xo
This is so sweet, Averie! Happy anniversary to you guys, LOVE your story! And that little easel just made me tear up. You have a wonderful family!
I had to refrain from bawling my eyes out at the park luncheon and keep it to more modest amount of happy tears :)