The One Year

Just had to give a shout out to the fact that Ben and I have now officially been married for 1 year (plus a day if you're gonna get technical).

Crazy, right?

We decided that in some ways it seems like we've been married for sooooo much longer than that, and in other ways it seems like we tied the knot no more than a few weeks ago.

But my gosh,
What an adventure.

I am super crazy lucky to have Ben in my life and here are some of the reasons why.

First, I have to admit that I owe him BIG time because he was the one who absolutely insisted that I read Harry Potter. He was aghast when he found out I had never read the books, and even went so far as to accuse me of hating reading! Let's be real, people: Harry Potter is probably one of the best stories ever written. I never would have known what I was missing out on, but I'm so glad I'm no longer one of those lame-os who never let Harry Potter change their life.

His love for Harry Potter has been a long-
term sort of commitment.

Ben teaches me things that I need to know. This one time, I found these boots that I completely fell in love with. They were super cute, but they were more spendy that I would normally consider. So buying them, in my opinion, was clearly out of the question. But Ben patiently and logically explained that a)We were in a position where we could definitely afford to buy them b)I had been working hard and earning good money and c)I was worth the boots. It seems silly and simple, but I learned so much from that little experience.

And when I wasn't getting as many compliments as I wanted from those super cute boots? Ben stepped in with, "Oh wow, look at those boots! Those are so cute! You obviously have really great taste." He has sisters...so he knows the drill.

Ben is crazy adventurous. Like the China thing? Yeah, NEVER would do that on my own.

This is us adventuring.

Another cool thing about Ben is he knows a bit about everything. When we first started dating, Ben told me two very important things:
1. That he wasn't a fan of watching sports and
2. That he didn't like video games and would never own a gaming console.
Seriously, what a blessing! So I'm always in shock when Ben has a conversation with one of those hardcore jock types. Despite the fact that I have only ever seen Ben actually sit down to watch a game once, he can totally talk to these jock types like he knows the ins and outs of the sport like the back of his hand. He knows teams, players, and info on specific games. I don't know how he does it, but somehow he knows his "guy stuff" including all major sports and manly shenanigans.

Ben makes me laugh. Like, more than is justifiable. Here's an example:

Now, normally I wouldn't post such hideous pictures of myself, but I had to prove a point. That guy can get me to laugh my head off with some of the lamest jokes.

I could go on and on about my good fortune in the husband department (i.e. his ability to grow a very manly beard, his good cooking/eating skills, his guitar playing finesse) but I'll just include one more fact: Ben kills snakes.

My mother-in-law's porch is infested with snakes and it is both terrifying and disgusting. Yeah, they're garter snakes, but if you know me, you know it doesn't matter the kind or size. All snakes are awful (which is an understatement). So Ben took a machete and started chopping heads off. I'm being completely serious. He chopped 8 heads in less than 10 minutes. Hero status? Definitely. Sorry for the poor quality of the photo, I was safely inside the house while I took this picture.

Anyhow, it's been an awesome year, full of lessons and adventures. I'm lucky to have such an amazing guy at my side and I am stoked to see what the future holds!