Life is so much fun being married to Alex. Each of these 11 months have been the best months of my life, and I can’t believe that for almost an entire year, I’ve been happy in a way that I never knew was possible. But even after 11 months, it still feels like the very beginning, and I still feel like we are just standing on the edge of an amazing life together.
I guess it really is. I guess we really are.
Although our 11th married month was awesome in many ways, it was also pretty busy and chaotic. Packing and moving has a way of making things crazy, and unpacking? Well, It made everything even crazier. It turns out that 30 boxes of stuff, 20 lbs of packing paper, two king-sized mattresses, the accompanying king-sized bed frame, sofa with chaise, 42” TV, and two huge tables may be a little too much and too big for a place that is approximately the size of a tic-tac box. We’re continuing to downsizing and getting new furniture — but the struggle is real — and we’re basically filled to the brim at this point.
Settling into our new place and all of the unpacking that comes with it was thankfully delayed by our first backpacking trip on the 4th of July. We’ve been back for a few days now, but no worries, I’m still procrastinating. I kind of don’t want to accept my reality as a city-dweller with responsibilities after our incredible trip that, despite the constant walking uphill with packs on, still felt like a vacation. It was amazing. We hiked, we explored, we conquered, and most importantly (to my mom), we survived. We didn’t encounter any bears (or aggressive, freaky-ass goats), didn’t contract Giardia, and didn’t take any unfortunate tumbles off of a ridge, but we saw varied terrain, gorgeous scenery, and heard only the accompanying sounds of rushing water or silence. It was just beautiful in a way that pictures cannot do justice.
(you can see some more on Flickr!)
We feel a little like outliers and a lot like badasses. Not only did we score an incredibly hard to get permit the very first time we applied, but our very FIRST backpacking trip together was to the Enchantments! How many people can say that?! I am SO grateful to have had the opportunity to camp there — it was such a privilege. Although I always appreciate living in Washington (it has truly changed my life), I have a whole new appreciation for this amazing state and all we have in our backyards.
Our new goal is to have some overnights in each of the Enchantment zones, so we’ll see how we fare in the lottery over the next several years!
As for the next several weeks — well, they should be pretty spectacular. We’ll be unpacking, grilling, kayaking, hiking, and on August 8th, we’ll be leaving for a two week vacation to Hawaii to celebrate our first wedding anniversary on August 10th. We’re splitting our time between resorts and private homes, and are looking forward to some sun-soaked relaxation. Although we unfortunately won’t be here to see it, Alex’s mom is getting married on August 9th or 10th as well, and we’re also looking forward to her marrying a pretty cool guy 🙂 You guys won’t be far from our minds!
None of you who read this blog, our dear friends and family, are ever far from our minds, either. Thank you for joining us over these past 11 months of marriage, and for all of your support of not only our originally choice to wed in the manner that we did, but of our lives together. It makes us happy to see your messages and comments on the blog or other mediums, and we’re glad you’ve enjoyed keeping up with a bit of our lives. In the next couple of months, we’ll be changing the website to be more like a traditional family blog, and phasing out our wedding-related information, so we can keep it up!
Wow…I can’t believe we’re here in July 2014, just about married for a year now. I don’t know how I got this crazy beautiful life, and I’ll never know how I got the best friend and husband I could ever ask for, but what I do know is that I am truly, truly lucky.
We’ll see you next month with a very short post on our first wedding anniversary, and after that with pictures from Hawaii!
No Comments