Today is Justin and my 9th anniversary – nine years ago from this very moment we went out to eat breakfast together just us two before all the craziness of the wedding day set in. It’s one of my favorite memories from that day – just a simple breakfast full of anticipation and excitement with the man I loved with all my heart. He’s still my favorite person and I’d marry him over and over again!
Today we’re out of town, so I thought for today’s blog post in honor of our anniversary, I’d just share nine fun little facts about us.
1- We met playing cards and still love games to this day!
Justin and I had some mutual friends and had known about each other and been at events together previously, but we first really got to know one another when some mutual friends needed an extra player for a card game and invited me over. We had a blast and quickly became good friends – and to this day we love game nights!
2 – We’re not big concert-goers, but we have seen Eric Church three times
We have a mutual love of Eric Church and have been to three concerts of his over the years – once when we were still just friends, once when we were engaged, and once after we were married. I’m sure they won’t be the only three times either – he’s our favorite performer! And for the concert above, Justin even rocked a mullet ha!
3 – We’ve lived in three different states together.
We didn’t actually live together in Virginia, but that’s where we met and both lived in our first year of dating. After we got married, we lived in West Virginia for Justin to go to school and after he graduated, we moved to Indiana for his job. We’ve loved each place we’ve lived and they’ll all have a special piece of our heart.
4 – We’ve been DIYing, separately and together, for years!
When we first got married, Justin was in school and I was teaching and our budget was slim. Our DIY journey started more out of necessity for inexpensive furniture and things for our house and quickly became a passion for both of us! Justin still loves woodworking and his skills have increased over the years (he most recently built a beautiful table for my parents!) and I enjoy finding ways to get the look I want for a low cost as we slowly renovate our house. We’ve enjoyed getting to flex these creative muscles over the past nine years and it’s always fun to have DIY Date Night too!
5 – We love finding hobbies to do together
Over the years, our hobbies have changed, but we love to find things we can do together. When we were just friends and then first dating, we loved to play frisbee golf together and went to our local courses often. When we were engaged and living long distance, we got really into geocaching – it was a great (and free!) way to explore new places and work together to find treasure. Now as we’re married with kids and not able to leave the house as much, we love playing games and doing puzzles after the kids go to bed. We definitely have our own hobbies and interests, but I’m so glad we’re able to find things we both love to do together too.
6 – We have very different auditory needs.
We were actually just talking about this yesterday – Justin and I are very different in the level of noise we can handle. I often feel very overstimulated by noise levels – the kids playing/yelling/asking for things, dogs barking, TV on, etc. When I can choose what to listen to, I often choose…nothing. I love the sound of silence. Even before having children, I would drive two hours in my car in dead silence, just thinking. Meanwhile, Justin loves to listen to music. He’s up early making breakfast? Music is on. He’s out in his shop working on a project? Music is on. Mowing grass? Music is on. Doing work on his computer? Music is on. Meanwhile, I find music to sometimes be distracting when I’m trying to work and often can’t have it on if I need to focus. I do enjoy podcasts, but I don’t always need to have something to listen to. It’s just one of the many ways we have different needs and we try to find a balance that satisfies us both, especially when we’re in the car on a long road trip!
7 – We’ve traveled to four countries together
We’ve been to five countries (Canada, Mexico, Italy, Bahamas, and Jamaica) and at least 19 states together – we love to travel! We’re excited to get to start traveling again once baby #3 gets here.
8 – We do not really enjoy going to the movies
This one is so random, but we have had multiple gift cards to the movie theater just sitting in my wallet for years – we never seem to want to use them! Many of my family members love to do movie nights as date nights but that’s just never been out thing. We prefer doing something together or just staying home and watching old episodes of New Girl again haha.
9 – We got engaged on a hike.
One of our first dates was a huge, 8 hour hike on a gorgeous mountain in Virginia and Justin took me back there to propose. He lugged flowers, candlesticks, a blanket, and a full picnic to the top of that mountain – I just thought he had snacks and water ha! It was such a sweet moment!
I love you Justin – here’s to many more years together!
simplify the chaos 