Happy 3 Year Anniversary!

 

Click on the collage above to make it larger and see it better.

This collage has some of my favorite images from this past year of marriage.  It was fun to look back over these pictures and remember some of the fun things we have done this year.  

Mr. Van Sande, you are the most amazing husband, best friend, partner, and soul mate... I could not imagine my life without you!  Thank you for blessing my life more than I could possibly dream.  You have my whole heart, and 110% of my respect and admiration.  I can't wait to celebrate 75 more amazing years of marriage with you (because yes, we are both going to live to be 100 together!!).

Traditions... Psshhhhhhhh

Soooooo what's up with the "save the top of the wedding cake for 1 year" tradition? Our wedding cake was ridiculously tasty on November 10th, 2007. It was.... NOT SO TASTY ON November 10th, 2008!! And what a waste! The big fat cake top sat in our freezer for a whole year (well... part of the year... thanks Mom and Dad Van Sande....) and then didn't even taste a fraction as good a year later. Why didn't we eat it right after the wedding when we had the chance!? Traditions..... this one is dumb. Don't do it! Eat it when it still is tasty! It was fun to see my beautiful cake again though... even if it wasn't as pretty the 2nd time around!!:)

Last year............

This year.....

Anniversary Weekend

We spent our 1 year anniversary weekend in Sedona in a cute little cottage at the Briar Patch Inn. It is a Bed and Breakfast right on Oak Creek where you get your own little cottage all to yourself! It was the perfect spot to celebrate our first year together. Here are some pictures taken around our cottage.

The cottage had a cozy wood burning fire place and they provided us with fresh cut wood every morning. The breakfasts were delicious as well!
On Saturday, we spent most of the day exploring, relaxing, and reading by the fire. We took a 6 mile hike on Sunday to explore The Call of the Canyon, a famous hike in Sedona. It is popular for a good reason!! It was one of the most beautiful hikes I have ever been on and we tremendously enjoyed the cool weather and beauty of the forest.
It was a wonderful weekend and we look forward to going back soon. We heart Sedona!

1st year memories

One Year Anniversary

Today we celebrate the genesis of our family. After one year, we want to look back on our Top Ten Favorite Moments of our marriage from the first year:

In no particular order...
1) The week-long escape into paradise for our Caribbean honeymoon cruise
2) Not having to "go home" at the end of the day
3) Decorating our home with Christmas decorations, followed by our first Christmas morning
4) Getting Sadie, the first addition to our new family
5) Trips to Sedona (especially our first weekend mini-moon), Prescott, Flagstaff, and all the other places we went to to get away
6) Finding a new church, another new group of friends, a place we can both get involved together and finally "joining the club" of our young married's group at church
7) Getting to be together and hang out with your best friend every day
8) Shopping for our first house
9) Camping trips where we didn't have to sleep in separate tents
10) Well... You know... ;)

Thanks to all of our closest friends and family members for supporting and loving us through our first year! We love all of you and are so grateful to have you in our life.

-Scott and Brianne