It's been a year and a half since we've gotten married (actually more like a year and 7 months -procrastination station over here), and I feel the need to celebrate. Marriage isn't always sunshine and rainbows, but it's the small victories in life that matter, and we've had so many worth celebrating. To commemorate another milestone in our relationship, I thought I'd finally give a little insight to a few of the other huge milestones in our life journey.
How We Met:
There isn't very much to do in Nacogdoches, the city I called home during my college years, but the people there made that oldest town in Texas unforgettable. One very memorable afternoon, in the heat of early soccer season, the team was holding their first Little Kickers session of the year. It was my last semester there, and although I wasn't playing any more, I still loved to work with those little munchkins from that tiny town.
As per routine, our head coach started going down the line to introduce all of the "coaches" which were many current players, former players, myself, and the staff. There happened to be a new face down the line whom I had never met before. When he was introduced, he was called "Coach Crouton!" Naturally, all of the little kickers started yelling with laughter, and Coach Crouton shrugged it off nonchalantly.
I thought it was the most adorable thing, and at that point, I felt some confidence begin to form inside me, which is very uncharacteristic of me I might add. So much so, I walked right over to him and told him, "Don't worry. Croutons are the best part of the salad." I immediately regretted my decision, but Keaton was very nice about my terrible attempt to flirt, and we finally got to be introduced.
There isn't very much to do in Nacogdoches, the city I called home during my college years, but the people there made that oldest town in Texas unforgettable. One very memorable afternoon, in the heat of early soccer season, the team was holding their first Little Kickers session of the year. It was my last semester there, and although I wasn't playing any more, I still loved to work with those little munchkins from that tiny town.
As per routine, our head coach started going down the line to introduce all of the "coaches" which were many current players, former players, myself, and the staff. There happened to be a new face down the line whom I had never met before. When he was introduced, he was called "Coach Crouton!" Naturally, all of the little kickers started yelling with laughter, and Coach Crouton shrugged it off nonchalantly.
I thought it was the most adorable thing, and at that point, I felt some confidence begin to form inside me, which is very uncharacteristic of me I might add. So much so, I walked right over to him and told him, "Don't worry. Croutons are the best part of the salad." I immediately regretted my decision, but Keaton was very nice about my terrible attempt to flirt, and we finally got to be introduced.
The Proposal:
Keaton and I always wanted to travel around New York City together. We made that happen in July 2016. Although I am certainly not the travel guru, I got excited about planning every detail and had everything planned out to a tee...where we were going to stay, what we were going to see, when we were going to do it. Absolutely everything, except July 4th. That was Keaton's domain. I didn't think anything of it simply because I didn't want to monopolize our time doing things only I wanted to do, so it seemed fitting he had just the one day to finally see the Hot Dog Eating Contest where Big Cat from Barstool Sports would be competing.
We made our way down to Coney Island on a sunny summer day to find the island packed with people. We did our thing there, had our hot dog, and then set out for what I wanted to do. Yes, that's right, Keaton was awesomely considerate and still let me plan to take us through Prospect Park, the park located in Brooklyn. To my excitement and perhaps to Keaton's dissatisfaction, I had us going on a trek! We were adventuring, as I like to call it, and I really had lost all sense of time.
It turns out, Keaton needed us to be at Empire Fulton Ferry at 3 and the trip to Coney Island was a ploy to get me back up to Brooklyn. He was quick on his feet and very sweetly reminded me that we had to meet his friend at the Brooklyn Bridge at 4.
WE WERE 100% LATE. But you can't blame me because I had absolutely no idea.
And so we began our trek to the perfect and most beautiful spot in Brooklyn. We appreciated the scenery (and the fact that we could stop and relax from the 3 mile walk). While taking pictures, this girl came up to us and said that we look like a lovely couple. *AWE* She wanted to take a picture of us for her photography class, and I honestly did not think ANYTHING of it, and instead, very quickly said DUH. I was trying to figure out how I was going to ask her for a copy when a family distracted her for a picture. Seeing as it was a holiday, I dropped the thought and figured it was a good time to steal away. We took a few steps away when Keaton stopped me and pulled out my Golden Snitch locket (an object from Harry Potter).
I loved it. I mean I gawked at that thing for at least 30 seconds clearly not catching on that I could, and should, open it.
Once I did, he got on one knee. He began citing this speech, but for the life of me I could not hear him! I was too busy looking at the snitch.
WILL YOU MARRY ME?
He later told me everything all over again, and boy did he do good.
Keaton and I always wanted to travel around New York City together. We made that happen in July 2016. Although I am certainly not the travel guru, I got excited about planning every detail and had everything planned out to a tee...where we were going to stay, what we were going to see, when we were going to do it. Absolutely everything, except July 4th. That was Keaton's domain. I didn't think anything of it simply because I didn't want to monopolize our time doing things only I wanted to do, so it seemed fitting he had just the one day to finally see the Hot Dog Eating Contest where Big Cat from Barstool Sports would be competing.
We made our way down to Coney Island on a sunny summer day to find the island packed with people. We did our thing there, had our hot dog, and then set out for what I wanted to do. Yes, that's right, Keaton was awesomely considerate and still let me plan to take us through Prospect Park, the park located in Brooklyn. To my excitement and perhaps to Keaton's dissatisfaction, I had us going on a trek! We were adventuring, as I like to call it, and I really had lost all sense of time.
It turns out, Keaton needed us to be at Empire Fulton Ferry at 3 and the trip to Coney Island was a ploy to get me back up to Brooklyn. He was quick on his feet and very sweetly reminded me that we had to meet his friend at the Brooklyn Bridge at 4.
WE WERE 100% LATE. But you can't blame me because I had absolutely no idea.
And so we began our trek to the perfect and most beautiful spot in Brooklyn. We appreciated the scenery (and the fact that we could stop and relax from the 3 mile walk). While taking pictures, this girl came up to us and said that we look like a lovely couple. *AWE* She wanted to take a picture of us for her photography class, and I honestly did not think ANYTHING of it, and instead, very quickly said DUH. I was trying to figure out how I was going to ask her for a copy when a family distracted her for a picture. Seeing as it was a holiday, I dropped the thought and figured it was a good time to steal away. We took a few steps away when Keaton stopped me and pulled out my Golden Snitch locket (an object from Harry Potter).
I loved it. I mean I gawked at that thing for at least 30 seconds clearly not catching on that I could, and should, open it.
Once I did, he got on one knee. He began citing this speech, but for the life of me I could not hear him! I was too busy looking at the snitch.
WILL YOU MARRY ME?
He later told me everything all over again, and boy did he do good.
The Wedding:
The bash of the year. I won't go into how wonderful I thought it was I will just mention a couple of key tips I think every Bride and Groom should know for their wedding!
The bash of the year. I won't go into how wonderful I thought it was I will just mention a couple of key tips I think every Bride and Groom should know for their wedding!
- Take photos with your family at the reception. More specifically your grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and more pictures with your mom and dad. All the candids you can get. Although this is definitely your day with your groom, I can't tell you how many opportunities there were for these pictures that I just didn't think to pose for. You'll really cherish them.
- Tell your groom to take his wallet out of his pocket for the entirety of the day! Unfortunately, Keaton has a handful of photos where that block can be seen from a mile away. That's ok though. He still looks handsome!
- Keeping costs in mind, you can never have a wedding reception that is too long. Again, this is my opinion. The reception went from 5 til midnight and the feedback was great! Everybody had time to mingle, get their drink on (knowing they were ubering -safe transportation everybody), and dance the night away!
- If this hasn't been mentioned, and I highly doubt that it hasn't, but make sure you and your groom eat before you make your grand entrance. It's gold. I mean our coordinator had it set up like a lovely romantic dinner in my bridal suite prior to even the guests eating. It was set during cocktail hour. This makes it to where you can go around during dinner and meet all of your guests with a belly full of food.
- Don't sweat the small stuff. Enjoy your groom because it's HIS day as well. For the people in the back: IT'S THE GROOMS DAY AS WELL. It needs to be memorable for the both of you.
The Year & a Half After
Here we are. A year and a half (give or take), and life couldn't be more crazy, exciting, tiring and memorable in every aspect. We have our routine down, but don't get me wrong. We are constantly learning as we go.
Life Update: Keaton works as a trainer/coach for a popular soccer club here in Houston, and I work for the best hospital in the state of Texas. That's right I said it. I'm also in school getting my Masters in Nursing to hopefully become a Family Nurse Practitioner in a couple years. Currently, we are working on being fiscally responsible with our budget. We took the Financial Peace University program (shout out Mama and Papa Salazar), and it's really help shape the way we look at finances and how we set ourselves up to live like no other NOW to live like no other LATER in life. It is pretty darn challenging. You never crave a fast food night out more than when you are cognizant about the money you shouldn't be spending. Anyways though, Dave Ramsey is a genius who loves God and tells you how to live a life diligently in every aspect. I think where we are right now in this time of our lives is a direct correlation to that.
Now, I'm not here to say we have it all figured out in this short year and half, but we're getting there. And that's the fun part about it you guys. The fact that we can literally stumble through life the best we can, with all the support in the world, making all the mistakes out there (shout out to that speeding ticket currently here to haunt me), but having the time of our lives doing it!
Here we are. A year and a half (give or take), and life couldn't be more crazy, exciting, tiring and memorable in every aspect. We have our routine down, but don't get me wrong. We are constantly learning as we go.
Life Update: Keaton works as a trainer/coach for a popular soccer club here in Houston, and I work for the best hospital in the state of Texas. That's right I said it. I'm also in school getting my Masters in Nursing to hopefully become a Family Nurse Practitioner in a couple years. Currently, we are working on being fiscally responsible with our budget. We took the Financial Peace University program (shout out Mama and Papa Salazar), and it's really help shape the way we look at finances and how we set ourselves up to live like no other NOW to live like no other LATER in life. It is pretty darn challenging. You never crave a fast food night out more than when you are cognizant about the money you shouldn't be spending. Anyways though, Dave Ramsey is a genius who loves God and tells you how to live a life diligently in every aspect. I think where we are right now in this time of our lives is a direct correlation to that.
Now, I'm not here to say we have it all figured out in this short year and half, but we're getting there. And that's the fun part about it you guys. The fact that we can literally stumble through life the best we can, with all the support in the world, making all the mistakes out there (shout out to that speeding ticket currently here to haunt me), but having the time of our lives doing it!