We celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary over two weeks -- it's a little tricky when you have two anniversaries (the "legal" one and the "ceremony" one) and the dates get a little wonky for weekends.
We have some traditions that I am so glad we keep up.
One: The anniversary tombstone (from a catalogue, not a real one, haha).
I've added a really nice one each year to our cemetery Halloween display for the past 3 years or so, and it is fun to see it grow.
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| The whole shebang. |
Two: Anniversary gifts. Usually nothing too crazy, although Bryce outdid himself.
I got Bryce this cute Halloween bat message (and the tombstone).
He got me something I saw and loved in Boothbay Harbor this summer but was not feasible to get at the time, and he had it SHIPPED to our HOUSE! Behold, the Anniversary Puffin:
Is he not the cutest? He's carved out of wood and perched on a lava rock. THE BEST!
Three: Anniversary Ghoul. Every year Bryce does a pen and ink drawing for me of a ghoul, usually related to something we watched or talked about. This year, I got this:
MOTHMAN! I love the creepy winghands. Amazing.
Four: Anniversary getaway. We don't always go away, sometimes it's a nice dinner out, but this was FIFTEEN, so we went to a lovely bed and breakfast about half an hour south of us. The weekend was all about reading by the fireplace, wine, hiking, and eating good food. It's amazing that this area is so close to us, and so spectacular!
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| Ahhhh, gas fireplace you can click on and off at will. |
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| I want this reading nook. It was so cozy. |
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| Golden Hour view out the reading nook window. |
We hiked in Naples, first at Grimes Glen (a pretty flat hike but a lot of rock-hopping along the stream to get to the waterfall) and then an insane trail at High Tor.
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| somewhat accessible waterfall |
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| This tree stump/root bundle is known as "The Grimes Glen Dragon" |
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| Heading toward Colyer's Gully in High Tor |
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| That's the south end of Canandaigua Lake! We are sooooo high up. |
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| No missteps, it's a looong way down |
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| It was practically round, like a bowl! Very, um, non-guard-railed. |
Then we stopped at a scenic overlook over Canandaigua Lake that blew us away:
It was a great trip. It was a great anniversary. It is SO important to hang on to these traditions and celebrate these milestones. We are almost to the point where we've been married and resolved as long as we've been married and trying to add to our family. 16 will be even, and 17 will be more out than in. THAT will be worthy of a celebration of its own.
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| 2009, old house, young us |
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| 2024, older us, new(ish) house, just as happy if not more! |