i don’t ever want to forget these days, so today i want to share some of our story.
parker & i met in early 2013 (sometime in like april or something like that...) while we were serving lds missions in st. louis missouri. when we met i thought he was really funny. he thought i was weird. () we were friends throughout our missions. he wrote “talk to you soon” at the end of his entry in my tag journal. (i thought that was something special. turns out it wasn't. hahahaha) we didn’t reconnect until 2015. a year after i got home (& 18 months after he got home. ) so much for “talking soon.”
it’s okay though because shortly after reconnecting we became inseparable. i moved to provo for school (he lived in orem) & we started dating right away. we spent every possible second together. & i fell HARD. i knew i wanted to marry him & learned a little bit of patience (not much if you ask him) waiting for him to know he wanted to marry me. one night he [FINALLY] told me he was ready to get married. fast forward through our engagement.
READ OUR ENGAGEMENT STORY HERE
january 15, 2016 rolled around & we were able to be sealed to one another for time & eternity in the salt lake temple. it was a freezing cold winter day. we were the very first wedding of the day & while we were in the temple, it snowed. we had the most perfect sealing & were surrounded by our favorite people. when we came out of the temple, we took a few quick photos & then let everyone go to the luncheon. our reception was shortly after the luncheon & honestly, it was all wonderful. (except we didn’t really eat anything... it’s true what they say about receptions— you don’t get to eat a darn thing...)
READ MORE ABOUT OUR WEDDING DAY HERE
READ MORE ABOUT OUR RECEPTIONS HERE & HERE
our first year of marriage was full of learning. it’s funny how you can spend every waking moment with someone & still not know tons of things about them. then you move in together & learn all the things. i will forever treasure our first year of marriage though. it was such an exciting time & it was that time of life that i had always day dreamed about. (however, i always day dreamed that i would be an AWESOME wife that did ALL the things— laundry, make dinner, do the dishes, clean the house, etc. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. i learned REAL quick that i actually hate doing all of those things & i’m not very good at them... so we compromised a little bit on them...) i had a husband & he was my best friend. we, of course, had our struggles, but he was still my best friend & i felt so lucky to be married to him.
oh, how i wish i could tell recently married sadie how much better the second year of marriage is. our second year of marriage was full of challenges. we moved twice in four months, got a puppy & struggled to start our family. but our second year of marriage is also at the top of my list for favorite years ever. i thought that i was in love when i married parker. i thought that he was my very best friend. but man, i LOVE parker and he is my VERY best friend. i can spend hours & hours & hours with him & then still be so stoked to see him or cuddle him in bed. we’ve found our marriage “groove” & being married feels so happy & normal to me. i love him with my whole heart & i am so grateful that two years ago we decided to get sealed for forever. i love that he makes me laugh on a daily basis. i love that he still squeezes my hand three times (our code for i love you). i love that he still hugs me for a long time after he gets home from work. i love that he tickles my back. i love that he still asks me to make him bean burritos every day (even though he’s literally eaten bean burritos for the last 12+ years). i love the way he throws his head back & laughs when he thinks something is really funny. i love the way his eyes light up when he tries a new food that he likes. (you think that’s a joke. it’s not.) i love the way he loves others. i love that he is friends with every single person he meets. i love that he is so attentive to my grandma. i love that he is always singing or humming. i love that he is passionate about the most obscure sports teams in the history of professional sports teams. i love parker with my whole heart & i am so grateful & blessed that he is mine forever.
i love you more than ever, parker banks & i cannot wait to see what year 3 has in store for us. happy anniversary, sweetheart.
