The Last of the Firsts

Well, this is Kent's and my last week of our first year of being married. It is almost bittersweet. I have enjoyed being a newlywed...you get so much attention! At the same time, it will be nice to get SOME credibility when we talk about "what has worked for us..."

I would say that we haven't been your typical "newlyweds" though. I think we've been pretty down to earth with the whole thing. We didn't spend hours and hours gazing into each other's eyes whispering sweet nothings. We've been busy dang it!

So here it is, our year-in-review (just in case you missed something!)...

We were sealed for time and all eternity on November 10th, 2007 in the Mesa, AZ Temple. Kent's Grandfather came down from Idaho and performed the ceremony. We then headed off (without my flowers) to Portico for our ring ceremony and reception. Fun was had by all.



Since we closed on our house only 2 days before the wedding, not a THING was set up. I was looking forward to running into Target in my wedding dress to buy some sheets, but my cousins didn't go for that. They snuck away from the reception and set everything up for us.

The next morning Kent whisked me away to San Diego and we headed out on our 7 day cruise to Cabo, Mazatlan, and Puerto Viarta. We took a total of 3 pictures, however I will always remember the crystal clear beaches, exhilarating cab rides, and just the pure joy of being on a honeymoon!

We hit Fry's grocery store on the way home as we had no food. It was there on Aisle 7 where we had our 1st fight ever! Kent has come a long way since then and now understands that we no longer eat processed foods with high sodium levels, as cheap as they may be :)

A few days later we headed out for Houston. I was sick as a dog (story of the year) and prayed that I would at least feel better for our Open House. We spent Thanksgiving with the Attaya side and my brother flew in as he had just finished Ranger School. Miraculously the day after we arrived, I couldn't even tell I had been sick! The Attayas threw us such a beautiful Open House and I enjoyed meeting Kent's friends.

I then had a few weeks off before starting my new job at UOP. I was miserable. The painters hadn't finished painting when we got back from Houston, we couldn't move any furniture in because we were planning to get new carpet, and I just didn't feel "at home." We didn't have any pots and pans and had to resort to grilling our food at the park down the street! However, things came together and we were settled in!

Just before Christmas I started working at the University of Phoenix as the Real Estate market took a complete nosedive. Kent continued to stay busy with the Property Management and being a "house husband" (you can imagine how uncomfortable I was with this).

I then hosted our first Christmas and my mom said I did a good job :) We had a lot of fun and enjoyed seeing my brother again. Then for New Years and Kent's birthday, Kent got sick and we went to bed at 8 :) That is the 2nd New Year I spent with Kent WITHOUT getting a kiss!

Then it was our 1st Valentine's day as Mr. and Mrs...but we spent the day packing as we were headed to El Paso the very next day. We drove through an awful storm complete with snow from Tucson all the way to Texas! But, it was worth it. We spent 2 fun filled days with Chad and Natalie and Sakura and Happy.

We also bought our 1st on-line business, www.bapeclothing.net which has been one of our smarter decisions.

Then the weeds came...boy oh boy did they come! For every weed we pulled and sprayed, 3 popped up! It was ridiculous. Obviously the people before us hadn't heard of pre-emergent. With the weeds I also developed the most awful allergies. Hives everywhere! I have taken at least 2 Benedryl every day since March! I guess I am a freak :)

Kent and I were then ready for our 1st vacation as husband and wife. We decided on Vegas. We should have known it was a BIG MISTAKE when we got into our room which had 2 double beds! Haha! Kent called down and said, "We had requested a King size bed," to which the desk attendant replied, "that was a request," and hung up the phone! The toilet ran all night long, we had no hot water, and a double bed! My rash came back like clock work and the hotel gladly let us out of our reservation :) We then spent the night at the Stratosphere which as a little better. That night however, we looked at each other and said, "no one is forcing us to be here!" We played a little disc golf in the morning and then raced back to Arizona! Ahhh...home!

That was when the fun began. Kent and I got sick AGAIN. I had 2 sinus infections back-to-back and Kent had Pneumonia! A few weeks later we were sick AGAIN. Neither of us got sick very often and then Bam- 2008 hits!

The 4th of July was then upon us and Amy, Kent's sister, was visiting as she was gearing up to move out here. We went tubing on the Salt River in the morning and then a good group of friends came over for Ribs, games, and fireworks.

We also bought our 2nd on-line business, www.starmarkelectronics.com which was not as smart as the 1st business. At this point we have chalked it up to being a good learning experience and are still working on it.

A few weeks later Kent and I decided it was time I leave the UOP. We had an amazing experience as we decided this and I know we made the right choice.

Kent then began his Broker classes and I ran the Management company. The days have definitely been long during this process, but HOPEFULLY everything will be in place in 6 weeks...6 weeks?! I know...not the plan we were going for as there have been some hiccups. I am so proud of what Kent has accomplished though and I know we will get to his dream soon.

Last night we had our 1st Halloween as well. I have to admit, I got a little flutter of excitement as our first trick or treater came to the door. I was in charge of the candy as Kent is avoiding a process server with 2 speeding tickets. I do not know Kent Burton and I have never seen him in my life...good thing I still have my Killmeier license in case they ask for an ID :)

So now here we are at the 1 year mark. I am in charge of planning our 1st Anniversary. I just about had Kent convinced that we were going to Apache Junction (basically a trailor park), then somewhere HERE in Arizona, however I broke the news this past week...I am taking him to San Diego/La Jolla. It was the 1st trip we ever took together and I am sure we will have a blast this time as well.

Well, there you have it. I know it was long but I REALLY want to remember all of those little details as I'll never have them again.

So here we go with our last week of the "magical" 1st year. It was definitely a dose of reality for us (or maybe just me), but I wouldn't trade it in for anything!