Do you have an anniversary tradition you like to keep with your spouse or partner?
Travis and I celebrated our wedding anniversary August 3, and I completely forgot to share this memory with you guys a few weeks ago.
Every year, Travis and I like to celebrate our marriage with a special date for just the two of us and then a special day for the whole family. We call it our “Family Wedding Celebration.”
Our wedding celebration isn’t just a time to celebrate our union in marriage, but it’s also a time to celebrate when we became a family.
When we got married, it wasn’t just me. Our family included Elijah and Michala because I was a single mother at the time.
OUR FIRST FAMILY DINNER CELEBRATION
I remember our first family dinner celebration we went to a local Mexican restaurant for tacos and margaritas (the grownups only, of course). It was such a sweet time together for the first time as a family.
What I remember most about the day is we laughed a lot. We took some pictures together. We enjoyed yummy tacos and Travis and I cheered to becoming newlyweds.
Eight years later and we’re still laughing a lot and enjoying yummy tacos!
“We started out as a family of four and then over the years, we added three new people. It just amazes me.”
FAST FORWARD TO OUR 8TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
August 3, 2018 kind of snuck up on us. I still can’t believe it’s been 8 years. Travis and I have grown so much as a couple and individually. We even look different. We’re a little heavier around the waist and we have some gray hair.
Travis is almost completely gray! I often worry if it’s because of me. Ha! He also has this big beard. I never ever thought I’d like him with a beard until we moved to Michigan.
Also, our faces have matured more and we look a little tired. Lol! Five kids will do that to ya!
CELEBRATING OUR ANNIVERSARY AT BERT’S WAREHOUSE
The weekend of our 8th anniversary we decided at the last minute to have dinner at Bert’s Warehouse. It was going to put a little dent in our monthly budget, but we really wanted to celebrate in a special way with the kids.
Before dinner, we took the kids to the new Art Park. Michala loved the art and Instagram-worthy photo scenes. The little ones wanted to just run around, blow bubbles, and work on a puzzle.
After the Art Park, walked next door to Bert’s and ate dinner together outside on the patio. I chose a table in the corner next to the Diana Ross picture. It was surrounded by a small gate, perfect for keeping the boys close because we knew they would try to run off. Those little boogers.
DELICIOUS FOOD AT BERT’S (Try the Aretha Franklin World Famous Fried Chicken!)
It was a pretty quiet evening, with the exception of the cars going by the restaurant. We enjoyed good soul food while we talked about whatever came to mind. My favorite kind of food!
Travis and I each ordered the Aretha Franklin World Famous Fried Chicken. (SO GOOD!) Elijah had a bacon burger and Michala had just a burger with no cheese. (She hates cheese on her burgers. I don’t know why.) Zhen, Zechariah, and Zephaniah shared a cheeseburger meal.
I LOVE THAT WE’RE ALWAYS LAUGHING.
And of course, we laughed. Whenever the seven of us are together, we’re always laughing. It starts off with someone telling a funny story. Then someone else chimes in with their relatable story, or they pull out their phone to show off a funny meme (eh hem Travis).
And we laugh some more. Then we tell jokes about each other (all in fun) or something random. We tell stories about something we remembered that happened long ago. Then we laugh about that. We laugh so much we have tears rolling down our cheeks.
SOMETHING SURPRISING ABOUT CELEBRATING OUR FAMILY ANNIVERSARY
What surprises me most about celebrating our family anniversary is how much our family has grown in the past 8 years. We started out as a family of four and then over the years, we added three new people. It just amazes me.
I hope we’ll always have our family wedding anniversary. Even when the kids are older with families of their own. I hope every year we can all come together and celebrate our family and love. I think that would be such a beautiful thing.
All photographs are courtesy of Jennifer Hamra for Good Life Detroit.
So cool to see your kids growing up and that you are still happy together! We have something we do on our anniversary as well, we have an anniversary sundial in our window that makes rainbows in the room and it has a special mark on it that the time shadow touches every year at the moment we got married, and we drink a toast when it happens! Many more good years to you all, thanks for telling your story!