A Year Later

Well, contrary to what some people wanted to believe… me and Jennell were able to make it one whole year (some people will know exactly what I’m talking about).

It was Jan. 19, 2008 that Jennell and I were fortunate enough to have all of our friends and family down here in Concord for our wedding. It was a great night that I know both me and Jennell think about quite often. Of course, with the way our 2008 went, had we known then what we know now, the wedding might have looked a little different, but it was still a great night.

And 2008 was an interesting year. I left my job at 51 Sports, Jennell took a job at IAA and then left it, and we started two new businesses, in 2 Dudes Designs and Tiki Tan. And we got Brutus, which is like a job in itself. So it was a stressful year for sure.

And like any year of any marriage, there were some tough times, but there were far far far more good ones than tough ones.

So to celebrate our first year of marriage being done, we spent a lot of time with a lot of friends.

On Saturday night, our friends Wendy and Doug took us out. But first, they gave us a couple of anniversary gifts. We got a bottle of vodka (for JT) and an awesome Seahawks blanket that Wendy made (for Jennell, even though Wendy said she was looking to make an Ohio State one as well if she found the fabric).


So we went to downtown Charlotte (that was a big trip for them) to a place called Rock Bottom Brewery. And it was good. There was brick oven pizza, solid nachos, pasta and Hawaiian chicken. And plenty of brew to go around. Then, we headed to The Flying Saucer bar in the University area for a couple of more drinks and a couple of Woodchuck Ciders and Pear Ciders. And good thing there was one of those touch-screen bar games there. We played that for HOURS while drinking. It was a great night.

Sunday, we spent the day at the track with the Stroupes. Then, they took us out to Carrabas for our anniversary. They also gave us a very nice card and a cool little figurine. Then, they came back to Tiki Tan to see how it was progressing. The boys were asking all weekend what Tiki Tan looked like and how much they want to run the logo on their racecars. That should be cool once it gets done (come’on Dale).

So on Monday, our actual anniversary… we didn’t do anything! Ha! Well, we were planning to go out to eat, but decided to postpone it since we had eaten out the two nights before with our friends. So Sticky Fingers… we’re coming one of these nights.

We did exchange cards and gifts… kinda. We each gave our cards and Jennell gave me her gift to me… a couple of awesome Wii games that we played the rest of the night. She thought it was a lame present… but I loved it. If it is something we can enjoy together, then I liked it.

My present, well, it was supposed to be done before Monday night. Then maybe on Monday. Then, it got pushed back to Tuesday and Jennell finally got it on Wednesday. It’s a framed print that features our first dance photo in the middle, with a copy of our vows on each side above pictures of each other while the vows were being read. Its got a three-dimensional look to it. It really came out even better than I thought it would. I was happy with it and Jennell loved it.


We also got our frozen wedding cake out of the freezer and had some of it. Ok, so it wasn’t as good as a year ago, but I was still pretty good. And even better, we freed up all kinds of room in the garage freezer. *see Jeremy above enjoying his cake. He loves his cake.*

So we had a great anniversary, especially considering as busy as we’ve been lately.

There will be many more to come. And each one will continue to prove more and more people wrong. And we’ll be laughing together the whole way.