Five

UPDATE:  So I just realized that the June Blog Hop is about weddings!  And look at that, I have a June wedding anniversary post TODAY!  So hook-up, yo!

Five years ago was the beginning.

But let me go to the prequel.  The "before" the beginning.

I always assumed I would bust out of this small town and marry someone that I met at college (I know...I REALLY busted out by going a whole HOUR away to college.  shut up and listen to the story).  That didn't happen for me.

Cort assumed he would marry his high school sweetheart after they went to college together.  That didn't happen for him.

He and I went to the same elementary school.  We maybe knew OF each other.

We went to the same middle school.  We were probably AWARE of each other (I am a grade ahead of him, so you know, there wasn't a ton of grade mingling going on back then).

We moved on to the same high school where we found ourselves in the same friend group.  One of my BFF's, Erin, had a younger brother, Phil.  Cort hung out with Phil, me with Erin.  Their house was the "hang out house" of the friend groups, so the groups merged.  Consequently although everyone is all over the damn U.S. of A. now, we are all still tight.

Anyway.  I guess our "official" meeting/friendship began one day on a bus to Michigan Adventure.  The physics class was going and I was a senior who begged her way on to the trip (my trip had been rained out the year before).  Somehow the teacher let me go.

I got on the bus and...all dudes.  Not one girl.  So I spotted my not-yet-hubby and asked if he would be my coaster-buddy for the day.  He agreed.  We clicked immediately.  Nothing romantic, just buds from the start.

I went away to college and he and our friends sent me letters and were around every weekend that I came home.  Then they all graduated and came to my college!  Yay!  Cort lasted one year and then went to his girlfriend's college for one year.  We remained BFF's because that's what BFF's do.  After quitting the college thing, he ended up down at my (and the rest of our friends') college every dang weekend.  It was fun times.

In 2003, two years after I graduated from college, I had a horrible break up with a mutual friend of ours whom I had been dating for almost five years.  Cort was right there to console me (along with my BFF, Tonya).  He made sure I ate daily and had fun stuff to do so I wasn't just sitting around.

One day, at a concert (that he totally was too preppy for...he he he), he had a couple drinks and told me he found me "attractive".

I laughed at him.  I didn't mean to, but I thought he was kidding around trying to make me feel better.

He was so not kidding.  I freaked out.

Eventually, after lots of discussion, we decided to go with our hearts.  Nine months later we were engaged.

So now we are back to the beginning.  Ah...we were such a happy couple.  June 18, 2005 was one of the most fun days of my whole life.  We laughed through the ceremony as we read our own vows (Cort's rhymed.  They RHYMED!).  I smiled so much to be marrying my best bud that my face hurt by the end of the day.

After the reception we went up to our room and watched Saturday Night Live.  And kept repeating..."we are MARRIED!" and then giggled!  We had both hoped for a great, fun, love for so long, we didn't realize it was right in front of our faces.

We traveled to Myrtle Beach for our honeymoon.  Most people thought we were going to get divorced right away when they heard we were driving there from Michigan.  But we are like two peas in a dang pod on road trips.  We laughed more on that trip than I thought was humanly possible.  The beginning of our life was beautiful.

Unfortunately, our life together hasn't been all laughs.  That summer--two months after our wedding--we lost Cort's dad to lung cancer. Here we are giving him back to Lake Michigan.  This was our first experience with loss.  It was a devastating.  But we were determined to keep smiling...to keep the laughs and good times going.

And so we went places.  Our first trip together on an airplane (um, our ONLY trip on an airplane so far) was to Seattle.  We totally fell in love with this city and WILL BE BACK.

In 2007 we had our first miscarriage. It was horrible and awful, but we learned that we really did want to be parents some day.  So we went more places.  That summer we were able to travel out West to Montana (again driving) so that I could be the matron of honor in my BFF, Erin's wedding.  We have found that we love road trips together.  Hours and hours of listening to music and chatting and laughing.  Doesn't get much better.

The following year, we had yet another miscarriage. Somehow we held each other through it all and found our laughter back.  That summer, we traveled to the Finger Lakes region (again, driving) of New York to visit our friends, Phil and Liz.  And to take a wine tour.  WE WILL BE BACK!

Then last summer, after four years of marriage, lots of job stress, two miscarriages, and Cort's dad's loss, we had Eddie.  We have never laughed or smiled so much, even in spite of my struggles.

 this picture was taken on the bridge that Cort proposed to me on six years ago

So now we have made it to five.  We have fought through a TON of crap together, that is for sure.  But through it all, Cortney is STILL my best friend.  He is my buddy who I can just hang out with.  He makes me laugh so hard we both are crying.

In honor of this day, our anniversary, I would like to give you the Top Ten Reasons I love Cortney Sluiter:

10. He makes up the BEST alternate lyrics to songs we love.  Most of them are inappropriate for the blog, sorry.

9. Poop jokes do not phase him.  Poop is a part of our life (um, even without kids...everybody poops after all).  We talk about poop more than anything else.  and it's funny.

8. He smells great after a shower.

7. He never judges me when I eat pizza, then some cookies, finish it off with cheese-its, and wash it all down with half a bottle of wine.  At least he never OUT LOUD judges me.

6.  He cleans the house.  All of it (well, except dusting).  Because he knows it makes me more relaxed.

5. He cleans up cat vomit and poop AND scoops the cat box AND gives the cat his food/stool softer.  And it's MY cat.

4. He makes coffee runs to Starbucks every Sunday...and some days just because.

3. He loves on our son like the best daddy in the world.  He can cuddle and soothe our son so well!

2. He puts up with all my whims (like painting walls, reorganizing things, etc.).

1. He loves me no matter what.  NO. MATTER. WHAT.

 He is my love.  He is my partner in this crazy world.  We are a team, and we belong together for always and forever.