Mawwage is what bwings us togeva today...

When I tell people I'm married, they immediately assume I'm a newlywed because I look young. But, actually, Kyle and I just shared our 6th year anniversary, which means we are well out of the honeymoon stage and beginning the (cute) old married couple stage.  It's been a whirlwind of emotions and adventures these last six years from graduating college to first jobs to dog babies to new jobs to a new house.  Time flies when you're having fun, eh?

That's exactly what we're good at.  We've laughed our way through some pretty great times. However, as anyone knows, marriage isn't all fun and games.  When two stubborn, hard headed people live together, it can raise some blood pressure.  For instance, he constantly insists he is right, but I know I always am.  It doesn't matter the subject.  As infuriating as he is sometimes, I love sharing my life with him.  He knows me better than I know myself and always knows how to make me laugh when my face is purple with frustration.  He is my BFF, and he is my perfect opposite.  While I hesitate to speak my mind in fear of hurting feelings, bluntness is his second nature.  While I am soft-spoken, he is the life of the party.  While I am somewhat cautious, he is a dare-devil.  If I insist we drink water, he's adamant about drinking Dr. Pepper.  He is my opposite in every way, which is why we work so well together.  We're all about balance.

Don't get me wrong, the man knows how to push my buttons and does things just to make my skin crawl.  I think he prides himself on that.  It drives me crazy that every week he finds a new hobby.  One week he won't live unless he gets a new mountain bike, but the next week he is trying to sell it so he can buy something else.  I don't understand.  I also don't understand how when I rewind the TV and hit play, the sound just quits, like it's laughing at me.  Then, when he presses a button, it's like nothing ever happened.  Or if I restart the computer, it won't turn back on, but if he restarts it, the computer literally grows arms and hugs him.  It's like men have this unspoken relationship with technology.  That or technology hates me, plain and simple.

I don't get how he spends all day reading forums about Formula 1 racing.  I can't stand the amount of car shows he watches.  I hate that when I eat pizza and cinna stix, I'll see it on my hips the next morning, but when he does it, he stays the same.  I hate that he forces me to talk about things that bother me, but I love it at the same time because he'd rather stay up all night than go to bed angry.  However, if these are the worst of our problems, I'd say we're doing OK.

Then again, I do my fair share of crazy, which he remarkably puts up with.  For example, when I change 13 times because "I have nothing to wear,"he calmly suggests I go with the first thing I tried on and convinces me that I look great.  Or when I can't make a decision, he will quietly listen and stare while I argue with myself about what I should or shouldn't do, and he may even offer some advice.  Or when I constantly vent to him about issues at work during his favorite car show, he puts on a fake smile and nods along and even fist pumps in agreement even though he really couldn't care less.

Of course, these are all minor things, but the real joy I find in our relationship is in the little every day things, like finishing each other's sentences with movie quotes or song lyrics or lines from How I Met Your Mother.  For example, instead of just telling me it is hot in the house, he quotes the chorus of the Jonas Brothers' song "Burnin Up."  My husband is cool, guys.  Another one of our favorite family activities is when we howl like maniacs to get our dog Rush to "sing."  Then we make fun of our other dog Roxy, who sounds like a raccoon being choked when she tries to sing with the rest of us.

We also have fun annoying each other.  When I have headphones blaring music in my ears and I decide sing along just as loudly, he will stare at me and discreetly slide his phone in front of him, threatening to make a vine of how off key I am.  That's his way of asking me to stop.  We coddle our dog children and annoy them when we're bored.  We watch volleyball.  We watch Pitch Perfect and quote every line.  We watch the Tour de France and soccer games.  We cook dinner (sometimes).  We are lazy.  Most importantly, we spend most of our time laughing. At each other or at our dogs.  That is my favorite part.

He is my best friend, my fashion consultant, my sounding board, my built-in chef, my handy man, my supporter, my comedian, my hero, and the only face I want to see after a stressful, hair-pulling day at school.  We are far from perfect but words cannot describe how much I appreciate him in my life.  Marriage to me means having a partner that truly understands all of who you are and still loves you unconditionally, even through all the ugly parts.  I'm so blessed to have found that in a man whom I respect and adore.  Thanks, husband, for seeing something worth loving in me.

Happy 6 years, Kyle.  Sixty years from now, we'll be old and wrinkled but still laughing and quoting movies - if we can remember them.  I love you, Kyle Nielsen.



This sums up our relationship pretty well.

My husband is cooler than yours.