the allens: 365 Days Ago...

Today is the 20th of August. Exactly one year ago we were doing this:

That's right...we've been married for 1 whole year today! And I have honestly loved every second of it. It is crazy to me that Owen and I have been together for over 2 years now...and married for half of it! I love that I get to call him my husband and he is all mine. I feel like we have grown as a couple so much within this last year and I'm excited for many more anniversaries to come. To me, marriage and being a wife is so many things: fulfilling, exciting, fun, hard, comfortable, sometimes-stressfull, an adventure, amazing. I don't think I can explain how lucky I am to have Owen. He has been such as blessing and the greatest husband and best friend I could ever ask for. So I thought I would document WHY I love this guy so much (mostly for blog book purposes):

We love being with each other all of the time. No matter what we are doing, we don't like to leave the other person. Usually if one of us goes somewhere, the other one is coming too. I guess you can call it separation anxiety? When we worked at our jobs in Utah this past year, people didn't understand how we could sit and work by each other then still love each other at the end of the day. I don't understand how you could NOT want to work with your other half all day. Being together is perfect.

I love that Owen is so kind. To everyone. That is one the first things I noticed about him. He is nice and friendly to anyone around him. And everyone loves him back. He is fun and outgoing and always is ready to play. He is the best concert buddy or snow boarding teacher or sleep over buddy any wife could ask for. What a great best friend!

We have fun together. We make each other laugh. We could sit around all day and do nothing but still have the best day. I love being low maintenance with him. I think it helps that we both have the same top love language: quality time :)

Owen is patient in so many ways. I think it came from growing up with 5 sisters...which I love! He really knows how to handle girls and their (and when I say their...I mean my) drama. I can be crazy and emotional sometimes, and he is always there to make me feel better. Or say sorry even though we both know he did nothing wrong. Sometimes I can snap...or even be a brat...but he is always so sweet back to me. He definitely is a hard one to stay mad at for long :)

I love how much we love each other. We honestly have arguments about who loves each other more. Or who loved each other first. Or who gets to take care of who when we are old and fragile. And I love when we talk in our 'baby' voices to each other. Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about...

I love the memories we already have together. I day dream about our first months together, moving away from home and up to Utah to be with him, driving across the country to Atlanta together, our wedding day, our Mesa trips or all of the fun we had in our first house in Provo together. I still get butterflies when I hear songs that remind me of him. Or us. I hope those feelings never ever go away.

Owen has the best hugs. And kisses. And cuddles. I crave being in his arms during the weeks that he is gone at work. I feel so safe and comfortable when he holds me. I love how he knows that he can put me to sleep by tickling my forehead. I love our hugs that we've been doing since day 1: I jump up and wrap my legs and arms around him while he just holds me. It's my favorite!

I love how we are starting a life together. He makes me want to be a better person and live a great life. I'm excited for the day when we have babies together and have a family to raise. He is going to be such a great dad and a great example of a worthy husband and father. I love the spirit and peace he brings into my life. He will be a perfect partner in life. I love to to think that our family will be sealed together forever...because I never want to let him go.