When it comes to being married in general, this day in age, it's hard to keep a good thing going! According to a google search I did (I know, real official), 40-50% of first marriages end in a divorce. Things aren't like they used to be where a wife stays home and tends to the kids and a husband brings home the bacon.

Although, I don't have a "Real" job, I have been booted into the work scene/business owner since committing to run my own micro dairy in 2020! Ty and I work day in and day out to make sure all of the tasks are accomplished on the ranch from milking cows to cleaning pens to tending to the beef herd to making sure facilities are kept.

September 25th, Ty and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary. A typical anniversary for us is the regular daily tasks, nut usually we check cows out in the pastures. But on our anniversary, Ty gets all the gates! I know, this sounds silly... but this really does make a gal feel special! Ty's the first one to tell you that I am the best gate opener he knows! I am a "words of affirmation" type gal, so hearing him say that to people makes me all giddy inside (I do secretly know he says that to keep me happy, content and feeling appreciated for opening gates and in return keeps him in the pickup driving)! It's a win win in my opinion!

After checking cows he will treat me to a lunch at our local Mexican restaurant where we get our typical orders but get spoiled with a complimentary anniversary brownie and ice cream for dessert! We continue on the rest of the day doing all the typical things but with a little extra flair because it is, in fact, our anniversary.

This year I put my foot down and told Ty we had to do something for our special 15th year! I knew exactly what I wanted to do, I just had to make sure he was on board for leaving in the midst of our fall run with preconditioning calves and daywork. He was on board so I booked a hotel a couple months in advance to go to Custer, South Dakota and watch their Annual Buffalo round-up at Custer State Park!

This, my friends, was just what the doctor ordered! It wasn't a tropical vacation a whole travel day of flights away or some romantic cruise where you get spoiled to the hilt with massages and pampering. This was a six hour drive and didn't break the bank! We got to experience a prep day to scout out where we wanted to view the round up, got some souvenirs and did some site seeing. An early morning wake up on a cool morning to try and get the best place to put our chairs as possible for our viewing needs! We brought snacks and drinks and had no rush, just enjoyed our time together (even if ty took a little nap in our 4.5 hour wait).

I used this anniversary to possibly prepare and research for our next anniversary to be able to apply to ride in the round-up in 2026! See, I like to kill two birds with one stone! If I get selected, we will be there again next year, just in a different setting!

I love that over the years Ty and I have built a strong relationship through all the ups and downs. I put out a pretty lengthy, mushy Facebook post on the day of our anniversary and spoke from my heart. I spotlighted that at 15 years I am just beginning to see the love that these 30+ year marriages have. It's an unspoken love and knowing each other inside and out. It's being one and having an unwavering trust in one another. It's knowing how to support your spouse in all types of circumstances and helping guide them through it, hand in hand.

At 15 years in and I still love the guy more every single day! And, I'm sure his first choice wouldn't have been a buffalo round-up but he was perfectly happy to do exactly what made me happy! To top off our anniversary day, he bought me a beaver fur winter bomber hat! Most women get jewelry and flowers for their major anniversary's... my husband knows my heart and made it perfectly perfect for me!