Ree Shares Old Photos in Honor of Her and Ladd’s Anniversary

"The twenty-first night of September..." I remember it well, from the sweating attack I had before walking down the aisle (it's in Black Heels to Tractor Wheels) to Arizona State beating defending national champs Nebraska during our reception. What a night! When I look at those two kids kneeling at the altar of the Episcopal church of my youth, I can't believe how little (relatively speaking!) we knew about each other. Marriage is such a leap of faith!

My waist was small, his hair was thick, and thanks to the trend set by Drew Barrymore, my eyebrows were pencil-thin! So were Betsy's my sister and maid-of-honor. By the way...I still love this dress. And Ladd gifted me the pearls right before we walked down the aisle! His mom brought them to me in the dressing room and I cherish 'em.

I believe this is on our honeymoon, and I do remember that dress---it was a wrap-around, and I wish I still had it. I'd wear it as a scarf or something. 😂 When I look at Ladd today, I still see this guy. He had salt-and-pepper hair when we met (even though I'm two weeks older) and in this photo, it's giving George Clooney in E.R. I think I got pregnant the night this photo was taken. (Not kidding.)

This was during the filming of the first season of our Food Network show, back in 2011. We'd been married 15 years or so at that point, and Ladd wanted to demonstrate his romantic side. Or was it a wrestling move from his high school days? One can never exactly tell. If you look closely, you'll see that I'm wearing a Spanx camisole, hahaha. I make some very questionable undergarment choices sometimes.

In addition to our human kids, we've been parents to the greatest dogs through the years. This is Walter, our late Basset Hound, in his young and vibrant years. He was such a sweet, unproblematic dog and exuded (and needed) so much love. He passed away over a year ago, and Ladd and I buried him in our family cemetery together, sobbing the entire time. Every doggie loss is hard, especially when the doggie grew up with our children.

Believe it or not, this was taken upstairs in the then-unfinished Merc bakery! We had just bought the building (it was 2013 or so?) and we had no idea what we were going to do with it. We had a Christmas party upstairs that looked like the scene in Hope Floats, and I still remember the fun we had. (That isn't Trisha Yearwood sitting on the chair over to the side---but doesn't it look like her?)

Because of my work travel and Ladd's ranch schedule, not to mention the football and other family things, Ladd and I haven't gotten to travel the world during our marriage. We're making plans to travel more in the coming years, but for the past many years, Vail, Colorado, has been our happy place, our family vacation spot, and the place where I am most able to breathe and reset when life gets to be too crazy. I love it there, and as you can see from the relaxed look on Ladd's face, so does he!

So here's something you may not know about me: I am not moved much by gifts, flowers, and jewelry. Of course I love and appreciate every gift Ladd's given me throughout our marriage, but what I really love is making him laugh. I'm just being honest: I need my husband to think I am funny, and if he doesn't laugh the first or second time, I will ramp it up until he does. Thus, I have conditioned him to laugh more readily because he knows things will spin out of control if he doesn't. And because I'm my own favorite comedian, I often wind up laughing too. Laughter is truly the best medicine, and I've gotta have it. 😊

This was the summer after Alex and Mauricio were married, so we had an extra reason to feel relaxed in Vail this trip. I had also gotten in shape for the wedding, which continued over the next year or so! I've fallen off the wagon a little bit and need to get my bottom back into gear, but also...we women need to give ourselves permission to ride the waves of calorie intake, exercise, and chocolate cake a little bit more. 😉 Life is like that! I've been surfing a lot lately. (Figuratively speaking.)

This is another shot of us in Vail, when Ladd dragged me on a trail called Berry Picker. I've written about it a lot, but this flat field is so misleading, as is the name Berry Picker. It was and continues to be hell on earth, and I'm almost dreading our next trip to Vail for this reason alone. (Why do I keep going on this hike, then???) My smile in this photo is also misleading...

Ladd and I went to Playa del Carmen, Mexico, a couple of years ago to attend the wedding of our boys' football coach, Coach Henno. Neither of us is particularly drawn to the beach: Ladd doesn't like sand and I'm a fair-skinned redhead. But we wound up having the best time on this trip! We never would have gone without the wedding invite.

This is Ladd and me, real and unfiltered, sorting cattle together. (Any agricultural couples know that if you can survive sorting cattle together, you can make it through anything.) After 28 years, we've raised children, lost parents, navigated many changes in our work, and been through many, many ups and downs. Goodness gracious, it's been an adventure and I can't imagine if we'd never met. I can't begin to imagine what the next 28 years will bring, but God willing, we'll get to watch it unfold together!