“The highs and lows and in-betweens You’re the one that’s there for me When I hurt and when I bleed You make it better” NEEDTOBREATHE – Fall On Me [Ft. Carly Pearce]
“A year ago, I would’ve never pictured my life the way it is now”
It’s cliche to say it but it’s damn true. I remember sitting down to write last year’s version of this post. I remember how honestly difficult 2022 proved to be, and thinking, as I usually do, that it has to get better. As I wrote it then;
2023 is going to be another year of unknowns and I feel like I say that every year and every year it’s a true as the year before it. I think for a change I’m sticking to do things for me, that I want, and as I want to. I’ve spent far too many with my focus elsewhere. Here’s to a new year of all of the things.
2023 did indeed show to be some of what I thought it would be and a lot of what I could have never imagined. Removing the Covid years because we’d all chalk them up as what they were. We did the best we could given the circumstances and that’s that. 2022 was, well, you can read about 2022 here, why repeat it. 2023 started off much like years before it. I was leading my guild in World of Warcraft and we were doing great things in that regard. That lasted up until the middle of the year I would say. In May this past year, we did a guild meetup in Las Vegas that was a lot of fun, but after we all got back the game slowed down and we put ourselves on a hiatus until we decided that coming back was right. It was needed for everyone really, to enjoy summer, get out, live, and do things. Our Vegas trip was in the middle of May and we hit our hiatus right about mid-July. I expected that though, what I didn’t expect came right before then.
You can see all of our photos for 2023 in the slideshow above, to think we started out with Barbie and ended up where we are.
Let’s travel back through some of the posts we’ve had together this year.
WHOA. Lucky’s blonde and has no beard? What is this madness? I know, I know it’s outside of the normal look. Sometimes though you just have to do what fits the theme best. This is what we decided was best and here we are! You might notice another blonde co-starring in this particular post with me. Don’t get confused though, it is not the infamous Cori Conundrum. She’s still around but only when required. Today we have someone new to introduce, Miss Mackenzie Drascol. She very willingly opted to be the Barbie to my Ken for this shot and I do think she pulled it off perfectly. I would say get used to the name because you’ll probably be seeing her around here quite often. I’ve grown very fond of her 😉
At the beginning of July, Mackenzie and I finally linked up after somewhat playing tag in the week or so before that. She is the piece of the puzzle that I could never have planned for or expected. What started out as just meeting to see how it would go, how the conversation flowed, and whether we were even compatible, turned into the best thing ever. I wouldn’t have known it that first night, but I certainly could have assumed it after the conversation went on until five in the morning. Time flew by like it was nothing and even after not sleeping I did not want to go. From that day forward we’ve been inseparable and though life can have its difficult moments (we’ve all got them), we support one another, do what we can, and get to the next day.
I know I introduced Mackenzie to the blog and all of the things that come along with it not that long ago, but we’ve known one another to a degree for quite some time, and in the time we’ve been together it’s very apparent how in sync we truly are. There’s no should’ve, would’ve, could’ve with her. We do what we want to do, each one of us has their things, we respect one another’s wants and needs, and communication is a piece of cake. It’s the first time in a long time that I truly have zero complaints about anything. Everything just works like it should and even though we both probably expect the next day to have something where it goes sideways or weird, it just doesn’t happen. The past has led us to where we are and neither one of us is taking it for granted. We embrace and enjoy every moment and plan to for a long time to come.
Our chemistry together was almost instant. We could have never known it when we first met but in those early days, we spent so much time talking and getting to know each other that it quickly became apparent that we have something truly special here. Shep likes to say we caught lightning in a bottle, which when you think of how many SL relationships end up, we certainly did. We were just talking last night about how great it is, but that we are the exception, not the rule, and that is so true. I would have never guessed that she would walk into my life when she did and change everything. Naturally, when it came to asking her to marry me, I was nervous, but I trusted that this was right and she ended up saying yes. I could not have been a happier man, I still don’t know what I did to deserve her, but I wouldn’t trade this for anything.
I knew when booking this trip that it was going to start on Mackenzie’s birthday so I made sure to add in the special request to add some birthday decorations to our villa. Gabe of course more than delivered on that by nailing the color, making sure we had plenty of balloons and confetti to celebrate the occasion as well as a lovely cake to enjoy. (You can see that in the first photo of the post, I wanted to make sure we got a shot of that because it meant a lot to both of us.) I truly can’t thank them enough for that because the experience of being there and seeing all of the things they do is the true value of the vacation itself, that time with your person, or people you’ve gone with, is made by the work and care they’ve put into that location. It shows time and time again and I know I will be back.
We took our first vacation together over her Birthday weekend in August and it was an absolute blast. Check out the link on the photo above to read more about it. I knew she had never been on an SL vacation and Highlife Destinations is always the best in my opinion so going to 2023’s version of Bali was a no-brainer. We spent an amazing three days there and getting to share those moments with her was truly priceless. It led to us going to Aspen for New Year’s this year which you can see one photo of above. We knew it was the perfect place to ring in 2024 together. Before the festivities, we did the Taste Buds cooking class and it was an absolute blast getting to experience that together. We made Roasted Hog, New Year’s Cupcakes, and Margaritas. I highly suggest anyone who visits spend the time doing it because it is worth every second.
I liked our outfits from going out the night before and said we should shoot a picture tomorrow for our one month because we looked really good. As soon as she logged on she was ready to go and got right into getting this shot. She shot one as well which I’m sure you’ll see show up soon on her feed. I’m just grateful to have found someone who fits me and who I fit with so well. This is just one of those moments I don’t want to forget. I am yours.
We spent some time figuring out what dates we thought might work for us both, we looked far and wide across the grid and ended up finding the right place to do it all. On October 7th we’ll say “I do” and start that chapter of our Second Lives. I’m excited as all hell and can’t wait because like I’ve said before I’m keeping her. We still have to figure out bits and pieces of the wedding of course but that will get done in the time we have leading up to it. I really love what we’ve come up with so far. I think it’s going to be very memorable for us. I love you babe. ♥
I remember setting this shot and idea up so we could have a wedding date announcement photo/post. I won’t talk about how long it took for me to get it the way I wanted but in the end, it was great. Mackenzie has always been up for just about any idea I can come up with. As I’ve said having a partner who is all in on your ideas, supports you on the things you enjoy, and is just all around the best when it comes to anything is something I can’t explain.
Nothing is more satisfying than ensuring your baby is well taken care of. Learning her wants and needs has been one of the most fun parts of being with her. It’s one thing to be able to go out and spend a bunch of money, take a trip, get this, or get that. It’s an entirely different thing to figure out what spots give her chills. What words and sounds turn her on.
We’ve shot a few photos that fall under the more erotic category and while we don’t do them a ton they are a lot of fun to shoot. I’ve always been about pushing the boundaries and doing things outside of my normal scenes. Doing different things and having a beautiful woman who wants to be shown off and encourages the more sexual side of us really amps up the pleasure of shooting those shots. I’ve got some more planned for us into the new year. I think they’ll be a lot of fun when we get to them. I’m always proud to show her off. Daddy has to take care of his babygirl after all.
I am so unbelievably excited. I mean I have been excited before but this is a whole different level of excitement. We both are very thrilled to be expecting our first little one together. That’s right, we are pregnant! We’ll be welcoming our little bundle of joy into the world this November at some point. I’m a November baby, so it’s really cool to be having a little one in the same month. I can’t wait to start this journey with Mackenzie. She did a spectacular job of surprising me with the news; I never saw it coming. She made got an awesome “Hello Daddy” box with a onesie, booties, and the positive test and made me a beautiful card to tell me the details. I’m still on cloud nine from it! I can’t wait to meet our little ginger baby ♥
Welcome to our wedding post! Not only do you have me and my photos here this time, but you also have Mackenzie’s photos as well! We had planned on co-blogging this, but real life is busy (which I’m sure we can all relate to), so I have the go-ahead to write this one. She will definitely be on here in the future, though, so keep your eyes open for that. Make sure you head over to her Flickr and show her some love on her photos. You can look forward to photos by both of us (I’m going to be super honest and say she took breathtaking photos that are to die for), thoughts on the big day, and how great Costa Bella Weddings treated us. The featured photo for this post is not mine, either. Mackenzie, whom I’ve said numerous times is fantastic at what she does, gets that honor today. Congratulations, Mrs. Spiritor! ♥
Our wedding day was magical. I know everyone usually says that but it truly was. We had the people who truly mattered there. Our vows were beautiful (you should read hers in that post). She was an absolutely stunning bride. Our honeymoon was an incredible time that we’ll remember forever. The photo above is hers, it was such a perfect shot that I had to use it for our wedding post.
“I am so proud of her and lucky to have her in my life. She is my first thought every morning and my last thought every night. I don’t know where I would be without her. I am eternally grateful that our paths lined up. Every day since then has been nothing short of amazing. I’ve talked about past lives before; as you know, she and I are both pretty big believers of us having had one at some point, somewhere, and we’ve found our way back to one another now.”
We fell into the rabbit hole of #Swifttok. Yes, that’s right, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have taken over, and we are all for it. I have long since been a Swiftie, so all the Taylor news going around is pretty normal to me. Mackenzie is also a Swiftie, maybe slightly newer to the fandom than I am, but she’s all in on Travis Kelce. The idea behind this came from her falling into the rabbit hole first and sharing it. Which led to me falling down it and then going I could do something fun with this. When I presented the idea to her, she was game for it (she is always willing to participate in any ideas I have), and we got around to shooting it the other night.
I don’t have to say much here, you all know how big Taylor Swift is in general and around these parts. Obviously with her and Travis Kelce being an item we had to do something fun. Mackenzie is a huge Swiftie now after starting out slowly with Folklore/Evermore. We’ve gotten into a lot of the albums and now T.Swift is a daily part of our lives haha. We’ve sat and watched The Eras Tour together, The Reputation Tour, and I’m sure there will be plenty more. Mackenzie is my end game, the Swift to my Kelce.
This month is an extra special one because we’ve officially welcomed our little bundle of joy into the world. That’s right on November 11th, 2023 at 1:24am, Charlotte Adeline Spiritor, was born. Both Mackenzie and Charlotte are doing extremely well as you can tell and we are both overjoyed at having her here finally. It’s been amazing to experience together and I couldn’t be happier having her with us finally.
Welcoming Charlotte into the world added an entirely new dimension to our lives. It’s the first time we’ve ever done the entire experience and God I would do it again. (She already knows that of course, and who knows you might see another little Spiritor here down the line.) She is the best mother I’ve ever known. The level of care she shows for our Charlie is second to none. Baby clothes, furniture, diapers, bottles, you name it, it’s around the house somewhere. It’s been an amazing journey to share together.
We’re here now in December and will get to celebrate our first Christmas together in SecondLife. If you had told me that six months ago I wouldn’t have believed it. We’ve mostly finished decorating the house for the holidays and shot our first Christmas photo, it’s going to be so nice to spend it together. In the months since that first photo we’ve taken many more, different ideas, new formats, and unique looks, it’s refreshing to have a partner who truly appreciates the work you put in and puts in just as much to make things great. Sometimes the idea is mine, sometimes it’s hers, and it really is a collaboration even if she tries to tell you I did the work of setting things up.
Merry Christmas! We were up nice and early thanks to the little one but I’d be lying if I said the two of us weren’t just as excited to get our first Christmas together started. Aside from buying for Charlotte, Mackenzie and I tend to do most of our shopping throughout the year so Christmas is more about quality than quantity. Sure we have a few things we’ll get one another, but for us, the time together, seeing the little one happy, and just enjoying all of the moments are the biggest things.
This year Mackenzie got us all pajamas to wear for our first Christmas morning together and it was definitely a great decision. All three of us were dressed for the season and had a great time opening gifts and spending that time with each other. It’s the time you never get back and the memories that last a lifetime. I look forward to making many more with Mackenzie, Charlotte, and any others we end up adding to this little family of ours.
Welcome to the third of our Christmas ideas for photos and yes I am aware today is the 30th of December, so we’re through Christmas. This one is Christmasy but not completely so I think it’ll do just fine now. Mackenzie had gotten us each one of these Reindeer kigurumis from {Sakura} and wanted to take a silly picture of us somewhere. We settled on the “Where Our Journey Begins…” sim as the scene for this adventure.
We had a lot of fun with Christmas this year, it being our first Christmas together, and having Charlotte made it all that much more special. She has been the best, most unexpected gift I could have ever dreamt of, and I’m so lucky to have her in my life. I have never met a more loving, caring, kind, considerate, thoughtful, smart, funny, sweet, sexy, beautiful person in my entire life. That list could go on for days literally.
Mackenzie’s New Year’s Eve Photo on Flickr!
The last six months of this year have been the best I’ve experienced in this world, and I cannot wait to see all of the months that lie ahead of us. The future is ours to create, I know we have big plans and together there is nothing that can stop us. I’m grateful for everything she does, and everything she brings into my life, she’s truly my other half.
I love you so much, Mackenzie. You are the perfect end to 2023 and the most incredible way to start 2024. Here’s to our new year. I can’t wait to make more memories with you, to see the future we have talked about, and all of the other things that you know. There is not a moment I take you for granted and I am so incredibly proud of you. I love you, forever and ever and always.
Lastly, thank you, readers, lurkers, hell even the haters (you know who you are!) for following along as this year has gone by. It’s wild to think about how 2023 started and how it’s ending. Truthfully, a year ago, I would have never pictured my life the way it is now, and now I would not change a thing. Cheers to 2024, bigger and better things are coming. Credits can be found below or in their respective posts.
“You will always be The one that I can call The safest place to fall For me When I can’t stand” NEEDTOBREATHE – Fall On Me [Ft. Carly Pearce]
Credits:
~Mackenzie~
Head: LeLutka EvoX AVALON 3.1 ~ Jaden Nova Hair: TRUTH Collective / Levitate ~ FAGAHair Resident Body: [LEGACY] [BODY] (f) Perky Edition (1.6) ~ MeshBody Resident Arm Tattoo: HORL – Arm Orn 4 Tattoo [FADED 50] ~ Bree Coy Nails:e.marie // Mix&Match Coffin Nails + materials ~ Emiliana Nova
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