Ree Drummond contrasted two throwback pictures with husband Ladd with two modern-day pictures as they celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary this week. The Pioneer Woman also reflected on a quarter century of "joys, pains, ups, downs" ... before sharing a secret about what keeps her going.

Perhaps it's not that much of a secret. Drummond has always spoken fondly of Ladd and his steady hand on the family's Oklahoma ranch, so reading how he keeps her going is not too surprising. In Monday's (Sept. 21) message to fans on social media, the 52-year-old says 25 years has, "been a wild adventure" with plenty of twists and turns.

"And kids," she adds in parenthesis, nodding to the four they've given birth to and their foster son, Jamar. "That whole 'love' thing — the love deepens, expands, and becomes more firmly rooted over time — is definitely there."

"But if you wanna see what's really kept me going all these years, just swipe to the last pic." It's a treat:

A five-photo gallery begins with Ree and Ladd at the altar on their wedding day and continues to a candid snap of them exiting a party bus. The black-and-white image is stylized (1996 wasn't that long ago, after all), but '80s and '90s kids will distinctly remember pictures with the orange date in the corner, as visible there.

The final three pictures are from recently, with at least one coming from their vacation to Colorado taken in July.

"I love you, Ladd," she writes.

Ree and Ladd Drummond's kids range in age from 17 to 24. Oldest daughter Alex recently got married on the Drummond ranch. The party came barely a month after Ladd was involved in a two-car crash near the home, in which he broke his neck. New photos show him to be mostly recovered, or at least able to ditch the neck brace he sported on Alex's wedding day.

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