These Texas parents did an epic empty nesters photo shoot

PHARR, Texas (KTRK) -- If a picture is worth a thousand words, this Texas couple could write a book about how happy they are to be empty nesters.

Dalila Perez, 51, and Juan Perez, 53, became empty nesters after their youngest daughter, Joy, got married in August. The couple said they saw another set of empty nesters do a photoshoot to celebrate their newfound freedom and thought it would be a great way to celebrate.

"It's a big milestone," Dalila Perez said. "Not everyone makes it to the empty nest together. Now we feel like we ended up where we started."

The couple got married when they were teenagers and raised four children together. Their kids are now all out of the house, and they even have seven grandchildren.

"We were young and dumb teenagers when we got married," Dalila Perez said. "Now we're ready to start dating again. We're having a blast."

The couple said their kids got a kick out of the photos from the photoshoot.

"They are happy for us," Dalila Perez said. "They want us to enjoy our marriage."

Juan is a retired Marine veteran and Dalila was a nurse for 22 years until she recently went back to school to get her bachelor's in organizational leadership.

The two are looking forward to vacationing, having more time to enjoy their hobbies and focusing on their nonprofit business, which works to feed children in the summer, now that their kids are out of the house. They even started a podcast for other empty nesters called "Empty Nesting with Juan and Delila."

Mostly, they're looking forward to being able to spend time together just the two of them.

"We're really getting to know each other more," Juan Perez said. "We're beginning to become better friends and growing our relationship even more."