5 Years Of Marriage

Blake and I just celebrated our 5 year anniversary last week with a Mexican Riviera cruise. We have been talking about going on a big 5 year vacation since we got pregnant with Ethan just 5 months after we were married. I did not think we were going to be able to go on a vacation because as usual things just kept coming up. Blake surprised me for an early anniversary present. He had put some money aside in a separate bank for our cruise. Very sneaky because it is hard to pull one over on me and he did. We had a wonderful time and here are some of the close to 200 pictures we took.Our first stop was Puerto Vallarta. We went horseback riding through the mountainous. countryside. It was so beautiful. The horses road through creeks and even swam through a river. It was so beautiful to see Mexico on horseback. After the horse back we had some time to shop and view the city on foot. We even went to what they call the American Embassy -- Walmart. Yes I know my hat is a little silly but the sun was so intense I was avoiding a sunburn at all costs.

Our next stop was Mazatlan, Mexico. This was my favorite port. It was the least commercialized of the three cities we visited and it was absolutely beautiful. We took a 40 minute boat ride over to an island called Deer Island (Mazatlan used to be just over populated with White Tailed deer). At the Island we were able to play volleyball, do the beach thing, hike and kayak. Here is Blake playing volleyball with all the Mexicans tour guides we had -- they loved having them on their team because he was head and shoulders taller than everyone else.This picture was taken at the top of Deer Island -- this just gives you a glimpse of the beauty we saw.

The only thing I did not like about this day is that it was not long enough. The beauty was just breathtaking.Every night we would come back from dinner and our Room Steward had made a little animal out of towels -- we took a picture every night with the creature he made -- this one was a Monkey hanging from the ceiling.Here is one of the sunsets from the balcony in our room. Our last stop was Cabo and the only pictures we got where actually kind of boring so I am not posting any of those. Our cruise made port in LA on Sunday morning and my very very very good friend, Brie, picked us up and entertained us until we left on Monday. Brie was in our wedding and I have not had the chance to see her since our wedding. It was so good to see such a good close old friend (no she is not old but she has been a friend for a long time). This picture is at the beach near her house.We went out to eat with some other friends of ours from college - Me, Brie, Michelle, and Erin. Erin on the end just had a baby 3 months ago. Avery was born at 32 weeks gestation. She was 2lbs and ? oz -- she now weighs 9 lbs and is just adorable. It is so fun for me to see old friends as parents and Erin and Josh are very good parents.

Here is a picture of Avery -- the little thing just did not want me taking her picture.
It is amazing to think back 5 years and see how much God has blessed us. Thanks to all of you that have been apart of our lives and helped develop our lives over these past years. We love you.