5 Years Flies By Fast

This past Saturday Justin and I celebrated our 5th Wedding Anniversary! It's amazing how fast five years goes by. I remember on our first and second anniversary feeling like we'd been married so long, and now all of a sudden that it's been five years, it feels like the blink of an eye. I'm sure my parents would say the same after 40 years...I think that's how life goes.

Here we are on Our Wedding Day - June 14, 2003

5th Anniversary - June 14, 2008

These past five years have been the most amazing years of my life. As a neat little gift for each other, Justin and I both wrote down some "top 5's" of the past five years. I had such a fun time remembering back to all our sweetest times and memories together. Although I won't share all of them with you, I did want to share a few of my top 5's...it's been an amazing few years!

Top 5 Vacations We've Shared...

1. Our Honeymoon of course ranks top at # 1 for me! Justin and I went to Jamaica but honestly I think it would have been amazing no matter where we went. We had such a blast together...just traveling together like that for the first time made us feel so grown up I remember. And just look at us...man, was there really a time when we were that tan and skinny! :) Ahhh, the days.
2. Oahu & Kauai Hawaii is my second favorite vacation.We went for our 3rd wedding anniversary. Again...amazing! It was gorgeous there, and we had the perfect mix of relaxing and doing things. We got to stay on this great little place about 10 yards off the beach for free! My favorite times there were snorkeling and chasing sea turtles, renting this great convertible car and cruising around the island,ocean kayaking out to this bird island sanctuary the helicopter ride in Kauai..truly an awe-inspiring experience. God's beauty and creation are absolutely breathtaking!And then swimming in this restricted lagoon with hardly anyone else around. Just thinking about it all again makes me want to go back!

3. My 3rd favorite vacation with Justin happened this last Christmas break in beautiful Costa Rica! Do you see the beach theme?! I LOVE to relax, but this was a fun trip because we mixed in tons of adventure! Some highlights from this trip were... Arenas Del Mar, the first hotel we stayed in. It was brand new and perched on the side of a cliff in the rain forest leading down to the beach. (Think LOST type scenery). I don't know if we've ever stayed in a nicer hotel..the best part was the jacuzzi on the balcony. All this mixed with good food and good coffee and having monkeys playing in the trees outside the room! Now for the adventure part...zip-lining above the rainforest...and when I say above, I'm talking 600 feet above the tops of the trees at speeds up to 30 mph! Think Tarzan and Jane. And then white water rafting for the first time, and yes I did save my husband's life when we fell out of the raft! Sadly no pictures of this one.

4. My 4th favorite vacation was a couple of spring breaks ago when we took a trip down to Argentina and Brazil. Argentina especially was my favorite! It's such a cool place, I would highly recommend going if you've never been. You've got Iguazu Falls, one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world, it's sits on the corner of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay and is completely breathtaking. We got to hike around it, above it, and even take a boat ride down in it! And the culture there is so fun! You got tango dancing...this place in Buenos Aires called "La Boca"has these incredibly colorful buildings with professional dancers tango dancing in the streets! Don't you think we look as good as they do?!?

Then you have the soccer "football" games with huge crowds very passionate for their team. We went and the concrete stands were shaking from all the yelling and chanting and cheering! I must say a little more spirit than I was used to seeing at the Baylor football games. And you top all this off with some incredible food, especially their steak, culture and atmosphere. It made for a spectacular trip.5. And my fifth and final favorite vacation we've spent together happened 4 years ago. We were so young! J & I took a 10 day backpacking trip across Europe. It's amazing what you can pack into a week and a half. Although I didn't love the tourism, and the constant "go go go" looking back it's absolutely amazing all that we got to see and do in Europe. Just seeing ourselves in front of these places that go down in history books is pretty unreal. A few highlights from this trip were...France, we took a nap in the park in front of the Eiffel Tower during the day, and then at night seeing it all lit up was just beautiful! And laying on the rocky beach in the French Rivierra, mostly the view of the land there, looks like a postcard to me. Then there was Italy...oh how I love Italy. Good food, lots of history, tons to see, and a more layed back friendly people. Seeing things like the leaning tower of Pisa, "The David", Trevi Fountain, The Colluseum, and Venice all in a few short days was a once in a lifetime experience.

I would never have imagined five years ago all the amazing adventures that awaited Justin and I. I am so incredibly thankful for this husband God has given me, and for the sweet times He's given us together so far. It's exciting to think of all the adventures left to come, especially this biggest adventure of parenthood we're about to begin. I can't say enough how good and gracious God is and how wonderful this gift of marriage is!