Honeymoon: Alaskan Cruise (in-credible!)
1st Anniversary: 2nd Anniversary:
3rd Anniversary:
4th Anniversary:
5th Anniversary: Las Vegas and The Grand Canyon
This year, our big trip was to Aruba with family so we didn’t want
to take another week off for our anniversary (nor did we want a big price-tag
for the trip). Instead, we chose to go
to Columbus, OH to visit family friends (my friend from high school and her
mom: both who were integral parts of my life during my parent’s divorce) on the
opening weekend of their new Bed and Breakfast. Not only did I want to support them in their new business,
but I wanted to spend some time with them before they got too busy because I am
confident that the Bed and Breakfast is going to be a huge success.
As with all of our trips, we try to do things as frugal as
possible but also make the most of the time we have together. I am lucky to have a father who likes dogs
and especially
adores our dog. When I asked if he would want to take our precious pup
for the long-weekend, he quickly accepted.
This alone saved us $99 in the cost of taking Lana to the pet resort she
enjoys going to. (We took dad and the
family out to dinner as a thank you when we got back.)
On our actual anniversary (Friday, May 3rd), we
were up bright and early packing our bags and preparing the animals for their
weekend without us. We dropped off the
pup to my dads and made the 2 ½ hour trek to Columbus. Before we got to Columbus, we stopped off and
got some lunch at one of Todd’s new-found favorite restaurants: Red Robin.
After that, we headed to the Columbus Zoo.
Oh how I enjoy animals; however, it saddens me that they are caged up
and kept captive. Side Note: If you are ever in the Columbus area and would
like to find an animal reservation, please go to The Wilds. They don’t have all
of the exotic animals and monkeys, but the animals are given thousands of acres
to roam and live naturally.
After walking around the zoo for nearly 5 hours, we were
exhausted. It was time to check into the
Bed and Breakfast and grab something to eat.
We ended up eating at a really nice restaurant for half the price thanks
to a Restaurant.com coupon that we bought for 30% off (a $50 certificate cost us $14!). The food
was delicious, but we were pooped. When
we got back to the B&B, we went straight to bed with our throbbing muscles
and passed out.
The next morning, we were up bright and early to have tea
and sweet rolls for breakfast before we had to head out to our Segway Tour
around Columbus. Oh my goodness…this was
so much fun! Naturally, after we rode
around on Segways for two hours, we both wanted one of our own! We saw so many beautiful homes and historic
places around Columbus, it was great!
After the Segway tour, we went to a topiary park which was
so beautiful. It was one of the few
things to do that was free in the area.
After the park, we decided we were exhausted. We headed back to the B&B and took a 2 ½
hour nap! For me, this isn’t a big deal
because I can do that anytime, but my husband is not a big napper nor does he
require much sleep, so for him to get 2 ½ hours of sleep means he was beyond
exhausted. When we woke up, we got ready
and headed out to dinner with my friend and her husband. It was so great to just sit and talk with
them for hours.
Sunday morning, we woke up, had breakfast and went to church
with my friend and her husband. After
that, she surprised us with a mini photo-shoot (she is an awesome photographer)
for our 6th anniversary.
I say this every year and I will say it again: marriage is
not easy.
My marriage with Todd is less than perfect with highs and lows.
We have gone through a lot together, and through it all, we
still choose to work on what we have.
As a marriage counselor has told us in the past, “Plan for
tomorrow…you haven’t screwed that up yet.”
When those days and weeks are really bad, we plan for tomorrow. We try to live for today but sometimes, planning
for tomorrow is all that keeps us going.
I listen to the following podcasts that help me keep my
marriage moving in the right direction. I
highly suggest listening to them if you ever feel like you could grow in your
marriage.
We had an incredible weekend that was precious in so many
ways. Not only did the time with Todd
strengthen our marriage, but I got to spend time with two (very) strong women
who inspire me with the way they live their lives (in faith) as well as how
they handle struggles in their marriages.
Happy Anniversary.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kathy! I was just thinking about you the other day. :-)
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