Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Celebrating 6 Years of Marriage


 Each year of marriage, Todd and I try to get away to experience new places and focus on one another.  We have had some pretty awesome trips over the past 6 years of marriage (including our honeymoon to Seattle & Alaska!).  They include:

Honeymoon: Alaskan Cruise (in-credible!)
1st Anniversary: GatlinburgTN
2nd Anniversary: Lancaster, PA 
3rd Anniversary:  WashingtonDC  and Chesapeake BeachMD
4th Anniversary: BeverlyWV 
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.  

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