9 Years Strong

 9 years, I mean WOW! And this Christmas Day it will be 11 years that we have been together. Sometimes it seems short and other times I literally cannot wrap my head around the fact that we have been married for 9 years TODAY! As you know this year has been tough, I mean really rough. We did get to travel over the Summer which was so much fun but other than that this was a year full of hardship.  But I am so proud of us that we made it thru, a lot of couples do not make it thru infertility and a final diagnosis like ours. And you know what..... this card was the most perfect card I have ever given Matt...........

9 Years is Leather which is really a perfect representation of our marriage:

Leather is Tough and Strong

Leather can be worn and still valuable

Leather is in it for the long haul

I knew immediately what I wanted to get Matt but getting it wasn't super easy! His favorite Cardinals player of ALL TIME is Ozzie Smith, the Wizard. And you all know me... I like a challenge and I found it........

 Matt was beyond shocked and excited that his "leather" gift from me was an authentic Ozzie Smith autographed baseball! I was so excited to give this to him and it took him a few minutes to wrap his head around the fact that this was REAL!!!!!!
I say it a million times on here... my love of gift giving and my gift of being good at it ... it's so selfish really, because I feel SO GOOD when I find the perfect gift and make someone happy!

 I also wanted a more thoughtful gift so I found this Wish Jar. Matt and I are going to write our wishes going into our 10th year of marriage and next year on our 10th anniversary we will open it back up, read it and see what we have made come true. Positive wishes is really what we need right now.

Happy Anniversary my Matty, making it 9 years is such an accomplishment with everything that has stood in our way over the years. And I will say it over and over there is no one else I would rather fight with. I love you!

Eight & Always

You know it is hard to remember our wedding day, do you find that to be true? 8 Years ago today we were married and it is all a blur. I do remember when we were walking back down the isle my cathedral veil got caught on a pew decoration but other than that the night only lives in my pictures.

During these 8 years it also seems like time flies, the good, the bad and all the in-between have come and gone. Matt and I have had our fair share of trails and we are in a stressful time right now with Infertility and our sick dog Oscar. But we have made it thru everything and we will do the same with this valley.

Tonight we are headed out to dinner to celebrate our marriage and 8 years and I am excited about that. Cheers to our future! Happy 8 Years Love!

Mayakoba

 We only really did one "excursion" on our vacation in Mexico and we did it because it made Matt so happy! About 5 miles from our resort is the stunning resort compound of Mayakoba (HERE) and next week the PGA will be having a tournament at their beautiful golf course! In fact this is the only PGA tournament in Mexico and Matt got to play the course!!!!!

 And me? I was the BEST cart driver around!! I also tried to capture the day for us both and I picked out a few of my favorite pictures that best showcase this beautiful course!

 This course has 3 parts......beach, jungle and swamp.....it is truly the perfect essence of Mexico!

 Here was my favorite hole.... I mean this is unreal!

 I was so funny....I literally got out of the cart and ran up to the hole to look over at the beach and ocean. It sounds repetitive but it was one of the most beautiful places I have I been......and ya, Matt was overjoyed!

 This was so cool...... In the middle of that fairway is literally a cave! It was so neat.....

 And yup, our little friends were all over the course and they pretty much made my day!!

 Someone told me they look like little Brontosauruses and that cracks me up.....they do!!!!

It was a great day and Matt even Birdied a hole......which will be neat for him to watch the greats like Rory and Tiger next week play the SAME hole!!!!!!!

Secrets Maroma Beach

Ok guys.... I am back and I have a vacation picture overload for you guys!!! We got back last Wednesday night and here today when I look back it seems like a dream! We don't get to travel like this and this was our first true vacation since our honeymoon 7 years ago so this just all seems so unreal!!! 

 Secrets Maroma Beach is in the Riviera Maya outside of Cancun and it is one of the only all white sand beaches in Mexico! The resort was everything I hoped it would be and more!! And ya....the fact that we splurged and got the swim-up suite was AH-mazing!!!!!!!!

 Something I couldn't get over is how stunning the water was.......the blues and greens were out of this world! It was so fun!

 On the Friday I spent the whole morning in the Spa and it was so wonderful!! The entire set-up was so relaxing and just beautiful! It was such a treat!

 I don't have too many pictures of us to be honest because we didn't do much and that was perfectly fine with us! We spent our mornings by the pool and our afternoons at the beach!

 The resort constantly had waiters walk around all day and get you anything you need from drinks, water to food......I sure do miss being waited on like that! haha!

 The resort had 6 amazing restaurants and we got to try each one........Sushi to French to Mexican and they were all so delish!!!

 So these little critters were all over the resort and to us they looked like a mix between a raccoon-puppy-monkey and they were just the cutest!

 This is our private patio that opened to the pool!!! Matt loved spending his afternoons out here while I napped inside!!!

 This is where the resort has their weddings.......perfect isn't it?

 You know we were sad to leave but happy to come home to our fur-kids!!!!!

7 Year Itch...

I can't believe that this was 7 years ago......and to be honest I am not even sure if it seems like shorter or longer than that. It's so funny, I don't remember too much about our wedding it was such a blur but it sure is nice to take some time to look back once a year!

 Do we have the 7 year itch? Well we sure had the itch to celebrate in Mexico! Right now we are on our first real/non-work/non-weekend vacation since our Honeymoon 7 years ago! crazy! To the Nicole that is writing this a week early.....have fun, relax and remember the animals won't know how long we are gone!

 Matt and I have been thru so much in 7 years..... job changes, houses, moving, moving again and I won't lie our road has not been easy. But what we do have is a passion to always aim higher. We pulled ourselves thru dark times and I can say that currently Matt and I are in the best year of our marriage. I am excited for the future and where that road will take us.....just hopefully not on another move! haha!

Happy 7 Years my love!

I have a Secret to tell ya....

This past week Matt and I were talking about the move, what we expect, what we hope will happen after we get settled and how we will focus on us for once after the move. I mentioned to him that with the money we make off of our house we should go on a actual vacation......our FIRST since our honeymoon! Matt said YES, we deserve to have one frivolous spend!! This October over our 7th Anniversary we will be in Mexico for 6 days!!

 I did TONS of research on resorts like which ones are Top Rated, have the best reviews and price to match so we could really get the most out of our trip and I found Secrets Maroma Beach!!! This is not only a 5 Star resort but is one of Travel & Leisure Magazines Top 10 Resorts in Mexico!!!

 We actually decided to go with the Preferred Club Junior Swim Out Suite (above) that comes with our very own Butler, 24 hour room service, private Cabana on the beach, Free Golf, breakfast in bed and much much more! I cannot express how excited I am!!

 This place also has 7 restaurants and has been voted Best Beach in Mexico due to it's white sand that is just like you are in Jamaica!

 6 Months is awhile away but that gives us time to continue our weight loss with a goal in mind, focus on making our marriage strong and much much more! Having something to look forward to is amazing!!

You can check out our resort HERE!!!