10 Years!

On July 30, Greg and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary! Wow! It is so hard to believe we've been married that long. Time has flown by so quickly that it feels like much less time has passed. I am so blessed to have such an incredible man of God by my side.

To celebrate, we went to Cancun, Mexico for 1 week without kids. I was a nervous wreck about leaving Caden. I hadn't been away from him overnight for more than 2 days (and even with that I was only a couple hours away) and I was really nervous. My parents watched the boys while we are gone. My only concern was if something went wrong with Caden. What if he got sick? What if the g-tube came out and they can't put it back in? What if? What if? What if? I could go on and on. I knew I needed to let go and leave it in God's hands (and my parents). So that's what I did.

Greg and I took a laptop with us and were able to have internet service in our room at the resort. This was great because we were able to talk via Skype with the boys and my parents. This gave me huge peace of mind because I could see how they were doing, Caden in particular. It was pretty funny because Caden was not too sure about seeing me in the small box on the computer screen. The first time he saw me on there, he cried the whole time. Each time after that he did better with it, even smiling and laughing and “talking” to me.

This vacation was truly one of the most relaxing trips Greg and I have ever taken together. We were very intentional about not scheduling too many things. We didn't book anything ahead of time, that way we could play it by ear and do some deal negotiating there. In the end, that was the perfect way for us to do it.

Our resort was wonderful! We had several beautiful pool areas to choose from, in addition to our own private pool on our balcony. Our unit had a separate bedroom and a kitchen area. And, the resort was on the beach so we could walk down there whenever we felt like it.

We ended spending more time in Playa del Carmen than in Cancun. The resort was on the Riviera Maya which is between the two larger cities. We only went into Cancun once (aside from being at the airport) and that was MORE than enough. It was way too commercialized and “big-city”. Playa del Carmen was much more our speed; very relaxing.

We did two excursions. The first one was a scuba diving trip off of Cozumel. So we took the ferry from Playa del Carmen over to Cozumel where we met up with our dive company. We did two dives with them (Palancar Gardens and Tormentos Reef for those of you who might have been there). We enjoyed both of them. On the first dive, the highlight was the beautiful sea turtle eating his meal of coral. The second dive we saw a lot more marine life including large fish weighing several hundred pounds, and some very large lobsters. After our dive we spent a little time on the island before heading back to Playa del Carmen.

The second excursion we did is probably the highlight of our trip and one we will not soon forget. We took a trip out to snorkel with the whale sharks. For those of you who aren't familiar, a whale shark is a very large shark; on average around 30 feet in length. However, they aren't a typical shark in that they don't have teeth. They eat like a whale, eating plankton, etc. Every year between June-September, they migrate to feed in the waters off the tip of the Yucatan peninsula, north of Cancun. This is the largest congregation of them in the whole world and is quite spectacular.

The company we went with took us out there on the boat and we took turns snorkeling right alongside the whale sharks as they fed along the surface of the water. There were 10 passengers on our boat and we went in two at a time with a guide. The sharks are completely harmless to humans but they could be intimidating to someone simply based on their size. They open their mouths and swim along the top of the water taking in all the food. We were not allowed to touch them, but we were close enough to do so. It was an amazing experience that we will not soon forget. I wish we had an underwater camera so we could have gotten pictures when we were in the water with them. But the best I could do was from the boat. Definitely doesn't do them justice!

Aside from those outings, we enjoyed our time at the resort. We sat by the pool or the beach and read and relaxed. We ordered drinks and lounged around. One day we even ordered pizza to be delivered to us at the pool side. Typically they take it to the room but we didn't want to leave the pool yet. They said it was the first time they had done it but they were happy to accommodate us. And, it made our day!

Overall, the trip was incredibly relaxing and rejuvenating. Our lives at home are very busy and very stressful so it was nice to have the time to ourselves with no real agenda. What a great way to celebrate our 10 years together. I love you Greg! Here's to the next 10 years and the ones after that and the ones after that, etc.


I'm standing in front of our favorite pool area :)

Greg with his non-alcoholic pina colada (I had a strawberry daiquiri!) Mmmmm!

This was our day with the whale sharks. Compare it's size to the boat in the background! Truly amazing!

Greg & I enjoying the tropical water off Isla Mujeres

Another gorgeous sunset sky on our last night in the Riviera Maya