Florida

So....13 years , 5 kids later, we finally got to leave the kids and go on a trip.  Just us.  All alone and kid-less for a week.  My mom was so kind and agreed to come and stay with our kids so that we could go and not worry about  them while we were gone.  We found some pretty great deals in Panama City Florida because it  was off season. Got to love a good road trip.  Without kids it really is quite fun. Thirteen hours later we drove up to our 21st floor condo.  It was super nice and was located right on the water.  We walked in and went straight to the balcony. The view was pretty amazing and the sound of the water crashing on the beach was so calming. This was one of the best weeks of my life.  We had the best time.  We were able to find great deals on deep sea fishing and a dolphin, snorkeling boat ride.  They were both amazing.  It was so cool to swim around and catch all kinds of sea life that we'd only seen in pictures.  It was incredible to see dolphins so close and so relaxing to sit on the boat and enjoy the scenery.  Deep sea fishing was also super fun.  We caught fish non stop for about 3 hours.  The minute the bait hit the bottom fish would hit it and we would start reeling.  We even had to fight a dolphin for our fish.  Sadly the dolphin won.  Someone on the boat actually caught a 5 ft shark.  It took him like 2 hours to reel it in.  We got to bring in a bunch of really cool fish but unfortunately we had to throw back quite a few because they were out of season. They were experiences we will never forget.  We spent alot of time just walking down the beaches, collecting cool shells and enjoying the sand and water.  One day we decided we wanted to snorkel again.  We rented the gear and went off to Shell Island.  We ended up finding a whole bunch of hermit crabs.  There were so many.  It was pretty amazing to see under the water and watch all the fish in their environment.  We got to eat a lot of good fresh fish, relax and go and do as we pleased.  It was a great time to focus on just us as a couple.  Us before kids.  I'm not saying we regret the kids by any means but it was pretty incredible to be able to just focus on us for a bit.  The week went too fast and before we knew it our time was up.  We returned to happy kids that were spoiled with love and games the whole time we were gone.  They have such a good grandma.  This trip reminded me yet again that I may be married to the best man in the whole wide world. 

13 years ago today this little girl made one of the most questionable decisions of her life. A decision for which I will forever be grateful. What do you say to the girl that is the reason you are who you are, the one that makes you believe that you can do anything? What do you say to the girl that has sacrificed so much just so she can watch you succeed? What do you tell the girl that has used up all her own strength pushing you along? Not really much you can say other than Thank you Becky, for the first 13 years of the best eternity of my life. I have loved every single minute of my life with you.