Anniversary Getaway

Kreg and I celebrated our 5th anniversary on May 31st! The past five years have been a whirlwind that we would not trade for the world.  We like to think we got a little bit of a jumpstart on "life" getting pregnant 4 months into our marriage :) The ONLY thing we occasionally wish we had had a little more time for was traveling together.  Don't get me wrong... we would not wish away our precious Westin or the time we have spent with him for anything and we have been blessed to be able to travel as a family almost every year... but as far as traveling as couple...well, thankfully we had a really great honeymoon :) This year though, we had an almost 2-year-old and almost 4-year-old and decided it would be a good opportunity to get away just the two of us.  We have fantastic grandparents just a few miles down the road who were willing to keep our babies for a week and we are SO THANKFUL for this trip!  We had a great time getting to know each other again on a different level and being able to just talk about anything and everything uninterrupted for a week.  R&R was definitely just what the doctor ordered for us and we were refreshed and more than ready to be back with our boys at the end of the week!

We started out with a 3-day stay in Las Vegas at the Wynn/Encore resort.  Vegas is always a favorite of ours, believe it or not.  The pools, shopping, food, and shows are nearly unbeatable.  We always have a great time, and this was no exception!  We then flew out of Las Vegas to Long Beach, CA where we boarded a boat and made our way to Catalina Island for the remainder of our trip.  Talk about two vastly different worlds!  It was perfect.  We got the fast-paced, luxurious, city-scene in Las Vegas and traded it for a slow, B&B, small beach town on Catalina.  I just feel like we got two full vacations wrapped into one.  We're all about packing as much fun into small amounts of time as possible :)  

Las Vegas

Las Vegas

Las Vegas

Las Vegas

Catalina Island

Catalina Island

Catalina Island

My top 10 favorites from this trip:

10. 9-mile bike ride UP the mountains surrounding Catalina Island

9. Frozen Hot Chocolate from Serendipity in Las Vegas

8. My first sushi experience at Simon's in Las Vegas

7. Pool/beach time {aka nap time}

6. Seeing "Gatsby" at the Casino on Catalina Island

5. Watching the dolphins and sea lions play in the ocean

4. HAMMAM, massage, and pampering at the spa in Las Vegas... and the diamond earrings I got from my hubby that evening!

3. Sharing a bottle of wine on the beach and watching the sun set   over the ocean

2. Le Reve, the Cirque du Soleil show we saw in Las Vegas. UNREAL.

1. PARASAILING.  Something I never saw myself doing... until this trip.  Kreg really brings out the adventurous side in me :)

The only thing I regret from this entire trip was the fact that I took along my {8-pound} pro cam and didn't use it once.  Let's face it... I was ready for a photography break... but this was NOT the time to do it!  It felt great being lazy while I was there and we got "good" photos on our phones... but I could have done so much more! Oh, well. :) Now that it's over I feel an overwhelming desire to start planning the next trip.  Even if it takes us another five years to do it!