Tim and I decided before we were even married that we were going to make a big deal each year on our anniversary. We did not want to be one of those couples that puts their all into their children and once the children are gone, the couple hardly knows what to do with each other. Our trips and making a big deal each year is costly, but we both consider it a value investment. We also swore we would always stay physically fit for each other. I did not want to be one of these wives that has babies and then sort of lets myself go. Thank goodness we have been blessed to keep these pacts to one another for 12 years now!
I'm trying to remember what we've done each year on our anniversary....
Honey Moon-Went on a 7-Day Carnival Cruise to the Caribbean. It was absolutely incredible to finally have Tim alllllll to myself after being apart for 1 1/2 years while he was in the military and I was working in NY at BSB Bank & Trust earning money for the wedding. It was so fun running from one end of the ship to the other exploring. We could not believe how HUGE the ship was. We enjoyed touring the islands, snorkeling, taking pictures and of course sunbathing! Oh, and it was hilarious because since we were only 19 and 20 years old at the time we had to carry our marriage license with us every where we went----Otherwise, since we were under 21 years of age, we would have had to have a chaperon on our Honey Moon! Ha!
1 Year Anniversary-Drove from Keesler AFB to Orlando to Disney World. We were about to PCS to Patrick AFB and we wanted to check out the area. It was a lot of fun hanging out at the pool and going to Disney World together. We could not WAIT to move to Florida. It was the location I have always said I wanted to live. Tim and one other guy were chosen for this special duty assignment out of about 200 other people. We felt SO blessed.
2 Year Anniversary-Was Preggo with Baby Katie in 2001, so Tim rented a pool house in Orlando and we retreated out to where we were alone and my Preggo self could swim all I wanted without being stared at!
3 Year Anniversary-Caribbean Cruise 2002!!!!! Tim had just come back from deployment to Saudi Arabia. Again, it was SO nice to be alone with my man. I believe our dear friends, Jason and Michelle watched Baby Katie for us. I think this is where Jason fed her a bottle of milk (she was lactose intolerant) and her tiny body erupted like a volcano for the entire evening. :) On our cruise, Tim and I played in a volley ball tournament in CocoaCay and took 1st Place!! We enjoyed kayaking. I actually snorkeled and enjoyed it. We visited Nassau and some other islands in the Bahamas.
4 Year Anniversary-Caesar Pocono Resorts in 2003. I had just had our second daughter, Kylie. The girls stayed with Tim's grandparents in NY while we enjoyed a weekend get away. We had traveled up north for Steve's (Tim's brother) high school graduation. We wanted to do something different than our normal beach vacations, so we headed to the Pocono Mountains in PA. We boated, golfed, rode horses, hiked and did some archery. They also had an indoor sports facility where we got to ice skate, play tennis, and play air hockey/ping pong, etc. This is where we overflowed the heart shaped hot tub. We'd purchased some bubble bath from the gift shop. It clearly did not work when we added 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 cap fulls of the "bubbles." We'd decided the stuff was garbage. There were NO bubbles at all. Well, then the jets started in and let's just say they probably had to file an insurance claim on us and we did not get our deposit money back. Oh, well. We never laughed so hard in all our lives! ;)
5 Year Anniversary-May 2004-I don't remember taking a trip this year, but we did transition out of active duty Air Force to Air Force Reserves and civilian world. We had to be out of base housing so we had a joint yard sale with Jason and Michelle. We sold all our baby stuff--the crib, the swing, the Mega-Saucer, the car seat and stroller duo. Our "big deal" this year was that we purchased our very first home. Little did I know we were expecting a "surprise" named Little Miss Haley Alissa.
6 Year Anniversary-Cruise of May 2005-Rebecca Kennon watched all 3 girls for us while we took our 3rd cruise! Katie was 3 1/2, Kylie was 2 and Haley was just 4 months old. Though I missed the girls terribly, Tim and I had a wonderful time. We rock climbed, kayaked, snorkeled, ate, and of course we participated in the Volley Ball Tourny at CocoaCay AND took 1st Place again. We love our cruises!
7 Year Anniversary-May 2006-I cannot remember for the life of me what we did on our 7 year anniversary. I remember this was about the time Haley needed surgery. Tim was interviewing in NC. I will have to see if Tim remembers what we did in 2006.
8 Year Anniversary-The Great Smokey Mountains of 2007!! We stayed in a log cabin resort. We got to hike and paddle boat. There was also a zip line course and an obstacle course. There was a climb to a ledge called the "pulpit." You were supposed to jump from the pulpit to a trapeze bar. The pulpit was around 50 feet off the ground, but it overlooked the valley of the Smokey Mountain so it looked like it was several THOUSAND feet high. The first time I jumped and missed the bar. My hand was sweaty and it slipped. I was ready to quit and go back to my comfy, cabin room, but Tim knew I would regret not having tried again. So I climbed that thing again, wiped my sweaty palms, prayed and jumped yet again! I did it! I grabbed the trapeze bar. I was SO stinking proud of myself. You have no idea how afraid I was and I conquered that fear!
9 Year Anniversary-Cruise 2008. Our fourth cruise was to the Western Caribbean. We visited Mexico, Jamaica, Haiti and all kinds of neat places that Tim can remember the names better than I can. :) We got to zip line in Haiti. We got to snorkel in Mexico. We also participated in the obstacle course where you had to climb the 80 foot rock climbing all, walk along planks that were arranged on 2 ropes, zip line, etc. Tim participated in the Men's Dodgeball tourny and almost decapitated a few men with the force of his throw, but hey, they should have "dodged" the ball. Of course we sat in the sun, swam, shopped and just relaxed. It was SO much fun.
10 Year Anniversary-May 2009--This was a BIG year for me. I graduated with my Master of Science Degree from Liberty University. It was Mother's Day weekend. AND it was our BIG 10-year anniversary!!! Tim took me to a beautiful Bed and Breakfast in Lynchburg, VA. We had an awesome time at the graduation events. We hiked Liberty Mountain, broke all sorts of PDA (Public Display of Affection) rules in front of Dr. Jerry Fallwell's chapel on campus and shopped for my very special frame for my diploma. It was SO much fun!
11 Year Anniversary-May 2010-We took a weekend get-away to Carolina Beach. We stayed in a lovely hotel right on the beach. We walked the board walk and enjoyed a horse drawn carriage ride. Our "big deal" this year was that we put in a pool in our back yard for the family. We have already spent HOURS enjoying friends and family time. What a great investment the pool has been!
12 Year Anniversary-May 2011-We consider our 12-Year Anniversary present our precious son, Brandon Sergey and our trip was 6 or 7 weeks long to Ukraine!
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