Vacations Revisited

I am a single mom until Wednesday. Michael is flying out today to go to Washington DC to meet with a different branch of his company. He told me what the meeting was about, but it just went in one ear and out the other. I will miss him when he is gone. He is such a help with the kids and around the house. I am pretty lucky because he's the neat one. He always puts his clothes away, he cleans the kitchen after I cook (sometimes) and he always gets up with Reed during the night. Reed usually sleeps through the night 80% of the time, but that other 20% really gets to me. Michael is a good dad and husband.


Last year at this time we were on our way to Lake Tahoe with David and Missy. I love to take vacations with Michael. We usually take 1 vacation a year without the kids. I don't think that's going to happen this year. So, I will just reflect on our previous vacations and dream.
Here we are at the top of the slopes in Lake Tahoe (2008). I love this place! Michael and Missy loved to ski the "moguls," so one day, I went to the spa, David went to the casinos and Michael and Missy stayed on the slopes. I don't know the last time I have been that relaxed. One of my favorite things was to ski all day then come back to the hotel and sit in the hot tub out in the middle of the snow. One of my all time favorite restaurants is in Lake Tahoe, Fire and Ice (http://www.fire-ice.com/). We never had to take a car anywhere we went. We walked everywhere. We also went Ice Skating, that was my favorite too.


This is a picture of us in Cabo San Lucas (2007). I really hate this picture because it was before we lost alot of weight, but it was such a beautiful place. My favorite memories of this place are the guacamole, the infinity pool and the fresh pastries and coffee that were delivered to our room every morning. We also saw whales playing out in the sea every day. In 2006, we went on a cruise to St Martin, St Bart and St Thomas. It was LOVELY. I loved every bit of it. One day Michael and I rented a car and navigated the very tiny, very skinny streets of St Bart. We had lunch in a small cafe and went to a secluded beach by ourselves. Another day was spent with friends on a charter boat "island hopping." This is a picture of us at the Soggy Dollar. It's called the Soggy Dollar because there is no dock, you have to swim to shore. What you can't see from this picture is that we are out in the middle of nowhere. We are standing on a beach with a restaurant behind us. I was about 6 months pregnant on this trip and everyone treated me like a queen!
In 2005, we vacationed at the Ritz Carlton in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This was probably my favorite place to stay EVER! This was also where Michael lost his wedding ring playing football on the beach. My best memory of this trip is when we went to a near by hotel, The El San Juan, to wait on some friends. Michael left me sitting in the lobby to go to the bathroom and one of the locals approached me and asked me for my autograph. He said I was very beautiful and asked me if I was famous. Hee Hee. Michael said he was just hitting on me, but I don't care. I was flattered! Another night, we rode by taxi to a local restaurant where we had the best lobster I have ever had! I cracked up in the taxi listening to Michael try to speak Spanish to the driver. We would never make it on Amazing Race.

In 2004, we went to St Kitts in the Caribbean. This was our first trip with Michael's company so we didn't know many people yet. Michael won an award for being the "Rookie of the Year!" I loved sitting out by the beach everyday and reading. We had some great volleyball matches, our branch won! I can't remember much more about this trip other than we were in shock at how extravagant everything was.

Before we started going on trips with Opteum, Michael and I liked to go to Brasstown Valley Resort (http://www.brasstownvalley.com/). It is just a few hours drive away in North GA. It has the best Breakfast buffet I have ever had with an awesome omelet bar. They have a beautiful lobby with a huge fireplace and a breathtaking view of the mountains. I'm hoping to go back one day soon.

Hope I didn't bore you with my "trip" down memory lane. It's good to remember all these fun times that Michael and I have experienced. We Love to vacation together!