One Year Anniversary

Hi Loves!! Thanks for stopping by again. 

Aaron and I sadly spent our One Year Anniversary 7,584 miles away from each other. It's really not the way you always imagine spending that first big milestone together, however when you marry someone in the military thats just something that becomes part of your life and you make the best of every single situation like this. Missing something like this was not the first time and will definitely not be the last time this happens in our remaining time as a military family. Also during this time was when my precious Meme was coming to the end of her long long battle with cancer. It was a hard time, but my family helped me through it. 

Aaron and I had been looking so forward to celebrating our One Year Anniversary TOGETHER for a loooonnnnggggg time and a vacation was much needed and much MUCH deserved for the both of us! Time together, focusing on us, was what we couldn't wait to do. 

To celebrate we went on a cruise to some breathtaking destinations. My family has always taken cruises for as long as I can remember. We absolutely love them and in all honesty think they are the best way to travel. For our anniversary, we decided to go on the Carnival Dream because of the one stop it was making in Belize! This was my 2nd time on the Dream and I honestly cannot get enough of this ship! It's one of my all time favorites. Here's why... 

I spent the end of December 2015 on this ship. My family and I welcomed in the New Year of 2016 on the Dream. When you go on a New Years Cruise, they give you little pieces of paper for you to write your resolution/wish on. You then put it in a balloon and at midnight they drop them from the atrium ceiling. It's soooooo much fun!! Best way to spend New Years for sure! Anyway, in my balloon that year, I wished that Aaron and I would be engaged by the end of 2016 and sure enough we were! BEST YEAR EVER (Until our wedding year of course!) So to say the Dream holds a special place in my heart is somewhat of an understatement. I LOVE this ship...FOREVER!

 To start out our trip, first, we spent two days eating and exploring all of the historical New Orleans, Louisiana. This was the hubs first time in Nola and I think we did a good job of exploring different types of areas to really give him the true New Orleans feel! Our New Orleans experience will be all in a post itself filled with suggestions and stops that we made that we would one thousand percent recommend. 

Now let's get to this amazing cruise time!! Our first day was spent at Sea. These sea days are incredibly fun. There are a billion different things to fill your day with. We spent the day in the sun, exploring the ship, taking tours of the spa, sipping on tropical drinks and eating soooo much good food. 

PORT ONE: COSTA MAYA, MEXICO

At this port, we spent the day learning to make fresh salsas, delicious guacamole and addicting blue margaritas. We also learned how to Salsa Dance!!! SO MUCH FREAKING FUN! After we salsa'd for a bit, then came the tequila tasting. Obviously, this was Aarons favorite part. We came home with new recipes, new dance moves and two authentic and expensive bottles of Tequila. 

PORT TWO: Mohagany Bay, Roatan Isle in the beautiful ROMANIA

I must go back here as soon as my little tush can. I totally fell in love. The water was breathtaking and the lush green was everything my island heart desires. You all know my love for island life is still flourishing strong over here!! We spent the day on a private island called Little French Key. It was amazing, the beautiful sun was out and we spent most of the day sipping on drinks and playing with exotic animals. You guys, I held and played with a Baby Jaguar!! Life. Complete.... We also played with sweet monkeys and tigers.

PORT THREE: BELIZE

In Belize, we decided we actually want to take an entire trip just to Belize. A lot of these excursions we considered doing took a little bit of time to actually travel to once you got to the port so we didn't want to spend a lot of our day in a bus. So instead, we decided have ourselves a little couples Spa day at the Cloud 9 Spa on the ship! It was soooooooo good and much much needed. We had ourselves a 75 minute Swedish couples massage and then spent some time in the Aroma Steam Room relaxing and really pampering our bodies. So worth spending a day on the ship for! We did take a charter from the boat to the port in Belize and we ate at a little place at the port. I also got my hair braided by the locals! 

PORT FOUR: COZUMEL, MEXICO

I've been to Cozumel a handful of times thanks to my parents and my amazing grandparents who have always taken us on amazing adventures together. I love Cozumel and could never get enough of it. In Cozumel, we had reservations at the incredible Mr. Sanchos!! I will sing this excursions praises foreverrrrrrrr. This was one of the best things I have ever done in Cozumel. We usually do a Jeep tour because we are huge Jeepers but, this time we decided to mix it up and I am so glad we did. We had a private and very large cabana all to ourselves. This place was all inclusive food and drinks for the entire day. We relaxed a lot, walked on the beautiful beach, used the swim up bar at the pool (LOVED), ate authentic Mexican foods and we each had an Aroma Therapy Massage. 

The last day of our cruise was another sea day where we spent a lot of the day watching different contests throughout the ship. We tried our luck at Bingo and the slot machines and have come to the conclusion that we just aren't very lucky people. I could type and type and type about cruising in general, so I have decided to also make this a post on its own as well. So stay tuned for that!! I will tell you all about the details of what its like to live on a ship for a week, the dos and don'ts of packing and much much more!

I hope you've enjoyed a peek into our Anniversary Getaway! As always, thanks so much for reading!

XO

P.S. If you've never been on a cruise, TRY IT! If need help planning or don't know where to start, email me, text me, message me ASAP and I will be more than happy to help you plan yours!