ten

when david and i travel, we always dream about a life somewhere else. we sat on a beach in maui in 2004 and talked about selling our california home and buying a 500 square foot condo on the beach. size wouldn't matter because we'd never be inside. this past trip, we dreamed of warm weather and the beach life. dreamed about lazy days and sandals. dreamed about simplicity and patio cafes. dreamed about sand in our toes and days that seem to last forever.

a few months back we had a speaker at my mom's group. she was one of our mentor moms. she had walked in our shoes and was giving us a little insight into life when raising children is over. when the house is quiet and there's no more fingerprints on the furniture. she said something interesting and her words haven't left me since, it went something like this, "my family takes trip. that's what we spend our money on. i drive a 12 year old car and we live in a modest home. i don't care about all of that kind of stuff. The memories of our vacations together as a family is what is most important to me."

whenever i cross paths with someone else who has my same philosophy, my eyes become bright. makes me feel like the simple life i so greatly desire isn't so out of the ordinary.

as newlyweds, david and i decided we would never exchange anniversary gifts. we decided we would take an anniversary trip instead because that's the kind of memory we'd remember, not what material object we gave. it's been 10 years and we've done pretty good at keeping up with our little tradition. skipped a few years here and there. not all of our trips were on our exact anniversary date due to schedules, but i am beyond proud to say i remember every single year over the past 10 years.

2000-honeymooned in maui
2001-bed & breakfast in idyllwild, california
2002-camping in big sur, california
2003-more camping in big sur, california
2004-maui
2005-cabin in big bear, california
2006-camping in san diego with a baby eli
2007-san antonio, texas
2008-very big and pregnant and about to pop. ate spicy food. went to the movies. and had crazy contractions throughout the entire movie.
2009-life was crazy. long story. just dinner but very memorable.
2010-caribbean cruise

so that's us. dreamers and travelers and parents and campers and such all in a matter of 10 years. kind of already dreaming about our 11th year trip.