Celebrating 15 Years....

It honestly seems like just yesterday that Matt and I met, but believe it or not it's been nearly 20 years ago that our paths crossed.  He caught my eye right away, but I played it cool.  I was just out of a long term relationship and I really wasn't looking to get into another relationship right away.

Sometimes I think God giggles when you tell him your plans.  He had other plans for us.  

We spent many weeks talking (flirting) and spending time together.  Then we started "dating", but REPEATEDLY saying it was "nothing serious".   Again, I was holding tight to my plans.  I didn't really need another relationship.

Well, that lasted a few short months.....and then we were a legit couple.  3 years later we were engaged and a year after that we were married.  That was 15 years ago and we haven't looked back since.

I know it sounds kind of cliche, but this guy makes my life complete.  Even after all these years, spending time with him is one of my very favorite things to do.

In celebration of 15 years of marriage we decided spending a little time alone together was just what we needed.  We had never been to Key West and decided it was a perfect little get away for our special occasion.  Enjoy a few pics of our trip....

We rented a convertible to make the 4 hour trip from Miami to Key West.  Super fun, but it was chilly!  We kept the top down and turned the heat up.  Apparently the sun was a bit more intense than we thought it was because we (especially Matt) got a pretty bad sunburn! 

This is the resort we stayed at - Casa Marina.  It was BEAUTIFUL and we loved it!!!

Me and my guy....dressed in warm clothes!!!  Ha!!  The lowest it has EVER got in the keys is 40 degrees.  One of the nights we were there it got down to 48!  We DID NOT let it bother us though...so much to be thankful for and so much to enjoy!!  It ended up being a bit of a blessing!!  We did a lot of sight seeing we probably wouldn't have done if the weather had been warmer those first 2 days.

We toured Hemingway's house!  It was very cool and I loved hearing all the stories!!  Hemingway was a bit CR-A-ZY!!  Ha!

One of Hemingway's famous 6-toe cats!!!

Matt on the balcony of Hemingway's home.

We sat and shared a lunch (as well as a few cocktails) at the famous bar SLOPPY JOE'S! 

 Another fun activity we did was climb to the top of the Key West Lighthouse.  The views were beautiful, but the heights (and open staircase) had me freaked out!!!

 Yep, if I could have melted into the back wall I totally would have!  Ha!  We were HIGH UP!!!!

One of my very favorite things to do was just sit around and talk....totally uninterrupted.  We often enjoyed afternoon drinks at the resort.

 One evening we enjoyed dinner directly ON the beach....toes in the sand!

The last 2 days we were there were beautiful!  We soaked in the sun and just enjoyed our time together!

I've traveled to Florida my whole life...and I've never thought of Florida as having pretty ocean water.  However, the water in the Keys is BEAUTIFUL!!  Such a pretty shade of turquoise!

 We ended the week with a trip back to Miami!

15 years.  Wow.  I will never tell you we have a perfect marriage, because that would be a perfect lie.  We are constantly learning, constantly growing, constantly finding our balance.  We love to laugh and we love to have fun.  We have learned that drama in a family is no good....we try very hard to keep things as simple as possible and focus on the positive.  We have a lot to be thankful for, a lot of loving to do, and - God willing - a lot more years to celebrate.

"A happy marriage is a long conversation that always seems too short"

--Andre Maurois