5 years, 6 months, you know...the big ones.

Since we're quite sure we've been in a vortex of speedy time travel these past 6 months (and as our mothers tell us, it only gets quicker and we'll have a teenager before we know it) we wanted to take a moment this month before wedding season to escape, just the three of us, to celebrate life...and our anniversary plus our little dude turning half a year old! Let's call it an all in one trip. We're all about efficiency over here now that we have an infant, so off we went to Hawaii for a little r&r on the weekend of our 5 year anniversary.To tell the truth, long ago we had envisioned a romantic 5 year celebration on the beach (and probably without a baby), at the same resort we married in Puerto Vallarta, but a sad finding during that last month of pregnancy (which may have made it more upsetting than it really was thanks to raging hormones) showed that our quaint little hotel with private beach was sold and transformed, thus it no longer held that magical meaning. A bunch of recommendations later found us booking a trip to Kauai (luckily while still pregnant so that we couldn't think about the consequences of traveling with an infant), gorgeous doesn't even begin to describe it.*A side note here, isn't it funny that the "big" anniversaries are multiples of 5? And why? Certainly every anniversary should be equally celebrated since it's another entire year of spending your life creating memories, galavanting off on adventures and learning to love your partner more and more. In any case, we fell into the '5 years is a big one' mindset and were determined to travel, baby and all.Some things we've learned in 5 years of being married... (so many things, but here are 3 big ones)1. Talk, talk, talk, talk, and then talk some more. Wow has that even become more important now with our growing family.2. We're much happier in our relationship when each of our love tanks are full.3. A kiss and a hug each day goes a long way.We are not marriage experts, but love learning through trial, error and experiences together. Here's to the next 5 and whatever they'll bring! xoxo If Kauai is ever on your list, make it happen. Take a drive to some of the deserted beaches up north where the Jurassic Park-style rain forest looms in the background, dig your feet in the sand to watch for sea turtles, make a stop for some ice cream (at least once a day), and tell us if you don't feel rejuvenated, full of love and experience at least one major life realization while among all that beauty. Aloha! ~Erik & Marissa (& Bryce too)PS- Happy Half-Birthday to our baby boy! We love you.