A Quality Marriage Getaway.

I am completely in love with my sweet husband. He is my happily ever after that took a long time, through trial and error, to find.  He makes me laugh, smile and spoils me rotten. Our honeymoon phase was short lived. We became pregnant after 6 months of marriage and within two years had two babies. Life became very routine. Work for him. Mommy duties for me. The Honeymoon phase may have only lasted a short while, but I couldn't be more blessed that we jumped right into our Eternity Phase. I have been so fortunate that Kevin and I choose to make our relationship a priority.  Even above our children, which is harder for me sometimes, we really work to make sure WE are taken care of emotionally, physically and spiritually.  You caught that WORK part right?  Marriage sometimes is work, especially with all of life's distractions, but I can promise you the work you put into your marriage will leave you with the greatest rewards.
"Marriage is a gift from God to us, the quality of our marriage is a gift from us to Him" -Elder L. Whitney Clayton
One of the ways Kevin and I keep that quality in our still new, young but CRAZY BUSY marriage is by escaping from our routine.  Sometimes just for a few hours, sometimes overnight and when we are REALLY LUCKY, for a whole weekend.
One such overnight escape happened last month when my sweet Aunt Patty came and watched the kids. She is the BEST. 
Kevin and I started our getaway with 9 holes at Sleep Ridge Golf Course. We are blessed that through Kevin's work we are able to golf often and it has been something we have LOVED to do together since one of our first dates. 

We then headed to dinner at Tucanos in Provo.

After dinner we headed up Provo Canyon to Heber where we caught the evening showing of A MidSummer Night's Dream.

I have ALWAYS been a fan of plays and Broadway and I was so excited when we found this local showing. I was BLOWN away. The cast was incredible. I love when I can get lost in the story and this cast was able to deliver a spell binding performance. FIVE Stars for the Timpanogos Valley Theater and the cast of A Midsummer Night's Dream. We will be back for sure.
After a wonderful evening we escaped to The Homestead Resort in Midway Utah. We head both heard raved reviews about this beautiful resort and it certainly lived up to its expectations. 

We snuggled into our room where Kev treated me to my favorite chocolates, a face mask treatment and a much needed foot massage. #majorhubbypoints

The next morning, we enjoyed a lovely breakfast of french toast, scones, eggs and delicious hot chocolate right on the golf course.

The grounds of The Homestead Resort are absolutely stunning. Such a tranquil atmosphere that was just what we needed to escape our routine.

In the early afternoon we got to explore one of Utah's most unique activities, The Homestead Crater. This one of a kind natural wonder was such a neat experience.  The water was so warm and the slight current inside made it the perfect spot fro a relaxing float.

 These were the stairs to the TOP of the Crater that once used to be the only way in! 

Now it's caged off and is lookout to admire the beautiful Midway Mountains and Heber Valley.

We wrapped up our fabulous getaway with a stop into P-Town for the Taste Of The Valley event. We ate some of Provo's best foods as we walked along Center Street in the perfect sunshine.

In just a short 24 hours, we were able to laugh, kiss and enjoy each others company without interruption. It always takes me back to our dating days where we didn't spend more then a few hours apart and were constantly out on fun adventures.
I am so grateful for this handsome man of mine. I am grateful that we are able to continue to "date" even after 3 and a half years of marriage, two kids and a busy life. 
How do you like to escape life to "date" your significant other? 

Viva Las Vegas.

We had points for free flights and free nights at The Bellagio.. so we had to go right?

It was not only a late 30th celebration for Kevin, a baby moon before #2 comes along, but also a quick romantic getaway as Husband and Wife.

And it was amazing.

My AWESOME Sister Aubrey and Brother-In-Law Daniel watched Hunter so we could leave town for a few days. 

As much fun as Kevin and I had, I think it is safe to say our son had way more fun and was spoiled rotten. 

(He was probably really bummed when we came home and he realized he had to go back to his boring everyday routine with Mom) 

Hunter got to go to Sundance, Scheels, The Hoogle Zoo, Uncle Dan & Aubrey's house to play with the dogs and even got to eat out a few times! 

Seriously this kid needed a break from mom and dad more then we needed a mommy and daddy break. 

Complete Success for everyone.

Kevin & I enjoyed a quick, quiet, baby free flight into Vegas, took a cab to the hotel, checked in and headed right out to the strip.

Vegas is definitely a world of its own.

So many fun things to see and great shopping. 

Yummy food, great shows and people from all over the world.

However, it was hard for me to be around so much smoke especially walking through the casinos. 

The "adult content" being handed out left and right got a little ridiculous to say the least and I was appalled to see teen aged kids handing out those invites. 

The weather was lovely and we enjoyed walking along the strip and not sweating! 

Saturday night we went to dinner, at The Cheesecake Factory, and saw the Cirque du Soleil show "O".

It was amazing. 

Too bad I couldn't take pictures to show you so you'll just have to take my word.

Sunday we slept in until 9. 

It was lovely to get a LONG night of sleep.

We ate breakfast at the Jean Philippes Pastries down in the hotel lobby.

BEST. BREAKFAST. EVER.

We explored a little more of the strip.

Spent the afternoon laying out by the pool.

(in between scattered rain showers)

Saw an awesome Variety Show at the V Theater.

And ended our night with dinner at Maggiano's.

(After walking for 1020485050 miles to get there)

Monday we ate breakfast back at Jean Philippes and relaxed in our room before we had to head to the airport.

It was such a lovely weekend.

Life gets so busy with work and children and other responsibilities that it was so nice to just escape from it all and focus on nothing but each other and having a good time.

Thanks Kevin for an incredible weekend.

Thanks Aubrey & Dan for taking such good care of our little guy. 

Viva Las Vegas.