15 Years

Dear Hub,

The first decision we made after getting engaged was what the first song would be that we would dance to as husband and wife. Actually, you said it, right away, without hesitation. I don't think we'd been engaged even an hour before you brought it up, a twinkle in your eye. And our first wedding decision was officially made.

The truth is, none of the details of our wedding really mattered to me: the venue, the dress, the menu, the music. None of those things mattered. I hadn't been a girl who had dreamt of exactly what I wanted my wedding to look like. I didn't care if we had monogrammed napkins. I didn't care who baked our wedding cake. I didn't care what kind of flowers would compose my bouquet. Only one thing mattered: who I would be marrying, who God had hand-picked as my partner for the rest of my life. 

I always told people, back then, during that year of our engagement: "I don't care if I'm standing in an alley, wearing a brown paper bag. All that matters is that I get to marry him." The stuff of the wedding? All those minute details? They didn't matter. YOU mattered. WE mattered. And so, on June 26, 2004, YOU and ME became WE. 

Fifteen years. Wow. We have battled our way back from low lows and high-fived over high highs. We have laughed and cried and shouted and apologized. We have compromised and stood our ground, held hands and held grudges. We have forgiven and forgotten. We have learned, and we have grown. We have come out stronger in the end, together. Always together. 

Rich, thank you for knowing me and loving me like only you can. Thank you for pushing me and challenging me. Thank you for forgiving me and honoring me. Thank you for leading me and encouraging me. Thank you adventuring with me and couch night-ing with me. 

Thank you for being the best part of our WE. 

Here's to our next 15 years together: through the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, we'll be in it all, together. 

I see trees of green, red roses too

I see them bloom for me and you

And I think to myself what a wonderful world

I see skies of blue and clouds of white

The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night

And I think to myself what a wonderful world

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky

Are also on the faces of people going by

I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do

They're really saying I love you

I hear babies crying, I watch them grow

They'll learn much more than I'll never know

And I think to myself what a wonderful world

Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world

Yours forever, 

Wif

Lutons in Lucia

We hadn't gotten away, just the TWO of us, on a trip like this in 15 years....not since our honeymoon, to be exact. Sure, there have been plenty of fun friend trips and work excursions over the years that have taken us to beautiful destinations that we have been exceedingly grateful to get to enjoy. But just the two of us, on a long, special trip? Not since Dominican Republic back in 2004. So. We were due. We were overdue. And we decided to do something about it, to celebrate 15 years of love and hard work and marriage and us. 

We did our research and settled on what looked to be an amazing resort deep in the Caribbean, a 4.5-hour direct flight from Charlotte. We booked our tickets, made our reservations, and began counting down the days. 

And finally, the day arrived. The trip arrived. Our "us" time arrived. And now that we're back, I can say: it exceeded every single expectation. 

Now, a look at our 15-year anniversary trip to the Viceroy at Sugar Beach in St. Lucia: 

The Viceroy. We considered a number of islands, numerous resorts, hundreds of reviews, and everything lead us to this exact place. And now that we've stayed and come back, I can say first hand: we would re-choose this place 100x again! Let me start with: 

The accommodations: As soon as we arrived and checked in, we were informed that we had been upgraded. Not sure how or why, but yes please! I truly think we somehow lucked into the best villa on the grounds, with the most incredible views. Ours ended up being a two-room villa that made us feel as though we were on this beautiful island alone. I kid you not, we did not see one.single.person. anywhere remotely close to our villa during our stay - no neighbors, no other residents, no one! When we were in our villa, it truly felt like we were on our own private island. It was incredible. 

The grounds: There are several beautiful resorts on the island of St. Lucia, but this one checked all the boxes for us. We wanted immediate access to the beach (i.e., not a 10-minute drive from a resort to reach a beach, which is the case for several of the other gorgeous resorts) but also one with breathtaking views. Ummm...mission accomplished. The Viceroy is situated directly between the indescribable Pitons, right smack in the valley of them, which means THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VIEWS IMAGINABLE everywhere you look. Honestly, I got so frustrated when I tried to take pictures of the breathtaking scenery because truly, my photos just didn't due the views justice. And trust me, I tried every angle, many times, over our stay. I was in awe. I just kept looking around, taking so many mental snapshots, trying to memorize how it felt to be surrounded by the kind of gigantic, beautiful, volcanic mountains only God could create. But sadly, photos truly don't capture the beauty of this place. But know I tried. :)

And the beaches! And the resort grounds themselves! And the pool! And the spa! And the sea! I have more photos of the beauty that surrounded us than I do of my hub and I there - ha! Because I just wanted to do whatever I could to capture this place clearly.  

The customer service. The second we were escorted to our villa, we were handed a small, white phone and were informed that anything we needed, anything at ALL, was just a click away. We need just push a button on the phone to ring our butler and he would handle everything. Reservation? No problem. Shuttle service? You got it. Ironing? On it. It was awesome. We came home to treats each day, including one evening when we arrived back to see a sweet card and bottle of wine to celebrate our anniversary. They thought of every detail and the customer service was truly outstanding. 

The food and restaurants. We ate and drank ourselves silly during our stay and everything was just so tasty. There was fresh seafood and scrumptious sushi and delectable breakfasts and tasty beachside dining and yum, yum, yum. We ate at every restaurant on the resort and loved them all! I am not a take-pics-of-my-food kind of girl, but trust me, it was good. As were the bevs. :) 

The fun. Going into our trip, the forecast didn't look so promising, with the first few days looking like they may be pretty overcast and rainy. FALSE. We could not have had more beautiful weather when we were there, and we took full advantage! Thank you, Lord, for the weather you gifted us!

Day 1. We arrived to our resort late afternoon on Wednesday, with just enough time to check out our accommodations, relax for a bit, and freshen up before heading to dinner. A great start to our stay! 

Day 2. We had decided we would lounge on the beach alllll day long this day, and we did just that, after first getting in our scrumptious morning breakfast and then a couples workout with one of the resort trainers. 

After that, we pretty much parked it on our beach chairs, where we were served lunch and drinks and just enjoyed each other's company all day (as in, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm). We finally peeled ourselves off the beach with enough time to shower up and head to another delicious dinner, followed by a quick stop at the resort's *party* that evening (which was super low-key). 

Day 3. Adventure day! Friends, if you ever find yourself on Sugar Beach, find Dwight and know that he will lead you on the greatest adventure! We, along with two other (sweet! fun!) couples, met Dwight at 9:15 am, where we then boarded a boat and were taken to the local town of Soufriere. 

We were then taken to one of the MUST DOs when in St. Lucia, the sulphur springs. We sat in the hot springs before being painted in mud. After rinsing it from our bodies (but not our faces), we were taken to most beautiful, *refreshing* waterfall, where we were instructed to get in and cleanse our faces. That thing was COLD and the water pounded down on us, but it was AWESOME! 

Next, we were taken to a local restaurant and served the most delicious, authentic St. Lucian meal. After this, we were taken back into the town for a little souvenir shopping. We then boarded the boat again and drove to a different part of the island but not before stopping to take in the bat cave, where thousands of bats gather. :0 

Finally, we were taken to the beautiful black sand beach, where we spent time snorkeling and enjoying the majestic views before arriving back to our resort around 2:00 pm. It was such a lovely day!

We quickly showered and changed because we had another boat to board just two hours later for a sunset cruise. The drinks were flowing, the music was blasting, the boat was hopping! It was so fun! As we cruised along for a couple hours, watching the sun slowly lower, the most amazing thing happened: a group of seven dolphins decided to join our cruise, swimming around and jumping in front of our boat for a solid 15-20 minutes. So cool! Once the sun had set, we made our way back to the resort and finished the day with yet another tasty dinner. 

Day 4. Our last full day - boo! We started this one with a high intensity workout on the beach with another one of the resort's trainers and whew! He kicked our butts! We then changed into swimsuits and camped out on the beach, where we spent the rest of the morning/early afternoon reading, snorkeling, paddle boarding, eating, drinking, and listening to music. Just perfect. 

Late afternoon, we headed straight from the beach to our resort's renowned spa for a couples massage. Y'all. This spa is incredible. Every treatment room is in it's own treehouse in the middle of this rainforest. It's unreal. We hit up the steam room and were then ready for our heavenly massages. And then, to our surprise, as our massages ended they opened a back door to the room and there sat the most beautiful, private pool for us to enjoy. Done and done! 

Feeling very relaxed, we headed back to our villa to shower up and head out to our last dinner. Ohmydeliciousness. SO good. Stuffed, relaxed, and oh so happy, we headed back for one last sleep. 

Day 5. Our last day. It's as if the weather knew we had to leave this incredible paradise and didn't want us to feel too bad about it; so, it poured rain the entire morning. This meant we just relaxed for hours on our private patio, listening to the rain pour down (while hearing and witnessing three separate rock slides - so crazy!) and enjoying our stay until the very last minute. Finally, it was time to go. Time to head home to the life we have built together. <3

We LOVED St. Lucia. Loved our time together, just us. Loved our beautiful resort and the top-notch staff. Loved the indescribable views and the experiences we shared. We loved it. 

And we loved knowing that our Bammy not only held down our fort back home, but did it with all the compassion and patience and love and kindness that makes her the amazing Bammy that she is. Thank you, Mama. <3 And thank you to our village who drove our kiddos to and from swim team and baseball practices, who had them over for playdates, who sent us pictures and updates. We love you all!

Here's to St. Lucia and the memories made. Until next time...