Life Happens....

and sometimes things just get in the way or you get busy and some things get put on the back burner. Such as updating this here blog of mine. Normally I do it on the weekends and put post's together through out the week and catch up on all the ones I follow. But with my weekends full of running insanely long distances and then spending what little time the hubbs and I have together out enjoying life. Some times the last thing I want to do is come home and sit in front of a computer while the hubbs is siting next to me or out playing with the puppies. So I've compiled a group of pictures that sums up what we've been up to over the month of October to share. (mainly for me to have to look back on in the years to come.) Speaking of October, can you seriously believe that its already almost over?!?!? I'm excited and nervous at the same time because once we hit November 1st that means I'm in single digits till my Marathon. YIKES!!! I'm so ready to sleep in on Saturday mornings again instead of getting up at 5am to get my runs out of the way. After my race I'm planning on getting back in to blogging regularly. Don't worry I will still be running regularly but I wont be training for a marathon lol. thanks for sticking around and following along. We may or may not have some big changes come mid next year which I still don't know how I feel about but we will see and only time will tell. Life as a Army Wife right?!?!? So on with the pictures because I've kept you this long already. 

Aloha Friday = Spirit Day & Skinnies at School. 

Homemade Banana Crumble Muffins, which were fabulous. 

Evening 10 mile run along the Congaree River. 

Evening Family Cuddles after a long week. 

Just Completed my 18 mile training run. 

Core / Spin Class w/ my girl followed by a trip to Whole Food for Smoothies :) 

Homemade Pizza Night 

Root Beer Floats for dessert for the Birthday Girl 

Battalion FRG Bowling Night, I won highest score bowler on the first Game. My date and I for the night, Rebecca. 

I combined a race and my mornings long run to get in a 20 mile training run. 

Kelly Congratulated me by decorating my car, that happened to be parked at her house. 

Spending the morning in Charleston at a GSSF shoot with the hubby. 

We always make a stop at the Fountain when we are in Charles-town. 

I was recognized last Monday for all the volunteer work I help out with within our battalion. It was a true honor. 

Co-worker Lunch date to the fair.  Military gets in free,  but everyone else pays $5 between 12-2, leave by 2-pm and you get your $5 back. We enjoyed a yummy lunch and it was a day of first for me. 

22 mile training run and now to let the tapering begin. Only 2 weekends left before the big day.


Thanks again for sticking with me and always for those that have encouraged me along while training for such a big day for me. I'm super excited about our Anniversary as well!!!! Next big adventure after this is Thanksgiving which we don't really have plans for since hubbs will be working then NYC for NYE. I'm so excited and can't wait it will be his first time to the city.

My 1st Half Marathon

Finally the day I've been training for, over the last two months was here. I couldn't believe it was all coming together and I was really going to be doing this. I had my moments during training were I didn't think I was going to be able to complete the race but I kept going. And I'm so so thankful that I did because I'm not one to quit or throw in the towel. 

Up at 5am this morning to eat a yummy breakfast, get dress, make sure my hair was pulled back nice and tight. Everything else I got together and ready the night before so I was set to go. I'm not a morning person at all, but once I'm up I'm good to go. It's just that initial getting up that sucks. 

I met up with Kelly at 6:15am at her house and we headed down town it was time to face the starting line. Was this really happening, are we really here today. It's not a dream, its really happening. All of these emotions kept going through my head, I wasn't sure what to expect with this being my first big race. There was going to be a ton of people, I didn't want to be left in the dust at the end the last one to cross the finish line. What if no one talked to me or if I choked and got nervous, I was feeling a bit over whelmed but I put a smile on and made my way to the start line. 

Ready or not this is really happening, I'm about to run my first ever (but not last Half Marathon). Yesterday at Packet Pick Up, I signed up to run with a Pacer. (If you don't know what a pacer is here's a quick example, bc I didn't know before this past week. Race's have pacer's to help runners meet their goal time. Example: if you want to run a marathon in 3 hours you sign up to run with the pacer that runs at that mile a minute pace, if you want to run a marathon in 5 hours you sign up with that mile a minute pacer. I highly recommend this for first time half / full marathon runners) I had a goal time that I really wanted to meet. So I signed up with the pacer that best fit my goal time. Knowing that if I ran with them or ahead of them, never letting that pacer or other runners in that pacing group pass me then I'd make my goal time. It made perfect sense. 

Kelly and I before she decided she needed to go wait in the 10 minute long potty line umm......7 minutes before the race was suppose to start. I went ahead and met up with my pacer, this way I could put a face with the people I'd be running with. 

The race started and I was feeling good about things, it was a little chilly but I knew it would warm up as soon as I got going. At first I was nervous about running by myself (not with K) for say but I really think it help me alot. I was able to focus on myself and stay in the zone. I knew the route of the last 5 miles but the first half of the race I didn't. I think knowing some and not knowing helped me in different ways. I was able to stay with the pacer through out the first 5 1/2 - 6 miles, I never let them pass me. There was 4 other runners running with her as well, they were all running the full marathon though. There was water and first aide stations at every mile marker which was really nice. I only grabbed water three times out of the 13 miles. I'm used to running with out water so I didn't need it so much. I'm sure on hotter days it will be more welcomed but I did fine with my Gu pack. A good amount of the time I stayed a few feet ahead of the pacer or just right behind her. As we would reach a water station I would hear her tell the other runners that they could walk through this one and take a break. Are you kidding me......no way I'm not walking, I'm not stopping. I kept going and when I would grab water I would get it from the last person handing it out. Everyone seems to go to the first person they see, which causes a mass cluster and I've learned in race's that I tend to go to the last person. 

When we passed about mile 5 1/2 -6 I found myself a good few blocks ahead of the group. I'd picked up my pace a little and just kept going. I wasn't going to slow down to wait for them. As long as they DIDN'T pass me I was golden and had nothing to worry about. I had a goal and that's all that mattered, if I came in under FABULOUS but if I came in at my goal time I'd be just as stoked. 

I paced through mile 7, 8, 9, 10 all by myself, I never stopped, never let up and never looked back. Passing mile 10 there was a few people cheering that it was just a 5k left. Hey a 5k, I've done plenty of these I've got this. (speaking of people out cheering, they were EVERY WERE through out the city, the different neighborhoods and along the streets cheering us on. The support from the community was outstanding) I came up on mile 11 and I recognized some of the voices coming up from behind me. It was the pacer and the other runners I'd ran with the first few miles. Are you kidding I though I lost you people. One of the guys (I'll will call him N) said to me "alright your about to smoke us out of here and fly away" I replied laughing "I though I already did that". Then came a awful hill, the largest one of the course, I pushed through it as hard as I could but I seriously though I was going to die. 

But I DIDN'T stop. "NEVER STOP ON A HILL", I just kept repeating that to myself. 

As we reached the top of the hill N kept encouraging me along the way and telling me the next few turns before I reached the finish line. He was a great supporter and I can not thank him enough for pushing me that last mile and half. We rounded the last corner and you could see a large crowd of people in the distance about 3/4 of a mile down. N knew my goal time and told me if I didn't slow down there would be no doubt that I'd make it and be really happy with myself. I asked him what the time was and then quickly said NO NO don't tell me, I wanted to be surprise. (even though I had my watch on me I hadn't looked at it) He told me to sprint it out the last 100 yards and push out everything I had in me. I said my good byes to them and wished them good luck as they were about to start on their 2nd loop around and the really left them in my dust. I pushed it out and ran my little heart out as fast as I could. 

(the picture below was taken after I crossed the finish line)

All of a sudden I hear to my right some people yelling my name and I look over and its Kelly her husband and one of their friends. I looked over at them with a big smile and waved as I kept going, I was ALMOST THERE. My husband was waiting for me at the finish line some were and I wanted him to see my finish strong. 

I DID IT!!!! 

I'm a Half Marathon Runner and I finished UNDER my goal time!!! 

I was so freaking stoked!!!! 

My Goal time to finish was 2:30:00

 My final finish time was 2:27:03

That's right 3 minutes under my goal time. Sure its not much but its under and I'll take that any day!!!! With that being said and seeing that I can do it, I know I can push myself that much more next time. I've already set a new goal time for my next Half Marathon!!!

 (no, there's not a race planned yet, looking for one though. )

My Love and I after I finished. He is the best husband, supporter ever. I can't even begin to Thank him enough for always supporting my love for running and encouraging me to follow through with my dreams and goals. Having him there at the finished line made it that much more sweeter. While I was running knowing he was going to be waiting for me only made me want to push through that much stronger. 

side note: out of all the races I've ran he's only been able to attend one of them because of the army, so this was a big deal.  

Kelly and I after I finished. She is definitely a rock star, with out her it would have taken me a lot longer to train up and get ready to run a half. When we first talked about doing it and signed up for it I though no way will I be ready in two months. Let me tell you about a month and a half into training I was ready. At that point I had the confidence that I could do it!!! I impressed myself more and more every day with training, running and working out leading up to today. 

After today I have more confidence in myself that I can do a FULL MARATHON. I've always had a goal to run a Full before I'm 30, it's on my 30 before 30 list. (thankfully I have a few years till then lol.) Prior to running the half I told myself, the hubbs and Kelly that I wasn't at all going to try and push myself to do one this year. I didn't think it was possible at all. However I believe I can do it this year and I may just take on the challenge if I come across good race and location.

Seriously one of my most favorite people I have here in the South!!! Love Love her!!! I'm so glad that I've finally found someone who I love hanging out with and spending time with. We can joke around, be goofy and crazy and have a great time doing just about anything. She's def. made my time here in the South more enjoyable. 

Half Marathon Finisher!!!!! Metal!!!! 

I had so much fun running the half, the course was great the weather was perfect the support from the community was amazing and I can't wait to do this race again next year. 

All the tears, blisters, shoe issues, sore leg and every ounce of pain was totally worth it. I'd do it all over again and can't wait to!!!! 

I'm taking the week off from running to let my leg fully heal from a injury I've been nursing and then its back at it full force hitting the streets. Thanks again for following along and supporting me through this journey. Stick around because its not over!!!!!

Less Than A Week Away.....

I really can't believe that I'm less than a week away from running my very first Half Marathon. I'm sure to some your thinking, really big deal I've done plenty or even a full. Well props to you because I can only hope to be were you are one day. I've come so far in the last two months with my running then I ever expected. When Kelly first mentioned to me at the beginning of January about doing a half with her I had doubts of even being remotely ready. The thought "I only have two months to train" kept crossing my mind. Although I had been running for quite some time I didn't think I was ready for that long of a distance. Not yet any way. I mean a Half Marathon, 13.1 miles......that's A LOT if you ask me. 

 Well let me tell you exactly two months later after signing up I am SOOO READY. 

Two months was / has been plenty of time to train and get ready for it. We've lucked out pretty good with our training schedule and weather. Sure we've had some pretty chilly (crazy cold) morning and evening runs but after we get going, I always seem to warm up. Even through the rain and some sleet we've kept going and pushed through. I've gone through 3 different pairs of shoes and I've finally found a pair that I love. I've found some great running FB pages were I've read some really inspiring stories from other runners 5k-Full Marathon racers. I've ran many race's in between training which has totally helped and only pushed me that much more. 

I've come so far from were I was, I've changed so much and I've learn so much in the last two months and I owe it all to Kelly. She believed in me when I didn't believe in myself and didn't think I could do this. She's kept me going and pushed my butt that little bit more each time when I needed it. I'm doing this for me, to prove to myself I can do anything I put my whole heart, mind and soul into. 

I'm so excited and can't wait for Saturday to get here. Although when I have to get up crazy retarded early that excitement might be a little less. 

 I just wanted to give a big shout out and THANK YOU to each and everyone of you who have followed along this journey with me. Those of you who've supported, commented and left encouraging and inspiring comments and messages. Thank you all so much, it means more than you will ever know.  I can't wait to share my Half Marathon story with you next weekend. 

Best part is the hubs will be there to cheer and support me along the way. (from the start and finish line that is, he's not running it) Which is a super big deal seeing he's only been to one other race I've ran. 

5 days left y'all yikes, say a little prayer for me on Friday night Saturday morning if you'll please.

Major Mile Stone Moment

Last night before going to bed I got everything ready, packed up and breakfast set out. Being prepared is everything!!!! Call me a nerd but it totally makes the world of a difference being prepared.

Earlier this morning I met up with my girl Kelly to head across town for a 10K race we'd signed up for. It was pouring buckets of water, like major crazy hard core rain. Seriously I'm going to run in this stuff. I signed my name on the paper, I'm not backing down, I don't quit like EVER. We had plans after we'd cross the finish line of the 10K Race Against Hunger run to loop back around and keep going. We were going to use this as our long run training day for our half, which just so happens to be in TWO two.....TWO Weeks. (thank goodness). The goal was to get in 11 miles this morning and this would be our last long run and then we'd start to bring this down again. The rain was off and on all the way across town, about two blocks before the starting location it was pouring so hard. We kept talking about what we were going to do. I wanted to get it over with, I / we were in the zone, I didn't wanna have to get up early tomorrow for our long run because we got rained out today. I'm not a tread mill runner, but we talked about doing that. Let's just wait and see if they cancel the race or go with it when we get there. Just as we pulled up to park the rain slowed up to a light rain / mist. Ok we can handle this we ran in much worse last weekend (sleet), we had our rain coats on and were ready to go. We headed in side were it was warm and waited it out for the race to start.

The plan was to take it nice and easy, not to push ourselves to much. One, we didn't want to step in a pot hole due to the rain or slip and fall from the wet conditions. The goal was to get our miles in for the day and the race was just a added bonus to help us do that. I was kinda nervous because after completing this (the race combined with our extra 5 miles at the end) it would be my longest run to date. Mind over Matter I knew I could do it, it was just getting all the garbage nonsense out of my head. 

Waiting at the start line it was pretty chilly and windy, the rain was light but still there. Then all of a sudden bam everyone started running.......what really were was the "on your mark get set go". 

The course was great, it was a nice change from what we had been running in over the last couple months. (it was in a completely different city) After a while the rain started to go away and we were enjoying the morning. There were people stationed all through out the course cheering everyone on, police officers from all over controlling traffic and others passing out water. As we would pass each mile marker they would cheer us on and tell us how many more we had to go, all I could think about was "if you only knew what I had to do after this". Did I mentioned I tried out my knew shoes last week and then again today and they were doing great. I absolutely love them, although I though I loved loved my other ones to, so I'm going to have to give them a few more runs to really break them in. But so far so good, no complaints here. 

We were almost to the finish line, I was still doing good, I passed the old guy in the blue shorts. I never let anyone pass me I kept ahead and put one foot in front of the other. I ran through the finish, heard the buzzer go off to stop my time. And turned it right back around and kept going. Kelly had to go to the bathroom so bad, I kept telling her to hold it and wait it out but she just couldn't any more. We were NOT stopping though. There was a Starbucks on the left just a block up, she ran ahead booked it in side to pee. I made one lap around the building and there she came running back out adjusting her pants. It was just the laugh we both needed. We were running back down along the course encouraging people as we passed them. We finally saw the end out the racers, a young girl maybe 6/7 at the most still running strong. I though seriously if she can do this anyone can. 

Here I am a mile 8 the rain came back for a little bit but it was a bit refreshing. No need to carry water just open your mouth and look up lol. I slowed down for a bit turned around and Kelly snapped this picture, and then facebooked it all while running. Talk about multitasking while running, she's pretty awesome like that. This was our view for the next 2 miles and it was absolutely beautiful, quiet and peaceful. A few hills here and there but nothing we couldn't handle. 

There was a mile stretch were we were on a pretty busy two lane road. I was a nervous wreck and ran my heart out to get to the end of the street so we could get on a side walk. It was probably one of the longest miles ever. I just kept my eyes on the road and stayed clear of my surroundings. 

I have to have a plan, I need to know were and when we were going to stop. Kelly is known to say we are going to run this many miles and we end up adding more on. We talked and decided that we would see how we felt at mile 11 and if we could push one more out we would (it was run back the the car or walk so either way we had another mile to go at 11 to get to the car) but we would NOT go over 12 for any reason. Besides I want my first 13.1 to be my half in two weeks. We were just over 10 miles and I had a "OH MY GOSH" moment I've just surpassed my longest run ever. 

We came to a long ascending hill and I was pushing with everything I had to get up it, it hurt and I was struggling a bit but I knew the quicker I got to the top the better off I'd be. I pushed through and never stopped, the though crossed my mind but I didn't give in. It might have hurt in the moment but I knew shortly after we finished I'd be fine. 

At 11.34 we had just over half a mile to go, I recognized were we were and knew how far we had to go to get to the car. I pushed through it with everything I had in me. I knew the fast / quicker I got there the sooner I could stop. We had one more busy street to cross and about two blocks to go and we were there.......I watched my watch count up adding on the distance 11.81.....11.90......11.96.....12.15 DONE. It got us right to the parking lot were we were parked. I've just ran my longest distance ever. I don't know when the last time I had ever been this excited or proud of myself was. To some people it might not be that big of a deal but for me it was. I've come a long way since I started running two years ago although I've still got a long way to go to be were I want to be, I keep pushing. 

Dreams do come true and mine will. 

12...TWELVE...12 MILES baby!!!!! 10K + 6 more heck yea!!!!! And the best part was I didn't feel like I was dying at the end. 

You can see my car is the only car left in the parking lot in the back of the picture with Kelly. 

My finish time was just 2 minutes under what my goal time is for my half so I need to pick up my pace just a little and cut off about a minute from each mile. Even if I don't meet my goal time exact I know it wont be much over it, after today's run. Doing it and finishing is a big deal just in its self. 

After uploading my run online I saw that my pace dropped a little during my last mile from 11-12 but stayed consistent through out. I've just got to push it out strong just a bit more and I will be set. 

Just 2 more weeks!!!!! 

Breaking Them In.

Remember in my earlier post from today when I said I don't do well with change, 

well here's a little story about what happen today. 

K and I had plans to go run today but she decided since it was so cold, rainy and crummy out that she should keep her little one in. Makes total since, don't wanna get the baby sick. But I of course had to try out my new shoes that I'd got the day before and hit the streets running, literally. :) I was so pumped and ready to go, the cold weather didn't phase me at all. I'm actually kinda used to running in it now, although some days it still kinda sucks. I was about 2 miles in to my run and my feet were feeling it something bad. I don't know if it was really just all in my head or that fact that I took a different route today running or if it was me just getting used to new shoes, I didn't wear my running socks (socks really do make a difference). I mean it could have been a ton of different things. But my run wasn't great at all, I wanted to quit and just give in and walk the rest of the way home. Even if that did mean a LONG walk in the cold dreary ugly weather. But I DIDN'T I sucked it up and finished my run, I kept telling myself I was lapping everyone sitting at home on the couch. I blamed it all on the shoes, I was so disappointed and frustrated with myself. I had lost all hope for the day and was so down and hard on myself. How could this be, I've become such a good, faithful runner and now all of a sudden I'm stuck in a rut. How in the world was I suppose to run a half marathon in two months at this rate. I texted K and told her what was going on and how I was feeling. She reminded me that not every day is going to be a good day, that there's going to be tuff ones here and there and that's just life. Sometimes we fall and just need that little boost to get us back up. The weather was crappy, they were new shoes, the route was different, it was semi rainy / misty. I hadn't really eaten before I went, I wasn't totally awake. Not to make blame or find excuses but it had to be something right? My feet had never really hurt before when I had to break in new shoes or when I switched, so that's why I was so thrown off. Although I did go from wearing Minimalist shoes to Comfort supported shoes which was a big change and I'm sure that had something to do with it. 

I did it though, I didn't give up. I kept going with my head held as high as I could. :) We have plans to run tomorrow (Monday) after work and I plan on wearing my new running shoes with the right socks. I have to give them a chance, after all they were properly fitted for my feet. The good thing about the store were I got them from is still even after a week or so of trying them and I'm still not happy with them I can take them back and get fitted for a different pair. This is just a small road bump in my day, I refuse to let it get me down. Although the rest of the day did end up being a lazy one at home not doing much. Hey it was Sunday the hubs was at work, he had CQ and I had no plans. Do you blame me ?!!?!?!

New Kicks - Experience

Yesterday was a first for me!
I don't do well with change and today that proved all to true, once again.
Yesterday Kelly & I went to Fleet Feet a local running store here in the South. It was my first time going and I have to tell you it was a great experience. From the moment we walked in the door till we were checking out and leaving. I got fitted for running shoes for the first time ever. After almost two years (it'll will be two year early March) of running and participating in countless races, this was my first time to be professionally fitted for a proper pair of running shoes. For the last year I've been running in Minimalist running shoes with no support what so ever. Although I haven't had any issues with them I knew it was time for a change. I have really bad ankles and I needed the extra support, even more so that I've started adding more and more miles on to my nightly runs. The whole process went very smoothly. I had never felt more comfortable in a shoes store then I did yesterday. The girl helping me started off by explaining the process of what they do and why and how it all works. From there she measured my feet both standing and sitting. Watched me walk around the store and run on a treadmill, gave me different socks to try on and even fully looked over my feet and explained what would be the proper shoe and why. From there I tried on about 4-5 different pairs of running shoes till we found the prefect one. The first pair I absolutely LOVED the coloring, they were hot pink, neon blue and black. They couldn't have said my name more clearly if I wanted them to. Sadly enough they weren't the proper shoe for my foot. But hey that's OK, that's what we came for right. I might have to put color and cuteness aside for a good pair of running kicks. "Might" is a strong word. Once she found what she believed to be the correct shoe for me, I ran a couple minutes on the treadmill again to make sure I was comfortable in them. I even put on one of my minimalist shoes on and one of my new one and ran on the treadmill to see how it was, I felt good in my new Asics. I also decided to go ahead and get a pair of Lock Laces and switch mine out. These aren't only great for quickly slipping on and off your shoes but it saves a lot on wear and tear of a shoe if you don't untie them when you take them off. I have always untied my shoes when I take them off because I have to retie them to put them on so I might as well untie them the first time right. With lock laces your still able to adjust the tightness of your laces and the best part is you never have to worry about the coming untied during your run.

Last Thursday when we went running I had to stop three times to tie my shoes. I seriously don't know what was going on because I normally never have issues with them. Now I really wont at all, so even better. My new asics are purple and gray, most definitely not a color I would have picked for myself (I asked if they had pink, but no such luck) but I have to say they are growing on me and I'm really liking them. I did get the Hot Pink Lock Laces to spice them up a bit and they look super cute. I might be a little biased though. I picked up a few more pairs of comfort fit running socks, I just love how soft and comfy they are. The experience as a whole was wonderful, the store even gives a 10% Military Discount....added bonus, yes in deed. And for whatever reason I'm not totally happy with my new kicks after trying them out on a few runs, I simply take them back and they will help fit me to a shoe of my liking and fitting till they find the right one that I'm comfortable running in. I will never go to a regular shoe store to get running shoes again. As long as we are in the South I will go to Fleet Feet to get fitted / purchase my running shoes and possibly other running accessories that I might need. You might pay a little extra but I'm willing to do so knowing I'm getting what is right for me, my body, the personal experience and the great customer service.

Have you ever been fit for proper pair of running shoes? What was your experience?

5 Years Ago.....

......I married my best friend. Little did I know we would have gone through everything we have gone through in the past five years. I wouldn't trade if for the world though, its only gotten us were we are today. It's made us stronger and more in appreciative of each other than I ever though it would.  We've been lucky enough to have only missed out on being together for one of our anniversaries over the past 5 years, which in the military life that's rare. I know that there will be plenty more in the years to come were we wont be together but until then I'm counting my blessings. 

This year I was at a loss on what to get the hubbs for his anniversary gift. 9 times out of 10 whenever either of us want something we go out and get it ourselves. This is all fine and dandy until a day like today comes along and I'm clue less as to what to get him. I've asked and asked over and over and still come up empty handed. He ended up ordering 5 magazines for his Glock's but I still wanted to get him something that he didn't know about. That's when I decided to go with a hat press, I've been at him to get one forever but he just wouldn't give in. He said he didn't need one and was just fine using the glass cups that he'd been using. Me however not so much a fan, one it looked tacking on the desk in our kitchen and two I didn't like the messy look it left when he was at work and the glasses were just left there on the desk. The glasses left rings around the brim of the hat, he said if was character. Lame. There's a place on post called the Fire House, they do a lot of custom work for the battalions and Soldiers here on Ft. Jackson. I went in to talk to them about what I wanted and placed my order. 

I picked it up yesterday, the day before our anniversary and was more than pleased with it. It took everything I had not to give it to him last night but I held out. This morning while he was still getting ready I went and got it out of the car and put it together with his Drill SGT hat in it. It looks great, I'm so happy no more glass cups on the counter. He liked it a lot and started checking it out right away. I was so glad that he liked it. Check in the box for me this year. As much as I try to figure out what I'm going to get him each year, it always ends up working out in the end. 

Last night while I was cooking dinner the hubbs brought down a large Victoria Secret bag from upstairs. I'm big on waiting to do the gift exchange until the day of, that's just me. Like I said I was in the middle of cooking dinner and wanted to get it done. In the mean time he kept at me to come and open up the bag. Finally I did & while doing so I told him he wasn't getting my gift till the next day. He said that's fine because I still have something else for you. Really talk about totally out doing himself this year, as he always does. It was a comfy pair of PJ's to help me stay warm during these crazy cold winter nights we've been having. I love them, they are so cute and just perfect. 

This morning when I was getting ready he left a small package on the kitchen counter with a card. As soon as I looked at the label on the outside of the package I knew exactly what it was. Every year since we've been married he's gotten me a necklace for our anniversary. So when he asked me what I wanted this year it only seemed fitting to reply with a necklace. What better one than a Living Locket Necklace from Origami Owl, ever since I saw them a few months ago I've been eyeing one. I showed him a few of the charms I liked and left it at that. He came through, not that I though he wouldn't I knew he would. 

The charms included are a pair of flip fops, a running shoe, a boot, a cupcake, a sea turtle, a key with a heart at the end, the number 5, the year 2012 and a yellow ribbon. Dressed and ready for our road trip to Atlanta for the day!!!

To celebrate our Anniversary this year we decided to go to the Worlds Largest Aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia. It only seemed fitting since we were married in a Aquarium. The Dallas World Aquarium back in Texas, its a beautiful place and our wedding was perfect. I wouldn't of changed a thing. (I might be a little biased though lol). We had heard that the Atlanta Aquarium was comparable to the DWA so we figured it had to be good. We made the 3 & 1/2 hour drive early this morning and got there just after they opened. 

The Atlanta Aquarium wasn't anything like the DWA, they are so different in many ways. I honestly think they consider it the worlds largest aquarium simply because of the size of the building. We weren't disappointed but we didn't love it. We can say we've been but I really don't think we will ever go back. It was neat and I'm so glad we decided to celebrate our anniversary by going. We had a great time and best part is we were able to spend the day together. 

 The Belugas ~ I could of stayed here for hours and watched them swim around they are beautiful creatures. 

Some random fishies we saw through out our day. 

Penguins are so stinkin cute!!! In one of the large aquariums they had some of the biggest sting rays that I've ever seen. 

Jelly Fish!!!! 

 Another wall to wall and over the ceiling aquarium with hundreds of different fish. These are my favorite to look at. 

We had a lot of fun, there was even a live dolphin show we were able to go to. Sadly we weren't aloud to take pictures or video during it. Bummer. That probably was my favorite part of the Aquarium, I'd never seen anything like it before. Its amazing how people can train Dolphins to do the things they were doing. 

After we were done at the Aquarium we made our way over to the The World of Coca Cola Museum . It just so happened to be right next to the Aquarium and was free for Military so we couldn't pass that up. It was filled with loads of history and fun facts. I gave up drinking soda over two years ago but before that I was never a big Coke fan. But the museum was neat in its self. 

I love this guy so much, he does so much for me and I love it!!! 

 Some old vintage posters in the museum. 

This is the vault were the secret recipe of Coca-Cola is held. 

At the end of our tour we were able to take a bottle of Coke that was made right there in the factory. The gift shop at the museum was so big there was a ton of stuff. if I was a Coke fan I would have def. been in trouble, good thing I'm not lol.

We headed out to dinner at the Cheese Cake Factory before making the drive home. We talked about trying something local or different but when we saw they had a CCF we had to go. We don't have one in Columbia, the closest one is about a hour & half away. We're big fans if you can't tell. All in all it was a great day, we both were able to get off from work and spend it together. I still can't believe its been 5 years since we said our "I do's", sometimes it seems like forever ago but then other days it seems  like it was just last month. I can't wait to see what the next 5 years has in store for us or even the next 10, 20, 30 plus years. But as long as we are together I'll be happy as ever!!! It's by far been the best 5 years of my life and I know that the hubbs would say the same thing, 

Happy 5 Year Wedding Anniversary Baby!!!! I love you!!!!

This was us 5 years ago on our wedding day. :)