Maybe that's a sign of a good marriage. No matter how long you've been married, it seems like it's been forever, and yet like it just happened and you long for more.

Our second anniversary was a week ago today :-D And like I said, it feels like we've just always been together. But not in that omgYOUagain? kinda way ;-) More in like that cantimaginewhatmylifewouldbelikewithoutyou kinda way :-D

So back in JUNE we booked my best lil sister and her new hubby to mind the kids for a weekend so we could get away for our anniversary. Now since our LOVELY Terrible Two was born we have exactly TWO nights away from her, she's apx 2 1/2. And that included our wedding night. For US, that is just not enough. We have so much fun together and just enjoy being alone together SO MUCH and it makes ALL the difference in our relationship. We need time ALONE OUT OF THE HOUSE to relate to each other as a man and a woman, a couple, to remind ourselves why the HELL we got together in the first place!!!! I believe all couples need this time. We have had some trouble securing said time though. So back in JUNE we booked our sitter for NOVEMBER and on Nov. 16th we were OFF!

We left at around 6:30 or 7 on Friday to return at about 7 on SUNDAY! HOW AWESOME, I KNOW! So we high-tailed it outta there and stopped for a delicious sushi dinner on our way to Monterey. As I have mentioned before, we are TOTAL beach babies. We LOVE the beach, the ocean more specifically, and spend as much time as we can there. We got into our hotel kinda late and the fireplace, WE PAID EXTRA FOR, was broken. Now the only reason I wasn't too upset about it was because as of THAT morning ... my body betrayed me. FOUR DAYS EARLY my . started. >:-/ Needless to say, we were both pretty DAMNED upset about it.

But we pressed on. Since we got right to bed when we got to the hotel >:-/ we got up nice and early. We went and had a lovely breakfast in our hotel by the fireplace, a pretty romantic way to start our day :-D Then we ran back to our room and finished getting ready.

We decided to start out going south on highway 1. This was our first stop. Basically what we did was run around beach hopping all day! It was SOOO fun! And amazingly beautiful! This was in Carmel, so pretty, SO going on my wall somewhere :-D

This was just another spot we stopped at along the road. The waves were breaking so big that day and yet the weather was PERFECT. It was warm but not hot, no wind, and completely crystal clear, that's mist on the cliffs not fog :-D

This was one of our next stops and one picture of about 5 that my DH took trying to get the perfect shot for his next painting - again - GOING ON THE WALL!

Then some nice folks took our picture there and we were on our way south to Big Sur, the only spot DH REALLY wanted to see. They have a water fall from the cliffs down to a beach so we were pretty STOKED about seeing it up close!

However, we found that the fog beat us there. I can't explain how awesome it was to be here. The fog was so THICK, and so CLOSE that it looked like you could walk right off the cliff and land on a pillow! It was so weird though because you couldn't see a THING but you could HEAR the wave crashing on the rocks right below! It was an eerie feeling but so beautiful!

Now after that we were pretty far south so we turned back around. We found a little deli type place to stop for sandwiches and took them to this stop right there ^^^^ We sat on that little dirt patch right at the edge of that cliff and had lunch :-D

It was VERY romantic :-D We had a glass of wine with our lunch and listened to waves just soaking it all in. It was just amazing how relaxed we were and how different if felt! It was like the longest best day ever! And it was only half over!

After lunch heading north on highway 1 we took the totally touristy trek of 17 mile drive. I don't know if you've ever heard of it, but its the 17 mile stretch that goes out on the Monterey Penninsula and includes some of the most famous golf courses like Pebble Beach, Spy Glass, and Spanish Bay - and also the most AMAZING homes I have EVER SEEN - OH and they charge you $9 for it ;-)

Also along drive is one of the most well known scenic photos ... The Lone Cypress. As you can see it's a lone cypress growing out of a rock in the ocean. It's actually pretty neat and that's why this is ONE of like 6 pictures we have of it ;-) WALL!

We spent about 2 hours on the beaches out there, drank another glass of wine, and were back on our way to Cannary Row in Monterey. It's basically a LOT of cute little stores and restaurants, oh and WINERIES! = HEAVEN. So we went to a few stores and a winery THEN we found the MECA of wine tasting ... of us anyway ;-) A wine bar, overlooking the ocean = MORE heaven :-D After we tasted some wines we ordered a glass of their Merlot and sat in their seating area.

Our table was right in front of a HUGE wall of glass over the ocean. SO ROMANTIC! Now we got a few of these pics and with the exception of the classy bird poop, the whole scene was perfect :-D In fact, we ended up eating at the restaurant right there on the right. After soaking in the ambiance and relaxing with our glasses we went back to hotel to get ready for dinner.

Ok, we don't get out much together alone these days so we decided to have dinner a NICE restaurant and get nice and dressed up. And boy did we :-D We looked GREAT. Did I get a picture of it?!?!?!?! Sigh... However I did get a nice picture of our view from our table :-D And while we were waiting for our patio table we walked and kissed on that beach right there. It was so fun and romantical ;-) We were all dressed up and I still just took off my shoes and walked in the sand, my DH said that was one of the things he loved most about me, how spontaneous I was and how I could still be so beautiful and classy but not above taking off my fancy shoes to walk in the sand :-D

Dinner was over too soon, and since it was FREEZING outside we waited until EARLY morning to go to a real beach. I love pictures of words in the sand, I take them EVERY time I got to the beach. But this time I was having trouble coming up with a phrase so I asked DH what he thought and "He said "TRUE LOVE" baby, that's just ... us" So there ya go :-D We walked up and down the beach for a long time, trying to drink in every moment before heading back home. After we packed up at the hotel and had breakfast by the fire again :-D We decided to head north on highway 1.
Along the way we did more of the beach hopping. The weather was again in our favor and we came up with some AMAZING shots. This was - again - one of like 7 of this exact spot, gotta get the right collection of breaks or something for his painting ;-) We were heading for "our spot" in Half Moon Bay.

The Moss Beach Distillery is one of the most beautiful and romantic places I know of, GO THERE, if you get the chance :-D It's a nice restaurant with a BEAUTIFUL patio area down below over looking a beautiful beach. Now, the awesome part of this patio that set it apart for me, was the fire pit, the bar, and the awesome wooden 2-seater benches with big warm blankets

VERY cozy and VERY romantic :-D Now we found this place just over 2 years ago when we came down to the ocean looking for a place to get married. We came in for their Sunday brunch but couldn't enjoy the patio because we had Terrible Two with us at the time, she was only 3 months old back then though ;-) SO, we said "NEXT TIME, we are SO getting a bench seat!" So when we got there, we didn't even ask for a table, we just ran downstairs for the patio. When we got there, all the benches were taken, as I guess I figured they would be. So we waited inside deciding what to eat. THAT was when these four old people came down stairs. They were looking at the patio and plotting out where they wanted to sit and then proceeded outsite to basically wait for someone to leave! I was all "OH HEEEEELL NO BITCHES!" So then they started organizing chairs for them all to sit in, when 2 couples got up and headed inside.

Through my very keen peripheral vision, as I leapt from my chair and RAN to the door, I could see the old people, as if in slow motion - look over, look at each other, motion that they should come over and take BOTH of these spots as there were 4 of them. I knew that if I was not quicker than them we would lose the only spots that would come open before we had to leave to go home. SO I SAID OH HELLLLL NO. Before Brandon could even ask what I was doing I was out the door and walking to MY seat. I sat down in the comfy bench in front of the fire and grabbed the warm blanket. Then as DH finally joined me I looked over at the old people who shot me a look, and I said to my DH, nice and loud, "They may have been waiting 5 minutes, but *I* have been waiting 2 YEARS" ... and besides ... WE WERE THERE FIRST ANYWAY! :-D

We sat there for a LONG time sipping our champange and thoroughly enjoying every moment. Then it was getting later and later and we kept thinking of how we had to head back soon. So we decided to head back up and get a late lunch. This was the vew from our table window.

After lunch we had a LITTLE bit of time left we so went down to the beach in front of the restaurant. The waves were amazing and we watched them for the last time on "our best weekend ever". Now, you might think nothing much of this shot, but let me tell you! It is VERY hard to take a picture of the back of your own head! But I wanted to document how we spent out time and that was gazing out at the ocean and waves together basking in the warmth that is our love ... hehe ;-)

And this was the last of our 80 pictures. The sun setting on our perfect weekend.

Ah. I can't even begin to describe how amazing it was to spend so much time with my wonderful hubby. Sure we missed the kids and it was great to get back to them. But we NEED that time alone, or we lose that magic we have amidst the chaos that is our life.

SOOOOOO, after the longest post EVER ... I am just lucky if any of you are still THERE! So thanks for visiting! TNT!