Happy Anniversary

June 1st marked Casey and my one year anniversary, and what a year it has been! Not only have we waded through the normal first year struggles, we have welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world, moved one time, sold an old car and bought a new one, worked through two new jobs, and many other little life lessons and experiences that make each day so wonderfully interesting. It's been a crazy, wonderful year!

To celebrate our little milestone, Casey planned a wonderful weekend away for the both of us, without me knowing any of the details - everything was a complete surprise. Mia was planned to stay with grandparents all weekend while mommy and daddy escaped life. This is our weekend story...

Saturday morning, we headed out on our adventure, stopping briefly for some lunch in order to make it to our destination. We headed south-west, enjoying the gorgeous backdrop of the Rocky Mountains for our drive. Coming into Fairplay, CO, I noticed a sign saying "Breckenridge - right- 42 miles." Casey drove right on pass this sign, thoroughly confusing me, slowly getting me to the point of frustration because, DANG IT, I wanted to figure this trip out!

"I hope I wasn't supposed to turn there. I don't think I was," says Casey, pondering intently.

"Well," I said, "If you wanted to go to Breckenridge, you did need to turn there, or so says the sign."

"Dang it!" (insert quick U-Turn here)

Well, there it was. I had figured out our little adventure, and boy was I excited! A weekend away in Breckenridge!? This was going to be so relaxing! I could hardly wait to pull into that cute little town. Casey and I had been there last summer when I first found out I was pregnant (another story for another time) and it was so lovely. So...we drove on, enjoying each others company, talking about everything imaginable, and staring at the beautiful creation of the Lord.

After stopping for homemade Buffalo and Venison jerky on the side of the road, we pulled into Breckenridge, CO shortly after 2:00 PM.

"Well, we can't check in until about 4:00 PM. What would you like to do?" Casey questioned.

"Um, I think I'd like ice-cream." I said, very matter-of-fact.

We got some ice cream...it was so delicious - just melted right in your mouth.

"Would you like to drive up the road to Vail and do a little shopping? I haven't been there, but that's where the rich people go...might be fun to mingle with them for a little while!" Casey said.

"SURE! I am ALWAYS up for shopping."

So, we hit I-70, enjoying the ride, talking about where we would like to eat for dinner in Breckenridge, planning out our next moves. We joked together, and had a wonderful ride. Pulling into Vail, we could see all the grand, million dollar homes. We quickly tried to find the right exit to take to hit all the fun, unique shops that Vail Village had to offer. We pulled of the interstate and took the frontage road back to where we were sure the shopping would be. I wasn't quite sure we were going the right way, but Casey thought that the road followed the entire length of the interstate, so I kept my mouth shut sure we would find it soon.

Then we saw it...the most beautiful resort we had ever seen. It was huge, and luxurious, sitting right up against the mountain next to a rushing river. How lovely. Casey pulled in.

"Welcome to your weekend resort!" Casey said with a huge grin across his face.

"WHAT? Are you SERIOUS?!" I stammered, "But, how?"

I was completely shocked! I TOTALLY thought we were staying in Breckenridge. This was such a treat and I couldn't wait to check in and settle down into a few days of relaxation.

We checked into the Vail Cascade Resort & Spa and went up to our room. It was so lovely, overlooking the rushing river below. No cars in sight. No noise but that of the mountains behind us. Our own little haven for a few days.

We enjoyed many little excursions including shopping in Vail village, sitting by the river enjoying the sounds that it brought rushing by, relaxing by the pool for hours at time, working out in their impressive Club & Spa area, and of course eating way too much food.

Sunday was our actual anniversary. We participated in many of the activities listed above, and then enjoyed a lovely Surf & Turf dinner at The George Pub and Grill. It was super delicious.

It was a lovely weekend with so many stories that I'll have to spread out over some time here. Below are some more pictures of our weekend. The captions will let you in on some more of our adventures.

The hotel delivered chocolate strawberries and champagne since we were celebrating our anniversary.

Some of the really FREAKY manikins that were in Vail

A 27 million dollar home located on Vail Avenue