art fest in town...

twenty-three!

i turned 23 on march 24th. it was lovely. i worked the night before and the night of... so the day was mostly sleeping and relaxing. when i woke up we ate tostino's pizza because it's my favorite, strawberries and bananas with delish chocolate fondue, a massage, and watched "it's kind of a funny story." we liked it, minus the bad parts (ugh, why do they always have to do that?) dan made me TWO beautiful cards/banners, i got a cookbook that we love from grandma & grandpa hickman and a beautiful table runner that is adorning our table right now, a cute riddle card and money for a gift of my choice (we are going shopping this weekend (!!!!), the BEST card and two packs of gushers from jared & kris (fly like a G6), the most beautiful, lovely, and wonderful gift from my sweet ashley (more to come on that later, but you should be excited), and a phone call from megan!!!! from rome!!! it was perfect. she sang to me. and i cried. a day spent with my hubby is just perfect. and it was! twenty-three was a great year. i grew a lot spiritually this year. and learned so much in my job. i love my husband even more. i am blessed. blessed. blessed, blessed to have had another year on this earth! excited to see what this new year will bring. :]

the best two years [of love]

happy anniversary to the one i love!!! two years, it feels like more because so much has happened. it has been wonderful. i love him more and more every day.

to my sweet danny:

thank you for taking care of me and having a delicious meal ready for me every sunday morning when i wake up. your delicious homemade bread is to die for!

thank you for being soo patient for me and letting me whine and accidentally be a brat sometimes and you just laugh and love me.

thank you for saying things like "bless your little heart" and "you sweet little thing."

thank you for recently changing your mind of chick flicks and watching them with me now [even though i fall asleep through every one].

thank you for giving me hugs and kisses every day.

thank you for telling me you love me at least ten times a day [we really do, it's the best].

thank you for loving me and thinking i'm beautiful even with no make-up and my albino white face, messed up hair, and garbled outfit.

thank you for taking on the responsibility of scrubbing the tub and shower and being so good at it. i hate doing that.

thank you for having such a simple, innocent love for me. it's perfect.

thank you for sending me e-cards on our anniversary. :]

thank you for still trying to impress me with your tricks on the indo board.

thank you for taking over and helping me when i neeed you and can't do it myself.

thank you for killing every bug/creature that comes into our apartment.

thank you for getting that gross tick out of my arm and getting the head out too so i wouldn't get rocky mountain spotted fever.

thank you for never judging me for what i eat and always making me feel good about myself.

just thank you for everything. for being my everything. for being so sweet and loving to me. that's really all i could ask for. thank you for being willing to sacrifice and change for me. (but of course you're perfect so you don't need you)

143!!

cruisin cuisine

my dear sweet mother and father took us on a cruise for spring break! we went on the celebrity century from miami to roatan, honduras & cozumel, mexico! my dad happened to have meetings in fort lauderdale the weekend before dan's spring break... so it worked out perfectly! dan and i left after his lab and drove until 4:00 in the morning. we made a bed in the back so we would take turns sleeping. and we found out that he and i can comfortably sleep in the backseat of the corolla together. like both of us laying out long ways from window to window. woah! who knew?! i was swimmy-headed for a week after the cruise... it's subsided.

i have too many pictures for one post so i'm going to break it up into categories... figured i'd start out with the FOOD. because everybody knows... when you think of a cruise, you think of, dream of, and fantasize about food. or at least i doo...

this was at subway in everglades city.. cute little alligator town.

he is soo sophisticated.

most quaint and relaxing little aqua cafe. it had the HEALTHIEST food ever.

hot cocoa after a good morning work-out with daddy.

pretty parfait

my mom's favorite was a bagel with cream cheese, capers, and tomatoes. such sophisticated tastebuds.

this is from the healthy cafe if you didn't notice... there are CARROT chunks in that roll.

behind the scenes food tour!

no caption needed

FROG LEGS

formal night, looking so classy and handsome :)

this was before dan got sea sick and had to spend dinner outside on the deck :(

CUTEST LEMON SORBET i've ever seen. it was a palate cleanser between courses. and delicious at that!

it's the tiniest :) JUAN CARLOS IN THE BACKGROUND!!!!

dan ran off for like, 30 minutes in roatan and i couldn't find him anywhere. finally found him off with this little one eating freshly made banana chips together!

after an amazing snorkeling spree in cozumel! dan was eating a sandwich we had stashed away.

it's mexico tradition. glass bottle... it's just better there.

surprise!!!

look at us so cute at dinner. that's me with two entrees. i couldn't decide :)

baked alaska night!!!

CHOCOLATE SORBET... have you ever heard of it? it was literally the richest taste that has ever graced my lips. it tasted like 100% cocoa. no one could handle more than the tiniest taste. words can't describe, but.. rich.

baked alaska was a big production :)

that's the whole baked alaska :)

that's the head chef... in case you couldn't tell ;)

sushi etiquette, rub the sticks together to get the slivers off. doesn't everybody do that?!

dan explaining the ins and outs of sushi to mom, so interested.

BRUNCH!!!!!! oh pleeeeeeeeeease let me go back!!!!!!! my stomach just started to churn.

ohh boy...

caesar salad bar is always my favorite.

ocean view :)

one of my favorite pictures for sure. sigh, it's love.

cutest little swan princess

favorite food picture, hands down. how perfect?!?! it was soooo good!!!!!!!!!!

i think this is what heaven might be like.

so perfect. i love those sweet little foreign people who made this. so talented and humble.

coooolest.

suchi chot.

susssshhhii bar! it was so fun to watch him whip it up right there.

she got shrimp cocktails every night literally. it was her favorite!!

mmmmmmm...

MY BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION!!!!!!!! it was sooo sweet to have them all sing to me. i love them.

juan carlos and melwin. they took care of us. :)

this was probably the funniest moment on the whole trip.... this sweet, humble little man was standing up against the wall. we had never seen him or met him before and all the sudden my dad said, "hey, come over here" in a stern voice. i was like, "oh no?! what's he going to say!" all once the man comes over my dad BREAKS OUT IN TO SONG... "doon't leaveee mee lett mee stayyyy," just serenading this man with all his heart... and the sweet little man was completely unphased. just stood there next to him so politely with his hands together. didn't even crack a smile. CLASSIC.

the birthday girl with her birthday treats. spoiled.

classic overeating room service pic. we have one like this from our honey moon cruise and he looks so chubby. it's the best. (yes, we know we went a little overboard. but look! there's fruit...)

bon appetit! i know we did!