"You're Love is Extravagant"

4 years.  Brian and I have been married 4 years. It's been a fabulous 4 years, living in 3 different homes, 2 states and 1 kid.  We've had lots of jobs, attended a few different churches, taken some really great vacations and have some wonderful memories.  In some ways it feels like we've been married forever (but that's probably because I can't really remember life without him) and in other ways it feels like we are still newlyweds.  Although we don't feel like that near as often now that we have Carly. ;)

Our first year anniversary was celebrated on the Pacific Coast of California, so we thought what better way to celebrate than to take Carly to the Atlantic Coast for her first beach experience!  We knew we weren't going to sneak away for some romantic dinner/night out, so we thought why not take a memorable day trip as a family.  And memorable it was!

We packed up and hit the road right when it was time for Carly's first nap. It's a good hour and a half drive, so we thought it would be best if she slept.  Too bad she was only out for 40 minutes.  We arrived at Clearwater Public Beach around noon and it was already packed!  We unloaded and hiked through the white sand to the water where we didn't even have a chance to change Carly into her swimsuit!  Good thing I put sunblock on her in the car!  She went straight for the water and that was the end of that!  At first we thought the whole time would be a battle...as she kept walking too far in and would face plant in the water, but refused to hold our hand.  But she realized that salt water is not fun to swallow or get in her eyes, so she was good about staying where she could still walk unsupported by us.  The tide also got real low while we were there, which meant she could really walk a long way and still be in shallow water.  She enjoyed laying in the sand and waiting of the waves to hit her face.  This girl has no fear.

She also enjoyed picking up shells, running in the sand and chasing the seagulls (ducks, as Carly thought).  We actually didn't realize she knew how to say duck, but then again she has tons of books that talk about ducks.  She just hadn't had a reason to put a name to them until now....

Since it was our anniversary, we took what I believe is our FIRST picture as a couple since Carly was born.  Crazy, huh?!  We did, of course, include her as well.

We had so much fun!  I wish the beach was closer...we would go every week!  There is so much to do....from walking in the water, getting knocked over by waves (which don't compare to the Pacific, by the way), "duck" chasing, shell searching, and sand castle building.  Carly liked that as well. :)

My and my little girl...

She was very upset when we left, but we were getting hungry and since we were in the Tampa area, decided to hit up one of the restaurants featured on "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives."  There was one on the way home called the Tampa Bay Brewing Co., so we stopped there for dinner.  We ordered a burger wrapped in pizza crust, a beer based cheese dip with ciabatta bread, and "not your mother's meatloaf," the items that were featured on the show.  They were delicious!  It was right in the middle of the historic district of downtown Tampa, called Ybor.  The buildings were pretty but we soon realized that we were in a super sketchy part of town where children were not welcome!  We thought we'd go for a little walk after dinner but after passing multiple strip clubs and adult stores, we high-tailed it out of there! An experience, for sure! ;) 

Upon arriving back home, we decided it would be fun to watch our wedding ceremony and slideshow for the first time since getting home from our honeymoon.  I cried all the way through it.  What a great ceremony! Having my Dad minister the service, listening to our wedding music again, hearing our duet ("You're Love is Extravagant"), which wasn't near as bad as I had remembered it, and watching my Grandpa pray for us was all really emotional experiences for me.  When I think about our wedding, I often have much bitterness of all the unnecessary drama that happened, that I forget to think about the positives.  So it was really good to see the ceremony again.  We also watched our slideshow about 5 times and it confirmed that Carly looks EXACTLY like Brian.  There is a photo of Brian giggling in his crib and I was like, "that's MY kid!!"  They have the same face and such similar expressions.  Too cute!

The day was really a fabulous day, filled with memories, which was exactly the goal.  We are thankful for the abundance of blessings God has poured out on our family and went to bed with our hearts very full.