Celebrating 5 Years

Wow, 5 years of marriage! It seems like just yesterday we were having a wedding, but at the same time I feel like I can't remember life before marriage. Very strange. But very wonderful :)

To celebrate we took a trip to Sedona. I hadn't been there in at least 10 years and Nick had never been there and we wanted to go somewhere we hadn't been together. I had forgotten how beautiful it is. Wow. It is amazing that it is so close too - such a short drive for such amazing scenery! And the smells - yum! Pine, dirt and water!!!! It doesn't get any better than that.



We arrived Thursday and spent most of that day exploring the resort and Uptown Sedona. We stayed at the L'Auberge which was AMAZING. I have never stayed at a place that nice. It was right on the river and there were all sorts of seating areas where you could just hang out and watch the ducks play and enjoy the relaxing sound of the water. It was so beautiful and peaceful! And they had all sorts of things there that you wouldn't really think would make a difference, but the little extra really made you feel special. Like when we walked into the lobby they had ice water with orange in it (super yummy, wouldn't have ever thought to do that) and chocolate chip cookies for people to eat. And they had complimentary wine and cheese (just cheese for me!) tastings every evening and coffee and scones every morning. It just seemed like they really made an effort to make their guests feel welcome. The only little extra that I didn't care for was the mandatory valet parking. We can park our own car, thank you. Especially because you feel pressure to get in and out of the car so quickly and sometimes you forget stuff in there. Like after we went to Slide Rock we left our wet socks in there and the next morning when the valet brought the car to us we were mortified to discover that wet socks left overnight = stinky stinky car!!!!! It would have been fine if we were the ones to discover that, but no, some unsuspecting valet was the first victim. Yeah, we had to throw those socks away...

Uptown Sedona was cute. It was just a short hike up the hill from where we were staying. We had burgers there at a place with an amazing view of the red rocks after checking in but didn't hang out too long. We peaked at a few of the shops but then spent the rest of the day by the river.



Friday we took the 6 mile West Fork hike. The scenery was beautiful and the hike was relaxing. We had to cross the river quite a few times, but there were enough rocks and logs to get from one side to another relatively easily. It wasn't a difficult hike, but it wore me out pretty good. After we'd gotten all sweaty and gross we went to Slide Rock which was packed! There were so many people there! Fortunately it is a big enough place that you can still find a place to hang out and we found a couple of rocks to sit on and hung out in the refreshing icy water. And of course I did the water slide. I hadn't planned on it, but it didn't seem like it went too fast so I thought the baby would have fun :) And it was fun! There's just something about being in moving water that is super fun!!!!!





That night we had the most amazing dinner ever! The L'Auberge has a restaurant right by the river and it is so romantic! And the food was amazing - I had fillet mignon and Nick had chicken and I seriously didn't know food could taste that good. There were so many flavors! Wow. I could hardly move after stuffing myself so much. But it was really nice - they didn't make you :) They didn't feed you and rush you out of there. With everything they really took their time and let you feel like you could take your time and relax and enjoy the atmosphere. It was awesome!!!! Probably the highlight of the trip.

On Saturday we had amazingly beautiful weather - it rained all day!!!!! We went to Cathedral Rock and walked around there for a while. I think we took a million pictures. The rocks were beautiful and every view was different! Supposedly Cathedral Rock is the most photographed rock formation in Arizona.



For lunch we went to the Enchantment Resort where the restaurant faces the rocks and has huge windows so you have an amazing view no matter where you are seated. It was really cool and the food was yummy too. I think next time we go to Sedona we might stay there. We LOVED the L'Auberge, but it would be fun to stay somewhere new and this place is a definite possibility. (Because I guarantee we will be going back to Sedona!)

After lunch we went back to hang around by the river more. I think I could have spent the entire 3 days there. We finally went to the wine and cheese tasting (we should have gone the fist 2 days - I didn't realize how yummy it would be) and then we drove to the airport because the clouds had decided to clear just before sunset and you can see the sunset and the whole city and it is very pretty. The parking lot was a complete mud hole from the rain, but I think the view was worth it.

Sunday we spent some more time at the river before leaving for the Grand Canyon. The drive there was quite an adventure. We had some car issues before leaving - some rattling/squealing that we think was caused by the rain. But it turned out to be a belt that Nick fixed with some conditioning spray and then we were off! An hour later than we had planned, but hey, it could have been worse. The drivers on the way were very slow and it was a one lane road for a good part of it, but we finally made it. Only to discover that the entrance few was $25, we only had $17 in cash, and their debit machine was down. So we had to turn around and go back to get money in the little town just before. Now here is where pregnancy brain comes in because I had $40 cash "emergency" money in my wallet. Except that I never count it for anything because its "emergency" money. So I let us drive all the way back to town before I realized I had it. Oops :) But we finally made it and WOW. I hadn't been to the Grand Canyon since I was 7 and I definitely did not remember how amazing it was. It is HUGE!!!!! So awesome! We walked around a little, took lots of pictures, and have resolved to (someday) hike it. And I figured it would be appropriate to take my first baby belly picture here :) I don't know that it looks as big as it feels - it feels huge!!!!



Anyway, It was a very fun, relaxing trip - an awesome way to celebrate 5 years!