Oops, we did it again!

That’s right, we started a family tradition of spending our anniversary in Jamaica. Last year we just missed Hurricane Dean, but this year we weren’t so lucky and got to witness Hurricane Gustav firsthand! 70 mph winds, 14 inches of rain and 2 extra days later we made it back to Memphis safe and sound.

Jamaica was amazing - you know same ole’ crystal blue water, white sand beaches, beautiful sunsets. We spent most of our days back and forth between the ocean and reading our first novel together (The Kite Runner - thanks for the recommendation Bailey!).

One of our favorite things we did last year was the Catamaran Cruise which turned out to be a bummer this year…at the beginning of the cruise a couple of dolphins swam right beside our boat. Ben made the comment that seeing dolphins is supposed to be good luck which did not end up being the case. Once we docked at Pirates Cove we were told that we couldn’t cliff jump because the property had been sold to private owners, but we decided to make the best of it and go explore the horseshoe cave. As we returned to the boat we were both attacked by a group of jellyfish. Later on Ben said that his first thought was, “I have to get Monica out of this water no matter how many times I get stung,” and the 9+ stings on his back are proof that he let me go up the ladder first. Side note: he will be receiving “Husband of the Year” award for that heroic act!

All in all it was a wonderful, much-needed vacation and we are still very much in love after 5 years of marriage!