5 Year Anniversary in Bora Bora

It's hard to believe that we've been married for five years!  We still remember August 11, 2007 in Key West like it was yesterday. Since this was a milestone anniversary, we celebrated it in a fun way by vacationing in Bora Bora, French Polynesia.  We used Mike's points for most of the airfare and it look us on a longer route through Auckland, New Zealand, but it allowed us to sightsee in another country which was neat.  Bora Bora is truly paradise...it was the most beautiful place we've ever seen and it was hard to leave.  I'll warn you, this post is long due to so many pictures....I could not stop taking pics of the beautiful turquoise water, white sand, and swaying palm trees.

Auckland, New Zealand



View of Rangitoto Island....a young, extinct volcano formed 600 years ago.



Up in the Sky Tower for a bird's eye view of Auckland.  We were feeling a bit tired at this point....left SF for our connecting in LA on Wednesday evening...then boarded a 13 hr flight and arrived in Auckland around 8am. 



Mount Eden...an extinct volcano.  I'm somewhat fascinated with volcanoes and loved the Auckland's sky line was dotted with extint volcanoes. I told Mike I want to visit more of Auckland one day...particularly the central region of the North Island where there are active volcanoes!

 

Mike standing on the glass floor of the Sky Tower....the tallest building in Auckland.  They even had a glass floor in the elevator...talk about crazy!



The Sky Tower is in the right of the photo.  Auckland reminded us of Sydney and San Francisco...large city on a bay with a ton of sailboats.

Bora Bora, French Polynesia



We made it!  This pic was taken from the runway.  Talk about an amazing view from the start!

 

We were greeted with floral leis that smelled amazing.  Then we boarded a ferry to the property.



"Is this for real?!"  I'm pretty sure that's what came out of mine and Mike's mouth when we took in our first view of the property.





View from the back patio...we could lay out, walk down the steps and snorkel off the balcony, and watch amazing sunsets.  One of our favorite activities was eating dinner on the back patio.



We had a square glass floor on the back patio to view the fish below.  We also had end tables that opened to the water below and we fed the fish from there every night.

Our hut over the water!



View from our back patio of the other huts.



The first of many sunsets we watched.



Farewell Bora Bora...we love you....we'll be back at some point in our lifetimes!

 Back in Auckland, New Zealand



We took a ferry to Davenport which is an adorable seaside village. We walked to the top of a very small extinct volcano called Mount Victoria and took in amazing views of the Auckland area.



July Happenings

It's hard to believe we're already into August!  Not sure where the first 7 months of the year have gone!  We've had a few busy months and are enjoying a bit of down time spent at home with Toby and Bella the next couple of weeks. We realized we hadn't done a blog post in a while and want to share a few pics of fun visits with family and friends from this month.  Unfortunately, I didn't take near enough photos, but so happy to have a few to share. Enjoy!

DFW
I had a last minute trip to DFW to attend a conference for work. It allowed me to stay an extra two days over the weekend for a quick visit home.  As you've come to expect, I take tons of pictures of my baby neice, Briley, when I hang out with her. She's the happiest lil' girl!


Miss Briley can sit up on her own now.  She loves playing with her toys and "reading" books.



Briley is also a pro at rolling over...she's across the room before you know it!



Oh fun...jewelry...can I have your pretty earrings Aunt Erin?  When you're holding Briley and wearing jewelry or sunglasses, she wants it!  This picture cracks me up because she really wanted my earring and wouldn't stop trying to grab it.



I wasn't at home when this photo or the ones below were taken, but I had to share them with you because they are so precious.  My sister and mom sent them to me after a lil' photo shoot.  I might be a bit biased, but Briley is a living baby doll!



She juts loves those ruffles!



Check out her two, teeny-tiny bottom teeth!

Kristen Visits SF

Kristen and I have been friends since our freshman year at Kilgore. Anytime we're together we have the best time! I'm so fortunate for our friendship and look forward to our visits every year despite the distance.



Day #1: We explored all of the city including Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, Union Square, Cliff House, and Crissy Field.  The weather was exceptionally amazing for July!



Union Square



Day #2: We spent all day in Napa and visited Alpha Omega Winery, Beringer, and Castello di Amerosa.  We also had a yumym lunch in Yountville...a super cute town in the valley.

 

In the Barrel Room at Castello di Amerosa.



Day #3: We drove 1.5 hours south to Santa Cruz for an afternoon of sunbathing. We had to wait about an hour for the fog to roll away, but once it did the skies were blue and the sun shining bright!



Many sea lions make Santa Cruz their home.  From the pier, you're able to get up close to these big guys.  This sea lion was my fav...I really like the 'fro he's got going on.

 

Beachbums!

 

This picture sums up my happy place...the beach!

Chelsea and Brian Visit SF
Mike and I have been friends with Chelsea and Brian for years.  We went to school in Mansfield with Chelsea, and met Brian in College Station where we went to college.  Whenever I think of gingerbread houses, I think of Chelsea and Brian.  For many years it was a tradition for us to get together and make them during the holidays.  It was so nice to spend some time with them as they enjoyed a vacation in SF and Napa. We'll look forward to seeing them again when we're home in Texas for Christmas!  They are such special friends to us!


Chelsea and I overlooking the Pacific Ocean.



A pic of us from years ago.  Y'all are the best!