victoria & vancouver.

In less than two weeks, Stephen and I depart for Canada for our very first wedding anniversary. We have a traveling method: I plan beforehand and Stephen navigates while we are there. It works for us. Needless to say, I have spent weeks researching places and planning each day. It is much easier to have too many options than to be in a foreign city looking for things to do. And today, I finally completed our itinerary! Here are a few of the great things we will get to see:

Fairmont Empress

Craigdarrough Castle

Hatley Castle

Granville Island

Lynn Canyon Park

VanDusen Botanical Garden

*I tried really hard to plan a trip that was cost effective and that still allowed us to see a lot of sites. Traveling is expensive with just hotel and food, so I always look for great free places (like parks and landmarks) to help offset additional costs. 

I am so excited to celebrate a great first year of marriage with my husband!

monster bash.

A few weekends ago we celebrated our nephew's 1st birthday. My sister planned an extravagant and lavish party filled with catered food and a candy bar. Needless to say, it required a lot of help from family to execute. But we pulled it off! Tyler had so many people there who loved him to make his birthday amazing (not that he will remember it). And we adults were treated to delicious food and snacks. I still remember the day he was born and cannot believe it's been a year. He is growing so fast and I cannot wait for more adventures with my little redhead. 

the decor/food.

  
the party. 

happy 1st birthday nephew!

leavenworth - day 3.

Almost a month later, and I am just about finished! I am just proud that I am finally finishing it, though any interest in probably dwindled to none by this point. Our last day in Leavenworth, we grabbed some breakfast at a cute little restaurant downtown and finished looking at a few of the shops in town. Then we headed to the nearby park to get some last nature time in before driving home.  

best gas station purchase for our drive home.

 I love traveling with my husband and this was one of our best adventures. For us, so much of a great marriage is creating new memories together. Exploring and traveling is a common love of ours and I am so thankful that I get to visit these new places with him. It has made our marriage stronger and our love for one another deeper. Some of my favorite times have been reminiscing about past adventures with him. Every couple has their own niche, something that makes them work, that makes them great. This is one of ours. 

leavenworth - day 2.

Our hike ended up taking the majority of the day, so after we came back to the hotel, showered, and rested it was dinner time. I do plan on doing a food post, since we ate so much of it, so stay tuned. We finished exploring the downtown area again after we ate and ended the night at one of the only bars open on a Sunday night in Leavenworth. It was filled with townies and karaoke. 

It was a very long and exciting day.

Leavenworth nightlife. riveting.