When my husband Zach and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary last summer, we started talking about how much fun it would be to take a big vacation, just the two of us, for our 10th. And since he is an amazing planner and I love surprises, we decided he would keep our destination a secret until we boarded the plane.
Fast forward an entire year to this summer, most of which was spent in excited anticipation of where we would be spending a week in August. All I knew was that our destination would be warm, and I would need my passport.
I was more than thrilled when I found out at the airport gate that we were flying to ARUBA, and even more excited when we pulled up to the Ritz-Carlton! Zach went above and beyond in planning this vacation, and I can honestly say it was our best ever.
I was hoping for a week of total relaxation — entire days spent at the beach with nothing to do except read by book and cool off in the ocean every so often — and that’s exactly what I got.
It’s amazing how much more you appreciate vacations like this when you have young kids, as I realized when comparing this trip to our honeymoon in St. Lucia 10 years ago.
While most of our week was all about eating, swimming, and chilling, we did do a bit of adventuring, including two snorkel trips and a boat cruise. The island of Aruba is SO beautiful, especially the water.
It was warm, clear and full of interesting ocean life…including an octopus with whom we got up close and personal while snorkeling!
With two kids and each owning our own businesses, Zach and I don’t get a ton of quality time with just the two of us at home. It was so special to be together for an entire week with no responsibilities or obligations. We did a lot of reflecting on our last 10 years of marriage, and also talked about how we want the next 10 years to look.
Every so often, escaping reality is exactly what is needed in order to reconnect and recharge. We’re about to dive into the hustle of back to school season, and I feel completely energized thanks to our week in Aruba.
