Romantic Anniversary

Bryan and I decided to go to Dana Point for our much needed vacation and anniversary trip (8 years!!!) He kept the hotel a secret and also the restaurant where we would have our anniversary dinner. We dropped the kids off at my parents (thank you mom and dad!!) and made our way down to the coast. As we're pulling into the Marriot in Dana Point, I am amazed. It is a beautiful hotel and I have attended a couple of weddings there, but never stayed there. It has so many amenities that you can't possibly afford to do them all or even have the time!! We walked around the shops (again...poor Bryan) and had seafood several times.

Here is the view from the Chart House on the cliffs of Dana Point. It was the most awesome, wonderful dinner ever! We had the best food there - I'm not kidding. The Chilean Sea Bass and the Macadamia encrusted Halibut were to die for!! We also had coconut shrimp for an appetizer and don't forget the lava cake with ice cream for dessert! We had the best time there - and yes, rolled out of the restaurant having gained several pounds. Thank you to my parents who contributed towards that wonderful dinner.

Here's the front view of our hotel. We stayed in one of the rooms on the right hand side of this picture. It was on the side of the hotel so we got a little glimpse of the ocean if you stood on the little balcony. So delightful!

You can't forget Daddy's birthday. Even though it falls on the same day as our anniversary, we had to celebrate it extra special. The boys and I surprised him at work with brownies, ice cream and balloons (Ethan picked out a golfing Happy Birthday balloon) and spent lunchtime with the birthday boy. Then that evening we had dinner at the Outback Steakhouse. The boys would not cooperate with the waitress while she was trying to take the picture so Ethan's head got blocked by Austin's giant one. Ahh, the joys of parenthood. The smiles on our faces are almost fake...we were getting annoyed because the boys had been having attitudes for a few minutes and also wouldn't look at the camera.