Surprise!!! Happy 3 Year Anniversary!

January 4th was mine and Joel's 3rd year anniversary! We often take small trips on our anniversaries, but this time we "decided" to pass on that expense, and just have a nice romantic date after work- Or so Joel thought :)
On Monday morning Joel woke up to his alarm and was pleased when I told him that I had gotten work off for both of us. Then after we went to breakfast and relaxed around the house a bit, I told him we were going on a trip somewhere, but I didn't tell him where. He had to figure that out on his own as the day went on. Well once he found out that we were taking a flight, the flight was to San Diego, and our friends Heather and Jon were surprisingly sitting at the same gate at the airport, he put the pieces together and realized we were going on a cruise!!
We had an absolute blast kicking back and relaxing for an entire week with our great friends! I have had this trip booked for 6 months, and the fact that it still ended up being a complete surprise was a miracle!
I love my husband so much and I feel so blessed to have spent the last 3 years with such an incredible man! He makes me laugh more than I ever thought possible and makes me feel like a princess every day. I'm so grateful I married my best friend in the world. There is never a dull moment in our house and that alone makes for a great life!
Here are some pictures of our trip!

Our first night on the ship at Dinner. We're sporting the 3 Year Anniversary shirts I made especially for the cruise!

Here's a picture of the back of the shirt :)

Our cruise ship! The Carnival Elation :)

Sitting waiting for the (what ended up being TERRIBLE) dance show to start

Downtown Catalina Island- Somehow I look incredibly awkward sitting on the ledge, and Heather doesn't? Go Figure!

Downtown Catalina Shopping Center

The genius man who we asked to take our picture put his finger over the lens... Gotta love it!

We both look a little...strange in this photo? Ah well! Heres another night at the restaurant!

Tthe men continued to make fun of mine and Heathers "Quarter Pusher Game" which is a "Lame Money Pit".... I then proceeded to win $137 on that same "Lame, Money Pit" :) They haven't made fun of it since!

We visited 1 of the only 3 natural blow holes in the world in Ensenada Island. (If that fact is wrong, blame our tour guide)

Looking out over the ocean from the Flea Market in Ensenada

This was my main food source throughout our 4 days at sea. No wonder I gained EIGHT pounds!! Mmmmmm... Soft Serve Icecream

At the beautiful San Diego Temple! I've always wanted to see it in person!!

If you were wondering what it took for that amazing picture to be captured... :)

Back Surgery

Yes.. Its a shocker, for the first time since May I am actually going to post something!!! J

Some of you may know that Joel has had terrible back problems since we've been married. He injured his back while on his mission in Florida. At the time he was helping members clear up damage and fallen trees from hurricane Ivan. In the process he managed to herniate two disks in his back which had him on bed rest for several weeks. He then injured it for a 2nd time on his mission while playing basketball. Once he got home his back was pretty severe, but he managed the pain through light medication. That is, until he re injured it playing with our 6 month old puppy. Then a year later it was injured for the 4th time while water skiing. With each injury his back has only gotten progressively worse to the point where his disks were then herniated and spilling over into his spinal column. Joel finally made the decision after speaking to several doctors that his best option was for him to have open back surgery to have excess disk completely shaved and removed from his spinal column.
On November 5th Joel had the surgery done on one of the two discs, (the other disc will be done sometime in the next few months). While the healing process has been long, and difficult, there does seem to be light at the end of the tunnel!
Here are some pre and post surgery photos :)