Taking some time out for love =)

"With free and unconstrained love I give you all I am and all I am to become. Take this ring, and with it, a promise of faith, patience and love for the rest of my life."

8 years ago, Nigel and I spoke these vows to each other. I can't believe it's been 8 years already! We decided that we needed to take some time to ourselves and remind each other that even though things have changed drastically since the day we stood together and made those vows, we are still madly in love. Last October, we took 4 days and went to Redmond, OR to the Eagle Crest condo that my parents have. (And yes, I'm really blogging about last October =) I'm slightly behind!) My mom and Nigel's mom were so gracious to take care of our precious blessings so that we could have some much needed alone time together. I only have pictures from one day, though! We spent most of our time relaxing and not doing anything! But, we did hike around Smith Rock one day, a beautiful day! Our 4 days away were amazing and refreshing. I missed my boys so much! I hadn't been away from Brock overnight at that point, but I think it was good for both of us. Nigel and I got a chance to just be us and enjoy conversations and meals without interruptions. It was amazing and we will definitely be doing it more often than once every 4 1/2 years =)

This hike was SERIOUS!!!! It was uphill. Really high. But so incredibly beautiful.

I mean, beautiful. And we were blessed with the perfect weather. Sunny and mid 60's to low 70's. Perfect.

I love this man more than I ever thought I could. Deeper than I knew love could go. We have been through so much together, grown so much together and changed so much together. This journey we are on is incredible. Incredibly hard at times and incredibly amazing at times. It's been a wonderful 8 years and so many, many more to come!

These pictures were taken on our way to Redmond. This was a cabin that was completely engulfed in flames. We saw the smoke while we were driving up Mt. Hood and when we got to Government Camp, we saw this. We had to pull over to get a closer look. I had never seen anything like this before. So devastating =(