2013 in Review- Part 1

As you can tell by my absence and lack of posts Josh is HOME!  To be clear, he's been home longer than the amount of time he was away.  So needless to say, my free time has been spent catching up with my husband.  We've had a BLAST spending time with each other, with family, going to weddings, soaking up the Southern California summer sun, traveling; its been pure bliss.

The homecoming was such a mix of emotions.  I was nervous, excited, anxious, overjoyed and tearful (happy tears of course).  Josh's mom was with me to welcome Josh (and his dad who had joined Josh on the last week of the deployment) home.  I'm so thankful she was there because I know I would have been a ball of nerves sitting there waiting for him by myself.  I couldn't wipe smile away from my face: pure bliss.  The pictures pretty much sum it up.  And I promise you the homecoming was just as amazing as all those ones you see on commercials on TV.  The ones that make you cry and fill your heart with so much joy and love.

Josh's AAV coming off the boat onto the beach (butterflies were at their peak for me at this point)

Almost home!!! 

The above photo was my first view of Josh after 8 months.  I have never felt so happy, nervous and excited all at once.

Home home home!!!! Never letting go!

We kicked off the "Josh is home" festivities with a trip to the Dominican Republic.  We spent a week on the beach lounging around in the sun with a tropical drink in our hands.  It was exactly what we both needed after 8 months apart and was a great chance to celebrate our one year anniversary (since we were apart for it last November).

This was our view for a week.  I know it looks fake or like a painting, but this is real and there is #nofilter ;)

While there we ziplined, kayaked and got to experience a little bit of a hurricane.  The hurricane turned out to be more of a tropical storm and it pretty much bypassed us.  And as a shock to many, I went swimming in the OCEAN!! Yes, its true!  Typically, I HATE going in the ocean.  I've lived in SoCal for almost 3 years and I've never been in the ocean here.  I absolutely LOVE the beach but I hate the water.  It's cold, there are gross fish in there, its salty and I can't see the bottom.   I'm a great swimmer but there is just something about the ocean that grosses me out and frankly scares me.  However,  give me a warm ocean that is crystal clear, turquoise blue and I will go swimming, more than once!  It was glorious!

Where we spent most of our days, the cabanas!

Josh was quite a fan of the cabanas... aka "nap time"

This beach lover was in beach HEAVEN!

Post Ziplining.  Take note of the huge smiles! Such a fun time!

Traveling thru the city, exploring 

Last day in paradise! Boo!

A summer wouldn't be complete without a few weddings.  We got to travel to Santa Barbara for a gorgeous wedding of good friend of Josh's, Stephanie "formerly" Rogers now "Ayers".  The wedding was at a home on the cliffs of Santa Barbara overlooking the ocean.  The views were stunning and I felt like I was at a swanky celebrity party.  It made Josh and I want to move to Santa Barbara, to a house overlooking the ocean naturally (we can dream right?).  Well even if we can't exactly afford a house here, we will definitely be back to vacation.

The breathtaking views from the Ayers wedding.  I swear it was something from "The Bachelor".  The only thing missing was a helicopter ;)

A pool that overlooks the Pacific Ocean?  Check!

There was another epic Sullivan wedding with my cousin Jessica and her now husband Edgar.  They got married at the gorgeous USD Cathedral (where Jessica went to school) and had their reception at the San Diego Marina.  Anytime all the Sullivan's get together you know its going to be a good time with lots of fun stories.  I love my crazy family; boy do we know how to tear up a dance floor.

One of my favorite moments that night was when my cousin's son, Michael, decided to burn off some little boy energy by running in the courtyard during the speeches.  After every speech when everyone would clap he would come to his mom and say "Mom, they're cheering for me!" and she would say "I know sweetie, good job!  Keep running!"  Which, I might add, was a BRILLIANT idea!  And Josh, being the little kid at heart that he is, decided to get in on fun and did a few laps with him.  So cute!

Beautiful view from the reception of the San Diego Marina

Alright, so that gets us thru the summer 2013 (yes this is very belated).  Part 2 will hopefully get us thru the holidays.  Note to self, keep up on your blog posts.