Living The Good Life

I have to admit, it has been quite awhile since I have actually been awake to ring in the new year and say goodbye to the old.  Dave and I have always been a bit more concerned about the eight hours of sleep necessary to enjoy life rather than seeing the ball drop.  But this year...is different.   It is 12:58 and the neighbor's hired band just started, there are rapid fire explosives (aka fireworks) going off in three minute intervals, and the car alarms throughout our block seem to be answering the loving call of said fireworks.  There will be no eight hours to start off the year for the Richert's this time. Nothing about our experiences in Ecuador could be classified as typical, and New Year's Eve is proving to be no exception.  The evening started out quite and low key, dinner at home with a movie.  There were the occasional firework, but that isn't anything atypical.  I was even contemplating continuing the tradition of snuggling into bed by 10:30.   Before I called...

It is hard to believe that seven years ago, Dave and I started out on this crazy adventure known as marriage. We looked through our wedding album during our packing extravaganza and we marveled at how young we looked and we remembered how excited we were to start our lives together. It really has been a wonderful seven years, and we have experienced so much laughter, love, and adventure. Here are some highlights: * Our honeymoon in California -Dave planned it perfectly to our personalities, the first half of the week there were absolutely no plans or schedule (to suit my favorite way to vacation). We explored San Diego, stopped at every point of interest, and relaxed. The second half of the week was planned out with things to do and see (to suit my husband's type A personality). We hit the beach and Disneyland. It was so much fun! * Moving into our first apartment together , which was in the basement of an older home in Nampa. The Irwin's, our landlords, were an older couple wh...