August 10, 2010

A Weekend To Remember

This past weekend Ben and I celebrated our upcoming anniversary by going on a little getaway to St. Pete Beach.  We had a full 24 hours where we could sleep and play whenever and however we wanted.  It felt like we were kids again - no cares in the world.  It was the most fun I've ever had in a 24 hour period!

This was our hotel.  Ben is even pointing to our exact room.  It's the one with the open blinds.  They upgraded us to a suite for free.  Wasn't that nice of them?  We had two queen beds, one king, two balconies, and a stunning view.  Aren't we blessed?

Ben shown above pointing to our room.


As soon as we got there we headed straight for the beach.  We laid and played there for a few hours.  We started feeling sleepy, so we took a 5 o'clock nap.  What a treat!

Then we went to Gigi's - a charming, tasty little Italian beach restaurant.   If you haven't been there you should try it.  We shared a pizza with pesto and homemade sausage.  Yum :)

After eating, we enjoyed the sunset from our balcony.  It was exquisite!




Once the sun had set we decided to go for a nice, long walk on the beach.  We actually found some Cabana's and sat and stared at the stars for an hour or two.  Words can't fully express how totally relaxing, carefree, and fun it was.  It was so fun!  So, so, so fun!!!


After our walk we went upstairs and enjoyed midnight desserts.  They have a revolving restaurant at the top of this hotel.  It makes a 360 degree circle every hour.  The view is stunning!

Alicia shown above enjoying Snickers Pie and Raspberry Cheesecake.

That night we enjoyed an entire 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep!  Wow. Wow. And....wow!  And....WOW!!  I haven't had 8 straight hours of sleep in at least 8 months.  I woke up feeling so healthy and happy. 

After eating breakfast in bed (we had pop tarts!) we were right back out on the beach again.  The water was warm and clear, the beach uncrowded, and we were oh-so-relaxed - it felt like heaven.  

We found these adorable hammocks.

By this point, we were so rejuvenated and ready to face reality again.  But, we did stop on our way home to get some ice cream and gelato at Larry's Ice Cream.  


Finally, we made it back to my parents where we were greeted by these two adorable little faces.  We had missed them so much!


Special thanks to my parents and Kimmy for taking Sadie and Jax for us!  You will never know how grateful we are!

Also, special thanks to a Mr. Ben Johnson for marrying me.  It's been the best 5 years of my life!  You know I love you :)

8 comments:

Joe said...

Remember that part in Finding Neverland that talks about recognizing the exact moment when a boy becomes a man? Not that Sadie is a woman but she looks older to me in that last picture. She looks the same but older at the same time after months of feeling like she was the same from one day to the next. Anyway, when I saw the picture and had that thought it made me think of that movie. Not to detract from your post, though. So glad you had a fun weekend!

Alicia said...

Joe, I keep telling Ben the same thing. She is changing every day! Less a toddler and more a little girl. It's a happy but sad thing to realize.

Johnson Family said...

Happy Anniversary Alicia and Ben! I would love to spend my anniversary at a beach. It's my favorite outing.
Is your baby sleeping through the night now? Our 10th anniversary is coming up in a month and I'd love to get away with Bret overnight, but Tyler is not a very good sleeper. We'd probably leave the kids with Megan and Joe if they'd accept to something like that, but I am really unsure about leaving a fussy Tyler with someone. I'm really wanting some time alone with Bret though.
I'm glad you guys had so much fun!

Alicia said...

Shannon, I am so serious when I say, you should come here and let Ben and I watch them! Cliffie and Natalie will be here for Labor Day (or is it Memorial day?) weekend for the baby blessing - you could come then. Sadie and Marissa would sure love each other! Also, no, Jax is up at least every two hours at night. He not a good night time sleeper. But, we are getting adjusted to sleep deprivation!

Ben said...

Loved every minute of it. You were right - I am lucky I married you! Any chance I can get you to plan all our anniversaries from now on?

Valerie said...

That sounds so wonderful! Happy Anniversary you guys!

Johnson Family said...

You are the sweetest Alicia! We would love, love, love to take you up on your offer to watch our kids, but with moving and all the expenses that come with that and not having sold our house yet we'll have to put a big trip like that on hold for a little while. We'll definately take you up on your offer in the future though. I'm sure Marissa, Derek, and Tyler would very much enjoy a stay with all of you! Thanks so much for offering.

Kurt n Des said...

happy anniversary! I'm glad you had such a wonderful time. I need to get on your blog more often so I know what's going on with you. Y'all are too cute and I'm glad to see you're still crazy in love!