Williamsburg, VA*

This past weekend, M, Lucas & I were able to participate in a Strong Bonds Marriage Retreat, courtesy of the Army. There are a lot of things I don't particularly like about the military, but there are a lot of good things, too [depending on who you ask.] We have been very lucky to be a part of a battalion and have a chaplain that truly believes in the power of working on marriages. Being married to the military is a tough, tough job, and with the incredibly high number of deployments that our guys have gone through in the last 10 years, it's no wonder that marriages suffer.

So whenever we have an opportunity to attend a weekend workshop and strengthen ours, we jump on it. This one took us to Williamsburg, VA. It was an incredible! M had never been before, and I had only been once -- a trip that included four other boys and a trip to Busch Gardens, which most definitely did not involve any sight-seeing -- so after our morning session on Saturday morning, we took the opportunity to head out with the stroller and check out old Colonial Williamsburg.

 
It was gorgeous! Truly remarkable. We wandered for hours. At one point we stumbled upon a wine & cheese shop -- two of the GREATEST things ever -- and indulged in probably the best cheese that we have ever had for our lunch. It was glorious. The glass of wine that we got most definitely helped as well.

Word to the wise -- pack comfortable shoes when planning on doing lots of walking. I KNOW this, but yet I didn't do it anyways. My zebra stripped flats from Target? Yeah ... not so much. CUTE. Just not very functional.

Saturday night we were able to indulge in a date night, child free, thanks to the nanny service that the Battalion hired for during the sessions. We were able to sneak away for a few hours to a very yummy and swanky restaurant, indulge a little more, and enjoy actual adult conversation. This does not happen very often.

Sunday, after our morning session, we took off for Jamestown. M wanted to see the big ships, and we took some time wandering through the Settlement Museum. It's amazing to see so much history. Our country started here and while we are still a relatively new country, it's amazing to see how much had changed. Monday we had to head back, but not before taking a quick spin through  Yorktown. We wanted to visit all three towns, and I am glad we did. Who knows when we will ever make it back, and while Williamsburg was definitely the highlight of the trip, all three places are equally important in our country's history. It was fun to see.

But more importantly, free trip aside, it was so good for M and I to learn some new things about each other. I would be lying if I said that children don't make marriage harder than it necessarily has to be. With both of us being full-time working parents, it adds an extra stress to figuring out how to spend time together as a couple. Our nights are full and busy, and by the end of the evening, we are too exhausted to really even spend some quality time together. This was a much needed weekend away, as well as some good family time with no additional stresses thrown our way. The sessions were amazing and were very eye opening to our personalities and how we need to adapt to each other for this point in our lives!

All in all, a successful weekend.