Last month , my husband and I celebrated our 8 year anniversary as husband and wife. I can't believe how fast time flies. I remember the moment we met 11 and a half years ago at the
Alley in Newport Beach. I remember the day he proposed to me at
Sunstone Winery in Santa Ynez and how excited we were. I remember the planning of our wedding and the trips to Santa Barbara to finalize each detail.
We didn't have much money but we created an amazing wedding that was uniquely our own.
I remember the doors opening of the
El Presidio with my dad by my side. The Spanish guitarist began to play and the sounds of his strings filled the air as I walked towards my soon to be husband. I could tears welling up in his eyes. We promised our love to each other and I felt as if we were the only people in the room. Then we kissed and were announced as husband and wife. We walked down the aisle as Mr. & Mrs. Mauga.
The moment, the day, the feelings are still so fresh in my mind.
Our lives together have been drawn out with destiny and fate taking control. We have so many of those "meant to be stories" since we met. I cherish him, our love and our lives so much.
Recently, I bumped into a friend who said it was great to see Donovan and I and see how true love lasts. I think our relationship works & survives because we share our struggles; we fight & we make up; we share our thoughts~ the good and the bad; we live our lives as a family not separately despite the fact we are both very independent; we make efforts to work on ourselves and our relationship; we support each other's dreams; we are in it no matter what even when we feel like we can't go on; we create memories as a family; we are husband & wife.
Along those 11+ years, our love has always been there no matter what challenges or obstacles we have faced. We have had many fabulous moments & we have had some real struggles and it's those struggles that keep our relationship strong because we always know we can get through anything!
I thank you my husband for being my best friend, for being by my side always, for caring for me, for loving me, for sharing your life with me and of course for giving me a family and being their for us!
I love Donovan!
Wow this was 8 years ago! ( I have to find the pics from our honeymoon one day...they are archived somewhere).
Roy's was our 1st Anniversary dinner near Monterey.
This was last year's anniversary in Santa Ynez where he proposed 9 years ago and where we stayed the night of our engagement. We had such a great time reliving the moment.
This year we stayed local but we still wanted to make our anniversary feel special so we got a room at the
Avia in Long Beach. We always celebrate our anniversary- it's very important we make it special no matter where we are.
The people at the
Avia are amazing BTW! If you stay there ask for Melissa Reynolds! She made our anniversary very special!
The room was so inviting! We ended up having cocktails in the early evening then came back to our room by 7:30 to enjoy it. I haven't slept that well in years!
I just loved everything about this room. The bathroom was so great- I loved showering in it!
Here we are just enjoying the day. That's my hubby- not bad for 40... yum, yum my hubby is hot!
That building is called Camden- it's where we 1st lived when we moved to Long Beach 7 years ago. I love Long Beach if you didn't already know!
