My {Nicholas Sparks} Obsession

I am a huge sucker for anything romantic...stories, movies, books, songs, you name it..but there is nothing that can beat a Nicholas Sparks book. I love getting wrapped up in the characters' love stories and his writing style makes women create a higher expectation for the men that they fall for. Yes, I know that they're all pretty much the same but that's what I like about them. When I pick up one of his books I know the feelings that I'm going to experience while reading his books. The story line is predictable...two people fall in love even though there is an obstacle that should be stopping them. Then there's always another tragic or dark aspect to one of the characters' lives that makes each book different from each other. There's enough variety in his books to make them exciting and interesting, yet there's a familiarity in one that when you go to pick up the next one, you know you are going to be captivated by the passionate love story he writes about so well. 

I have this problem of finishing books at rapid speeds. I start a book and then I get so hooked I physically cannot put it down. I have to know what happens, which results me finishing a 300 page book in a mere few hours...then I'm sad that I've finished it already and now I'm left to search for another good book. It's a vicious cycle really. 

I may or may not have a slight obsession with him considering I've read all but three of his books (Nights in Rodanthe, The Wedding and Three Weeks With My Brother). Steven bought me these last ones but I've been holding off on reading them because once I finish...what  in the world am I supposed to read? I'm so so so happy that there's another book, The Longest Ride, in stores September 17th! I seriously don't know if I'll ever find a writer I like that even compares to him. He just has this style of writing that makes everyone who is already in love fall a little deeper, and those who have yet to find it wish they were. 

Although I cannot say that there is a single book that I don't like, my favorites are At First Sight and Dear John. If you're looking for one last quick summer read, I promise you that these two will have you swooning for more! 

I'd love to hear about all y'alls favorite authors as well! I'm on the hunt for more good books to read! 

xo

My Boyfriend {Jumps} Out of Planes

Steven had three 3 week periods this summer. The first period he had a program called ESET which was basically survival training. The second period he had leave (the best time ever) and the third period, which he is finishing up this week, was jump training! 

At first I was a little scared about the idea of my boyfriend jumping out of a plane by himself 5 times, but then after a little reassurance from the man my nerves calmed down. Also, I figured the government isn't going to throw something that they've invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in if they don't expect it to survive...right? Steven has been tandem skydiving before so he had a little bit of background on the whole jumping thing as well. 

He had done a lot of prepping and memorizing of emergency procedures before his first jump in case *god forbid* something was going to go wrong while he was mid-jump. So, I was super excited for him when he got to do it for the first time last Friday! He was a total natural, as always. Seriously, there's nothing that guy can't do well(Why can't everyone have that trait?!)! The next four jumps went without flaw and my man officially has his wings! 

(After 5 solo jumps you get a pin to show that you've completed the training called your "wings"...I love those cute Air Force traditions!) 

It just so happens that Steven fell in love with skydiving even more these past few weeks and is now going to try out for the jump team! He tries out in a week or so, so send him some luck! If you want, you can send me some too because this whole "Bye, love you! I'm going to go jump out of a plane now!" thing is going to take a little more getting used to!

Hope everyone had a great weekend 

xox 

{Cancun}

Steven's grandma has a beautiful timeshare in Cancun and was so sweet to invite his whole family and me to enjoy the week in paradise! When we got to Cancun, we slowed wayyy down. There were days when we didn't even leave the pool, and we were oh so happy with that! We lounged around, swam in the ocean and pool, sipped fruity drinks, it was perfect. 

The spectacular view! We were so lucky!

One evening, we took a fun trip to a place called Mercado 28, which is a huge outdoor market. They sell a huge variety of things and we had a blast wandering around and looking at all of the pretty things! It's a tradition in my family to buy a Christmas ornament wherever we travel to to hang on our tree the next year. So, Steven and I bought a beautiful ornament to bring home! We also bought my mom a hand painted spoon rest that she loved! We had so much fun bargaining the prices too. Steven was cracking me up with his strategy to make them lower their price. After dinner we went to an awesome authentic Mexican restaurant called La Parrilla. It was delicious and had a super fun atmosphere! 

We were in Cancun for the 4th of July but that definitely did not stop us from celebrating! That night after dinner, Steven and I took a walk on the beach over to the Ritz Carlton to take a look around. It was a beautiful hotel. We were walking down on the beach in front of the hotel, and all of a sudden huge fireworks started going off right in front of us! They were lighting them about 100 feet away from us and it was so awesome to be so close (a little scary too!). We laid down on the sand and watched as the fireworks went off above our heads. It was a perfect evening! 

Please take note of Steven's shorts...very patriotic ha! 

To make that night a little more memorable, while we were walking home from the Ritz Carlton, we literally almost ran into a giant sea turtle!! It was frightening at first, but then it was the most amazing thing. We continued our walk down the beach and ran into about 6 or 7 more along the shore, digging holes to lay their eggs in. Unfortunately, we didn't take any pictures in fear of disrupting the turtles, but it was an experience that I'm sure we will never forget! 

Our trip to Cancun was a blast, and I had so much fun spending time with my man and his awesome family!