Anniversary, birthday and.........

I know these are supposed to by the 'Mommy Tales'... but we would all be kidding ourselves if we didn't admit that part of being a mommy includes a few 'get aways' from the baby :-)

This will be a short post... but had to document our recent trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico for 3 reasons:

1. It marks me and Ronnie's 2nd Anniversary and Ronnie's 35th birthday!
 2. It marks my 1 year of blogging Anniversary!
3. We met and hung out with Jake Owen, his wife, band and crew for 3 days!

If you don't recall... last year I did my first post after we got back from this trip, right after Ronnie took the job with the Rays. 

One of the GREAT perks of being married to a baseball scout that is responsible for Puerto Rico is the annual trip to San Juan!  Each year he has to go down over our anniversary for a high school showcase put on by Perfect Game.  Fortunately,  there aren't a lot of Marriott hotel options in San Juan so we get to stay at an amazing resort (La Concha).

 Here is a little side-by-side comparing last year to this year!  It is hard to believe that 1 yr ago we were celebrating our 1 yr. anniversary and I was 6 mo. pregnant.  This year - we have an 8 mo. old baby!  It still seems absolutely crazy to me!

Ok.... now back to the details of the trip!  This year we flew down a day early to celebrate Ronnie's 35th birthday.  We have had a crazy busy fall with both of us traveling and on opposite schedules, so this mommy and daddy get away was much needed.

On our second day -- we went down to the pool and were just relaxing... enjoying the sun and about to take a walk on the beach when Ronnie had a celeb spotting (another perk about being married to a scout is that they notice EVERYTHING)!  It was Jake Owen, the country singer (if you aren't familiar with the name - he sings Barefoot Blue Jean Nights and had 4 #1 hits on the country charts this year!) Also - he played at Creek Fest in Cherokee, IA this past summer! 

So what else do you do when you spot a celeb but 'tweet at 'em', right?  Ronnie (after a little liquid courage and us confirming via Google images from our ipads poolside) sent Jake a tweet then went up later and talked to him at the hotel bar.  Before you know it we were invited to their private party at the pool on Saturday!  We met his wife, Lacey Buchanan, his entire crew and his band.  Feel like they are our new friends!  Jake and Lacey were so nice - they made a point of including us, it was awesome!

He went through all the songs on his new album and explained the meaning...so cool!

Sooo... if you are a country music fan, go out and buy his new albumn on Dec. 3rd called Days of Gold -- it's gonna be good!  Listen for the song 'Beachin'  -- it was one of our faves that he played! 

This really was an amazing trip.  Celebrating 2 yrs of marriage, a pretty big birthday and making new friends...lots to be thankful for! 

Love you Ronnie Merrill!