Ryan surprises me!

Ryan told me that we were going to celebrate my birthday early on Friday. So he told me that we were going to go somewhere fancy and that I was going to need to dress up, not formal wear, but church-like. He came home from work and went upstairs to change into his suit. When he came downstairs, he had 2 bags in his hands. He had a cute grin on his face and said, "Well, I sort of lied to you, we aren't going out to eat at a fancy restaurant, but are actually going overnight to Nauvoo, IL" I was totally surprised! Moochie and Chelsea watched the kids overnight so that we could go away! Nauvoo is 3 1/2 hours away from us. We love road trips, so it was especially nice that we could get a road trip to ourselves. Ryan had reserved a hotel for us that included a jacuzzi tub...I adore baths....he even thought to bring bubble bath! I love my prince! The pictures are out of order, but here we are right before coming back, at Carthage Jail. We so enjoyed the quiet and peaceful feelings here!

We went to the Nauvoo Temple which was quite a treat since our Chicago temple has been shut down for awhile with broken water pipes. What an amazing spirit here! We had an amazing day including 70 degree weather...a HUGE departure from the freezing cold in Chicago!

We crossed the Mississippi river from our hotel. It was an amazing sight to see the Mississippi partially frozen! I can't imagine what this would have been like for the pioneers!

This was outside of Moochie and Chelsea's apartment. We dropped Mooch off before hitting the road, to get their stuff for their overnight stay at our house.

This was the first picture we took after knowing that we were going to get away overnight. Can you tell that I was excited?! I am seriously the most blessed person ever to have my prince for the eternities! Words don't express adequately how much love I have for Ryan! When I was young, I would imagine my life like a fairytale, including a prince that would be quite amazing. Ryan is so far beyond anything that I dreamed of! He is my fairytale-come-true...and so much more! There is no one else like the man of my dreams! I feel very overwhelmed to have my prince as my eternal gift! We had an amazing time away and can't wait for our next adventure. Thanks again, Michael and Chelsea! You made our weekend! :-)