2/20/09

I guess I haven’t updated in a while, but honestly, there hasn’t been much worth talking about. =)  That is, until this week, because this week I finally booked our flights to Bonaire for our belated honeymoon!

For anyone who doesn’t know (because I didn’t until a couple of years ago), Bonaire is an island in the Dutch Caribbean, somewhat near Aruba.  Ryan’s Aunt Barb has spent a lot of time snorkeling and diving down there in the past (she never had children, so instead she gets to go on vacation!).  A couple of years ago, she and Ryan’s mom decided to purchase a rental property there.  I think it’s a 4-unit property, which is very lucky for us, because they are going to let us use their one-bedroom for a week for free!  We are so excited!

The really awesome thing is that we both had flight vouchers from Delta that we got last summer when we let them bump us to a later flight on the way to a wedding in Minnesota.  So we were able to save $800 on the cost of the flight.  Otherwise we would have never been able to afford getting there. =)  We are going over the Spring Break from the high school where I work, so we will leave April 4th and come back April 11th.  Did I say I’m excited? =)

Bonaire is really well-known as an island focused on conservancy, so it is supposed to be very beautiful and unspoiled.  We are planning to spend the week going to the beach, snorkeling, biking, and whatever else we can come up with.  His aunt told us about a company that takes groups spelunking in the local caves…you rappel down into the cave and then you can snorkel inside!  If it’s not too expensive we will definitely check that out.

We have quite a bit to do before we go, but hopefully we will be ready.  I still have to get my passport updated with my new name, and we have to master driving a manual transmission. =)  Most of the rentals on the island are manuals, but neither of us has ever really learned (just never knew anyone who had a car to teach us on).  Luckily, our friend Ben is driving one now, and said he would teach us (and even said he would loan us his car to practice on for a couple of days–what a guy!).  Our friend Chris has said that he will stay at our house to watch Nico while we’re gone too.  I swear, we really do have the best friends.

In other news, I’m starting to think more and more about babies everyday. =)  Our loose plans have been to start trying towards the end of this summer, but I was starting to think that we might not be ready.  I was worried that although Ryan seemed to be on board, that he might not really be there yet.  Lately though, we’ve been having conversations about how we will manage (and afford!) having children with our current schedules, and he seems more than willing to make the adjustments we will have to make.  I was worrying aloud about finding daycare–it’s so expensive, and it’s hard for me to imagine leaving an infant with someone, but there is no way we can afford for me to stay home.  He very matter-of-factly said, "No, I’ll just start working nights again."  I honestly had sort of forgotten that since he works in a restaurant he could have that flexibility with scheduling.  It gave me a whole new perspective.  He wouldn’t necessarily have to ONLY work night shift, but if he switched a couple of shifts a week, we could definitely make it work.  We already have some different days off (I have regular weekends, he usually works at least one weekend day), so that helps too.  Worst case, he would just work part-time and stay home the rest of the time…maybe take some online classes.  It’s nice to know that he is willing and able to make these kinds of sacrifices so that we can start a family.  I think we are both more and more ready all the time, although I guarantee it will still be terrifying for both of us when we actually start trying to conceive.  Several of our close friends are pregnant or recently had their first babies though, so that helps a bit.  At least we’ll have folks to give us advice when the time comes!

It’s really scary being a "grown-up."