Shadow Boxes~Travel

"Time will never stand still and those moments that bring us such joy become memories in an instant. To capture such a moment and record it forever is truly monumental." Joshua Atticks

One thing that draws Aaron and I together as a couple is our passion for traveling. We have shared the same interests in places to travel to along with the desires of where we will go next. A goal of mine on my "List" was to create a photo album of all of the places traveled to. When thinking about how many photos to print and albums to purchase and then finding a place for in the house, I decided to rethink that goal. I have decided to create Memento Shadow boxes for each trip that could be hung on the wall. We choose a few favorite photos, gathered all of our momentous from the trips and starting piecing them together. Each Shadow box is unique in its own way and with each individual item enclosed,  it is extremely memorable.

~We hope you enjoy each adventure we have encountered together, and our story of what each item means to us!~

Nadia, Fiji 2008

Fiji was the first the first trip Aaron & I had taken out of the country ever. During this trip Aaron proposed to me. The seashell in the {Fijian} sand is the shell that Aaron brought with him to use as a prop while proposing. This shell is very special to him as it is a whole clam shell that his Grandmother found on the coast of Coos Bay. Aaron lured me down to a secluded section of Modriki Island {the island that Cast Away was filmed on} by yelling down to me that he had found "something". Without ease I trekked my way across the island to where he was kneeling down looking at something in the sand. Once I got to where he was he handed up to this shell. I was in amaze that he had found this treasure, but to my surprise the shell was not the treasure. As I examined the shell, the island sun caught the object inside and shot the most beautiful reflective rays back at me. Inside was a diamond ring, when I saw it my heart skipped a beat and I was speechless. The color photo is of Aaron & I directly after I accepted his proposal, and another black&white photo of us on the sail boat heading back to our resort {this photo was also used as a centerpiece at our wedding} 

Rio De Janerio, Brazil 2009

Aaron & I wend to Brazil for our friends wedding just one month before ours, we called it our pre-Honeymoon. During this trip we got to experience so much of the Portages culture. Mike & Marian's family was amazing, they were so accommodating welcoming all 20 of us {friends/family of the Groom} into their home. We had events planned just about every day: exploring the Beach, Soccer game, Shopping, Touring the rain forest, and who could forget....The Wedding. This wedding was the most extravagant wedding I have ever experienced. The photo is a night view of Coca Cabana beach from our Hotel room {after we ditched the hostel for a private bathroom}. The section of a hand held fan was a souvenir from the Samba Dancers at the wedding, the magnet was a part of our "Welcome to Brazil" pack that Mariana made for each of us. {So Sweet}, and a hand full of coins that made it back with us.

Montego Bay, Jamaica 2009

Jamaica was our real Honeymoon. I would say that we spent the most money in Jamaica on souvenirs then any other place. Every shop/vendor preferred American dollars and it seemed that ever item was $20. We brought back man large items and gifts for other people. Because this was an all inclusive Sandals trip we ate and drank all day for FREE, so we spent our money on gifts. The beach photo is outside of our resort, you could wake up in the morning walk straight our and grab yourself a burger/pizza and whatever alcoholic beverage you wanted and sit right on the beach........ummm Jamaica me` Smile's for breakfast! The other photo is of Aaron & I on the Zip Line Tour, this trip was so much fun, tromping through the woods and swinging from the trees...{Dad, you should be proud} On this trip we also went on a Horseback ride on the Beach, we climbed the Duns River Falls, and we took a Jungle Tour. It was during the Jungle tour where our tour guide went sliding around a muddy corner too fast and landed the bus high centered on its side. {Don't worry Aaron wasn't egging him on...he would never do that}

Costa Rica/Panama 2010

Happy 1 Year Anniversary to us.......and yes we did spend our 1 year anniversary backpacking through Costa Rica/Panama. During our 2 week trip we got to see so much of the country and so many amazing things. We went to many beaches, a wild life park, banana factory, ate dinner on the C-123 Fairchild cargo plane that went down in Coast Rica in the 1980's, now a restaurant, and so much more. We found many interesting pieces of Coral, Seashells, Seeds, and Petrified wood on the beaches. In Costa Ric was where I chucked my first Coconut {barehanded} and ate it.....yuck! Note to self: do not eat any coconut that is near the ocean, it tastes like salt. Coast Rica currency was a little entertaining, the dollar bill that is at the top is
1 Million Colones...hehehehe....about $2.13 us.

Victoria, Canada 2011

Finaly, I get to ride the Ferry to Canada. It was pretty uneventful but for some reason that was a goal of mine, and I finally got to do it for our 2nd wedding anniversary. So this trip was not our typical Caribbean vacation but it worked out well and we had an AMAZING time. {Thanks Mom&Dad for the Worldmark Penthouse} This vacation was by far the best time that Aaron & I have had with each other. We started out the trip driving from Boise to Seattle, where we dropped off Autumn with a friend to travel to Grammy's house. Aaron & I stayed 2 nights in Silverdale, WA for his cousins wedding, then we drove to Port Angeles and hopped on the Ferry to Victoria, Canada. Canada was so Beautiful, I was so amazed at how well the island was taken care of. The landscaping was lush and beautiful and there was not a piece of trash in sight. If you hadn't noticed, our trend is to collect $$$ from each place visited, so yes we have included that in this shadow box as well along with a photo of us out on the balcony of our resort just before we checked out to go home, another seinc photo from the cargo room of the ferry {Aaron's creative photo idea}, and a discount coupon from the restaurant where we spent the evening of our Anniversary. Happy Birthday to Me, and Happy 2 Year Anniversary to US..........