12 Dates -May

I must say, I'm really behind on posting!  There is so much I want to share with you, but this month has been so jammed packed with events that I just haven't had an opportunity to sit down and catch up until now. So, before the month is over I thought it would be appropriate to start with our "May date".

For our anniversary in March I made Joe a book of "12 DATES". Before I explain exactly what it is, let me tell you the reason behind it. We both have pretty busy schedules. Joe more so than me. He is crazy and between his two jobs, has been known to work 100 hours a week. On a regular basis he probably works 80 hours a week. Plus he is taking a class, so the time he does have off, you'll find him studying or doing homework. Or just relaxing, which he definitely deserves! And with my schedule of working mornings at Starbucks (sometimes having to get up at 4am), I get tired pretty early (9pm). Just about the time Joe is getting home from work. So needless to say, we don't go out and do much. Which quite honestly is ok with me, it saves us money, but a girl needs some quality time with her man every now and then. So that is why I decided to create a book of "12 DATES".

I wrote down 12 fun (mostly inexpensive) things we can do together. Some things we have never done before and some things we have. I made sure they were very specific and then put them in 12 different envelopes. The instructions are very simple: we have the whole month to go on the date. To simplify things, I included a checklist to each date, and every date we must bring a camera. (To document these monthly dates of course)

The month of May:

This month, for our date I thought it would be fun to go to Manito Park. I've been to Manito, but usually in late summer/early fall. This time I wanted to go when I could visit the Lilac Garden (since Spokane is known as The Lilac City). And since the Lilac Parade is always in May, I thought it would be an appropriate month to go. 

But, with the late start of spring this year, the Lilac Gardens hadn't even started blooming yet!

And unfortunately the little hut we were going to grab ice cream at, was closed for the season until May (???).

 

So no Lilacs, and no ice cream, but we still had lots of fun together!

We are so different, yet so much alike...

Independent 

Stubborn 

Hard Working 

Funny

Caring

Genuine

Smart

We both love to do puzzles,

yet I can't do three in one day like you can.

We are both thrifty,

you more so than me.

You collect postcards,

I collect tomato pin cushions.

We both like to clean more than we like to cook.

I love spicy food,

you think pepper is hot.

We both go long periods without getting a haircut,

you much longer than me.

You haven't worn makeup in years,

I can't leave the house without mascara.

You don't like to have your picture taken,
I take my camera everywhere.

When your tired you get slap-happy,

I just get crabby.

We can both fall asleep VERY quickly.

You are always hot,

I'm always cold.

You like to turn the lights off,

I say, turn them on.

You're afraid of heights,

I love roller coasters.

You have no problem handling frogs, fish, or worms.

Me, not so much...

I don't mind catching lightening bugs :)

Your hands hurt because you're such a hard worker,

mine hurt when I craft too much!

We are both very organized.

You give the best gifts,

I make the best gifts ;)

We both love spending holidays with family.

You miss me,

I miss you just as much, if not more!

a little rain never hurt anyone...

I took some really fun pictures of our Starbucks crew the other day. And with all the rain we've been getting I thought it would be fitting to use umbrellas. I wish I knew how to really use my camera, because a lot of the (jumping) pictures turned out blurry. I tried using the sport mode, but only a couple turned out semi-focused.
Here are some of my favorites:

Bloomsday 2011

It's hard to believe to Bloomsday has come and gone already. This means our 1/2 marathon is right around the corner!

Anna & her husband Brent ("Coach B")

Brent is a stud!

~He placed 63rd out of 50,611 people!

Right before we crossed the finish line, courtesy of photographer Joe :) I didn't even see him standing there, all I heard was, "Good job girls!"

We were hoping to break an hour, but 1:05 for nearly 7.5 miles is still pretty great :) 

It ended up being such a Beautiful day!!