Dear Love,

Dear Love,

Happy two year anniversary! It feels like it's been the quickest and longest two years of our lives and I think you'll agree. That rainy morning on September 14, 2013 seems like decades ago, yet I'm still trying to get used to having bling on my left hand. 

Marrying you was and is the best decision of my life, not because it's been easy, but because you've helped shape me into a better person. Being united with you has really shown me what a sinner I am- how selfish, impatient, and unforgiving my heart really can be. Over the past two years my eyes have been opened to how much grace I really need every single day. 

You have seen me at my worst- crying over the kitchen sink over our most recent argument, and you have seen me at my best- relaxing on the beach during our cruise. And the amazing thing is, is that your love has stayed the same through it all. It has stayed steady, unwavering, and full of forgiveness and grace. 

Saying "I do" wearing that white dress meant that I was saying yes to it all. Yes to the struggles, yes to the fights, yes to the ugly. But it also meant that I was saying yes to the early morning cuddles, the thousand and one shared Sonic shakes, and the side cramp laughter late at night.  

You're my best friend and I can't imagine coming home to anyone else but you after a long 14 hour shift. I am so thankful that we got married at an age that is often frowned upon. Because we got married young, I am being forced to become a better person sooner in my life rather than later. I am learning to to be more selfless, more forgiving, and truly understand that my relationship with you is directly related to the strength of my spiritual walk with Jesus. 

It's been two years and I can't wait for the next fifty. I can't help but smile imagining our future homes, our future kids, and of course our future socially unacceptable dinner conversations. In the meantime, I'll enjoy our Youtube date nights, our hikes in beautiful Colorado, our bike rides that you still have to drag me on, and our unplanned trips to Costco just to walk around.

Thanks for being my supporter, my encourager, and my protector as I navigate this adult world and figure out how to be a better wife, daughter, sister, and friend. 

Love, 

Your wifey 

Project 12: May

{I worked Memorial Day so Alex came and had lunch with me at the hospital}

Our month of May was super busy, and from the sounds of it, everyone else's was too! May is my favorite month of the year, and even though the near-daily rain was not my favorite, I must say May 2015 was still a success.

DATES

1. The Old Spaghetti Factory. This is probably one of our all time favorite restaurants and we have a hard time trying new places because this place always wins out. They have an old train caboose inside the restaurant and for the first time ever we got to sit in it! We also chose to tip our waiter more than the price of our meal as part of our goal for the year. I definitely don't say this to toot my own horn but rather to encourage you guys to do this next time you go out. It's probably one of my favorite things to do- I kind of feel like I spy when I do it, and it is so fun to secretly bless. Do it next time you go out, you'll be glad you did :)

{It was basically pouring as we took this = bad picture quality}

2. Thunder Valley National (Motocross Race). My hubby loves motocross, and since I've met him I've made an effort to get into it as well. Thunder Valley is a yearly dirtbike race that's part of a national series, and the track happens to be a half an hour away from our house. We were lucky enough to get FREE tickets this year, and I went for my first time ever (Alex had been before). It was really cool to see the races so close up and it was a lovely day to spend outside in the sunshine.

{Notice the rude dirtbiker photobombing us in the background}

3. Water World. This is our local water park and we decided it would be worth it to get season tickets this year. It's a really fun way to spend time with family, spend time in the sun, and the tickets pay themselves off after four times. Our first day this season was May 31st and, though it was a bit chilly, it was relaxing and great to officially kick off our summer! 

{If that pasty white skin doesn't indicate beginning of summer in Colorado, I don't know what does}

DISCOVERIES

1. Those places where you paint and drink are super fun! A good friend from work invited me to go to a place called Canvas and Cocktails. I was intimidated by the thought of royally messing up my painting at some point throughout the night, but I'm actually impressed with how it turned out! We had a great time chatting, and I would totally recommend this for a girls night or date night if you haven't tried it already! 

{We're both named Sarah, and we're the dynamic duo at work. Along with the

 seven million other Sarahs that work on our floor.}

{The painting that we did that night. I love the brightness of it and it's perfect for summer!}

2. Shopping at Babies R Us is fun and gives me baby fever.... for about 3.7 seconds and then I panic as I realize that I don't know what half the stuff is, and then I basically can't get out of there fast enough. 

BOOKS & MOVIES

You guys, I didn't finish a single book in June. I'm slowly working my way through one that is awesome, and I'm only a chapter away from finishing it but I'll talk about it in next month's recap since this post is already long enough. 

-Movies-

This month, I went to more movies than I usually attend in a six month period. It's not normal and please don't judge me. 

Aloha. We watched this on my birthday. It has a lot of famous people and a story line that could have been well done... but it was a big flop. It was a super slow movie, hard to follow, and soooo not worth the money. Alex fell asleep during it. Don't waste your time. 

San Andreas. This movie shaved two years off of my life because I was so stressed for two hours, and my heart was beating a mile a minute the entire time. It was a great movie that kept me on the edge of my seat, but if you're looking for something mellow, this isn't it. 

Pitch Perfect 2. This one was super fun and Alex and I both enjoyed it. Alex liked the first one better and I thought they were about the same. I think the story line in the first movie is better but the singing in the second one definitely wins out. 

NOTABLE EVENTS

1. My youngest brother made it to the regional playoffs for college lacrosse. My parents came up for the weekend and we had an absolute blast. His team won in the first round in double overtime. I don't think I've mentioned it before on my blog, but I love overtime. If a sport doesn't have overtime, it's not a sport worth watching. I am always in the mood for overtime, and  I may or may not have lost my voice I was yelling so loud.

{I swear I told everyone to do a funny face in this picture}

2. My other brother came home after being gone for almost six months. His travels had most recently taken him to Nepal (which you can read about here), and I am so thankful to have him home. 

Three days after he got back on US soil, he graduated college and I couldn't have been prouder. 

{The fam bam}

3. I got to surprise one of my best friends at her bridal shower, and watch one of my childhood friends get married all in the same day. 

{This girl is gettin hitched soon!}

4. It was my 24th birthday and it rocked. I wrote a separate post that is coming up later this week because I love birthdays as much as I love overtime. Stay tuned. 

BY THE NUMBERS

Miles run: 9. Basically I shouldn't keep including this statistic anymore because if I don't have a race to train for, I'm not a consistent runner. My June tally is currently 0 miles in case you're wondering. 

New recipes tried: 1. One is lame, I know, but this quinoa enchilada casserole was easy and totally delish. Try it. 

Number of proud sister moments: 1,345,765. Regional playoffs as a freshman for one brother, and college graduation as a freshman (just kidding) for the other brother, I mean c'mon, how could I not be proud? 

What was your favorite part of May? Have you ever tried those painting and wine places? 

Project 12: February

Project 12 is a monthly recap post/project that my friend Amanda over at the Lady Okie Blog created. It is SUCH a fun way to recap your month, and helps me feel like I did something besides look at the calendar on the first of the month and last day of the month and wonder where 30 days just went. 

Part of the project is taking a photo of yourself/you+spouse on the first day of the month. Not only did we not take a picture on the first day of the month, we took no picture at all. Fail. Every time I thought about it, Alex was gone and then I never remembered while he was home. So I decided to make that picture collage and make you think that it was totally a selfie (almost fooled ya, didn't I?) Ironically we're both holding Chik-Fil-A items in our hands. And in case you're wondering, we already took our March picture so no worries there. Without further ado and speaking of Chik-fil-a... 

DATES

1. Chik-fil-a. Repeatedly. They had free coffee this month so we literally could not stay away. I was there almost daily during the month of February.

2. Tennis date for the win. Colorado is really weird you guys. I was in shorts then and now, two weeks later, I haven't seen the sun in three days.

3. Pueblo, Colorado. Pueblo probably shouldn't be on your list of top places to visit in Colorado, but it can be a fun place... if your brother happens to be playing lacrosse there on a Sunday. We couldn't have asked for a nicer day to watch lacrosse, and we got to meet one of his good friends from college as well as his girlfriend. We topped it off with lunch at Olive Garden. Good people, good weather, good food = triple win.

4. Two double dates with our friends from North Carolina. We met some awesome friends on our cruise (just one of the many reasons you should hop aboard a cruise ship!), who were out in Colorado on business. {They actually both work for Chikfila- we can't stay away you guys.} First we went to lunch at this place called Jack N Grill. I had a green chile sopaipilla burger the size of my face and was transported to heaven. Right before they left, we met them at a fun diner for delicious pancakes and omelettes. 

5. We got locked in a room with the challenge to get out in an hour. We did it. Again. I wouldn't want to be locked in a room with any other four people. They're smart cookies. 

DISCOVERIES

1. The best fries I've ever had. They were Belgian fries covered in truffle oil served at this new beer and brats place in Denver called Wurstkuche (I totally had to google that to remember the name). They were crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and literally the best fries I've ever eaten in my entire life. For all you fellow fry lovers out there- come to Denver and I'll take you on a trip to fry heaven. 

2. I sadly discovered the city of Denver is extremely stingy with letting the public use school tracks. I spent one afternoon driving around all of Denver to find a track that was open to the public so that I could do my speedwork run. All were locked and I didn't feel like getting arrested. There was one middle school track that was unlocked, but to get through it I would have had to walk right through the middle of their playground and the current group of kids out on recess. Something tells me their teachers wouldn't have been down with that. So now I'm stuck doing speedwork on my regular road route. Watch out semi, I've gotta beat my time for this 400 sprint. 

3. You can get especially close to new friends by agreeing that PG-13 answers are okay when you play The Game of Things (a game like Apples to Apples except you get to make up your own answers). Imagine PG-13 answers to the prompt "things that are wild". You get my drift. New friends- you know who you are. 

BOOKS & MOVIES

1. Alex and I are both working on the books from January's list. Kind of lame I know, but I'm on the wait list for a couple of new books at the library- that counts right? 

2. The Giver. My bro in law and I watched it while the hubby mostly snoozed through it. I'm not a huge movie person, but I LOVED this movie. I thought it was really interesting and got me thinking about a lot of things. I highly recommend it, and although I haven't read the book, I've heard it's good too. 

NOTABLE EVENTS

1. Valentine's Day. I actually worked Valentine's Day and then we didn't really land up celebrating later. If I'm being honest- it was kind of lame. However, my mother in law gave me a cool light up heart necklace to wear to work- it was a hit with all the kids! 

I left this poster for Alex before I headed to work that morning. 

And I came home to a candlelit dinner. Now that I think about it, Valentine's Day wasn't that lame. 

2. This girl is my sister from another mister. We had lunch together and had a dream changing and dream inspiring talk. More details to come... eventually. Just know that it was important. 

3. We made some really big strides in our marriage, and I saw some incredibly tangible answers to prayers. More details on this eventually, but just know that God is faithful in the littlest of things! 

4. I got a killer pair of new running shoes. Holla holla chicken dolla! 

5. Lent began with a beautiful entrance. Ash Wednesday brought me to tears, and I am learning so much as I work my way through the Lenten devotional by Naptime Diaries.

BY THE NUMBERS

Miles Run: 63. The snow is threatening my good streak.

New recipes tried: 5 (Our favorite was this stellar creamy spinach and tomato pasta!)

(Looks pretty killer right? Go try it. Tonight.)

15 hour shifts worked: 1. And it was terrible. 

Money spent above our entertainment budget: way too much (Darn Chikfila).

# of kids in Colorado that have respiratory viruses: every single child in Colorado. For the love of God, everyone just needs to stay home for two weeks. 

How was your February? What was your favorite part? If you're in Denver- do you know of any public tracks??

A Monthly Date Challenge: Bicycles & Basketball

I can't believe how fast autumn is flying by; I mean it's already almost Thanksgiving! #canigetanamen. In July, Alex and I created a date night challenge for ourselves. We decided we needed to get out more and move our dates past the couch and Netflix. I plan one for the month and he plans one for the month. Read below to find out what we did in October. 

Date #1 Sarah's Date

We have some friends who have repeatedly told us about this date idea that they do. I must admit it sounded like fun, but it involved bicycling which I can do, but it's not my favorite thing in the world. My husband man, on the other hand, LOVES biking so I figured I would put up with it for his sake. 

Denver has this awesome thing called the B-cycle program where you rent a bike for $8 for the entire day. As long as you check in at stations along the way, it's the one flat fee. A large majority of the stations that you get these bicycles from are downtown Denver, so I figured that we could rent bicycles and ride them to dinner. 

Now, riding a bicycle is my forte... if it's on a small deserted (preferably paved) path along a river or something. Riding bicycles downtown Denver? That sounded extremely intimidating and I almost talked myself out of it. Thankfully I called my friend (who had done this date many times before), to help me walk through the bike renting process, and she convinced talked me back into it. 

Alex got home, we threw helmets in the car and headed for downtown. We luckily found a place to park for free (I didn't want to have to pay for parking and a bicycle). We found the bicycles, rented them, and headed out. It was nerve-wracking at first but as I got more comfortable and realized how many of the streets had really wide bike lanes, I enjoyed it more and more. Did I mention it was October and the perfect night out? Like 70 degrees!

Alex was easily comfortable on his bike and led the way to the Mexican restaurant that I had picked out prior to leaving the house. We were downtown with cars honking, steam rising from potholes, and skyscrapers all around us... to this small town girl, the urban night life was both overwhelming and exciting at the same time.

We sat and enjoyed Mexican food... which is also a huge deal because if you know me I'm really picky with my Mexican food (as in I don't really like it unless it's New Mexican food- and YES, there is a huge difference). This place had awesome reviews and great prices online and they didn't disappoint.

The waiter got so tired of refilling our waters

that he eventually just brought an entire pitcher

out. Oops. 

It was dark outside by this time which made riding the bikes a little bit scarier, but they came equipped with a flashing front and rear light which made me feel a lot safer. We walked around the famous 16th street mall after dinner, stopped into Starbucks for a frappucino dessert, and then hopped on our bikes and rode around a bit more until we headed back to our car.

Alex loved the date, I thoroughly enjoyed the date, and we can't wait to hop back on the B-cycle. 

**Also, just as a note... you can download the B-cycle app through the App Store and see if there is a program in your city... there looked to be a program in a lot of the major cities around the country, not just Denver. Check it out to see if it's in your city! 

Date #2 Alex's Date 

So, if there's one thing that Alex and I will forever love, it's basketball. I have been a die hard Denver Nuggets fan since I was in 6th grade. And when I say die hard I mean that- I had my entire bedroom covered in posters, newspaper articles, jerseys, and other paraphernalia of Carmelo Anthony. #15... those were the days.

I also may or may not have pushed a little kid out of the way when  I was a sophomore in high school so Carmelo Anthony could sign my basketball.

Anyway, last season was pretty rough, but every season is a new chance. Since our latest move, we are only 15 minutes from Pepsi Center- the stadium where the Nuggets play. This is good and bad- good because we can watch games easier, bad because we probably should not spend all of our money on tickets. 

We had friends invite us to one of the games and when we looked it up, we found out it was opening night. Um, we'll be there! So, Wednesday October 30th we watched the Denver Nuggets open the 2014-2015 NBA season against the Detroit Pistons... It was awesome to start off the year with a win, and even more fun to share the game with friends (one whom had never been to a Nuggets game before).

Going to a Nuggets game with friends would just be too boring though. In the middle of it all, we got caught in traffic, missed the first part of the game, vowed next time just to take the light rail... and then locked our keys in our car. 

Our friends dropped us off at home after the game to get a spare key, we drove back to the Pepsi Center to get the car with keys locked in it, and pulled into home finally close to 11pm. When it was all said and done, we had a good time and were happy to welcome in basketball season. Go Nuggets! 

All in all, it was another great month of dates... 

Do you like riding bikes? Would you ever do it in a big city? Have you ever gone to a professional basketball game? 

A Monthly Date Challenge

As Alex and I near our one year wedding anniversary (crazy that it's already been almost a year!) We've started reflecting on some things that have marked our first year. One of the themes for our year that {unfortunately} stood out, was the fact that we budgeted for entertainment every month... and hardly used all (if any) of that budget.

Now, we still had fun, and we know that fun doesn't always have to cost money, but we realize a year later that maybe we should have actually spent some of what we budgeted.

I'm a crazy frugal person- I like math, calculators, and budgets... and most of all I like saving money. When I got married, I never in a million years thought that I would marry someone more frugal than myself.

But I did. 

And although we are frugal in different ways, our frugality means that we stay home a lot. Maybe a little too much. Maybe so much that our families and even some close friends have to remind us that it's okay to spend money on fun things. And remind us that it's okay to spend money on a vacation.

Our habit over the past year has become staying at home and watching Netflix. Microwave popcorn and the couch have been our near constant companions. And while this makes an absolutely lovely date, we realize now that maybe we should have added a little variety. We'll occasionally go out to Chik-Fil-A on a Friday night (we're high class, people), and we've done a handful of dinner dates at various other elegant restaurants like Red Robin.

As we talked one night about this habit we've formed, we remembered that we "dated" a lot more before we were married. I think it had a lot to do with the fact that we weren't living together and we intentionally had to make time to do something fun. A year into the married life, and we still have fun, but it doesn't feel as intentional as it used to.

And so we decided that something needed to change... Enter...

THE MONTHLY DATE CHALLENGE 

For the month of August {and hopefully subsequent months}, we decided that we are going to do two planned dates.

Alex plans one.

I plan the other.

We're each going to plan one because:

#1 We both like to be surprised

#2 We each have different ideas about what to do for date night (Alex has way better ideas than me!)

#3 If I plan one, that takes the expectation off of him to come up with all {or most} of our date ideas. Which is a win-win for both of us.

We haven't set a budget yet but I think it will probably look like where one of us plans a "stay-in" date, and the other plans a "go out" date.

I'll be reporting back in September with a "report" of each of the dates {pictures included}!

 

Will you join me in intentionally dating your spouse/significant other? 

 

Have you ever had to make dating your spouse/significant other a habit?