Making memories...

April 21st has come and gone. May 5th appears to be doing the same. We are hoping our new closing date will be May 16th, although I have my doubts. It's difficult knowing that you are about to embark on something as amazing as moving across the country in an Airstream, but not knowing when.

To say we have been stressed lately would be an understatement. So last week, when our friends invited us to go out on a double date with them, we welcomed the distraction. Morgan and Alex had tickets to see Bruce Springsteen in Tampa. I'll be honest, when Morgan first asked if we wanted to go to a concert in Tampa on a Thursday night, my gut reaction was "Oooo Thursday? We cant be out that late on a Thursday... I have to be at work at 6:30 the next morning." Then I remembered my favorite saying "making memories". Shared experiences are an important part of relationships. Part of our new, more adventurous lifestyle will require us to really embrace things outside of our comfort zone. So we decided, sure Friday would suck, but Thursday night would be a blast! We could all commiserate via texts the next day and reminisce about how awesome the show was. We would all be better friends because of it.

I am so glad we went to the concert with Morgan and Alex. We had a great time! We had lawn seats at The Mid Florida Amphitheater and it was wonderful! Good friends good music and huge beers! It gave us a much needed break from packing.

While out with our friends we talked about marriage and dating. I am a firm believer in dating your spouse. This is a life lesson Eric and I learned early in our marriage. Just as with friendships, shared experiences are a huge part of what keeps you close. I think date nights are especially important during those times when life gets super busy or stressful. It's easy to take your spouse for granted when you have so much else going on. It's tempting to come home, throw on your sweat pants and Facebook all night. Relationships aren't easy though, they take work. I think the trick is to make the work you do fun!

There is nothing wrong with going to Chili's and movie on a Friday night, but if you want to have a memorable shared experience, you're going to have to find something more unique. Seek out little adventures you can have together as a couple. Find things you wouldn't ordinarily do (get outside of your comfort zone). Look for a cool live show that is in town for the weekend. Perhaps a cooking class or a local wine tasting. Even something as simple as a new restaurant or bar. We often use Groupon and Living Social as resources for unique but inexpensive date ideas.

This was at the bluegrass "Concert Under the Stars" last year at Bok Tower and Gardens.
We talk about how perfect this night was all the time!

My little sister Piper is the one who turned us onto Groupon. She is one of the most fun people I know. Piper and her boyfriend Stephen have a good time wherever they go. While the two of them are still pretty young, I am so proud to see how they actively work to keep their relationship strong.

Stephen took Piper to pet a baby tiger!

People tend to work hard to impress each other in the beginning of a relationship but as life becomes more mundane they get lazy. Piper and Stephen made a "date jar" that they filled with cleaver date ideas. Somewhere between Greek functions, finals and their part-time jobs these two kids make it a priority to "date". They're not just hanging out in her dorm room or making out in his car, they go on totally awesome, memorable adventures to the Cummer Museum, paddle boarding and to the zoo. One time they even ran with the bulls at an event in Dade City. These two are seriously making memories!

Eric and I don't have a date jar, but we do something similar. Eric will give me a card, sometimes at breakfast and sometimes tucked in my lunch box. On the card he gives me 4 date options. Its cool because we both get to have a part in planning each of our dates. I asked him why he enjoyed doing this so much. He answered with "I like how happy it makes you". Oh man, how did I get so lucky!?!?

Eric came up with this idea and it has been so much fun! We've gone to cool places like the Enzian theater, and the Orlando Science Center. I feel like even the little adventures we have bring us closer and make us stronger! It's all about making memories! 

**Stay tuned, later this week our new website should be ready to launch! Eric even built an interactive map app. We are going to need your help mapping out our journey to San Francisco!