Bucket List Excursion & More...

First, I need to mention that my lack of blogging is not a lack of desire, passion, zest, or happiness.  It is due to an increase in daily scheduled activities and blogspot.com’s cap they put on my picture uploading (unless that is I pay a small monthly fee to upgrade my blog site).  So, unfortunately, this summer I have failed to sit down and write as much.  And for the 5 of you who actually read my blog, I am sorry.

Craig and I have had a full summer so far.  He is working full-time for Community Integrated Services (what he has been doing the past 2 years) and working 10 hours as our church’s youth pastor intern, which has actually turned into more of a “head” position right now since our youth pastor just took another job. 

I have been working as well.  20-30 hours still at the Spokane Club.  It has been incredible to work a 12-5pm schedule and come home to have evenings with Craig.  As of a month ago we didn't even know what that looked like, for I ate my dinners in a closet!  It is nice to come home and have dinner together as we gaze into each other's eyes :]  We have been able to spend a lot of time together, which is a huge blessing...something we aren't used to!  It's sort of like dating again!!

We have already gotten some trips under our belts this summer!  We trekked it down to Sunriver, OR with Angela and Luna Bell in June so that Ang and I could run our first half marathon.  Let's just say I will never look at 13.1 miles the same again.  That's a long distance, but you know what, we did surprisingly well.  AND I had an injured hip!  We didn't sweat, we didn't breathe hard, we actually went out too slow because we didn't know what to expect.  It was the last 3 miles that were the toughest.  But we made it through!  Craig was our personal photographer along the way while Seneca and Jordan were our personal cheerleaders and coaches.  Here is a link to photos since blogger is limiting my photos these days: Half Marathon  We finished in 2 hours and 13 minutes but that includes 1 bathroom break, 8-9 quick pit stops to stretch, and a bum hip :)  I'm getting healthy and stronger and will be ready to run another one soon!

The very next weekend it was Craig's time to shine.  He participated in the world's largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament, which is held here in Spokane:  HOOPFEST!!!  His team did incredibly well, especially for just meeting them on the day of their first game!  They won 3 games and during their 4th game they lost a player who had been playing on two different teams.  So they were down to just 3 players -- no subs!  And during the game their 3rd player about got his eye gouged out and probably needs stitches.  So they had to forfeit.  But, on a brighter note they only lost one game and it was a double elimination competition!  I am a proud wifey of a baller :]

And the very next weekend (ya our summer is this phrase repeated non-stop) we packed up our car with Luna and headed toward the west side.  We drove into Seattle and took the ferry to Port Ludlow to spend a few short hours with my Grandnan & Granddad.  It was encouraging to see both my grandparents and have good conversation with Grandnan.  My Granddad's health is failing him so my Grandnan could use a lot of prayer.  She is incredibly strong though and they are living out God's will for their lives and ALWAYS have. 


We went home that night to stay at my Mom's house and got to attend Tiffany and Dean's wedding the following day.  It was a blast getting to reminisce and hang out with high school buddies and it for sure made me feel old.  Just plain old.  But it was neat to be a part of Tiffany and Dean's special day!

And the very next day Craig and I set sail to the wide open ocean of the Pacific!  We completed the 8th thing on my lifelong bucket list!!!  We took an Alaskan Cruise with Holland America and loved every minute of it -- it exceeded all of our expectations and more!  Craig practically had to drag me off the ship while I was kicking and screaming with tears streaming down my cheeks.  I didn't want to get off :[  It was a top of the line experience with memories that make us laugh so hard that our stomachs hurt.  We were at sea the first three days and then landed in Juneau, AK on Wednesday.  Craig and I weren't out to spend much money on shore excursions so we found a gorgeous little hike along a creek.  Thursday we were in Sitka and Friday we spent the day in Ketchikan.  Three very different little cities.  We ranked them in the following order:  Ketchikan, Sitka, Juneau.  We surely got our steps in with all of the walking around.  

How did we keep our slimmish figures you ask?  Let me tell you.  We never took the elevator...stairs all the way.  Food and the gym were on the 9th floor, our favorite spot was the crow's nest which was on the 10th floor, front office was on the 1st floor, and our dinner reservations every night were on the 3rd floor.  We also took two spinning classes on the boat, did our p90x workouts, went hiking at each port, and controlled ourselves around the all you can eat - 24/7 - italian, asian, american, salad, sandwich, ice cream buffets - unlike some of the beastly men and woman we saw.  HOLY COW people can put away a ton of food when it's offered to them.  It was a bit overwhelming actually.  But we indulged in moderation :]

(I feel like I could be a spokeswoman for healthy eating aboard a cruise ship!)

All in all, it was simply amazing...for words cannot describe how it brought Craig and I together.  It was a very needed and cherished trip together and it was nice to eliminate other stresses that come about with vacations: transportation, rental cars, where to eat, where to stay, what activities to do and how much will they cost, etc.  It was a blessing to have an all inclusive vacation, not to mention the $250 I won from playing BINGO the very first night.  Ya, about 300 people didn't like me after that since Craig and I walked in the last 10 minutes of the game.  I didn't even know what I'd won!  HUGE BLESSING!  So this allowed us to spend some money that we weren't planning on spending.  We enjoyed a few americanos each day, treated ourselves to happy hour, and let the rest pay the $11.50 a day/per person automatic gratuity (which comes to $160 in mandatory service fees throughout the week).  Here is a link to the photos of our trip: Alaskan Cruise

Or here is a Slideshow we made with all of our pictures!

Enjoy & Happy Cruising