Two Years....

Yesterday Jacob and I celebrated our two year anniversary. I wanted to do SOMETHING special, but our budgets are tight and we couldn't really afford a fancy evening out. So, I put my thinking cap on... and had the best idea! We would relieve our first three dates in a single night!

BACKGROUND

Jacob and I met via a personal ad I posted on craigslist. We "talked" online for a few days until one evening Jacob asked me if I wanted to meet him for dinner somewhere... however, at that point it was already about 9 PM on a Wednesday so our options of open restaurants was somewhat limited. So, we decided on Shari's!

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I remember how nervous Jacob was that night... he couldn't even finish his breakfast dinner! Which, I know now, is NOT the norm! lol I, on the other hand, had absolutely no problem scarfing down whatever it was that I ordered... I've never really been the "eat a small salad on a first date" type of girl. I love food... I'm not gonna hide it! =)

Our second date was just a few days later (our early relationship moved REALLY fast). My friend (and now bridesmaid) Holly was meeting people at one of the local bowling alleys and invited me to come and bring a date... so, I did. =)

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Jacob bowled horribly that evening. I am NOT a good bowler (my goal is always to simply break 100... sometimes I do, sometimes I'm far, far away) and, if I remember correctly, I beat him every game! Though, as you will see later in this post, I'm not sure if this was completely due to nerves or if he just isn't the best bowler either! lol

After bowling, Jacob and I went next door to the Baskin Robbins. We are both HUGE fans of ice cream.

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We sat around eating ice cream and talking about ourselves and the similar futures that we had pictures for quite awhile until we parted ways that night (I wasn't about to ride in a car with a guy that I'd met online after just one date! lol)... only to log onto google and "talk" to each other for a few more hours!

A few days later Jacob asked me if I wanted to go out again (I told you... we probably averaged about 2-3 dates per week for the first month... and then seeing each other almost daily after that!). We decided to go see a movie, I got to choose the film, but Jacob wanted it be a gentleman and pick me up at my apartment. Since we'd now been on TWO dates, and my friend had seen his face (lol) I decided to go for it.

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I chose "The Bucket List"... it was a great movie; really enjoyed it. I also enjoyed watching Jacob continuously try to hold my hand that night... lol... I wasn't really being to helpful. I was still getting to know the guy after all! =)

TWO YEARS LATER

So those are the dates that started the "courting" part of our relationship... and I wanted to honor these. So, for our two year anniversary, I found a Shari's, a bowling alley, and a Baskin Robbins all on the same street near our apartment, and had Jacob get a copy of 'The Bucket List"... but things never do seem to go as planned when it comes to us... lol

Our evening started out well enough. We made it to Shari's and had dinner (however, I think I must have picked the trashiest location in the area... our hostess was wearing a hoodie), and then made our way to the bowling alley...

...which was having a Monte Carlo bowling night!

We asked for directions to another bowling alley, which turned out to also be on the same road, just past the Baskin Robbins that I found, so, we decided to stop for ice cream first and then head to bowling...

... but the Baskin Robbins was closed for construction!

So, we went straight to the bowling alley and played three games... I just want to show you these scores... ;)

(Sorry in advance for the quality... can only do so good in a poorly lit alley with a camera phone!)

If you'll notice... the B (me) won twice! =) Jacob wanted me to take a picture of the ONE time that he won, but this is MY blog! lol

P.S. Jacob thought it was funny to put our initials in this order on the big televised score board... you never really can take the 12-year-old boy out of the 28-year-old man, can you? lol

After we finished our third game I asked one of the alley employees if there was another ice cream place nearby... their only suggestion was DQ... which is NOT the same thing! So, we headed over to Fred Meyer, picked up some ice cream and went home to eat it while watching "The Bucket List" (still thought it was a really great movie!).

And that is how Jacob and I celebrated our two year (and last dating) anniversary! =) I really enjoyed the opportunity to spend some quality time together... we don't take nearly enough time out of our daily schedules to just enjoy each others' company. I hope we can change that in the near future!