Evansville, Indiana

Last December we moved across the United States to a lesser known part of Indiana called... Evansville.

Due to the large distance between us and the majority of our family I thought it appropriate to start up this blog again in order to help our family members know what's going on in our lives (complete with pictures). I hope you enjoy the upcoming photos and stories of our adventures here in the Midwest. We certainly are. 😁

Down South

Throughout May and part of June we were traveling down south to Hurricane, Henderson and California almost every weekend. Looking back it was quite expensive for us to be traveling so much, particularly since we had just moved into a new apartment and were trying to adjust to the increased costs associated with that. But it was worth it to spend so much time with family!

Highlights from the trip

1. Birthday nachos as big as Genelle! (April 26th)

2. Discovering Genelle's first two teeth popping through (Memorial Day Weekend)

3. Seeing and holding Ida Jane for the first time (Father's Day Weekend)

4. Genelle really chowing down on food for the first time (May 31st)

5. Genelle's first time in the pool (April 26th)

6. Seeing family (EVERYTIME)

A Hess Family Reunion

In May all of Mike's siblings, and their families, got together for a little family reunion in Burbank, California --his home town.

Thanks to their family friend, Cynthia Eccles, all of the family from out of town were able to stay in the same condo throughout our stay.

It was so much fun to see everyone and hold/kiss all the new grandkids! We certainly can't wait to see everyone again!

  Highlights from the trip

1. Trying the Apollo breakfast burrito for the first time --loved it!

2. Seeing/kissing/holding Areta for the first time!

3. Seeing/kissing/holding Miles for the first time!

4. Getting a professional massage with all the ladies (also for the first time)

5. Having Jamberry nails applied by Susan (and my hair braided by her too)

6. Experiencing the glorious cooking of SMP Catering (Steve Marshall Productions)

7. Chilling at the pool with Genelle and the rest of the fam!

8. Seeing Marilyn (Genelle's Grandma Hess) in a bathing suit for the first time! (She looked gooood!)

Date Night to the Max

Last year Mike and I tried something a little different when it came to our date night. We came up with a list of things we would like to do (52 in total, so we had to do one each week) and then we (were supposed to) update our blog with a post about each date...

Well, it went... okay. We didn't do EVERY date we had hoped but we did to a good number of them. And while we weren't the best at posting about each one, I believe we did take pictures during the majority of them!

So this year, Mike and I created a date list again, but THIS time instead of creating a post every time, we'll try to take a picture during each activity (which you'll be able to see in our Instagram Feed-so it's almost like a dedicated post!).

So, the official date list for 2013 is...
1-Make of list of must-haves in your dream home
2-Paint each other's portrait
3-Plan our *vacation* for this year
4-Make a map of places we have been and want to go. Make a list of places and sites to see. (We both liked the idea of using this as the start, or a world map)
5-Teach each other something new
6-Build a fort and watch a movie
7-Attend a festival (I hear the Greek Festival calling my name on this one!)
8-Go see a local band (Rooftop Concert Series? -I think so!)
9-Build our Bucket Lists (as a couple and separately)
10-Tandem the River Walk
11-Visit a Museum (We're thinking of visiting the Museum of Tolerance and the Getty Museum for this one)
12-Go to the Farmer's Market (there are so MANY around here!)
13-Go Bowling (of course!)
14-See a Vegas Show (Like Penn & Teller or Seinfeld or whatever Broadway show is in town)
15-Go to a Fancy Restaurant (haven't decided yet where we'd like to go for this one, but I'd prefer Hell's Kitchen!)
16-Volunteer at the local homeless shelter.
17-Play Board Games (we love Monopoly!)
18-Go on a picnic
19-Go to Goodwill or a Thrift store and pick out one item for the other person. $10 budget
20-Get up early and go eat brunch at Communal.
21-Watch stand up comedy (like The Wise Guys or Comedy Sportz)
22-Take Mike's parents out to dinner (they have been so kind and generous to us it's the least we could do)
23-Go for a long walk
24-Make a gift for someone else. Just because. (These are so much fun!)
25-Try a new work out (maybe Water Zumba?)
26-Cook an exotic meal or cook something we have always wanted to try
27-Go up to Bear Lake for the day/weekend
28-Go Country Swing Dancing
29-Play Laser Tag!!
30-Play video games all night
31-Pajama Party! Pop some popcorn, make a pallet and watch  cheesy movie.
32-Go to a basketball game (or several)
33-Make a mix CD of songs that remind you of your time together (For a roadtrip?).
34-Watch each other's favorite movies from childhood.
35-Go to the Strawberry Days Rodeo!
36-Attend Pleasant Grove's Fireman's Breakfast
37-Go to an Outdoor Movie (possible a drive-in?)
38-Spend a day up at Midway and the Deer Creek Reservoir (I'm really want to go cliff-jumping and try Dairy Keen's famous shakes!
39-Hike Timp.
40-Camping Trip... somewhere
41-Silly Photoshoot
42-Visit local Garage/Yard Sales in search of Children's books
43-Teach each other something new
44-Go Geocaching
45-Try the Walmart $20 challenge (we each get $20 to spend on presents for each other -the person buys the best/most presents wins!)>
46-Go on a weekend trip to somewhere outside Utah
47-Take a one-night class together
48-Go to the Provo Beach Resort 49-Listen to a book on tape
50-Go sledding!
51-Have a tv-show marathon>
52-Buy a new game and break it in with friends!


Looks like it's going to be a fun year!