Couples' Bucket List (Part 2 - Checked!)

Yesterday I started sharing some ideas from a couples' bucket list I found on Pinterest. I shared the ones in the first half of the list that we have actually completed (though that is purely coincidental...I just found the list). Today I'm going to share ideas from the second half of the list!

There are actually a handful of items on the list that have to do with finances, which was intriguing to me. I don't think I've seen financial bucket list goals mixed in with date ideas! I'll skip over those, since finances tend to be a more personal thing, but I do want to say two things on this topic. First of all, I want to say that I'm really grateful that Ryan is financially responsible and that our goals and priorities on this topic have always matched. I know in a lot of marriages, money is a tense subject, but I'm grateful we have matching vision when it comes to spending and saving and such. That definitely helps! 

Secondly, the former financial aid counselor in me wants to say that one thing that mattered significantly to me (personal decision) before we were married was to completely pay off my student loan. I was fortunate that in the grand scheme of life, I did not have to take a huge amount of loans for school. I had paid consistently on them throughout my post-college years, but I was still working on them when Ryan and I started dating. I did not want to take that debt into our marriage, so I used savings to pay it off before we got married. It wasn't anything Ryan asked me to do, but it was something I wanted to be able to finish on my own - a chapter to close before marriage. I'm so grateful I was able to do it!

Okay! Moving on down the list.

62. Spend a weekend at a lake house.

Before Allen and Nita died, we usually spent a weekend at Allen's family's lake cottage every summer. The house is co-owned by a handful of family members, but Allen and Nita always had a few dates earmarked for them throughout the summer, and they graciously extended the invitation to visit to their kids. That was a real blessing for us! We both love the lake SO MUCH and miss being able to go now. Good memories from those weekends! (The photo is from one of our many boat rides on Lake Webster!)

68. Go on all the rides at a water park.

Does it count if Ryan went on the rides and I documented? We did enjoy a date day (years ago, now!) at Holiday World, and Ryan rode all the scary water rides, and I stood on the observation deck with all the moms, taking pictures. It was a fun day and we both got to enjoy doing what we loved!

69. Have an island-hopping vacation in the Caribbean or Mediterranean.

This one is a stretch, but we did take a couple of Caribbean cruises and hopped from places like Aruba to Curacao! Does that count? Ryan LOVES to cruise and used to go every year. That has slowed down since we got married, partly because air travel is SO expensive and partly because there are so many places here in the USA we want to see. But I have to say, I never imagined in my LIFE that I would get to see Caribbean islands. Those were some sweet memories!

71. Ride a well-known trail on your bicycles.

Well, I'm not sure how well-known it is, but one of my favorite dates we took was the day we did the Hamilton County tour and rented bikes to ride the Monon Trail down by Indianapolis. It was so much fun (minus the busy streets we had to occasionally cross and that one overpass that almost killed me on the upswing). I LOVED that date! We also rode the Pufferbelly in Fort Wayne a couple of times. I appreciate how that one ends at a cookie store! :) 

74. Have a romantic picnic at the park or on the beach. 

Did you know that a picnic was part of our first date? Everything about our first date was a surprise to me. Ryan planned the whole thing, and it started with a picnic in a park! (Photo above is one he took of me on that date.) He has since planned a handful of other picnics in parks, and I've enjoyed each one. I have a few picnics on the itinerary for our tenth anniversary extravaganza, too!

77. Go on a tandem bike ride by the beach or in the park.

DONE!!! Do you guys remember this one? We did this on our honeymoon! We rented a tandem bike and ride it into the village of Siesta Key. We had a great time and on the way home, it was dark, so we decided to ride the beach instead of the road. It seemed safer until we got out there. The sand was packed down so hard, and the back seat of that bike didn't have great shocks. It was an adventure for sure! 

78. Try a workout class together, such as Pilates or cycling.

Oh my. The working out together. Back in our Kokomo days, we joined a small local gym that had classes at FIVE THIRTY IN THE MORNING. I lasted about a month before the early morning hours and the intensity of the class participants got the best of me. Ryan loved it and continued going until we moved. He actually even became an instructor for a while! I don't think our skill sets are ever compatible enough for this, but I am glad we tried it.  (Picture is from our first trip to the gym. I wasn't awake.)

80. Sign up for a fun challenge, such as the 5K Color Run.

I was actually training for a 10K when we started dating, so Ryan joined me in the training and ran the race with me too! We ran the Fort 4 Fitness 10K right before we got engaged! I don't know that I would call any part of that fun - except getting to say I had done a really hard (for me!) thing. I was so glad Ryan was with me that day. It was far less intimidating with him by my side! We ended up running a 5K together a few years later, but we haven't run a race together since! (I included a picture from each race.)

81. Host a Thanksgiving with both of your families.

Another cheat answer! We did host my family for Thanksgiving the year Mom was in the rehab hospital following her knee surgeries. And we hosted Ryan's family for Christmas the year his mom was in the rehab hospital after her brain surgery. (This is what happens when you live three houses from the hospital and your husband works there and is qualified to take people home on passes.) But as you may remember, our joint-family hosting always came with our annual Mommapalooza! We did about six of those, I think, in an attempt to gift all the mothers in our family with a no-cook Mother's Day! We love hosting, so ALL these were fun for us! (Pictures are from the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and two Mommapaloozas!)

89. Do a skydive or run for charity.

Ryan did skydive once - before we were married. :) And we already talked about running, but that Haiti Half 5K we ran (featured above) was for charity, actually! The entry fees raised money for health care in Haiti! 

94. Host a snowman building competition in your neighborhood.

We haven't hosted a competition, but back when we lived in Marion, we did build a snowman together during one of the Polar Vortex winters! It was so much fun! We named him Jeffrey. We also made snow angels and snow ice cream that day. It was a fun, proper snow day.

99. Host a Super Bowl Party.

We did this right before we moved away from Marion! We had some friends from church over and had a great time! And apparently we have NO photos of this night. At least not ones I can locate quickly! 

So there you go! Some of the bucket list things we've checked off. I have a few ideas of things from that list I want to try, so come back tomorrow, okay?