Erica's #67 - Complete a 365 Day Photo Challenge

Have you ever started one of these, been really good about remembering to take a photo each day for a couple of weeks, then completely forgotten about it?  I had failed at this several times before, so I wrote it down this time - I'm much more likely to stick with something if I can check a box when I'm finished!

There's a handy app for this type of goal called Project 365.  The idea is simple - take a single photo each day for 365 days to document your year.  I began my project on October 14, 2013, with a simple and boring photo of the view of the trees that keep me company at my desk for about 240 days a year (it's the green one in the center of that screenshot above).

I'll be honest - there were a few days when I completely forgot to take a photo.  There are also a significant number of days where I remembered to take a photo at the last second, and it is a view of our television from the vantage point of my pillow in a dark room just before I dozed off to sleep.

The majority of them, however, remind me just how amazing our year was when I scroll back through the days and reflect on just how fun life really is, and how lucky we are to have some amazing people in it.  I'll let the photos do the talking now:

October 19, 2014 - The first time we saw our now pals Humming House live...

Meeting Pete for the first time (he promptly escaped from the car and ran into a McDonalds parking lot)

Louie and his best friend, my brother Ryan

Elton John live in Chicago

My parents and scrabble

Ryan holding Katy while watching Cooer's Christmas pageant

Raise the Roof Philadelphia

Drinks with Heidi

Cayamo

Birthday dinner with Emily and Katy and Coop

Happiest dogs at the park

Flying to Minneapolis for a weekend to visit Mel's college friends

Dinner in DC with Ruthi and Tracy

Katie Herzig show with Lisa, Heidi and Meredith

Nite ride with Mel's nephew Pete

Disneyland

Mount Vernon

Bid Delores

Off to Portland, OR

Raise the Roof Portland

Dinner with the bro and his lady friend Lisa

Crazy Cooper's birthday party

Seriously relaxed Louie

Shovels and Rope

And the very last photo - this ridiculously small rental Fiat my boss and I rode around in on a business trip to Delaware...it was laughable, every time...

Erica's #89 - Play Mini Golf

Everyone's probably played the typical mini golf or putt-putt course - imitation grass on the putting greens, goofy animal-shaped obstacles, bridges that automatically draw up unexpectedly when you really needed to get your neon pink ball into that 18th hole in one shot.  Like a lot of the other things we do, we didn't go to your average, everyday mini golf course to complete this goal...

There is a place called Rustic Mini Golf near our house - I'd only been once before, probably over 8 years ago, but I remember having a blast.  This place was built in the 1930's, and features nothing but real grass and crushed limestone greens.  Most holes are quite a bit longer than your typical putt-putt course, with some par 5 holes.  It's totally the kind of place you could imagine your grandparents having gone on their first date!

We decided to enjoy this rustic spot during a lax afternoon celebrating our 3rd wedding anniversary last Sunday.  Since this place is so close to home, we also made up our minds to hop on our bikes and cycle there - it's about 4 miles each way with nary a hill to conquer bigger than a highway overpass = quite the variation from what we were used to last summer!

There were just a few more groups there when we arrived, and we played the 9-hole course followed by the first 9 of the 18-hole course to avoid the crowd.  It was a very fun, relaxing afternoon in a neat-o location!
And, for the record, Mel beat me, 75 to 77.  But who's counting :)