It's Been Two Years...

Since I married my best friend. Our wedding was held on the beach in front of a house we'd rented in the small town of Hau'ula on the windward side of the island of Oahu.
One of my wedding flowers was liatris. When I found out that I could grow it here in the Pacific Northwest, I had to plant some. It came in so-so last year, the few stalks that came up bloomed right around the beginning of September. This year though, the plant's growth seemed to happen earlier. I have had a suspicion for the last several weeks that it may just be in bloom on our anniversary. I don't know if it will continue to do this every year, but I hope it does! That vibrant purple color and tall fluffy stalks bring back memories of our wedding day. The photo below is of my wedding bouquet.
I began taking pictures of the liatris growing in my garden about the middle of June...here's how it progressed:

The last picture is from today, July 22nd.

Since we met about 4 years ago, we have traveled together to many places. I like the idea of our feet together, touching land all over the globe.

My dear husband loves a good list, he is the type that feels like much more has been done when he's made a list. So here my dear, is a little gift for you, a list of places we've been together...I'm sure I've forgotton some places so I'll have to go back and edit the list as I remember (or as you point out what I've forgotton!)

Las Vegas, NV - November 2005

Whistler, BC - January 2006

Southern/Central Coast CA - January 2006

Washington DC - April 2006
New Orleans, LA - May 2006

Portland, OR - June 2006

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho - July 2006

Leavenworth, WA August 2006

Victoria, BC - August 2006

Las Vegas, NV - October 2006

Oahu, HI - November 2006

Whistler, BC - January 2007

Portland, OR - February 2007

Breckenridge, Colorado - February 2007

Oahu, HI - April 2007

Oahu, HI - July 2007

Whistler, BC - August 2007

Las Vegas, NV - October 2007

Whistler, BC - November 2007

Portland, OR - December 2007

Lake Chelan, WA - March 2008

Washington DC - April 2008

Oahu, HI - April 2008

Southern CA - May 2008
England, Italy, France, Germany - July 2008

Whistler, BC - 2008

Cancun, Mexico - November 2008

Whistler, BC - December 2008

Lake Tahoe, CA - December 2008
Park City, Utah - January 2009

Mammoth, CA - February 2009

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - April 2009

New York City - April 2009
Oahu, HI - June 2009

Our four years together have been busy! These years together have also been full of fun, lessons learned, many goals set and some of those goals met, new skills learned, bad habits broken, laughter, tears, family, friends, airports (!)...mostly these years together, especially the last two, have been years when I've felt more loved than ever before in my life. I never imagined that someone could love me so deeply, quirks and all, and that I'd feel that same kind of love for him.