Seven.

Seven years ago today, after about ten years of being together, we tied the knot in a tiki hut.

I remember it like it was yes-… nope, actually it feels like a long time ago.

Six years ago, I made Zliten sherpa my first Olympic triathlon.  Aren’t I sweet?

At least I got a medal.  And then there was champagne.

Five years ago today, we celebrated by renting out swanky loungers on the balcony of the movie theatre to watch Starship Troopers.

Four years ago today, we were recovering from our first half ironman race together!

Noms.

Three years ago, we flew in a wind tunnel and then ate Pizookies.

Not us.  We were so into though we bought more sessions and… those sessions are still on the fridge three years later.  Whomp, whomp.

Two years ago we spent a long weekend in Port Aransas.

Not a bad view to celebrate #5.

We may have not gotten to scuba dive like we wanted to, but we ate buckets of seafood like champs…

If you can’t swim with ’em, eat ’em, I guess?

Then, last year, we spent our anniversary in Bonaire.

Salt Pier.  I have dreams about this place.  I need to return…

How do you top that for #7?

Well, you don’t.  I mean, it was awesome riding further than we ever have before, or as I said, celebrating our anniversary by shoving our crotches against bike seats for 5 hours.

And these massage boots are probably one of the best physical presents we’ve ever gotten ourselves…

…but as hard as this year tries, it’s no week on an island where I can walk 100 feet and pick up a tank and go dive.  And that’s ok!  In two short months, I’ll be preparing to fly away and spend a week in Key Largo.  I can wait (I think).

But, as for our year seven highlights:

• We ran a marathon in Florida.  And then had a little mini vacation.  Zliten avenged missing 2014 due to injury.
• We celebrated Christmas with both sets of parents in town for the first time.
• We ran a marathon in The Woodlands.  Zliten also avenged missing 2015 due to injury with a major PR.
• We took a nice long offseason, going camping, leaning to really love bikes, got back into weights, organized some of the house, and enjoyed being people for a few months.
• We went on a cruise to Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel, notching one more new diving spot (Roatan).
• We had an incident happen at work, and it really shook us to stop stagnating and diversify ourselves.  We’re now Certified Personal Trainers, I’m a Certified Sports Nutrition Specialist, and I’m working my way through the Triathlon Coaching program as well as learning about social media and marketing (upcoming post is upcoming).  Zliten is getting into app developing and learning a lot there as well.
• We joined Team Bicycle Sport Shop, and found major bike love and camaraderie in the bike community.  I’ve cycled outside more this year than I probably have every other year since 2009 when I got my bike combined.
• We completed the Swim Distance Challenge, which culminated in 6 laps (4500m) of open water swimming.
• We went to Colorado and climbed mountains and rode on dirt and ate all the foods.
• We did a bunch of other races together: 3M, Austin1020, Lake Pflugerville Triathlon, Jack’s Generic Triathlon, Zilker Relay, Splash and Dash, Kerrville Triathlon, and the Rip Roaring Ride.

And… here we are.  Embarking on year eight.  I’m super excited to see what happens in the next 365!  Happy anniversary Zliten, you’re the bestest and I can’t wait to do all the things and eat and drink all the things with you this next year!

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