New Things!

As some of you may know, L and I are now dating! Well kinda. We spend most weekends together, play with each other's hair, and own a spoiled dog together.
So Friday night I was telling L how this expert in couples therapy conducted a study: he took 100 couples and divided them into two groups. In group 1 he told them to just keep doing what they normally do, and in group 2 he said try something new each week together. It can be something simple like try a new coffee shop or something bigger like go rock climbing for the first time. Group 2 showed an increase in overall happiness by about 20% after 6 weeks of trying this, and group 1 stayed the same.
So we decided who needs a relationship to try new things?! And so this is what we did on Saturday:

We all hiked in our backpacks!! I bought Sally-kins a backpack, so now she carries her own water and food, and looks like an expert hiking dog! (which she is not at all). We hiked around Lake Thunderbird for about 2 hours together.

 Then we walked around the lake a bit, and found this abandoned car in the forest. We ate our snacks with our feet dangling over a little ridge.

Then after the hike, we left an exhausted Sally to sleep in the car, and I had my first swirl! Yummers.

And on a different note, Sally tried something new this weekend too. Popcorn dinner!

So, they are simple new things, but it was a great Saturday. And our goal is to do a new thing together each week. Ideas?!?