Every year I like to take a little time before the New Year’s craziness to reflect back on all that’s happened over the last 365 days. It’s always kinda fun for me to put this post together – even though it takes a long time, it reminds me of all of the great (and sometimes not so great) things that have happened. Without further ado, I bring you 2012!

January

January 2: My 31st birthday. I spent a nice day at home and went to dinner with my family. Nothing like The Union’s fried chicken and macaroni & cheese to ring in another year!

January 4: Mike gets the CalFire Directors Award. It was an honor to attend this ceremony not only to see Mike get his award (so proud!) but to see all of the wonderful work that others did to go above and beyond their daily jobs!

January 28: Pioneer Fire Department Crab Feed. Yes, I went to a crab feed. No, I did not eat crab. But it was actually a lot of fun. It was hosted by Perry Creek Winery and we had a great time. We entered the raffle and actually won a night’s stay at Fitzpatrick Winery and Lodge!

January 29: Professional Bull Riding. I got tickets to this through work and thought “why not?”. We had an absolute blast watching the cowboys try to stay on some pretty angry bulls! We got to sit in the suite and had a really good time!

February

February 11: Whitney Houston Dies. At the way too young age of 48, Whitney Houston passed away. This is one of those celebrity deaths that took my breath away… she had such an amazing voice and it’s a shame that she’s gone.

February 25: Brigitte’s Baby Shower. Our theme was mini-everything, so we had mini-desserts, mini-appies, and individual veggie cups. It was a really fun time and Brigitte looked super cute!

March

March 8: Fitzpatrick Winery Stay. We had the whole week off and decided to do a staycation. It was really nice to have some time home, but we also used the opportunity to use our free stay at Fitzpatrick Winery. It was absolutely beautiful and a really neat place to spend the night! We went home with a case of their anniversary Zin!

March 11: Shamrock’n Half Marathon. After three months of training, Kati and I finally made it to race day for her first and my second half marathon. I am beyond proud of my sister – we ran a 2:13 and had the best time together! I think training with her really brought us closer together!

March 17: St. Patrick’s Day Bunco. Kati and Nate hosted this one and it was so much fun! We got all dressed up in our green (even Mike got on board with his “Irish you were beer” shirt) and had a really fun time!

March 29: Lady Antebellum Concert. Kati and I did a sisters night out (little did we know, this was baby Chloe’s first concert!). It was a really good show that had Thompson Square and Darius Rucker opening for Lady A who were awesome!

April

April 1: Shadow Turns Seven. And promptly destroys his gift.

April 8: Kati & Nate Announce Their Pregnancy. And thus, little Chloe came to be… 🙂

April 8: Aspen is Born. Brigitte had Aspen a little earlier than expected (she’s an Easter bunny!), but she was healthy and absolutely beautiful! She weighed in at 7 pounds, 10 ounces and was 19 inches long.

May

May 5: Ashley & Jim’s Wedding. Our year(s) of weddings continued with Ashley and Jim’s. Theirs was held at the Italian Picnic Grounds in Jackson and was a beautiful outdoor ceremony. We had a great time!

May 13: Mother’s Day. We spent Mother’s day with my mom at the Amador Flower Farm. It was a beautiful day and we packed a really great picnic lunch before wandering around the grounds.

June

June 4: San Diego Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon. Yup, I ran my first marathon. That’s 26.2 miles for those of you counting. My worst nightmare came true and I got really sick (hello blue porta potties), but I still finished. I’m so proud of myself – I consider this one of my biggest accomplishments so far!

June 16: Wicked. We were given tickets to see Wicked as a wedding gift from our friend Chris. This quickly moved up my list of favorite musicals to #2, right behind Phantom of the Opera. We made a night out of it and had dinner downtown – it was great!

June 17: Father’s Day. We spent the morning boating and barbecuing with my family and the afternoon barbecuing with Mike’s. It was a fantastic day!

June 23: Jake & Gina’s Wedding. Another member of the J.A.K.E. club bites the dust. Jacob made his grand entrance in his suped up rock crawler and it was a beautiful evening. Welcome to the family Gina!

July

July 5: First Day of Sabbatical. I am incredibly lucky to work at an amazing company, Intel. Every seven years that you work there, you get eight weeks off (in addition to your regular vacation). The idea is that you get away from work, recharge, and come back refreshed. It’s an amazing program. It took a couple weeks to mellow out, but once I did, I had a fantastic time!

July 14 – 25: Switzerland & France Trip. We decided that we wanted our big trip to be over to Europe to watch the Tour de France. We spent 16 days roadtripping through Switzerland and France. It was one of the best vacations I’ve been on – we had an absolute blast together! We hiked, rode our bikes up the Alp d’Huez, and watched the big finish in Paris.

July 31: Barenaked Ladies Concert. I joined Adam and Eva at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga. I absolutely loved the venue – it’s a intimate outdoor venue, perfect for a summer evening concert. The show was amazing… I love BNL!

August

August 4: Aerosmith Concert. They were absolutely fantastic. I can’t believe the vocal chops Steven Tyler still has… he sang “Dream On” while playing the piano and it sounded just like when he was younger!

August 14: CeeLo and Lucia join the Blankenheim family. Shadow’s life will never be the same.

August 10 – 12: Girls Houseboating Trip. I spent the weekend with my besties out on Lake Oroville. As always, we had a blast jet skiing, swimming, dancing, and drinking.

September

September 18: Mike Gets Promoted. I am beyond proud of my husband. After a ton of hard work, he was promoted to Batallion Chief.

September 22: Al & Kim’s Wedding. This was a beautiful wedding up in Chico. We had an awesome time and danced the night away!

September 30: Tim & Lynn’s Wedding Reception. These two lovebirds decided to surprise everyone and elope! They had a reception a month or so later so that we could all celebrate with them. In true Blankenheim style, Uncle Tim was surrounded by his family and hooked up to the ball and chain. It was great!

October

October 13: Kati’s Baby Shower. We stuck with a lavender and butterflies theme, which is how the nursery is decorated. The weather was beautiful and it was so great to see all of Kati’s friends come out to celebrate with her!

October 21 – 24: First Anniversary Road Trip. Mike and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary by taking a road trip up the North Coast. It was absolutely beautiful! We started in finished the trip with a visit to Mike’s aunt and uncle up in Eugene, Oregon. I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful trip or a better time!

November

November 22: Run To Feed The Hungry. This was the first race/event that my mom has done and I was honored to run with her. We had an absolutely great time! We’re thinking about making this a Thanksgiving Day tradition – it was nice to get some exercise in before we ate!

December

December14: Sandy Hook Elementary Shootings. A man walked into several classrooms and opened fire, killing twenty children and six teachers. He also killed his mother before turning the gun on himself. Inspired by Ann Curry, I start the 26 Random Acts of Kindness.

December 15: Chloe Noelle is born. After 28 loooong hours, Chloe was finally here. In a weekend that was a blur of exhaustion, snuggles, and poop, I got to meet my new niece. I still can’t believe how much I love her! This is one of my favorite pictures of her because she looks so goofy in it! I already took a zillion… they’re all adorable!

December 24: Christmas with the Blankenheims. We spent our traditional Christmas Eve with Mike’s family – first church, followed by an appetizer feast at Grandmas, and then presents at Ray and Nancy’s. It was great!

December 25: Christmas with the Smithsons/Barcklays. This year instead of going to my parents house, as is the tradition, we went to Kati & Nate’s since the baby is still so new. We had a blast cooking, watching movies, and of course, opening presents!