This honestly is one of my favorite posts of the year. I love looking back at both the highs and the lows (honestly, without the lows, how would we know how great the highs were?) and just reminiscing about this crazy thing called life. Each post will have a link embedded into it, so if you’d like to read a little more about that experience, click the link to go to that post. Enjoy and Happy New Year!

January

January 2: My 32nd birthday. It was a mellow day – the best kind! We hit up trivia night at our favorite place (they’re closing today!!!) and had a blast!

January 16: Finished Random Acts of Kindness. I did 26 random acts of kindness in honor of the 26 people killed in Newton. I learned a lot about myself and regained some faith in humanity!

January 27: Rock of Ages. This was my birthday present from Mike and musical did not disappoint! Even Mike liked it!

January 31: George Strait concert. I am so happy I got to see the Cowboy on his last tour! He was awesome! Martina McBride opened for him and she was phenomenal as well!

February

February 2: SuperBowl. My 49ers do not win. That’s all I have to say about that.

February 23: Snowshoeing with Shadow. Mark, Mike, Shadow and I headed out for an adventure in the snow with Shadow. He did so well – it was really fun to see him frolic in the snow!

February 24: Chloe’s Baptism. I became Chloe’s godmother… I’m so proud to call that baby girl my niece and goddaughter!

March

March 2: Behind the Cellar Door. Our annual wine tasting trip. We rented the van again this year and had so much fun with the Blankenheim clan!

March 6: I lost a good friend, Carol Hawk. She passed away unexpectedly after a short battle with cancer. It came as a shock but I’m happy she was surrounded by her family.

March 24: First visit to daffodil hill. It was absolutely beautiful and it was so fun to see Chloe take it all in!

April

April 28: Tore a ligament in my foot. Fun times in the boot ensued.

May

May 10: Miranda Lambert concert. This was the first in the country mega ticket series and was so good! The Pistol Annie’s were there (Miranda Lambert’s girl band) and Blake Shelton came out for the last song! I had a blast rocking out with Brigitte!

May 12: Mother’s Day. We had brunch with Mike’s family, then a BBQ at my parents house. It was great!

May 19: Sharkfest. Mike and I hopped on a ferry boat, rode it out to Alcatraz, jumped off, and swam back to shore!

May 24-26: Memorial Day getaway. We spent the weekend with the Debenedets and Waters families at their cabin in the Sequoia National Park. It was a beautiful cabin and we had a wonderful weekend with friends!

June

June 11-16: Newport vacation. We headed down to Newport Beach for Kayla’s graduation and to spend some time fishing on June Lightning. We had a wonderful time with my brother & sister in law and niece and nephew.

June 21: I get a beehive. Not the hairdo… bees. Lots of them. It was a really cool adventure and I learned a lot in my short tenure as a beekeeper!

June 26: The Supreme Court rules same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional.

July

July 13: Mike does the Death Ride. Yup, he’s a stud.

July 26: Justin Timberlake & Jay-Z concert. I joined Adam and Eva for this one at Candlestick. We had an absolute blast laughing, dancing, and just enjoying the people watching!

July 30: Dinner with the Dennys. My college roommate and her awesome family were passing through town and stopped for dinner. It was so great to see her, Chris, and Abby!

August

August 1: A bear ate my bees. A mere two months into my career as a beekeeper, things came crashing to a halt. A bear decided that he wanted some honey, so he tore down the fence and ate the hive. RIP Queen Latifah.

August 17: Straight No Chaser concert. I have been waiting for years to go see SNC. I was joined by Mike, Adam, and Eva. The boys did not disappoint… it was an awesome show!

August 23: Brad Paisley concert. I love this guy. I’ve seen him before, but he’s good every time. He can play guitar like crazy!

September

September 9: Dave Matthews Band concert. Apparently summer concerts are not meant to be for Mike – he was once again on a fire. I went with the Waklees and we had a blast.

September 22: Keith Urban concert. Amber and I went together and, as always, had a great time. I was actually more impressed with Little Big Town than I was with Keith Urban, but the music was all good!

September 23: Falconing with Mom. We took a falconry lesson which was absolutely amazing. We learned how to call the birds and how they feed and live in the wild. So much fun!

October

October 1: US Government shuts down. Absolute embarrassment to our people and our country.

October 11: Jason Aldean concert. Amber and I went together and had a fantastic time singing and dancing!

October 19-28: East Coast Road Trip. As usual, we did a road trip for our anniversary and covered New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington DC, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. It was absolutely beautiful and I got to check off “see the fall colors” from my bucket list!

October 22: Our 2nd wedding anniversary. Still love the man!

November

November 17: Zac Brown Band concert. This was my final concert of a very busy year of music. Brigitte and I had the pleasure of watching the show from the Intel box at SleepTrain Arco Arena

and it was an absolutely amazing show! I will see them time and time again!

November 23: Raymond’s retirement party. Ray’s my father-in-law and we threw a hell of a party for him. There was a roasted pig, lots of beer, and a ton of people who came out to wish him well!

November 28: Thanksgiving. Mom, Dad, and I did the Run to Feed the Hungry this year and had so much fun! Then Mike and I had Thanksgiving dinner with the Blankenheim clan, which was fun and delicious!

November 30: Mike’s 40th birthday party. Chaos ensued.

December

December 5: Nelson Mandela dies. While not altogether shocking (he was pretty old), it was sad to hear that someone who did so much good for the world was gone. Hopefully his legacy of peace and love lives on in South Africa.

December 7: First snow of the season – we got 7 inches at our house! Shadow and I headed outside to run and play in it and generally had a fun morning!

December 8: Ran the California International Marathon, my 2nd marathon. PR of 2 hours, 42 minutes! It was a really great experience and I’m so glad I decided to do a 2nd one. Definitely different than the one that I had in San Diego, but I wouldn’t change either one!

December 28: My first ever riding lesson. I had the best time!