A Year in Review: 2013

Today is the last day of the year, so what better day than today to reflect on the past year? I will break down my reflections by month. Ready, go.

January: Not much of significance, except that I remember the first day of 2013...we went to see how the house was coming along.  It was a holiday, it was snowing and temperatures were in the single digits, so we thought for sure no one would be working. Wrong.  There they were, working away. That was neat.

February: We closed on our new house! I finally felt like an adult, and have felt even more so since then. We are just at a different place in our life now, simply because we have the responsibility of owning a home.

March: We moved in to our new home, and I turned 25.  25! The age my mom was when she had me.  Scary. For my birthday Ben & I had dinner, and the next weekend I went out with girls from work because Ben was traveling. (Shocker).  That was one of the best birthdays, we had SO much fun. Paid dearly the next day. =P  The end of March was also our first large family gathering. We had 12 people over for Easter weekend.  It was an absolute blast, I'll never forget how we drank margaritas BEFORE dinner and then forgot half the food. Ahh good times good times.  =)

April: Mom, Dad & I traveled to Alabama (a state I had never been to) to watch the IndyCar race.  Much fun was had, even if Mom took a snooze. During the race.  Haha.  We really did make a bunch of great memories.

May: May was a BIG month, as usual.  Dad & I started off the month by running a half marathon. It was absolutely the hardest thing I have ever done, but definitely something I can be proud of forever. I traveled with my parents some in May, going to Ohio and West Virginia to see family, which is always fun.  The biggest part of May was when Ben's driver got the pole for the Indy 500.  Major life accomplishment, and something Ben can always be proud of! Of course, the end of the month was the actual Indy 500. I went with my Mom, Dad & sister, and we had a great time, despite the fact that it was actually chilly and a little rainy.

June: The highlight of June had to be traveling with Dad to Texas for the IndyCar race there.  We flew out on a Saturday morning, meeting up at the Dallas airport. We went to the racetrack right away and spent the day there, which ended in a 4th place finish for ECR at the race.  It was a really fun day, one that I will remember forever. Of course it was awesome to spend time with Dad, and we've decided to make it a yearly tradition.  We flew home Sunday morning. It was a quick but awesome trip!

July: I threw a bridal shower for my dear friend Amanda. It was such a challenge because the shower itself was in Louisville but I did all the food and planning in Indy, but I loved every minute of it.  I've thrown a ton of showers in my life, and sometimes I wish I could make a business out of throwing showers and wedding planning (maybe I should just be a wedding planner?) because I love it and I've done it so much. Amanda's shower was a smashing success.

August: I decided to go part-time at work, for a couple different reasons.  It was definitely the right thing to do.  I also traveled to Columbus, Oh to see some newly-engaged friends and watch yet another IndyCar race.  Again, great memories. :)

September: I spent most of September enjoying my extra 20 hours/week that I wasn't working.  Did a lot of crafting and cooking!

October: I quit my job completely.  We traveled to Disney World with my parents to see my sister for a week.  What an AWESOME trip that was.  I'll have to chronicle it on a Throwback Thursday.  We had a blast, and it was fantastic to see my sissy! We also got to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters for the first time.  That was fun!

November: We traveled to the Bahamas, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten on the Freedom of the Seas.  Again, an amazing and memory-filled trip that I will have to blog about soon! November was also Thanksgiving. We traveled to Cincinnati to be with Ben's family.  It was a fun time, but I was a bit sad to not be with my parents at all during the weekend. They were up in Cleveland with my Grandma though, so it was good for all.

December: We got a puppy! (Blog coming soon!) We also celebrated our first Christmas in our new house.  We had a fantastic time.  My parents and in-laws came for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  Then, last weekend, we had 23 people over! Our largest gathering yet, and it was a smashing success!


Overall, I have to say that 2013 was a really good year.  It amazes me how many firsts we had, even though we are headed into our 3rd year of marriage. We traveled so much and got to see so many things.  We got to experience the joys of entertaining in our new house, and and we were blessed to spend time with the people that mean the most to us.  2014 has a lot to live up to, but I can't wait to see what comes our way! Peace out 2013!