2016 Wrap Up

2016. Man did this year fly by fast. I know on the world scale 2016 sucked. We lost so many creative souls, so many innocent lives, don’t get me started on the election, the list could go on. But I wanted to take a moment and reflect on what 2016 was for me. 2016 was good year personally and these are the things I want to remember about 2016. (Note: I won’t be forgetting the hardships that the year faced, in fact it just makes me want to fight harder for equality and those with out a voice– but I want to focus on some positive aspects of the year in this post!)

January

We rang in the new year with my bestie up in North Carolina. It was so fun because we never go out for New Years. Later on in the month we traveled to see friends who relocated by the coast. It was a cold trip but so much fun.We also had game nights with friends and wished for some snow flurries.

February

On Valentine’s Day we got to bring home our pup, Luna! Although having a puppy can be trying at times, she has really brightened up our world. It sounds silly but I had no idea you could love a dog so much!

March

I got to witness my best friend finding her wedding dress! It was such a special occasion to be there and watch her find the dress that made her feel like a princess.

Chris, my parents, my brother, and I all traveled to Hawaii. It was such a special trip to be there and see my brother perform at Pearl Harbor. My mom has always wanted to go to Hawaii so it made me so happy to experience it with my family. Hawaii is also where Chris and I went on our honeymoon so it was nice to be back almost 3 years later in paradise. It truly was a wonderful trip.

April

We visited Charleston with Chris’ family and family friends. We had a great time camping with our family and it was so nice to take Luna around Charleston. The camping trip wore her out as you can see.

We celebrated Chris’ 26th birthday, Chris’ dad’s birthday, and our 3rd wedding anniversary. Luna graduated puppy school and had her first beach trip. She loves the sand but not the waves, ha.

We also got to watch one of Chris’ college friends get married in Charleston, in the same chapel we got married in! There is nothing like being reminded of your own wonderful wedding while watching friends make the same lifetime commitment.

May

Poor Chris made the mistake of taking me to Hawaii on our honeymoon and we happened to still be in Hawaii on my birthday. Now it seems like we are always doing something extra special on my day. I got pretty lucky! This year we planned on celebrating by going camping on the lake as fate would have it Luna was going through a bark.the.whole.entire.night.phase. It was awful and we did not want to subject other campers to her bad behavior so this year we got to celebrate at home.

We celebrated my dad and brother’s birthday this month as well! Luna got to enjoy all the puppy snoballs she could eat. She will give you the puppy eyes to get yours too.

June

In June one of my dear friends came home for the summer after living abroad for the past 9+ months. I was so happy to have her home. My brother graduated from high school, which still blows my mind!

We also went camping with some friends and our pup on one of the hottest weekends of the year. I hope we didn’t scare them away from camping.

July

In July we made a huge dream come true. We bought our very first home! I am so thankful that we were able to purchase a home and even more thankful that we had the support of our family and friends. It was a stressful process but totally worth it! We started a garden as quickly as we could. Luna wasn’t feeling too great for a while. It turns out she has quite a few allergies. I am so glad she isn’t getting sick multiple times a day anymore.

August

My baby brother started college and I got to celebrate my bestie during her bachelorette party at the beach! My sweet Momma also celebrated her birthday this month.

September

September kicked off our first time doing season football tickets with my parents. It was such a fun experience tailgating and watching the games with them. Chris and my dad got way into the games. We also got to watch Ethan march during the halftime shows.

We spent Labor Day weekend in Chris’ favorite tradition: at the Bojangles Southern 500. He has a blast that weekend and I just read lots and lots of books. 😀

October

October called for my favorite season, fall, lots of football games and watching my bestie marry the love of her life. It was such a fun night celebrating them and I could not stop crying all day. This was also the month that Hurricane Matthew hit. It was so scary but I am glad that we did not have any damage.

November

November went by so quickly. My in laws came to see our new home and we got to take them to a football game. Luna got spayed and was so derpy during recovery. I cut open my cornea…with my own fingernail…who does that? But my favorite part was going to Disney world with Chris, my in-laws, Chris’ brother Chuck and his wife. We had a great time celebrating Thanksgiving at Disney and even got to see some of our extended family. It was only my third trip to Disney and my first time going as an adult. It was so much fun and I cannot wait to go back.

December 

December always flies by doesn’t it? I really love the month of December and decorating for the holidays. Typically we spend 30+ hours in the car visiting all of our family but this year Chris had to be close to home for some projects going on over break. So this year we got to enjoy Christmas in our own home and just get some time to relax together. Our holiday break flew by and it was filled with friends, family, lots of trips to the dog park, and lots of love. Luna also celebrated her first birthday. It is hard to believe she is officially one!

What was your year like this year?