I just can’t believe we are already at the very end of this year. I’m finishing my round up of my favorite moments from the year. If you missed part one, you can find it here.
The weekend we lost Lola, we did everything we could to get out of the house. One of those things was last minute tickets to see Kacey Musgraves open for Harry Styles. The concert was so much better than I was expecting and I cried during a few songs, but it didn’t matter because it was dark and loud. It’s weird to call this a favorite moment because I was so sad, but I’ll never forget being there. I wrote more about it here.
We also booked a last minute trip to LA during their heat wave this summer. I finally met one of Justin’s best friends from childhood and he took us to this art installation after a wonderful dinner. Los Angeles is a city that we wanted to go together, so I’m so glad this worked out.
We enjoyed a wonderful sunset on the beach near Santa Monica. Sunrises and sunsets are soothing to me and that what all we wanted on this trip. I shared more photos here.
Spent a night playing board games with two of our nieces and eating junk food. Getting to sneak away for a quick weekend getaway to a cabin was something I was most looking forward to when we came back to Minnesota.
Having two of our best friends visit during the Minnesota State Fair was so much fun. It’s one of those events that everyone should go to once. We ate so much food and drank all the weird beers and watched all the people. We had the most perfect weather this year for our fair trips.
Quiet mornings with this view was exactly what we set out to find on our 10 year anniversary trip. The peacefulness after a busy summer helped reset the mind.
I couldn’t pick a favorite between the two photos above. We did a few different longer hikes on our anniversary trip and these two waterfalls were my favorites. Grand Portage State Park is on the Canadian border and was very tall. Devil’s Kettle is a smaller waterfall that dumps into a hole and no one knows where it leads to. There were about 3.000 stairs, but the view was worth it when we reached the destination. I did a quick recap here.
Our Colorado friends came to visit at the end of September. The Vikings game turned out to be a flop because we got killed, so the apple orchard was my favorite memory of the weekend. Hosting friends with kids was something new for us, but this family makes everything easy.
We had a great October day at Brew & Stew this year. Anytime I can walk somewhere from our house and be outside, I’m happy. But when there are food trucks and beer, it’s even better.
Watching the MN Whitecaps at their home opener was a big highlight this year. Seeing a professional women’s hockey program roll out and sell out the arena is so awesome. If you live in Boston, NYC, Hartford or Buffalo, you have a team in your city too. The games are so fun.
Our return to NYC this year fell the last weekend in October. The leaves were turning, the weather was great (except all the rain) and we had the best weekend. We saw Mean Girls on Broadway, caught up with our friends, had our favorite Mac & Cheese in our old neighborhood, took the LIRR for our first time to visit friends on Long Island and caught a parody show of the Office. I love revisiting the city as much as possible.
We got a new nephew this year. It’s the first baby on my side of the family. I got the chance to babysit Henry for a couple hours in early November. He was just the sweetest baby. It’s a little weird because it’s like looking at my brother as a tiny baby, but I can’t wait to get to know his personality as he gets older.
Disney World with the family was so much fun. Being there at Christmastime was awesome. One of my favorite moments was sitting with the kids watching the parade at the Very Merry Mickey Christmas party. While they might be getting a little old to believe that those are real princesses, they still wave and giggle when they go by on the floats. Here is my quick recap of that trip.
And to wrap this up, I leave you with this photo. The first day that we got lots of snow, we bundled up and walked to get margaritas. As much as I will complain about the cold, my favorite moments are when we just embrace it and enjoy it. Especially with tropical cocktails.
I’m definitely ready to close the book on this year, but it was good to look at all the good stuff that happened. Enjoy your New Year’s Eve.
