I’ve wanted to do this for several years now but keep failing. I’ve seen other bloggers (ha, saying “other bloggers” makes it sound like I’m referring to myself as a blogger…obviously that’s a very loose term!) post yearly highlights and think it’s a great idea. I keep embarrassingly thorough notes about the day to day happenings of my life so I may as well write a less-overwhelming summary!
January
Trips are usually the highlight of any month for me and January was no exception. Ash, Wend, Jenn, and I went to Salt Lake City to visit Linds, Ry, and Jess January 25-28. We had so much fun (in spite of the nasty inversion)! We went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple, spent a night up in the cabin and a day in the snow with snowmobiles, sleds, 4-wheelers, played games, shopped, and got to see Karen and Brandon, too! I’m happy that I don’t live in that cold and snowy place but it was great to visit. Linds & Ry are such gracious hosts and have a darling apartment in which to entertain.
The rest of the month was full of fun, too. I started it off by burning our Christmas tree! It’s become a really fun tradition to take it to the beach and watch the quick blaze! In no particular order, here’s the rundown of everything else: Levi & Molly’s wedding reception, bowl games, dinners with friends, game nights, temple nights, saw Les Mis (again) with Amy, Betsy visited, bonfires/parties, tutoring, Spanish classes (we had good intentions), Wendy’s piano lessons (we had a couple before putting it on the backburner indefinitely), the driving range, Naco’s bday (tacos in LGB), sang a duet in my ward with Ash, babysat for Dixie.
February
February was less exciting because I didn’t go anywhere. But I did go to karaoke twice and to the dueling pianos once. Heman started a hiking club so we hiked at Santiago Oaks Regional Park one Saturday. I watched the Super Bowl and lots of college basketball. And my roommates started their softball season, which is part of our usual Monday night routine (lifetime cheerleader award goes to me). I celebrated Chinese New Year with a bunch of singles in LA on February 16th (I’m not a huge fan of Chinatown but I am a huge fan of the train so it was a fun day). Ash and I sang our duet in her ward. We quit going to Spanish class (we’re lame). Saw Silver Linings Playbook with Amy. And I finished the month with my 3 day work seminar in LA.
March
The highlights of March include a few road trips, which I always love! First was a quick trip to St. George with Ash, Wend, & Heman for Naco & Leni’s wedding! I was so happy to be there to celebrate with them! Ash, Wend, Heman, and I shared a king bed in our hotel, which was awesome and somewhat uncomfortable. Next was our annual road trip to AZ for Spring Training! Ash, Wend, Jenn & I saw three baseball games, stayed at the Stiles beautiful home, drove by the new Gilbert temple (still being built), and had a great time. It was hot but we were happy we didn’t get hailed on like last year!
Besides the thrill of travelling, lots of fun stuff took place. The best part was that Emily and her family came to visit! I met baby Flynn for the first time (such a good baby), we got pedicures, ate tons, went to the cold beach and saw the Balboa sites, took the train to LA/Hollywood, went to a baseball game, and the Brewers came over for dinner. I’m so glad they made the long (expensive) trip to visit us! In addition, my car got rear-ended (not even enough damage to get it fixed), went to a BYU men’s volleyball game, hosted Naco’s bridal shower, went to the batting cages (maybe for the first time ever), fireside, Jasmine’s dessert party, FHE, The Bachelor, enrichment, tutoring, Linds & Ry visited, Allison’s bday party, semi-trained for Ragnar, temple cleaning, March Madness, Black Jack night & St. Patrick’s Day happy hour with my office, Anne’s housewarming party, two hikes in one day, co-hosted Bunko with Darcy, party at Heman’s, watched softball, lots of rehearsals for the stake musical (ugh), food trucks & the Banff screening, driving range, got a massage, sang in a quartet for Easter, and I bought a new car!
April
April started out with Ashley’s birthday! We partied all weekend long - camped at Blue Jay Campground Friday night, went to the beach, horse races, and Cold Stone Saturday, and had cake & ice cream for her actual birthday on Sunday. Also, after not training enough, we ran Ragnar April 19-20. We did the SoCal race on a team of 12. Our team name was Squaws and Braves, which was much more controversial than we anticipated. We had a lot of fun, though I’m not sure I ever need to run another Ragnar! The rest of the month consisted of the following: softball games, musical rehearsals, the driving range, enrichment, several lunches with coworkers, got my hair cut and colored, General Conference, the end of March Madness, bike rides, tutoring, temple, saw two movies (Argo & Oz), hosted dinner at our house (Jeanette, Todd, Ali, & Garrett), got my windows tinted, hosted Ragnar dinner, got a massage, Ash fed her elders, Mary & Adelaide came over, Annalee’s bridal shower, Helping Hands, sang a solo in my ward, subbed for primary, and went to a fireside.
May
The highlight of May was a trip to Dallas to visit Arch and her family. I was there May 10-13 and had such a good time! We went to the Texas Discovery Gardens, ate a lot (what Arch and I do best), shopped, had brunch with Jen on Mother’s Day (I also got to talk to Matthew for a minute on Mother’s Day), and enjoyed a day at the spa! The rest of the month was pretty awesome, too. I went to three concerts: The Killers at the Honda Center on the 1st, Fictionist at The Satellite on the 9th, and Andy Grammar at House of Blues on the 16th. We performed our stake musical on May 3rd and 4th (after soooo many rehearsals - so happy it’s over!). Celebrated several bdays: parties for Miriam and Elyse, dinner for Amanda. Two weddings: Annalee & Paul and Wendy & Robert. Ali’s bridal shower. And so much more: tutoring, taco cart at work, Thousand Steps Beach with Naco, party at Rustin’s, Marc’s bonfire, party at Darcy’s, lunch with coworkers, FHE, saw a movie (Iron Man 3), temple, driving range, went to an Angels game, party at Kristen’s, bike rides, beach, played one hand of the organ for a musical number with Debra, HB MSA conference (didn’t go to much), softball games, oils class at Dixie’s, fed the elders, potluck at work, went paddle boarding with Jennie & Wend, Karen came to visit, Jess came to visit, celebrated Memorial Day, and we rented a beach house on Balboa Peninsula for a glorious week! While most people can’t justify paying to rent a beach house while living five miles from the beach, we got a smokin’ deal and couldn’t pass it up! What a blast!
June
June was a busy month! (Aren’t they all?!?) I went to Yosemite for the first time, which was incredibly beautiful. We drove up, camped three nights, hiked two days, “showered” in the ice cold river, and had a great time! Marc organized the trip and there were 11 of us (Wend went but Ash couldn’t take a vacation day). Then Mom & Dad came to visit for a week! It was really fun to have them here. They came for the Ryan family reunion but stayed a few extra days. We had a beach picnic, watched Ash play softball, went to Sherman Gardens & Rogers Gardens, went to San Diego for the temple and beach, Sea World, Balboa Park, hiked, Lake Perris, as well as spending time with the family at Tami’s house. Ash & I got to stay in a hotel near Tami’s for four nights so even though the reunion was close to home, it felt more like a vacation.
My dear friend, Ali, got married and I was able to attend her sealing in the Newport Beach temple and then her fun reception with dinner and dancing. We also threw Naco a baby shower. The rest of the month included lots of beach time, bike rides, cleaning the church, FHE, the dentist, tutoring, dinner with Betsy, The Bachelorette viewings, enrichment night (we rented out a theater to watch My Fair Lady!), Ash fed her elders, audition for The King and I (I was persuaded to audition and only got a small part so declined), softball, temple cleaning, Emily Harris’ bon voyage party, outdoor movie at the Great Park, fed the elders, driving range, bowling, and a few beach sunsets!
July
I love July - it’s summertime, the 4th of July, and my birthday! The 4th was a Thursday so my office was closed both Thursday and Friday. The 4th of July is such a crazy holiday in Newport and HB! Wend was in Utah but Ash and I did lots of celebrating! We got up early to decorate our bikes and then biked to HB with Chris to spend the day. We watched the parade, went to the beach, to a BBQ, watched fireworks at a friend’s house and the beach, and didn’t get back home until almost midnight. A full day in my swimsuit is usually an awesome day and this was no exception! Friday Ash and I hiked and then went to the beach with friends again and ended the night with an outdoor movie at the Dunes. Saturday we did beach yoga and then spent the afternoon at the pool and then Aaron’s BBQ.
And the month just kept getting better: dinner with April Flory, softball, temple cleaning, bike rides, Ash fed her elders twice, The Bachelorette, tutoring, celebrated Craig Martin’s bday with a concert in the park and tacos, enrichment, camped at Doheny Beach, assembled and stained our adirondack chairs (much bigger project than I anticipated), HB concert in the park, fireside, driving range, fed elders, Jess & Jeff Stiles’ reception, hiked, food trucks, celebrated Jennie’s bday at the beach, lots of dinners with friends, two nights at the OC fair, April Daly’s bday bonfire, starting watching the first season of Friday Night Lights, Naco had her baby (sweet little Yanavah), saw a concert at the US Open in HB, Santa Monica Film Festival, Makenna came to visit for a week (it was so much fun to have her visit!!), had a beach picnic with friends for my bday, went paddle boarding, and Linds & Ry visited.
August
The first few days of the month were our last few days having Kenna and Linds & Ry here. I said goodbye to Miriam at her going away party and then she moved to Brussels! Lauren’s housewarming. Angels game. Hiked Topanga Canyon. Glow in the dark bocce. Alli’s ice cream party. Softball ended. The Bachelorette ended. Sang in a trio at the stake center. Private room karaoke in LA (seriously the most fun). Beach yoga twice. The beach. Another night at the fair (Todd won the biggest stuffed gorilla I’ve ever seen). BBQ at the park. Bike rides. Fireside. Lots of Friday Night Lights. Saw three movies in theaters (The Internship, Jobs, Now You See Me) plus a midnight movie in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery (Interview with the Vampire). Temple cleaning. Went to Tabitha & Jacob’s wedding! Hot tub night at Landon’s. Helped roommates refinish dining room chairs. Laid out at the pool. Visited Naco & baby several times. Many nights of friends hanging out at our house.
September
I went to the Cook Islands!! Oh, what a glorious vacation. Wendy, Ashley, and I were there for a week enjoying the island life. I also made my first Vine in September - kind of a highlight obviously. And it was Wend’s bday! We got back from our trip on her bday (which means she spent half of her bday on an airplane) and celebrated with manis/pedis, polar pops, Cafe Rio, and then had friends over for cake and ice cream. I got called as the FHE coordinator in my new ward. Saw two movies (Instructions Not Included, The Way Way Back). Went on a walk with Steph Crabb. Spent at least 8 nights watching Friday Night Lights. Enrichment. Linds & Ry visited. Driving range. Dinner with the Jarvies. Glow in the dark bocce. Yahtzee. Soooo many polar pops. Went to a Dodgers game. Ate some of my very favorite tacos from the El Taquito Mexicano truck in Pasadena. FHE (party, bowling, etc). Tutoring. Shot off rockets in the park with Wend, Todd, & Dave. Went to the Utah State at USC football game. Temple cleaning. Dinner with Landon. Visited Naco. Lost a ping pong tournament at Erika’s but had a lot of fun doing it. Heather’s bday bonfire.
October
The month started with a group of us going to food trucks and then seeing Radical Reels at OCC. Then the next night we saw Joshua Radin and Matt Nathanson at the Wiltern in LA. Such a great concert! The second week of the month was my work seminar in LA (ALI) so I was up there all week. I was swamped with prepping for the seminar but once I was there, it was mostly smooth-sailing. Wendy and I babysat for the Jacksons for a weekend - wow, kids are a lot of work! I got my hair cut and colored. My Monday nights were full of family home evenings since I’m the FHE Coordinator now (boo). Emma Douglas and I went to a Dodgers playoff game (and to Griffith Observatory)! Saw a movie (Gravity). Tutoring. Lots of tacos. Wendy and I took a roadtrip to Phoenix to visit Ali & Garrett (then took a day trip to Sedona with them). We finished the fifth and final season of Friday Night Lights. Temple cleaning. Spoke in church (ugh). Halloween and tons of related activities (Santa Monica dance, haunted house in Santa Ana, scary movie at our house, haunted hayride in LA, Huntington Beach party).
November
November began with a visit from Linds and her pregnancy announcement! So exciting! We ate (although Linds wasn’t feeling well), shopped, hung out, went to the beach, got mani/pedis, etc. I donated breast tissue for the first time and it was a cool experience. Temple devotional. Jennie and Kevin came over for yahtzee. FHE (only went twice - skipped the combined softball FHE and we didn’t have FHE the week of Thanksgiving). We finally refinished the dining room table and are so happy with the results (we did the chairs a few months ago)! Two tutoring sessions. Dinner with the Jarvies. Cleaned the temple. Went to five movies with Todd (Bad Grandpa, About Time, Captain Phillips, Don Jon, Catching Fire). Went to a networking event in Mission Viejo (ugh). Umami Burger with coworker, Mario. Babysat Naco’s baby, Yanavah. Dinner, rockets, and dessert with Jennie, Lillie, Wend, Dave, Devin, Pete, and Todd. Chowder Chowdown --- so much fun. We changed up the invite list quite a bit this year and had another great group at our house for chowder and grateful turkeys. I was quite the ward hopper - attended my ward (Heritage Park), the new HB MSA ward, and the Newport 1st ward (sang in the choir). Ali & Garrett visited. Food truck lunch with Emma. Went to the driving range once. Attended two high school football games (so fun!). Had an early Thanksgiving dinner at Tami’s. Jason & Stefanie Funk’s wedding reception. Ward Thanksgiving dinner. Thanksgiving fireside in LA. Started watching Freaks & Geeks with Todd & Dave. Organized and cooked a lot for my work Thanksgiving potluck (first time cooking a turkey - just a breast). Annie had her baby boy, Samuel Van Bourm, on November 20th! Fed Wend’s missionaries. Service project in LA (The Burrito Project - feeding the homeless on Skid Row). Donated blood for Hearts & Hands. Pedi with Naco. Devin’s party in LA. Tried to watch quite a few college football and basketball games. Mailed cookies to Matthew! Spent a wonderful Thanksgiving in Kansas with the family - Annie’s house, CV, MAMMEL get-together, hike, etc!
December
I went to Europe!! That is by far the highlight of the month. I went with Wend, Emma, and Miriam for TWO WEEKS! We visited Belgium, Germany, Poland, and Hungary. Unforgettable. The rest of the month doesn’t really compare but was still great. My first few days of the month I was still in Kansas for Thanksgiving. Two nights of Freaks & Geeks with Todd and Dave. Tutoring. Temple cleaning. Got our Christmas tree and decorated our house! Kristen’s party. Wamco Golf Day (rainy and cold so half of us stayed in the clubhouse). Newport 1st Christmas party at the Day’s. MSA dinner/dance in LA. Watched college basketball on tv. Jeni, Kevin, Naco, Emma, Marc, Todd, Jenn, Jennie, Chris visited at various times. Jennie brought us dinner. Christmas devotional. Jenn’s going away party at our house. FHE. The Head & the Heart at The Wiltern. Saw two movies with Todd (Dallas Buyers Club, American Hustle). Visited Sheila with coworkers for her bday. Wamco omelette bar, gift exchange, Christmas party, and Christmas lunch (lots of organizing/planning on my part). Dentist. Went to LA with Todd and hung out at Dave & Pete’s. Babysat Yanavah. Party in LA with Emma, Blake, & Alex. Church in KS, Heritage Park, and HB. Party at Marc & David’s. Fun light of caroling at a nursing home and visiting at our house with friends. Christmas shopping (mostly online - woohoo!). Boat parade and dinner for Enrichment.
