This year has gone by so quickly in some ways and in other ways, it has been the longest, most difficult year of my life. Here are some of the highlights and goings-on of 2013. By the way, I like pictures. A lot. So, if you're one of those people who gets annoyed by too many pictures, you might want to skip this one. :)
January
2013 started out with a bang...or a whoosh! It was SO windy for like a week! So, my year started out with one of my favorite past times: kite flying. That's right, flying a kite made my highlights blog! I went during the day, all by myself...
...and then again at night with these cuties!
We had a kite collision! A couple of the kites could not be salvaged, but at least they went out on a high note!
The following day was spent at Knott's Berry Farm with David, Melissa, and the boys. We all got Knott's passes this year and, though at the beginning of the year, I wasn't really a Knott's person, it grew on me as the year went on.
Such a fun day!
Mid-January, I went on an adventure with my parents to the Norton-Simon Museum in Pasadena. It was awesome! Of course, I got to see one of my favorite pieces of art:
The Burghers of Calais
This is one of Rodin's pieces and I love it because of the story behind the Burghers of Calais. If you're not familiar with it, check out Wikipedia; their article on it is pretty good.
February
February was pretty uneventful; it was nice to enjoy a couple of long weekends, though. On one of the three-day weekends, my parents went to San Diego for the weekend and invited me to meet them in Julian on one of the days. Julian was on my bucket list, so I was super excited! It ended up being more of an adventure than we had planned for since, when we got there, it was covered in snow! So much fun!
March
March, oooohhhh, March. The very first weekend, Scott and I went to see The Sound of Music at the Candlelight Pavilion to celebrate his birthday! It was such a good show and such a fun night!
Mid-month, I got pink-slipped. Again. It always sucks to not have job security. Fortunately, life goes on and I handled this round of pink slips WAY better than the first round of budget cut pink slips. **Spoiler Alert** In May I got called back and am working full-time again this year, at the school of my dreams, I might add! :) Yay!!!
This year, I also got to participate in Rancho Stake's Easter program and got to sing some pretty awesome music. It was fun to be in a choir situation again, but the music was hard to learn when we only practiced for a couple of hours once a week. In the end, we all pulled it off, but phew! We cut it close! We sang "Behold the Wounds in Jesus' Hands", "Achieved is the Glorious Work", "Hallelujah Chorus" from Christ on the Mount of Olives, and "How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place". Beautiful music!
This month ended up being extremely stressful for me. Just the accumulation of a bunch of things. Spring Break was approaching and I decided that I needed to go on a vacation. So, I started Googling flights to anywhere and everywhere. I decided to go to Washington D.C. and do some of the stuff nearby in Virginia. Then, I looked up plane tickets and discovered that they were about $1,200 each way since I would only be booking a couple of days ahead of time. Then, I also remembered that I had promised my sister I would house-sit and dog-sit for her through Wednesday. Back to the drawing board! Ugh! Then, I noticed an advertisement on the side of the computer screen that said flights to Vegas were $79. So, Vegas it was! I booked the flight and then told my parents I was going and they asked if they could join me. They ended up leaving a day before me, so they actually beat me there. They drove and I flew. We stayed in the Excalibur and did several things. Mom and I walked down the Strip to see the Mirage volcanoes, the Bellagio fountains, the Titanic Exhibit in the Luxor, Hoover Dam (a first for all of us!), the Vegas Temple, the Coke Store, and the M&M's Store. All of them were fun, but going to the Vegas Temple ended up being just exactly what I needed. Dad wasn't feeling well, so Mom and I went and did a session; the peace in the Temple always brings clarity and that's exactly what it did for me. I left there recharged and ready to conquer all of the things that had been stressing me out so badly.
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I guess I did this a little out of order. Before Vegas, I was all alone, house/dog sitting for my sister, and my parents were also out of town. I was going a bit stir crazy when I saw a news report that had a bunch of Cherry Blossom trees. The news reporter was talking about how the cherry blossom trees are in full bloom around a man-made lake. I had no idea what he was talking about, but it looked pretty, so I threw a couple of key words into Google and it popped right up! It's called Lake Balboa! So, I got in the car, put the address in my GPS and went on a little adventure. It was just as beautiful as it looked on TV and it was nice to listen to my iPod while taking a leisurely stroll around the lake, absolutely surrounded by gorgeous, bright pink cherry blossoms.
April
In April I bought an annual pass to Disneyland. I'd had one for many years and then didn't renew for a few years. I decided it was time. I had toyed with the idea for awhile and then, one day, Scott was talking about how he was going to Disneyland with his mom and two of his nieces (the youngest one for the first time). That got me thinking about how much fun it was to go with my nephews when we had all has passes before and how much I missed seeing the magic through their eyes! After several nostalgic moments, I decided that I, too, would finally go to Disneyland and take my nephew for the first time. I ended up going on the same day they did because, at that time, Wednesday was the most convenient day for me to miss work. I picked Jonathan up after work on Tuesday and we went the following day. Here's a picture I took right after entering the park:
Ummmm...THAT is precious!
We met Mickey, Jessie (from Toy Story), and went on several rides. We even met up with Scott, his mom, and his nieces for dinner and the parade. It was a fun day and getting to see Disneyland through the eyes of a child is an unrivaled joy. Here we are at the end of the night:
Also, in April, we went on a family outing to the Reagan Library in Simi Valley. There was a cool Disney vault display that had lots of rare and old Disney artifacts and memorabilia. Aunt Cheryl had recommended it to us and we're glad we took her suggestion!
It was a great day!
May
May was full of lots of craziness. I got to go to Disneyland a few times with Jonathan and Nancy, Jacob, and the boys. We also got to go on a family adventure to The San Diego Mission. Joey was in 4th grade, which is when they study the missions, so we took a day to go tour one that we hadn't been to. Josh and Dylan came too, so there were 6 crazy little boys running around, but they did great!
This woman works at the Mission and, although she's not a tour guide, she decided to give the boys a
mini-tour. So cool!
The next week, I survived a fieldtrip with my 5th graders. We went to the Mary Vagle Nature Center in Fontana. That place is always fun and they have the coolest fieldtrip programs!
I took Sara on a birthday adventure to San Diego where we went to the Temple, to Old Town, Cabrillo National Monument, the Point Loma Lighthouse, the Mormon Battalion Visitor Center, and to Coronado Beach! It was a busy day, but we had fun!
At the end of May, I finished the school year and, the next day, flew to Hawaii!!! I posted a very long blog about Hawaii, including an inordinate amount of pictures, so I will spare you too many here. But I HAVE to post a couple of them!
What an AMAZING trip!
June
We spent the beginning of June in Hawaii and came home on the 4th. I, then, embarked on a new journey by getting my first smartphone. My phone, which I loved for almost 5 years, bit the dust and I became an iPhone user. Can I just say/sing "A whole new world"??? Seriously, it's amazing!
The rest of June was pretty mellow. We recovered from the school year and from Hawaii and then stayed pretty close to home. I took Jonathan to Disneyland and met up with Nancy, Jacob, the boys, and some other friends.
Jonathan with Auntie Nancy!
Also, Scott and I finally made it to the San Diego Zoo!
Afterwards, we had dinner at Phil's BBQ! Delish!
July
July was crazy busy and full of new experiences!
On July 1st, I took a lone road trip to Utah. The plan was to go and spend some time with Daniel and his family, explore the usual sites and then go to Sun Valley, Idaho on the 3rd so that we could be there to celebrate Independence Day.
We did SO many cool things. You should definitely check out my Sun Valley post if you're interested. It's a wonderful place to visit! Plus, it was nice to be able to spend some quality time with my sister!
Later in the month, I got to spend some time with David, Melissa, and the boys at Huntington Beach!
It was so much fun! After we got out of the water, we walked the Pier and I noticed that they have a Duke's there. That's one of the restaurants we ate at in Hawaii and there are only like 3 of them in the world! So, we went in and I got to introduce everyone to the magic of Hula Pie! Try it if you ever get the chance!
While at the beach, I received a phone call from my school district offering me an interview for a position I had applied for! The interview was the next day and I was pretty sure I bombed it. I mean...it went ok, but when I went home I, of course, made a basket case of myself by critiquing everything I said and realizing all of the things I should've said, etc. (Please tell me I'm not the only one that does this! haha!). The following day, I went over to Aunt Cheryl's house prepared to help pull down the wallpaper in her living room. However, when I arrived, she said she was sick of doing that and needed an adventure. While we were deciding where to go, I got a phone call from the school district OFFERING ME THE JOB!!! YESSS!!! I was SO excited and now I wasn't in the mood to pull down wallpaper anymore either; I wanted to celebrate! Aunt Cheryl suggested Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles, since she'd never been there. It was a lot of fun to go and spend time together! We were seated next to some "interesting" people and we definitely shared a lot of laughs!
Roscoe's in Pasadena!
That night we went to the circus and, as always, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey put on a great show!
This was seriously one of the greatest days ever! New job, Roscoe's with Aunt Cheryl, and then the circus with Mom, Dad, Nancy, Jacob, Josh, Dylan, Anthony, and Marianne!
Also, Josh and Dylan both celebrate their birthdays in July. Jacob threw a party at Jumping Jacks, which I had never been to before, but now absolutely LOVE! So much fun!
August
August 1st sucked so badly. Jacob and the boys moved to China since Jacob is teaching there for at least the next two years. Over the years, he has become a brother to me and Josh and Dylan are considered nephews. It's so hard to say goodbye to family that you love so much. We're all happy for Jacob and know it's a good opportunity, but goodness gracious! That was hard!
In other ways, August was a good month! I started my new job and found out that I love it! Such a huge blessing to love what you do! Teaching is hard, exhausting, and extremely frustrating at times, but, call me crazy, I love it!
Mid August, Valerie got married at the Las Vegas Temple so Kajsa, Sara, and I drove up together. We all stayed at the Golden Nugget and I got my own room, which turned out to be an adventure in itself! Anyhow, when we first got there we hung out in my room and "partied" aka jumped on the bed, had a pillow fight, took way too many silly pictures, and had tons of fun doing it all!
Later, we hung out with Val and Jen for awhile. It was a fun girls' night in!
The next morning, we woke up early and went to the temple for Val's sealing! What a wonderful event! It was especially cool because Melissa was also in Vegas with her Mom and sister and she came to the sealing too!
Val and Brian!
September
September started off with a magical adventure to the Reagan Library in Simi Valley. We go there pretty often, it seems, but they have the coolest exhibits! We went to see the Abraham Lincoln exhibit and it was pretty cool!
Then, I got to take Jonathan to Disneyland, where he was extremely excited about the big pumpkin!
He is SO cute!
Toward the end of the month, we got to participate in an extra special adventure! The annual Sound of Music Sing-Along at the Hollywood Bowl! So much fun!!!
The month ended on a high note when Aaron was baptized on my birthday!
After the baptism and subsequent gathering, Scott and I went to North Woods Inn for dinner!
It was probably the best birthday I've ever had!
October
October was a little more tame. Halfway through the month, I decided I needed to get away, so I got a room next to Disneyland and spent some quality time by myself. Sometimes you just have to do this type of thing, I've learned; it's fantastic! I arrived in the afternoon, checked in, watched tv for a little while, then walked to Disneyland. I spent a couple of hours there and then went back to the room, stopping for a slice of pizza and snacks on the way. I spent the rest of the evening painting my nails, doing a mud mask, etc. The next day, I checked out, went to Disneyland, and then to Knott's Berry Farm for a little while, before heading home. It was low-key and fun. Just what I needed!
On Halloween, I chaperoned the dance at my school and then headed up the hill to trick or treat with Melissa and the three youngest boys. David was at science camp with Joey. Some of Melissa's friends came too, as well as Dana, Josh, and Eden. They had the CUTEST costumes!
Jonathan was a Jedi, but he "politely" declined to wear his costume for the picture. ;)
November
After trick or treating, I took Jonathan home with me. My dad babysat him while I went to work the next day and when I got home, we went to Disneyland. It was kind of sad because it was the last time I would be taking him for awhile. His third birthday was coming up in 2 days and then he would no longer have free admission. Sad day! We made the most of our time there, though.
This is where we ate dinner and got chocolate milk every single time we went to Disneyland.
In front of the castle!
A week or so later, I got to check something major off my bucket list when Scott and I went to Pirates Dinner Adventure! It was a fun night and I was way excited to FINALLY get to go there!
Later in the month, we all had the week of Thanksgiving off. My parents were in Europe with Diane, so I had the boys over for a little indoor camping with Auntie Rach. It was a lot of fun! We pitched the tent in the family room and then had pigs in blankets and dinosaur chicken for dinner. We ate in the tent while watching movies.
It was a fun night! To make it a little more authentic, I used my dram light turtle to project stars onto the ceiling while we all fell asleep. The boys, especially Jonathan and Cy, thought it was the coolest! I love doing things like this with them!
Thanksgiving was a little bit different this year. Mom, Dad, and Diane were in Europe, so Nancy, David, Melissa, the boys, and I put on Thanksgiving ourselves. We had a good time together. The Saturday after Thanksgiving all of us (except Diane) got together to decorate the house for Christmas. It was nice to be (almost) all together and it was especially cool that all of the boys got to play together!
December
December is always such a busy month and this year was no exception. Fortunately, the events, though plentiful, are typically pleasant. The first weekend of the month, I got to see A Christmas Carol at the Lewis Family Playhouse at Victoria Gardens. Scott was playing Fred (Scrooge's nephew) and he was, of course, amazing in his role. In fact, the entire cast was fantastic! It was incredibly well done.
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There's Scott as Fred.
The following weekend, I was watching my nephews and decided to take them on an "adventure". In reality, I had to get some Christmas shopping done and they had to come with me. They were good sports about it, so I let them take some time to play tag in the grassy area in the center of the mall, before making them pose for a picture by the big Christmas tree.
I love these boys SO much! I'm so grateful that I get to be their aunt!
The following weekend, Jacob and the boys came home from China! They are family and it's so hard to have them so far away! These little guys give the best snuggles!
Their homecoming also signaled the start of Christmas Break!!!
On Sunday, we did our Christmas program at church and I was in a quartet, singing While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks. I sang tenor, oddly enough, but it went well. Mom also participated in the program a bit because she accompanied Scott on his solo of Oh Come, Oh Come Emmauel. It was nice that she could be there for the program and actually get to see me in a musical number.
That evening, we had our big family Christmas party! We did our traditional cousin gift exchange and since we're all crazy, it was a blast, as usual!
And our choice of gifts to each other, once again, verified our lunacy! :) I wouldn't have it any other way!
We also had our Christmas Pageant! This is year 2 for the next generation! This year the play took an unexpected turn when the Baby Jesus was suddenly kidnapped by Kayla, who wanted her doll back and would stop at nothing to get it!
Fortunately, Woody was up for the job and the show went on.
Afterwards, we sat around in a circle and, in ascending age order, we each got to choose a song to sing. It was a fun night!
On Christmas Eve we had opened presents, had dinner, and went out caroling. It's one of my very favorite traditions! We were getting ready to do a family picture before going caroling and we heard a knock at the door. Aunt Cheryl, Uncle Richard, and all of their kids and grandkids were caroling to us! They came in and joined in some pictures with us. It was a fun surprise to have them there for a bit!
ALL of us!
I love, love, love my family!!!
All the boys!
All the girls!
I love Christmas Eve because it's one of the very rare occasions in which we can all be together! Wish it could be more often, but for now, I'll just look forward to Christmas Eve.
The day after Christmas, Dad and David went to the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego and Mom, Nancy, Diane, Melissa, me, and the boys went to see Frozen, which was SO cute, then we dropped off Diane and Mom at home and then went to the LA Temple to see the Christmas lights.
Gorgeous!
Then, we had one last adventure to close off the year. We headed to Northern California to see the Fight Hunger Bowl. We stayed with Uncle Dennis and Aunt Carolyn and got to spend some time with them, which was really nice! I'm not a huge fan of football, but it's fun to go see a game every now and then. Plus, we had a blast riding BART to get to the stadium..mainly because I'm crazy and extremely easily amused. ;)
The next day we woke up early and headed to The City. We had limited time and a very specific list of things we wanted to see: The Full House house, Lombard Street, and Coit Tower. We also got to see The Painted Ladies, which are also in the Full House theme song! So cool!!!
We also got to see Mission San Jose and a museum in Niles, which is an old silent film hub. Afterwards, we went to the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose.
The following day, we toured Hearst Castle...
...and Solvang!
Then, we went home! We had a low-key new year celebration, so this really was our last adventure of the year. We had a great time!
Well, it's safe to say that 2013 was an eventful year. Very good in some ways and very bad in others. That's typically how life is, though, and I suppose the moments you spend in the darkness help you appreciate the moments in the light even more. I'm grateful to have survived the difficult times and grateful to have been able to enjoy so many good moments. Here's to a, hopefully, brighter year!
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