2010

Happy New Years Friends!  I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday.  J. and I sure did.  We spent a week in Indianapolis visiting with friends and family and then headed to Louisville to spend Christmas with his family.  He stayed in Louisville for a few days and I flew to Houston with my sister to visit my dad's side of the family.  It was a great holiday but I am glad to be home!

I was sad to see 2010 come to an end ... it was a big year for us!  But I am really looking forward to what 2011 will bring.  Here's a look back at 2010:

January - J. and I welcomed 2010 in Chicago with our good friends (who got married this year!).  We had the BEST sushi I have ever eaten and spent a few days in the city.  We went to Las Vegas over Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend and had a wonderful time in Sin City.  We saw our first Cirque d'Soleil show, visited the Hoover Dam and enjoyed temperatures above freezing :)

February - I attended the Boilermaker Ball with some good friends (and fellow alums!)  Sadly, this is all I can remember about February 2010 and I don't have any pictures to prove I did anything else :)

I may or may not have worn this snuggie to the bar later that night ...

March - I added another state to my list - Utah.  I went skiing with some good friends in Park City and had an absolute blast.  We rented a house through VRBO ... it came with a hot tub and we spent all our nights eating, drinking and hot tubbing.  It was bliss.  I celebrated St. Patrick's Day in Chicago with L.Rae.  And I went on my last spring break ever (or at least until I have children) and visited my family in Houston.  Patman was finishing up some Air Force training in San Antonio and he drove through Houston, picked me up and we drove back to Indianapolis with a pit stop in Meridian to visit J.

Park City, UT

On the gondola

With the green river in Chicago

April - I found out I was moving to Washington State.  I quit my job :(  My mom and I traveled to Mississippi to watch J. get his wings and then I took my last round of law school finals (ever!)  And J. purchased my dream car because he's awesome like that!

May - I graduated from law school.  My roomie and I hosted a fabulous graduation party.  I ate lots and lots of yummy food from my favorite restaurants in Indy.  J. went to (and survived) SERE school.  We drove 3,000 miles across the United States, stopping in Louisville to visit his parents, Wichita to visit his sister, South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore and Missoula, MT because that's where "A River Runs Through It" was filmed.  No that was not a joke.  We also made a detour in Nebraska to see "Carhenge" and in Wyoming to see Devil's Tower.

Carhenge, NE

Devil's Tower, WY

Addy & Lucy

Mt. Rushmore, SD

June - We lived in our apartment for two weeks with no furniture.  We had our cable and internet installed and our Wii was delivered, but we did not have a TV.  I started bar review classes and started studying for the bar.  J. started his very last training program.  We did some sightseeing around our new city and visited Vancouver with friends.

July - I had another birthday.  We visited the San Juan Islands.  I started my blog!  I took the bar exam.  That is about all that happened this month because every time I wasn't studying, I felt extremely guilty.

August - my life began again :)  We traveled to Sonoma and San Francisco and spent a wonderful weekend with friends ... we said good-bye to Patman and sent him to Afghanistan.  I spent another week in Houston with my family ... and my sister!  It was the first time I had seen her since I moved to the Pacific Northwest and it was also the first time I felt heat all summer.

September - we welcomed September with our very first set of visitors!  L.Rae and J2K came to visit over Labor Day weekend and we had a great time with them.  Shortly after they left, J.'s parents came to visit and we went whale watching!  I also met family friends in Portland and got to check another state off my list as well as catch-up with some old friends.  We packed a lot into three days and I can't wait to take J. back.

At the lavender farm

The Redhook Sampler

Mt. Baker

J. and his parents with the Growler

Whale watching!

VooDoo doughnuts!

October - we celebrated J.'s birthday (welcome to your mid-to-late twenties babe!) and then he flew off to spend the rest of the month in Key West!  I took my first trip back to Indianapolis and caught up with some good friends.  I also headed to Toledo to watch my best friend get married ... she had a beautiful wedding and it was SO MUCH FUN to catch up with her family.  I came back to Washington and met up with some bloggers at a cupcake decorating party!  So fun.  J. came home from Key West and my college roommates came to town to help us celebrate Halloween.  We had a great time catching up and exploring tourist traps.

Visiting my favorite bar with The Sister and Sara V.

Bridesmaids!

Me and the Bride!

Carving pumpkins with my sister!

CUPCAKES!

Celebrating Halloween with some favorites :)

At the gum wall in Seattle

November - my mother came to visit.  We celebrated Veteran's Day.  We went to Vancouver to see our favorite band, Ra Ra Riot, perform at the Commodore Ballroom.  We went to opening weekend at Mt. Baker and tried to get our ski legs back under us.  My sister came out to visit and spent Thanksgiving with us.  We had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with our Navy friends in Burlington.

December - we went to our first Seahawks game and then we headed back to the Midwest to visit family for the holidays.  We returned on the 31st and celebrated the end of a fantastic year at home.

And in between all of those big events that stand out in my memory and are easy to recall ... we had small moments that I loved even more.  We spent time decorating our first "home."  We cuddled with our dogs.  We spent countless nights with friends ... hanging out, having family dinners and exploring our new city.  Happy 2011!