2011 brought us a lot of adventure and fun, and we're at least a tad sentimental to have already said goodbye, but we are equally excited for 2012 and all that lies ahead. For whatever reason, 2011 was also they year when writing on the blog was fairly light and photos with the fancy camera were exceptionally so. I have thousands of photos from my iPhone though, so pardon the mish-mosh of small and large, good quality and not-so that you'll see below, but at least the good times were captured, whatever the medium.
I write this from our final day of holiday vacation, with work and all the trimmings of the real world waiting for us tomorrow. The last couple of weeks have been exceptional, packed with family time and my favorite combination of soul-soothing awesome: sun on my face and sand in my shoes. We rang in 2012 in our living room, enjoying a feast of appetizers that husband whipped up. It was enough food for 20, and we enjoyed a quiet evening reminiscent of years (way) past alternating between New Years Rockin' Eve and the bevy of movies featured on every cable channel. We fell asleep well before the ball dropped, but did manage to wake just long enough to see the East Coast clock slip from 11:59 to 12:00 and to whisper happy new year before conking out for good. We're wild and crazy these days, and the truth is that we love it. In fact, it is without question my favorite way to ring in a brand new year.
But before we trudge headfirst into 2012, herewith, our 2011 in review. I've decided to forgo links this year since the writing was light to begin with, but feel free to click through archives if a particular topic strikes your curiosity.
Best wishes for an amazing 2012, from our family to yours.
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We usher in 2011 snuggled into MIL's cozy lake house surrounded by family, game playing, champagne sipping and loud conversation. New Years Day brings a trip to a nearby park where we race up a million stairs to fly down steep tracks on sleds, shrieking and laughing our way into a brand new year. We embrace four years of marriage, and four years of Cooper with equal elation and gratitude and celebratory antics.
We enjoy a getaway to ski in Utah, encounter a record breaking blizzard in Chicago, celebrate Valentine's Day and I turn 32.
We scratch the travel bug in a pretty significant way, spending much of March touring Italy and falling head over heels for Rome, Florence, Tuscany, Venice and Cinque Terre. We stand literally in the center of history, toss coins into the Trevi fountain, eat gelato and pasta and drink wine to the point of gluttony, climb to the top of the Duomo, gape at the majesty of the Vatican, get lost in a sea so blue it is blinding, tour a private castle and make friends with its owners while enjoying their much cherished wine, enjoy a gondola ride just as the sun bathes the Grand Canal in the most stunning light. Life is exceptionally good, and we vow to come back, to always remember, to cherish a very special trip.
The Easter bunny visits our boys, and we make our annual trek to Kentucky for the Derby, donning hats and suits and all variety of finery to represent Southern roots and our family's favorite weekend of the year. My very best friend --- she's my sister more than my friend --- has a beautiful baby girl she names Everly and my heart bursts open in a brand new way. I scoot to Connecticut as quickly as I can and I snuggle and rock and bounce and love her within an inch of her life. I marvel again and again at how I can love something so small so fiercely. A lifetime of girl talk begins.
We (slowly) welcome Spring, and then Summer and with it, plenty of opportunities to fill the house with fresh flowers, cook all meals and lots of fruit on the grill, visit the dog beach, and spend ample time soaking up the sun (and the rain) at the lake. Jack turns six, and we celebrate every sweet furry inch of him. I rock the fedora as much as possible, and make a long overdue trip back to Kentucky to celebrate a very special birthday for a very special Aunt. We enjoy our very first sail on Lake Michigan, and after I take a turn at the wheel, we enjoy fireworks high above Navy Pier to close out the night. We take in the Air and Water Show from another boat on Lake Michigan and enjoy a marvelous weekend with Mom and family friends checking out all that Chicago has to offer. Our great love of music returns, and we spend a weekend at Lollapalooza rocking out and drinking cold beer against the scorching cityscape of Chicago's summer.
We say goodbye to summer with an awesome lake weekend, walk in the rain for our furry friends at PAWS, and spend as much time outside as possible as we welcome the most spectacular fall Chicago has seen in years. We walk again for our furry friends at the annual Mutt Strut and Husband runs his very first marathon. We make signs and run all over the city screaming for him, and we're so very proud. We're thrilled to usher in the holiday season with Halloween, and we take our little lamb and duck to the neighborhood block party and to trick or treat festivities across the city to celebrate.
We go to Connecticut where I make my godmother role official at sweet Everly's baptism. She is amazing, and I rock her to sleep while she holds onto her little bunny and I know for sure that there is nothing in the world I wouldn't do for her. We celebrate Thanksgiving at the lake and we're so grateful for so much; there aren't words or time or photos enough to really express how much. MIL reinstates her annual Christmas party, and we have such fun catching up with friends and family and gobbling yummy food. Husband turns 33, and we toast to him and another great year to come. And then, of course, we eat cake. There is always cake. We wind down the year with a week in Charleston with my family, and even though it is cliche to say so, it is divine and awesome and exactly what I need. Walks and yummy meals and sunshine and my favorite holiday with my favorite people all in one place fills my heart to bursting and reminds me yet again that my blessings are rich and many. It goes too fast, as it always does. I miss them immensely, as I always do. It's a very merry Christmas, indeed.
This is but a mere sampling of the amazing minutes and moments and events that make up a year, and I'm sure that I'm forgetting a few here and there, but all in all, this exercise is a lovely reminder of how lucky and loved we are. Each day brings a blessing, and I'm humbled at year's end to collect them all and relive their magic for a little while before we open the door to see what lies ahead.
Thank you for stopping by, for reading and encouraging and sending love our way. We send it right back.
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