Top 10 of 2011

With just one more day left in 2011, I can't help but reflect back on all that the year had in store for us:
We took on a lot of projects. We ran and skated and snowshoed in races. We introduced our little girl to the beauty of the outdoors. We organized and decorated our home, finished our basement, and took on landscaping projects. We played and played and played with our little girl. We travelled alot. We visited family and friends and spent a significant amount of time in the car. We took a few amazing vacations. We spent time on the lake. After looking back on my scrapbook from 2011, here are my top 10 favorite memories (in no particular order):

1.  Traveling to Maine as a family.

We flew out (Bundle's first plane ride) and spent a week along the coast. I collected over 70 heart shaped rocks, we scoped out lighthouses, we biked and hiked around Acadia National Park and most imporatantly, we relaxed. It was a simple, low key, beautiful vacation.

2. My little girl's taking her first steps.

3. How excited my little girl was to see me after I got home from a girls weekend in Seattle.

The trip was also a highlight, of course, but seeing her excited to see me after I'd been away, I wish I could bottle that up and save it:

4. Getting all of the barbed wire from our backyard ripped out.  It feels so much safer to be outside now. This was a project two years in the works.

5. Getting our photographs displayed in our home! I love looking around and seeing photos of our family and friends all around us.

6. Spending time with my family, relaxing and doing things we enjoy, with no agenda. I love the simplicity of being with family. I made two trips to see my Grandma. We also had a super fun family wedding thrown in the mix!

7. Boating. It was a beautiful summer to be on the lake.

8. Murder Mystery Weekend. We hosted two of these this year and it was great fun!

9. Running a half marathon. This year, I trained with a friend and even though she was not able to be there to race with me, she and her family came out to cheer me on, along with my husband and daughter.

10. The trip to Michigan with my husband and his parents. We stayed at Sand Hills Lighthouse Bed & Breakfast where Jon proposed to me. It was a road trip that was filled with simple pleasures, like collecting rocks, watching sunsets and piano music.

~Angela