2013 in Review

I really loved making last year's review blog post so I'm excited to do it again this year. With five days left in 2013, I think it's safe to now record what I consider the big events of the year.

January sucked.

It felt like just an entire month of cold waiting and hoping and more waiting. But then in February...

She was almost two hours old already.

Bam! Baby finally came and there was much rejoicing and my happiness was complete and the world went rosy and diamonds fell from the sky. Well, not really, but if they had I probably wouldn't have noticed because I was so busy being blissfully, utterly happy that my little girl was finally here and I could finally cuddle with her, which is all I've ever wanted in my entire life. (And she's a champion cuddler, which is God's tender mercy to me.)

This is how I spent most of my maternity leave.

Two days before I had Scarlet, my sister Rebecca went into the MTC. We spent two days together, visited the temple, shopped, and generally hung out before dropping her off. I was super pregnant (notice the third unbuttoned buttonhole on the jacket) so I was already emotional but I am proud of her for making the decision to serve.

At the Provo temple minutes before dropping her off.

Then I went on maternity leave and Josh and I learned the basics of childcare. If the baby's crying, try to offer her something. A nice bath, a diaper change, a feeding, a walk--keep trying things until she stops crying. Eventually she has to stop crying...right? 

Anticipating her every whim is hard work!

Scarlet has always been an easy baby, which a blessing since I was working and going to school this year. In late April, I flew with Scarlet to Colorado to visit my sister Heather for a few days. It had warmed up nicely in Utah but it was still snowing in Colorado, so Scarlet got to try out her snowsuit.

I think she's overjoyed.

Josh had been applying to math-related jobs for months and while we were gone he got responses from two different jobs. He accepted one of them and is now working for Morgan Stanley as some kind of analyst. I forget what his job title is called and most of what he does but the important part is it pays more than being a part-time associate enrollment counselor at WGU, so we're ecstatic. He's hoping to stay in the job for a couple of years so that he can gain a lot of financial experience to add to his resume while he studies for his next actuarial exam. 

Shortly after that we bought our new car, Moby, named after the un-catchable albino sea-mammal because our car is large and white. We bought him in Las Vegas and were able to visit the family briefly before driving back up. Josh and I ran the Dirty Dash together for my work and got thoroughly dirty. It was a lot of fun but I spent way too much time away from Scarlet that day and don't plan on doing that again until she's much older.

In June we spent a few weekends visiting local sites with Scarlet. One Saturday we went to the bird refuge up near Brigham City. Another day we hiked up to Timpanogos Cave.

The rare deer-bird.

They were so beautiful.

If you look veeeeery closely, you might see a bird cleverly hidden in this picture.

Looks very cave-like.

Scarlet barely hiked at all.

I was also able to spend a week with Brianna and Katelyn (my nieces) when they came up to visit. I've blogged about them before, so I won't hash out the wondrous events we did, but I had so much fun with them and am excited to do it again. Nicole also came for a visit (the girls' mother and my sister) so her children could see the 24th of July parade and attend a carnival. Nicole has a baby girl, Makayla, just two weeks younger than Scarlet and I took a myriad of photos when they started slow-motion wrestling with each other for the one pacifier between them. It was adorable.

I maybe laughed for a thousand years watching them play.

Let's see, Josh's brother came home from his mission to the Dominican Republic at the end of July just before his sister left for her mission in Chile. There was I think a two-week gap between their arrival and departure, so the whole family went up to Yellowstone for a weekend. I absolutely loved it. It was nature at its best and I loved spending time with the family. I begged Josh to let us quit our jobs and stay there but he was pretty set against that so we returned home that Sunday.

Can you believe there is beauty like that just a few states over?

The one on the right is John. I know, I get them mixed up too.

In August, I went up to Colorado with a couple of Vegas sisters to visit Heather again which was awesome but apparently undocumented. In September Heather came to visit me and we shopped for hours on end and talked the rest of the time. We also went to the state fair, which was an absolute blast. Heather fed a duck for the first time in her life and I ate a Navajo taco for dinner.

Scarlet will be extra embarrassed by this picture in fifteen years.

In October came the much-anticipated visit from Nicole and her children for the annual Thanksgiving Point corn maze. This year the maze was designed to represent the Utah/BYU rivalry. I showed my nieces and nephews the proper entrance into the maze.

Look at that sad, empty space where nonexistent Utah fans would enter.

Riding the cow train.

The kids were so excited to see trees that changed colors in the autumn and dropped their leaves, that they went around the neighborhood collecting piles of dead leaves and dumping them on my lawn so they could play in them. It was a bit messy and I don't think my neighbors were all too pleased when the wind blew the leaves everywhere, but the kids had a blast.

That same weekend we went to Aunt Chloe's epic annual Halloween party. She holds the best party every year and I was so happy we could all dress in costume for it. Josh and I chose a Wizard of Oz theme and the family all joined in because they're great sports and because it was just a lot of silly fun.

In November my sister Sarah came up to enter the MTC for her mission. We shopped before she left and bought some weirdly sliced pizza for lunch. Scarlet helped her pack and Sarah set off for Florida. I'm so proud of my baby sister for the choice she made to serve. I have the best role models in my younger sisters.

The top right piece is for dieters.

I have no idea what Scarlet's eating. Instead of taking it away from her, I took a picture.

Then in November I had to really focus on my schoolwork and finish out the semester and the program. I submitted my capstone project the day before Thanksgiving and finished the Nanowrimo challenge the evening of the 30th. On December 13th, I received official notification that I had graduated from WGU with my MBA and celebrated by reading five books over the next couple weeks.

Josh and I put up our Christmas decorations and I ran a 5K and we celebrated the holidays with our family and had a thoroughly satisfying Christmas with family. I love spending time with Josh's family and my own and this year was an extra blessing because I wasn't sure we'd still be living in Utah and would be able to see our family. We were blessed for Josh to find the job he did since it allowed us to visit our families for Christmas and spend Scarlet's first Christmas with those we love the most.

I am so excited for next year's goals and the possibilities 2014 will bring. A few years ago I never imagined life could be so enjoyable and so full of hope. Now I marvel every day at the happiness I feel knowing the people I know and doing the things I love. I hope this past year was a wonderful one for each of you and that 2014 brings more happiness to everyone. Happy New Year!