2016 - A Look Back

I can hardly believe I'm doing one of these posts again already...it truly feels like it was just the new year and now here we are, on the eve of another year starting. As always, before we go forward, I like to take a look back!

January

Ringing in 2016 in London, England - talk about starting the year off in a dream come true! Visiting Leavesden Studios on New Year's Day was pure magic; pun completely intended. The rest of January was fairly uneventful...but it started with a bang and ended with a blizzard; over 4 feet of snow, more than I've ever seen in my lifetime!

February

The month where nothing much ever seems to happen...at least in my life. February of 2016 was filled with snow, snuggles with the puppy and copious amounts of coffee!

March

March brought a false Spring; the Cherry Blossoms bloomed earlier than they have in some years...and then on the first day of Spring, it snowed! I made a visit to Mississippi to watch my little sister graduate from Pilot Training and was also able to catch up with some family while there.

April

April brought about one of my favorite seasons: baseball season! Bitter cold put an end to my first game of the season but it was made up for when Katie and I saw almost two full games for the price of one as the Nationals game went sixteen innings before a Curly W! I explored more of Northern Virginia and the surrounding states; visiting hot springs in Berkeley Springs, WV and picking tulips outside DC. There was just enough time left in the month to visit the National Gallery and take in a performance of Jersey Boys at the National Theater.

May

May was a month full to the brim with goodness! I got to spend time with my sister and we went cave diving and countryside exploring; we also watched Max Scherzer make history and throw a twenty strike-out game on May 11th! Near the end of the month, the whole family journeyed to California and I was able to see numerous landmarks from the first two years of my life, including the hospital I was born at and the beach I used to play on (now famous for it's deadly shark attacks...) And of course - who can forget Disneyland?

June

June brought about more Nationals baseball, crazy summer storms, time spent with family and ice cream...ice cream at home and ice cream in DC...ice cream all over! June also the start of the house and Watson taking advantage of the long summer evenings.

July

July saw Lindsey and I celebrate July 4th at the ballpark...in the rain... however, time spent with my sister is always good time. I was back and forth to DC more in July than any other month, between Nationals games, Escape Quest with friends, a Billy Joel concert and making a work day "lunch" trip to see the Corpse Flower in bloom at the National Botanical Garden. My favorite curly headed munchkin turned two in July and my friend Danielle and I even managed to fit in an afternoon at the theater to see Sweeney Todd!

August

August brought about a first for me - I was in my first 5K; on the hottest day of the year no less, and while I finished...it about took me out! We spent almost a whole weekend at Nationals Park; a dream come true for me, nothing but baseball almost all weekend long... My Dad managed to snag a baseball signed by none other than Max Scherzer, which may have elicited a screech heard 'round the ballpark from me. Did I mention that we also attended the second annual Stars Wars Day at Nationals Park?

September

Lindsey came for a Labor Day weekend visit and we had a grand time sipping Starbucks, having dinner at the mountaintop, witnessing a spectacular sunset and generally just enjoying time together as a family. In the middle of the month we packed up and moved up the highway to our brand spanking new house and even months later, I still feel like I'm trying to get things organized - the joys of moving! My friend Rachel and I rounded out the month with a visit to the Pumpkin Patch with her daughter...and it seemed far too warm for late September!

October

I spent almost a full week celebrating my birthday - starting with the final game at Nationals Park on the second and culminating in a long weekend trip to Las Vegas with my little sister. Fall colors finally started to arrive to Northern Virginia in late October and so I immediately made Watson a hat out of the aforementioned foliage; ha-ha! Halloween this year was another adventure entirely; this time my friends and I were members of Star Fleet...and even Watson got in on the fun as Mr. Spock!

November

Life slowed down just a bit in November; I spent time with friends throughout the month and possibly...just maybe, put my Christmas tree up halfway through the month, ha-ha! Catching a special showing of White Christmas at the Alamo in the second week of November just kicked the Christmas spirit into high gear and I couldn't contain myself!

December

December passed in what seems like the blink of an eye - but then, that always seems to be the case as the year draws to a close! I spent the first weekend of December with my Mom and some lovely ladies in Hershey and had a wonderful time. We went to DC for a quick weekend trip and saw Handel's Messiah at the Kennedy Center and saw the wreaths laid at Arlington National Cemetery for Christmas (we missed out on laying them due to ice...) There was a tea with friends, a Christmas party here and there, a pup who loved lying by the tree and before I knew it, my sister was home again and it was Christmas! We rounded out the year with a quick trip to New York City...

And well; that brings us to today, doesn't it? Another year come and gone; precious memories made and stored in both my head and my heart to review and cherish for years to come. A new year approaches with nothing but possibility...a chance for anything and everything all at once. What will 2017 hold?