2009 Year in Review

I started off the year with an unexpected trip to Vegas with friends. We stayed at Hooters and enjoyed the "free" drinks at the casinos.

Also in January, we got hit with a LOT of snow, and got to stay home for a day. It was beeeeeutiful!
In February, we finished up the house. In March, I got to move in! Gross to fabulous; just the way I like it.

For the teachers' spring break, we headed to Branson, MO for a few days. We visited the Titanic museum, a few wineries, had a dessert competition, and practiced some moves for Joey's musical, "Yes Yes Yolanda." That weekend, we headed to St. Louis where we were joined by more friends. We enjoyed a few beverages in the sweeeet hotel room and then headed out to the bars, the Arch, and more.

In April, Stephanie and I coordinated and executed another successful fun photo shoot. It was an interesting combination of prom dresses, horses, and cowgirls. We had SO much fun shooting with these girls, because they're all awesome! Having cousins that own a horse ranch comes in handy!
Dave came home in May and I took him to the Creation Cafe. It's so colorful and yummy!
Kristen and I took our semi-annual trip to Bloomington in May to reconnect with the food, the shopping, the campus, and relive our college days. It was awesome...duh. She played model for me when I found some cool spots around town, and got to use my new lens, yes!
The triplets turned FOUR! I can hardly believe it...
Nathan came home in May for a visit, and we got to hang out during Sam's graduation party.
We celebrated the lovely June birthdays at the oh so fabulous Scholars Inn on Mass Ave. I can't wait to go back again!
In June, Stephanie, Kristen, and I did another photo shoot. We got in trouble for being on this property, thus Kristen's face. We got a bunch of cool shots before the old man caught us though.
For 4th of July week, we all met up in Sacramento to hang out with Becca and Lance. We got to lounge by the hotel pool, hit up happy hour, and eat lots of frozen yogurt with the toppings of our choice. Tess invited us to spend the actual 4th in San Francisco with her. She made SO much food, I think I'm still full. We got to see a few more sights that we missed on the last trip. Such a great week!

In July, we finally got to move into our new church. It only took us 10 years to get here!
At the end of July, the Kings of Broad Ripple said goodbye to the house and parted ways. They had a giant party first though (of course). They ran a hose from the water heater into the pool since it was pretty uncommonly cold that weekend. There are still Christmas lights high up in the trees, haha.
In August, Jess & Joe got married! We had a great time dancing with the bride and groom.
In September, I decided it was time to check out Nathan's place. Dave met me in San Diego, and we were all finally reunited. We ate lots of frozen yogurt, bagels, and got to spend a day at the beach. Ahhh, vacation.
In October, Cierra and I headed down to Bloomington to get some pictures of the fall foliage and to introduce her to B-Town food. We ended up finding our Halloween costumes down there, so it was a most productive day.
Bridget and I co-hosted a fall/Halloween party in October. These little shrunken heads were my favorite decoration!
Halloween was awesome this year! I felt so cool since I had not one, but TWO parties to go to with my fun costume. Stephanie and Chris definitely did a good job decorating their house and Steph made so much fun food (including those pretty candy corn cupcakes from the food blog)! Jay and Tim had just moved into their house, so I was excited to see what it looked like. Paul knows how to make some good Witches Brew, because I ended up taking a bunch of dorky pictures like this one.

In December, I had my first ugly sweater party. Joey stole his from some poor person in Mexico that's shivering in the cold. Ok, maybe not, but there is a funny story behind it.
Also in December, I had the chance to help out with Broad Ripple Lights Up. I used to be on the committee for Christmas on the Corner, but since the boys moved, it got merged with BRLU. The crowd for the parade and lighting was HUGE. I couldn't believe it. I'm pretty sure all of the ornaments were painted, all of the cookies were decorated, and all of the hot chocolate was consumed. Definitely a good year for them!
Also, another great year for the St. Roch Christmas Concert Choir. Joey & Steph - you did a excellent job!
Finally, my favorite and most recent memories. My girls came hooooome! It was nice to hang out with Kristen and Becca, even though it was only for a few hours. The working girl had to get back to Alabama.
I was pumped to get to take Dave, Becca, and Cierra to Brugge Brasserie in Broad Ripple. It's t-t-t-tasty.
We made it to Stephanie & Chris' house after some adventures in the snow. They're so amazed by the pizza cooker. We had fun playing games and just hanging out.
You see, if I was really good, I'd have up the pictures from yesterday. Oh well.

I'm so blessed to have all of my friends and family in my life. I forget it sometimes, and all I need to do is look back at these pictures. It's been a great year! I got to see a few new cities, hang out with some new and old faces, and add more stories to the books. Tonight is my new year's eve party, so I'm sure there will be more to add from that. You are the sunshine in my life, guys, and I can't thank you enough for going on vacation with me, attending my parties, answering the phone, and just being yourselves. I love you all!

Happy New Year everyone!