2013: A (sort of) summary

I had grand ambitions for blogging last year, but I never felt like I had much to blog about. Then life picked up the pace and I was pulled into a whirlwind of weddings, travel (mostly for weddings), work, and a few social activities here and there (in between trips). Thanks to my handy-dandy iPhone, I captured a few pictures that I thought I'd use to help me sum up at least some of the events of the past year before I dive into this one (which is already becoming crazy, but more on that later).
May held the first of 6 weddings I was invited to (only made it to 5 thanks to work) was one of my cousins in Nashville; P was a flower girl (and did her job admirably :) ) and my parents made it out briefly, so we all had a nice time together. I hadn't yet discovered how to zoom in using my iPhone, so all my pictures are a bit far away and blurry. :)

My cousin and her husband!

My parents also made the move from CA to just outside Houston, TX at the end of May. I didn't think I'd get to visit until Christmas, but an opportunity arose when my sister needed someone to fly with her and the twins from Salt Lake to Houston (she was going to stay with my parents while my brother-in-law was on a missions trip). I drove to Nashville and flew to Salt Lake on a Saturday, flew from there to Houston very early on the following Monday (thank heavens for coffee! Though that didn't stop me from getting suuuuper punchy by about 3 that afternoon), and flew back to Nashville and drove back to Huntsville that Wednesday! Definitely a crazy trip, but it was worth it to see my parents' new house and spend some time with my sister and the twins!

Sometimes a boy just needs his teddy.

Veggie Tales on the iPhone?! Life is good!

The rest of June and July was mainly taken up by work; I had some responsibility for our summer intern, and while she was honestly the best intern we could have asked for, it took some adjustment for me to balance helping her and getting my own work done. :) I did have the chance to go to Atlanta for Alysha's bridal shower, which was amazing thanks in large part to my co-maid of honor Noelle and all of her hard work!

We look surprisingly good in our hats. :)

I also made a brief trip up to Chattanooga in August for the wedding of a good friend. It was so fun to see so many Covenant people again!

A rather wet Lookout Mountain.

At the end of August, I traveled with my gramma to California, where we met up with my parents to attend the two more weddings. It was great to see everyone out there, including a few people I didn't expect!

How often do you go to a wedding and run into your 5th grade teacher?

Bride & groom from wedding #1 at wedding #2. :)

At the end of September I attended my final wedding of the year, and the only one I had major responsibilities for. One of my bestest friends (Alysha) was married to another friend & fellow Covenant biology major. It was so fun to see another group of Covenant friends and spend some time around Atlanta.

Noelle and I; best co-maid of honor ever! We balance each other really well. :)

Bride!

Groom! (Much more excited than he looks)

After all that, I thought the rest of the year would be a breeze, but somehow life quickly got filled with Halloween parties, trivia nights, book clubs, and church events, and suddenly it was Thanksgiving (which probably deserves its own post...so many family members in one place!) and then Christmas! Christmas cookies were made (post forthcoming, probably) before I flew to Houston to spend 2 weeks with my parents, which was wonderful. Here's hoping that 2014 is maybe a bit less crazy (though it's not looking like that'll be the case!) but just as much fun. :)