Another year has come and gone and it was fun to look back and see the highlights of 2014.
This collage is not in order of some of the events of our year. I realize that this post is mostly for my benefit to keep the events of the year from getting lost in my mind. (photobucket highjacked some of my photos)
January ~ Both our sons have birthdays and we celebrated in person with Josh. The excitement of the Seahawks getting to the super bowl was brewing. Katie was still living with us while Andrew was serving in Afghanistan.
February ~ Super Bowl hysteria and fun in the Seattle Area. We had snow. A trip to B.C. to visit Matthew’s House with the Mennonite Girls Can Cook. New Dishwasher.
March ~ Sounders Soccer Season opens. Weekend trip to Eastern Washington to visit Dan. We celebrated my birthday there. Attacked by tumble weeds! Celebrated my birthday again with Josh and Laura at the Wild Ginger. Katie and I traveled to Abbotsford for the Mennonite Girls Can Cook Paska class at Lepp Farm Market.
April ~ Got my first “Smart” phone that made me feel less than smart. I was able to set a table for 10 at our Friendship Tea at church which was such a fun and well planned out event.Katie and I visited the tulip fields in the Skagit Valley. We celebrated Easter with Josh, Laura, Katie, Steve and Lana. Katie and I packed her and Andrew’s car up and headed out on our road trip from Seattle to North Carolina. I named our trip Sea-Jack since our destination was in Jacksonville. We met up with Dan and Jamie on the first day of our journey for breakfast in Spokane. The last few days of April we hit some wild weather in Montana, South Dakota and then we got weather relief in Nebraska and Illinois. We met up with my bloggy friend Pam and her daughter for lunch in Kansas City on the last day of April. Happy meeting and time together.
May ~ We traveled through Kentucky and into Tennessee making a two night stop in Asheville North Carolina where we enjoyed a wonderful meal on the Sunset Terrace at the Grove Hotel and the next day we toured the Biltmore Estate and Gardens. We reached our destination on Sunday May 3rd and began the search for an apartment for Katie and Andrew. We didn’t search long and signed a lease and moved in within two days! Katie and I celebrated Mother’s Day at brunch and the next day treated me to a massage that was real nice after our road trip and moving everything into the apartment on the 3rd floor with no elevator. I flew out from Jacksonville to meet Greg at his conference in Orlando on the 15th of May. Andrew returned home from Afghanistan on the 17th of May safe and sound for which we are so grateful.
June ~ Started the process for our bathroom renovation. Had a large pine tree cut down. World Cup began. My niece Debbee and her husband Lenny came to visit. The “Girls” from B.C. road the train to Edmonds and we had a fun day together eating and shopping. We traveled to Portland to attend Nate and Abbys wedding.
July ~ We traveled to Jolly Old England to celebrate our 40th Anniversary early. We enjoyed a week in the Cotswolds and time in South Wales and Henley on Thames and finished off our trip in Windsor. Our bathroom renovation began. My niece Michelle, Ryan, Jackson and Avery came for a visit.
August ~ My brother Leonard and Mandy returned to Kiev to finalize adoption proceedings for our new nephew Andrew. Katie and Andrew packed up all their belongings in North Carolina into a pod and their car and started their roadtrip across the country to settle here in the Seattle area. Andrew’s terminal leave was final the end of August. Almost as fast as Katie and I found an apartment in Jacksonville Andrew and Katie found an apartment about 10 minutes from us and had possession of it in time for their pod to arrive from North Carolina. Their apartment is withing walking distance to the college Andrew is now attending. We celebrated Josh and Laura’s anniversary together the end of August.
September ~ Our bathroom still wasn’t done. Ugh. I had two fun reunions with friends of our family growing up in September. Katie and I were able to meet Timi and her daughter Tamara here in Washington and then in the middle of the month I saw Timi again with her sister Milla in California at an open house on the anniversary of my mom’s death. It was good to see my pop and most of my family while I was in California. It was fun to see Terry (Dear’s brother) and Christina along with Kacie and her guy. The heat wave that was happening while I was there was epic. We terminated the bathroom contractors time at this old house and did the finishing touches ourselves. I joined the Senior Center and started in an exercise class there and joined a walking group, too.
October ~ Katie and I met up with some old friends for a tea expo in Seattle. We sold a couple vehicles and purchased another one. We got a new fireplace insert. We attended a Dave Ramsey seminar with the kids. On October 30th we all traveled (except Andrew) to Dan’s place for a fun weekend of hiking, eating and shooting. This was Laura’s first time in Dan’s neck of the woods.
November ~ We enjoyed an early Thanksgiving meal on November 22nd when Dan and Jamie traveled across the harrowing pass to spend the weekend with us. On Thanksgiving we went to Dave and Jody’s for good food and good company. Thanksgiving came late this year and we went right into Christmas preparations. We attended our last Sounders game of the season missing out on the MLS cup final game to the L.A. Galaxy. Boohoo.
December ~ We celebrated Laura’s birthday at a new restaurant in Bothell and enjoyed cake and gift opening at Katie and Andrew’s. On December 14th we had the B.C. Mennonite Girls and their husbands here for a dinner party. On the same day as the party we got the exciting news that our son Dan had asked Jamie to marry him and she said yes! We were able to celebrate with them in person when they traveled here on Christmas Day from Eastern Washington. Christmas was an all day fun time enjoying each other, gifts, and good food. The day after Christmas we celebrated again with my sister Lana and Steve and Dave and Beth. We had Dear’s famous tomato rice soup. We toasted Dan and Jamie and then later in the evening we sang Happy Birthday to Katie and enjoyed cake. Dan and Jamie made it back to Eastern Washington safely.
We are going to enjoy a quiet last day of 2014 here at this old house!
Blessings to all in the New Year!
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 