I am super bummed to realize that I haven't done a yearly review/highlights since 2019! That's FOUR YEARS ago! Pre covid, pre Oregon, pre master's degree, pre return to Florida, pre a million babies being born... So much has changed! It's always to nice to sit back and look at all that happens in a year too.
It's now February. I started this post in December and was about to go and try to edit and make it all fancy with links to other posts and all kinds of cool things.... I'm sure there are some mistakes even with the years, things left out... but progress over perfection right? We're just going posting it in 3...2...1... Have fun!
2023
1. Bike bike biking everywhere. To the Grom for tasty lunch treats, Indian almost every week, grocery shopping, to the gym, just to bike around in the sun. It's been great!
2. All the babies came: Lowey-Balls, Krupkas, Bakers, neighbor friends x2, Sarkissians, and even more to come!
3. Finally got the best job with a remote birth-5 gig... in Tillamook, Oregon! We moved across the country only to work across the country?
4. Dylan's focusing on school now with just 3 semesters of clinical left! (Psych nurse practitioner). He got to "retire from nursing" so we had a fun solo party to celebrate that with a playlist and balloons and everything.
5. I did an unexpected standby flight to Colorado for an awesome ski trip in March!
6. Dylan and I took a fantastic trip to Copenhagen in July. We got to see my friends I'd met 10 years ago, biked all over the city, swam in the canals, enjoyed all the parks. It was just the best. Denmark was a place and time that felt so distant it was almost like a memory. I was nervous about going back because I didn't want my memories to change or to somehow be disappointed but it was even more special than I could've imagined. Catching up with these friends felt like no time had past, getting to show Dylan all around and meet everyone too. It was just lovely. Other highlights were the new swimming holes there at La Banchina, the liveliest food truck area at Reffen right by the water with a skate park and people out enjoying the sun as the Danes do. Kayaking was great too, exploring the city a new way.
7. I went to Oregon for a week for work/fun. I got to stay in Portland and explore all the neighborhoods, looked at some houses, ate lots of food, met cute dog friends at the parks... Then I got to meet my coworkers and kiddos in person for a few days! That was a special treat.
8. I've been getting my Friend Bucket filled with so much visiting-- Julia moved from Hawaii to New York to across the street, Benton and Stacey and cousin Doug, Carla is back from South Korea, Meryl and Chad, Jenny and Derek neighbors. We've had some great times with hockey games, cookie and wine pairing night, cabaret shows, "band practice" alongside the road in front of Benton's... Visits from Dana and the new baby. Great crew at the gym...
8. Lovely girls weekend in Rosemary Beach with Amy, Amy, Amanda and Jenna. So many years of wonderful trips getting together with these girls. We had brunch with a rooftop viewed, biked around the town, ate and shopped as appropriate for Rosemary. Last year we were in Orlando with a pregnant Jenna, this year with pregnant Amy! And the LAST LAST one pre-covid was Boston with pregnant Amy #1. Lot of changes around here, but the friendships just gets stronger.
10. I did a race! That was a fun surprise. 12k at Guana #2. Apparently that's the only race I'll do (last one was in 2015!)
11. A very scary birthday paddle for me in Geneva, FL I've grown up with gators all my life and never been so scared. I think they were extra massive after feasting on dead fish after their floods. And Dana also shared about how gators can jump up INTO the canoes!
11. We did another, less scary, kayak in March and camped with friends on the Ocklawaha River. We only made it one night for some reason and then wimped out and slept at my parents' house the 2nd night. haha That was a looong paddle. But little Vincey (like 5yo) just chugged right along with us. That kid did a 5mile hike in Oregon with us with no complaints too. He's a trooper. Oh and Dana and Martin announced their new baby on the way that trip!!
12. Lots of good padre visits-- They moved just 40 minutes away instead of 2.5 hours so I can even pop on down during a work day to WFPH. (Work from padres' home). Enjoying more lunch/dinner dates, fabric shopping, hiking times... It's been great!
1. I graduated from Jacksonville University with a Masters in Speech Language Pathology in April 2020. Covid had obviously just hit that March, but we ket our plans of packing up and heading out west.
2. Made our long awaited journey to the Oregon Coast in May 2020.
3. Had some fantastic visits in our new Oregon home: Krupkas, Chrissy family, my parents, Dylan's parents, Joe and Sarah (before their move to the West!), a Neptune Beach neighbor...
4. Introduced sweet Toulouse to the family. I think Hobie is grateful for his little brother and we certainly love this cuddly guy.
5. Due to the newness of Covid, we missed our East Coast family celebration, but got to spend Thanksgiving in Bend snowshoeing and enjoying a magical winter wonderland in Tumalo Falls hike.
6. We camped under the Redwoods at Jedediah Sate Park. Toulouse's first hike as a wee one was this major park. :)
7. Got to see so much of the rural Oregon Coast and valleys, treating patients in their homes. Patients on dairy farms, Christmas tree farms... One Christmas I even picked out a tree at my patient's house and just threw it right in the back of the car after session.
2021:
1. Had our newly West Coasters Kaila and Chad over for a Thanksgiving feast and of course hiking.
2. Fun Motorcycle exploring around BLM land, through vineyards, valleys...
3. Epic Washingtons birthdays, Dylan's to Badger Valley in the Olympic National Forest and mine to Hidden Lake with Chad and Kaila.
4. Got my CCCs (Certificate of Clinical Competence) for my job. Woohoo! I'm a professional!
6. Saw our best friends get married in November!
7. Snowshoed in Bend in February. Wish I'd written about this one! This was Dylan realizing he could conquer the discomfort of his snowshoes and just take them off.
8. Ski trip in March to Colorado with the Ross crew. Our nieces put Dylan and me to shame!
9. Rock climbing with Dana and Martin in Bend was a blast. We got some hiking and a book club in too!
2022 :
1. Ski trip to Mt Baker with Chad and Kaila. What a comical adventure that was.
2. Had snow in Pacific City that actually stuck for a day! Dylan even surfed in it.
3. Several fun trips to Portland throughout our time. I'd try to hit at least 2 parks each time I'd pop over there. So much to see! Laurelhurst, Mt Tabor, Council Crest, Washington Park, Forest Park... .
4. More motorcycle funs including a snowy roadblock keeping us from our French restaurant in Carlton. :( (2x we failed to make it to that area due to weather).
5. Amy Rubin came out for a wonderful visit of exploring the coast, spotting Orcas, experiencing Sportys and Portland neighborhoods.
6. Moved back to Florida in June 2022. And out best friends announced their first baby upon our first night arriving in Florida!
7. Had a challenging time finding the right job situation for me. Wound up with a great experience at UF outpatient working with birth-geriatric, learning so much. So grateful for that time.
8. Went from fairytale PNW forests to Florida palms hikes at Hanna, Fort Caroline, Talbot Guana... The nature has been a hard adjustment for us and especially the boys. Much less activities (other than biking around our cozy community which is a great side), but the beaches and trails in Oregon were just so epically stunning and remote and filled with wonder where everyone could run free too. Much less freedom to roam and explore here.
9. Celebrated Dylan's birthday in a beautifully picturesque Florida spring (Rainbow River). At one point we were floating backwards on our backs in crystal clear water with perfectly lush palms above, being pulled back out to the river. It felt like we were in Tarzan or something.
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