2017 in review

One thing I'm always trying to improve on is documenting memories. I have such a terrible memory and I have learned I need to write things down or I'll forget they even happened!

I don't intend to use this blog primarily as a personal blog, but on occasion I'm going to try to document a few highlights of our life in addition to all the life hacks and lists. 

Here's 2017 in a nutshell for our family!

1. Reunited with some of my oldest friends for a weekend! Megan, Terah, Katie, Becky, and Meg spent the weekend at our house in Madison and we had so much fun catching up and reminiscing about our time growing up together at church.
2. Went to a baby shower for Megan and baby Caroline in Birmingham.
3. Went to see Once the Musical at the VBC! This was our second time to see it and it did not disappoint. 

1. I had some friends over to watch the Samford Step Sing live stream (as I do every year!) and our sweet friend Megan had her baby girl Caroline the same day! I still say Caroline (who was a few weeks early) wanted to make it in time for her first Step Sing. :)
2. We attended our church's marriage conference and had a great time. Loved the speaker, Jimmy Evans.

1. I turned 32!
2. Casey and I met my friend Jennifer for a few days in Las Vegas! Jen and I like to celebrate our birthdays together, and this time we went all out by booking tickets to see the Backstreet Boys in concert. It was such a fun concert and the trip was a blast. We also saw BAZ, a musical based on the Baz Luhrmann movies Romeo + Juliet, The Great Gatsby, and Moulin Rouge, and the Cirque du Soleil show Mystere.
3. Went to a baby shower for my friend Katie and baby Lucas.
4. We became a great aunt and uncle to baby Angelynn!

1. Lots of Easter activities! We had an Easter egg hunt in Priceville and also at Finley's school. We celebrated Easter at our church and had meals with our extended family.
2. We took Finley to the Nashville Zoo for the first time and had so much fun! I can't wait to go back.

1. I spent a lot of time at work in May getting ready for a big test event in June.
2. Casey and I went to our first Atlanta United game and it was even better than we expected. We're loving having a professional team nearby!
3. We bought a Jeep when Casey's beloved Pathfinder died.
4. I completed ten years with my company. Can't believe it has already been a decade!

1. Casey turned 30! We celebrated with friends with some race car driving at Veloce.
2. I spent nearly the entire month of June in San Diego on a work trip. I was responsible for the test event we held there so it was a stressful trip, but we fit in a TON of sightseeing and fun. I really have some really great coworkers. Casey got to come out for the last week of the trip too, and that last week was by far the best week!
3. We went to my company picnic at the Botanical Gardens, where they had a dinosaur exhibit. Fin loved it!

1. We spent the 4th of July weekend in Kentucky, which is our normal tradition. We love visiting family and had a great time playing at the pool.
2. Casey and I celebrated our eighth anniversary! He got me a sweet set of Lisa Leonard stacking rings. I've worn them nearly every day since.
3. Finley turned TWO and we can't believe it! We had a Minnie Mouse birthday party with family.

1. Finley started going to a new class at her school ("Early Preschool"). She is such a big girl I can't stand it.
2. Casey started his fourth year of teaching (this time with tenure!). He's teaching 7th grade civics and geography again this year.
3. I helped throw a "20/30/40" surprise party for our nephew Austin (turned 20 in August), Casey (turned 30 in June), and Casey's sister Kelly (turned 40 in November). We had live music and tons of people came. It was such a fun party and I really think they were surprised! 
4. Can't forget the total eclipse, which I watched from work and Casey watched with his students at school!
5. Not really a highlight but worth remembering: Casey was sick for the entire month of August, and after a couple of doctor visits and medication he still wasn't feeling any better. Finally saw a different doctor, and it turned out that he had mono! Can't believe it took so long for someone to figure it out. There's not really a treatment for mono, so he still just had to wait it out, but it was a relief to finally know what was wrong.

1. We visited the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga one weekend. Finley especially loved the penguins (or maybe that was me). 
2. We had family pictures taken by Carla Lawrence. She is great to work with and knew just how to get a wiggly two-year-old to cooperate. :)
3. I went with my friends Emily and Ashley to our church's women's conference, ReCreate, in Birmingham. It is always great but I especially enjoyed the speakers this year: Lysa TerKeurst and Charlotte Gambill.

1. Helped throw a baby shower for sweet Terah and baby Mary Reese.
2. Yearly reunion with my college friends; Emily, Amy, Blair, Megan, and I made it to this one and we were missing Brittany and Ashley! This year we went to Fort Payne.
3. Went to Gullion Farms with the cousins to see the animals and ride the big slide.
4. Went to the McWane Center in Birmingham. It had way more than I expected for Finley's age group and we'll definitely be going back soon.
5. Dressed up for Halloween and Finley went trick-or-treating. Last year on Halloween she walked for the first time, so this year was quite different! We had a blast.

1. We lost my sweet grandmother at age 95 (would have been 96 later this month). I will always remember her sense of humor, love of reading (which I'd like to think I inherited from her), and amazing cooking skills. She will be missed but we are thankful to know she's with God.
2. I went to the Holiday Sampler dinner at First Baptist Decatur with my mom, which is becoming one of my favorite traditions. 
3. We went to Nashville with Casey's sister's family and went to ICE! for the first time. 
4. We had Thanksgiving dinner with Casey's extended family.

1. We went to the 25th annual Priceville Christmas Parade in memory of Casey's mom.
2. Christmas parties: At my company Christmas party, we won the grand prize in the lip sync competition ($2500 split between 4 employees!) and I also left with a Grizzly cooler, a Pottery Barn blanket, and a Christmas bonus. Easily one of my favorite days of the year, every year. My little group at work also had a Christmas party at my boss' house and we played Dirty Santa and were entertained by the kids.
3. My mom is retiring from her job as assistant choral director at Decatur High School in May, so we went to her last Christmas concert. I love going to DHS Chorus concerts and have since I was there myself. I can't believe there's just one more concert before she and Dr. Davis retire!
4. Lots of Christmas celebrations: We did Christmas with my Mamaw and aunt Anita's family in Kentucky early this year. Then we had Christmas with my parents, sister, and sister's boyfriend in Decatur. We did a Christmas brunch with Casey's sisters' families, and finally Christmas at home with just the three of us!

We did dance for the first time in the fall. Finley is in a Mommy and Me class, which means I'm taking dance too, haha. It has been quite the experience, and by that I mean I'm not sure she has a career in dancing, but we're sticking with it for now. :)

Luna and Scout may not feature as prominently in our photos as they once did, but they're still a big part of the family. Luna is now 8 1/2 and Scout is around 6.

Casey is still coaching soccer; he's the head coach for the MMS girls' team and the assistant coach for the boys' team. We love watching games but I'll be glad when I don't have to spend them chasing a toddler to keep her from running on the field. :)

Musikgarten is still our favorite! Finley has been going since she was a little baby and now she's one of the bigger kids in her class. She loves her teacher Mrs. Ruth and especially loves playing instruments.

I'm not as crafty as I used to be, but I got a handful of things accomplished in 2017. The two biggest projects were a quilt for my sister made from her high school t-shirts, and a quilt for my nephew made from his sports shirts/jerseys from growing up. My sister-in-law helped with the one for my nephew and it was the biggest quilt I've ever worked on! I also finished Finley's baby book, made a shadow box with some of our Christmas cards, and finally set up a playroom for Finley. Another big project we finally tackled was getting our wills done.

Casey has been playing in a local band called Rocket 5 for the last few years and they were really busy this year! They played lots of weddings, competed in the Battle of the Bands, and were the entertainment for the Falloween Festival. 

Finley started participating in a program called Soccer Shots when she turned two and has been loving it. Of course we're thrilled she's enjoying soccer!

We've gotten really involved in our new church. Casey plays in the worship band, and I serve on the administrative team. We've also really enjoyed our small groups; I was in one for working moms this fall that was so wonderful.

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If I don't get my scrapbook done at least I'll have this. :)