No News is Good News... Right??

I'm pretty sure that the last time I posted, I didn't mention the fact that I'd fall off the face of the earth for  - oh - about 6 months or so... Oops!  Sorry about that!  Life just kinda got in the way and I managed to fall off the blogging bandwagon.  In all honesty, I'd love to say that I'm back to blogging on a regular basis, but let's be honest... We know my track record.  So, I'm just going to be up front and honest with all of you (and by "all of you", I really mean my mom and sister - since I think they're really the only ones left who even bother to check back here every so often. ;)), I won't be one of those bloggers who blogs every. single. day.  Nope.  I probably won't even be one of those bloggers who blogs every single week. Not gonna happen.  But, I do like having this here blog as something to look back on every so often to keep track of some of the things we do, so I will continue to update this whenever I get the chance.  But, now that we're all clear on the fact that I kinda really suck at blogging regularly, there should be no hard feelings when you check back here and I haven't posted anything for a while.  Right? ;)  All I ask is that you just continue to be patient with me... Whenever I have a spare minute to sit down and write something, I do promise to. :)  With that being said, let's take a stroll through the past  8 months...  ** Just a head's up - There are ALOT of pictures to scroll through! :) **

January

We rang in the year with great new friends...

... and some very dear "old" friends. :)

Brian and I headed to the Detroit Auto Show while it was in town, and I found my new car...  Ha! :)

Naturally, we had to "Choose Our Subaru Adventure" while we were there! :)

I spent an afternoon watching the Harlem Globetrotters with the family! :)  

I enjoyed a fun evening with our gym peeps while Brian was working in Seattle. :)

This guy and I spent LOTS of quality time together while Brian was working in Seattle for the majority of the month...

It was so. very. cold.!!

 February

I got my first ever Shellac manicure and loved it! :)

We had a fun evening out with some great coworkers! :)

We headed up to Traverse City with a group of friends for the Microbrew and Music Festival...
So. Much. Fun.!! :)

Kaden came down to visit me during my Mid-Winter Break and we found lots of ways to entertain ourselves! :)

Buddies! :)

I headed to Seattle for a few days to spend some time with Brian while he was out there working...

It was so great to be able to wander around outside in warmer temperatures! :)

What a beautiful city!!

 

I <3 Seattle! :)

We were wishing for spring, so we joined our gym peeps at the South Lyon Hotel for a "Luau Party"... :)

I tried to bring a little bit of color to the otherwise white/gray existence we endured from January - April... Brrr!

 March

We headed down to Chicago for a weekend to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with some great friends! :)

Vander was bummed that he didn't get to join... ;)

We brewed our first batch of beer! :)

Brian finally was able to visit Greenbush... His absolute favorite brewery!
Needless to say, he was a very happy camper! :)

April

We ran in the Cocoa Classic 5K in downtown Detroit on a chilly April morning...

The view was great! :)

I was thrilled to complete my first 5K!!  I was especially excited about the fact that I received a hot chocolate and some chocolate fondue after crossing the finish line... YUM! :)

We headed to Lansing to check out their version of the Microbrew and Music Festival.
What a fun time! :)

We headed up north to spend Easter with the fam! :)

Vander wished everyone a very "hoppy" Easter! ;)

During my Spring Break, Kory came down to visit and we caught an afternoon Tigers game!  :)

And, while we were there, we ran into a very dear friend and his kids! :)

May

We had a fun time celebrating Mother's Day up north! 

I enjoyed goofing around (and working out) after school in the gym with some fellow teachers! :)

We completed an Adventure Race with some friends...
9 miles of mountain biking, 5 miles of canoeing, and umpteen miles of trekking and orienteering = Great fun! :)

The canoeing portion kept us on our toes... My stomach hurt from laughing so hard! :)

We finished! :)

One Saturday afternoon, we headed down to Detroit to the Eastern Market to get our Farmer's Market on... And to enjoy some sunshine after a very. looooooooong. winter.! :)

Over Memorial Day weekend, we took our annual camping trip to the Pinery in Canada...

It was a fun weekend...

of beautiful views...

... playing in the sand...

... and spending time with great friends! :)

 June

We got all dressed up for my cousin's wedding in Niles. :)

We enjoyed some brews and bonfires with friends...

We ran in the Color Run...
It was so colorful and fun... Loved it! :)

We had a house divided for the US vs. Germany World Cup game! ;)

We enjoyed a day at Comerica Park with our fellow gym peeps!

What a perfect day with some great friends! :)

Our friends from Germany came to visit and we took them to a Tigers game...
Can't get much more American than a day at the ballpark! ;)

And what a game it was!  We had amazing seats and were able to witness a walk off grand slam to win the game!!
We couldn't have asked for a better game! :)

July

We headed up north for the 4th of July weekend...
I had some fun strawberry picking with mom and Kaden! :)

Tasty 4th of July treats... So yummy! :)

Hanging with the fam! :)

After the 4th of July, I boarded a plane and headed to one of my favorite places...
Yep!  I got to spend 3 weeks in Friedrichshafen, Germany!!  :)
(More to come on that later! :))

Prost! :)

Oh yea... While I was there, the Germans won this little thing called the WORLD CUP!!
How awesome was that?! :)