top 15 of '15

happy new year! woo-hoo! i'm feeling a blog-a-day coming on, catching up on the life train! as i was ringing in one of my lamest new years evah, laying in bed, matt sleeping next to me, little girls tucked into their warm beds, and big kids with the friend crews, i was thinking of my top 15 experiences, lessons, etc, of 2015. t'was a good year.

so in no particular order, here we have it. and, though its okay that most of these involve trips, i do want to pay more attention to the little things in life this year, and the magic in them

1. epic road trip with lexi. couldn't have been much more fun. the scenery was gorgeous, we made great time, and really got along. 
2. vegas with amy. it was such fun to spend 5 days, just me and my henna. it was a totally spur of the moment, crazy trip, but i'm sooo glad we did it.
3. summer. all of it. i had lofty goals, and they were met. it was my favorite summer.
4. philadelphia with matt. any time away with my eternal companion is a good time. we don't do it nearly enough, but in the interest of making marriages stronger, we already have one scheduled for february!
5. overcoming the new school pta drama. i can't find a link to this, so maybe i never blogged about it? a short summary, in case i did not. women get catty, jump to conclusions, and get mean. our county pta president angrily resigns because of what is happening at our new school, our new principal probs thinks we're all cray, the md pta makes several trips down to mediate, a hot mess ensues. but i am proud of myself for staying above the drama. i didn't get into it, and i counseled the others to stay above it as well, which they mostly did, but not all the way, which added to the drama. i'm certainly not perfect, but any pta position, any pta, is not worth any amount of drama. life is way too much to have pta drama, for reals.
6. fulfilling my lifelong dream of going back to girls camp. too bad it was short lived, i can't see myself going again anytime soon, unless i get another new calling. camp was great, i learned a ton from brothers g and b, had so much fun with the girls and leaders, and loved being out in nature. 
7. delaware bay lighthouse cruise. can't find a link to this either, i am so behind. light housing had to be in there somewhere, and our cruise was really, really cool. i love laura and am so thankful to have found such an awesome lighthouse buddy who is every bit as crazy (maybe more so?) than I am, and always up for light housing! also thankful that we have several recruits. it really is more fun with more people, and we've got some fun lighthouse loving friends.
8. mexico with my lay-days! i love visiting other countries and spending quality time with good friends. we had a super fun time in mexico, even if my stomach was torn up for days.
9. christian's coh. i'm so proud of chris for becoming an eagle scout. such a big accomplishment. his coh was pretty good too, if i do say so myself. 
10. baltimore weekend. it was so fun to venture north and do some things we haven't done before. and it was a first to vacation with just the little girls while chris was visiting lexi. i love all my children, but vacations will become infinitely easier when we're not having to find things to please the teen and toddler crowds.
11. north carolina trip. any trip to the beach is a good one. i was actually nervous about this trip though, because matt was only able to stay for half the time. but it turned out to be really nice to spend time with chris. and the girls and mc's too, but chris was my right hand man, and that was sweet for me.
12. virginia beach with my lay-days! another fun girls trip. i think i'm pretty well rounded in the people i love and spend time with. a little bit of matt, lex, chris, girlfriends. i'm a lucky lady.
13. being the very first students at cwfdes. a new school is so fun! and sometimes not-so-fun, but i try to keep that glass half full. new school smells, new books, new equipment, its pretty neat. and we looooove being able to walk every day. 
14. my new calling. someday i'm going to look back and see lots of growth and small successes instead of inadequacy and offenses (from me). when i let myself, i already do.
15. family time in utah. another one that is mostly yet to be blogged. any time with the whole family is momentous. this was a good trip, very low on the drama meter, and just nice being together. we've all made a concerted effort to see each other the last few years, we've had to to see each other at all. mom and joe are the only ones that even live in the same state anymore, so getting together can be challenging, but i'm thankful we've been making it happen.

honorable mentions on this list were finishing up my google assignment and… i forget. the google thing really helped me appreciate my time not having to work outside the home, it was a good thing for us, but so, so, so glad to be done. 

my theme for this year is to magnify. magnifying the small moments, the special time we have before chris leaves for his mission (positive thinking), magnifying my roles as mother, wife, daughter, sister, magnifying church responsibilities, magnifying holidays, and health, and the quest for balance. 2016, s'gonna be a good one!

and for good measure, a goofy addie baby picture. because whats a post without a picture?