Saturday, December 31, 2016

2016: The Year in Review

Happy 2017!


What's that you say? It's not 2017 yet?


It very well could be by the time the photos on this post load. Don't say I didn't warn you.


So, 2016...


I know a lot of people are really looking forward to putting this year in the rear view, and, for some of them, I can totally understand and empathize. For others, a solid knock upside the head and some big girl panties may be in order; it's a matter of perspective.

As for me, while 2016 won't go down in my personal history as a great year, it also won't crack the top five of horrible, terrible, not good, very bad years, and, for that I am grateful (as an aside, I don't yet have a top 5 HTNGVB years, but, a couple stand out as super-sucky for sure).

Anyway, on to the review.

January: We rang in the New Year in the manner to which we have accustomed ourselves; by sledding Cerro Summit with Jana and Co. It was a ridiculously cold day and I didn't think we would last an hour, but, half a day later, we dragged our frozen asses back down the hill.



January (and February) also featured a lot of basketball, which meant a lot of solo road trips for me because Hugh was officiating wrestling elsewhere. Thankfully, I had my Basketball Family to rely on, and, I will forever treasure those trips.








February: As I said, basketball, road trips, and, The Teenager turned 20, precipitating a name change on the blog, and, thus, a Queen B was born.





March: The end of basketball season ushered in the beginning of baseball season, which ushered in a whole new set of road trips, as well as the opportunity to see The Fearsome Foursome play a sport together again.




April: More baseball road trips; my favorite of these trips was the one that included the motorhome as basecamp for the team lunch. You haven't truly tailgated until you've tailgated in 'ol Jenny (or, Jennnn-ayy, ala Forest Gump).










Another thing that stands out about April was my trip to Phoenix with The Girls. It was the only time that we all had to hang out together this year, which made it extra special. I don't know what 2017 is going to have in store for me, but, I know that it needs to include a lot more time with these ladies.




And, on the topic of good friends, the Cub celebrated his Junior Prom with both a date and his buddies; it doesn't get much better than that.










May: May meant the end of the school year, celebrated with our annual slip'n'slide party. It was also the beginning of three new lives; The Mockingbirds, who were hatched in a nest on the porch and who took their first flight while we watched.










June: June was another month for beginnings; Serendipity Photo Designs was born. My first assignment was possibly the most difficult for any photographer, a wedding. Lucky for me, the young couple are friends and they had a lot of faith in me. I'm pretty optimistic about their chances, too.



The wedding was in Las Vegas, which gave us a chance to spend some quality time together as a family, which we did by visiting the Hoover Dam (Hugh's choice), grabbing cupcakes from an ATM machine on The Strip (Queen B's choice), watching men take their clothes off (Bride's choice!), and basking in the sun and cool waters of the pool (this suited everyone's tastes). We also had some awesome hamburgers and a lot of laughs on the drive.








July: July was a blur of lake time, family time, gardening, and trying to soak in as much time as possible with the Man-Cub before he entered his senior year. It went entirely too fast, as you may imagine.








August: The Man-Cub started his senior year, Queen B went into her third year of college, the quest for the perfect senior picture began and, fall sports started, and the annual car wash to raise funds for the football and volleyball teams kicked off the whole thing. The fact that it was also the Cub's last car wash was not lost on me, I assure you.





September: Football, football, football!





Homecoming occurred in September, and, with it, the Man-Cub's eighteenth birthday, making him, officially, an adult (throw-up, in my mouth, most unpleasant).





October: Again with the football, which, created the birth of The Mammarazzi, complete with press passes and everything.



And, October wouldn't be complete without Halloween, because, as we all know, I never met a Halloween that I didn't immediately like (and, drape in decorations, flying witches, anyone?).


November: Football was over (tears were shed), basketball was just getting underway, and, we celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday at Mom's, where, although Queen B couldn't be with us in body, she more than made up for in spirit (and, technology).




December: And, here we are, the final day of the month. The final day of the year. We've enjoyed having Mom here since mid-month, we've enjoyed the Christmas holiday, and we've already started dismantling the decorations. It's been a busy year. There have been a lot of "lasts", but, there has also been some exciting beginnings, and, as we look forward to 2017, I hope I can handle whatever it throws at me with grace.