2015 - The Year of Alaska

I can't believe it's New Year's Eve. This year has flown by! 

The last few years, we've gotten in the habit of finding a word or phrase to characterize the year. This year was definitely the year of Alaska. When we moved there, I had no idea what to expect. And when we suddenly moved back to Texas, I had no idea how much I would miss Alaska. It has a piece of my heart. And always will. It's no surprise that my best memories of the year came from living in Alaska. 

I thought it would be fun to do a short recap of fun happenings from each month this year. 

January - 

We celebrated our first anniversary at the Hotel Alyeska. Nathanial pulled out all the stops and had so many surprises for me during the weekend. 

February - I ran my first freezing 5k. Let's be honest, I did it for the scarf. 

March -

So much happened in March. We got to experience the Iditarod and all the events that went along with Fur Rondy. My favorite was running with the reindeer. It was incredible! I also ran a St. Patrick's 5k. It was -3 at the start and my hair froze. The sunroof on my car randomly exploded as I was going down the highway. 

April - We celebrated Easter, Nathanial's birthday and I ran another 5k. 

May - The lights went out while we were attending a performance of Sister Act. This is also the month my running training group started. 

June - This is the month we got the most sunlight. We took full advantage by replanting our flower bed at midnight and watching a baseball game that didn't start until 10 p.m. I ran a 12k. My parents came to visit in the midst of a heat wave. 

July - Nathanial's grandparents came to visit us. A story I pitched at work got picked up by all the local outlets so I was on the news quite a bit. I ran a half marathon. 

August - I had the best birthday ever when Nathanial surprised me with a behind the scenes tour at the Wildlife center. We got to feed the animals! Nathanial's parents came to visit and we all ran a 1 mile race (complete with Alaska shaped medal). 

September - We attended the Alaska State Fair. We picked vegetables at a farm over Labor Day. 

October - This month it snowed for the first time this year. We found out we were moving and moved two weeks later. 

November - We started adjusting to life back in Texas. We closed on our house two days before Thanksgiving. I ran the Route 66 Half Marathon with my father-in -law. 

December - We got the house in order and spent the month with friends and family. We hosted our first (and second) Christmas. 

What a year!