Our 2013


2013 was a great year! We made a lot of great memories. I still can't believe how fast this year has gone by though. This was my first full year as a stay at home mom and what a fun one it was. I watch the most adorable and fun kids around. It's been a year of ups and downs, but I feel really great about where we are right now. I'm looking forward to all of adventures 2014 will bring us (along with a big family vacation). 

January: We kicked off the new year at my Grandma's house, as we do most years. We aren't big on hitting the town so we usually have snacks, play games, watch the ball drop and bang pots and pans outside. The rest of the month was spent going to parks and recovering from the busy holidays.

February: Our Amelia turned 4 years old this year. Since I didn't watch kids full time until later on in the year, Amelia and I were able to have a lot of quality Mama/Daughter time. We went to story time at the library, had tea parties, picnics in the living room, walks to the park and tons of time to snuggle. February we finally got some family pictures taken, and they turned out great! 

March: This was a fairly laid back month. My sister is a drummer in the Portland Police Highland Guard and they usually play around Portland on St. Patrick's Day. I was able to go out with them this year. Super fun night! We also celebrated Easter. Amelia had a blast participating in the Easter egg hunts. 

April: We finally caught the pesky squirrel that had taken up residence in our attic crawl space. Thankfully he isn't able to get back in. My sister Erica received an award at work and my sister Grace and I went with her to her awards banquet. She is a 911 operator. We did some local day trips, one to Cascade Locks. My little sister Grace's best friend Celine visited with her sister from Switzerland. We walked a ton around our town and enjoyed some great sunsets. Amelia worked her buns off for their performances in June. 

May: I turned 28 on the 1st. Amelia was in her first parade with the ballet studio she belongs to. We celebrated Mother's Day with my mom and my Grandma. Amelia got her hair cut for the first time ever. It was down past her little buns. We explored some of our favorite spots in our area. My mom had surgery to remove her gallbladder and then two more surgeries to fix a leak. Mark, Amelia and I escaped town for a weekend in Hood River. We love that area of the state. 

June: We kicked off a busy summer with Amelia's ballet performance Russe Classique (a Russian ballet). We took Amelia on her first ever real train ride on the Oregon Coast. We went to the beach a couple of times with family. My baby sister Grace turned 21! Mark turned 37! We spent a lot of time outside in our kiddie pool. Our butterflies hatched. Mom, Amelia and I went to Coeur D'Alene. It was a busy month, but very fun! 

July: What a fun month! Amelia did mutton bustin' for the first time ever. I was honestly shocked that I was able to talk her into it. She went on some carnival rides for the first time as well. Mark, Amelia and I went camping and exploring over near Parkdale, Oregon. I played a bit of tennis with Amelia. Mark and I were given tickets to see John Mayer. Suck a fun date night! We released our butterflies. Amelia and I went to my friend Carrie's wedding on the coast. My sister Erica competed with the Portland Police Highland Guard at the Highland Games. I love watching them play. We were going non-stop this month! 

August: What a great month spent with family. I started planning a family reunion back in 2012 and it was such a blast! We camped out one weekend with the entire family to celebrate my Grandma's 90th birthday (Sept. 4th). Mark's family also came to town in August from Florida. We spent a wonderful week in Bend, Oregon with them. We went to Crater Lake (Amelia and my first time). We celebrated our wedding anniversary. We also celebrated my mom's birthday. 

September: My Grandma Grace turned 90 this month. My sister Erica also celebrated her birthday. Amelia and I made another trip up to my mom's and I drove through the worst lightning storm to get there. Amelia also set up camp in our living room a few times. 

October: Let me start off by saying Amelia had the best Halloween costume EVER! My mom made the entire thing and it was absolutely beautiful! My little Scarlett. Amelia and I went to Colville with my sister and her fiance to get my mom. We went to Sandpoint, ID while we were up there too. We visited pumpkin patches and carved pumpkins. It was a really fun month. Mark, Amelia and I also had a very grand tea party in her bedroom. 

November: This month we really got in the holiday spirit. Mark and I hosted our Thanksgiving this year and had my Grandma and my sister Erica over. My cousin Rick came to town with his kids and Amelia loved playing with them. We finally took Amelia to the Macy's parade. We've talked about it every year, but this was our first year actually going with her. Mark and I also got to go on a date.

December: We kicked off the month with Amelia's performance of The Nutcracker. December was magical. We made Christmas gifts, decorated our home, spent time with family. We saw a skiff of snow. We participated in a canned food drive parade. We saw Santa and went shopping. I love this time of year. 

I hope 2014 brings as many memories and fun adventures as 2013 did. Happy New Year!!!
Ashley Elizabeth
8 Comments

8 comments:

  1. Wow, I love seeing all the wonderful photos of your year, looks like you had an amazing one. The last photo in front of the tree looks like a Hallmark ad! Great job. I just did my New Year's Eve reflections post as well, it was a good year.

    Happy New year and all the best in 2014

    -Erica
    http://diaryofatrendaholic.blogspot.ca/

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    1. Thank you so much Erica! I can't wait to head on over and check out your post. I've been sick so I haven't read a lot of blogs lately. I need to catch up this week. Happy New Year!

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  2. 2013 was a fun year at your house!! I hope everyone is feeling better and that you are looking forward to 2014.

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    1. We are finally starting to feel better, thank you. This flu bug kicked our butts. Happy New Year to your little family!

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  3. Looks like you had a great year, I love all the pictures! I’m doing a giveaway today and would love for you to check it out! Happy New Year!
    http://thediaryofarealhousewife.blogspot.com

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    1. We did have a great year. I will head on over and check out your giveaway :)

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  4. You certainly had yourself a jam packed year!!!!! Dang. I look lazy now! hahah

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    1. I think we did more than we ever have in the past because it was my first year home. I have never even been able to go out of town for a week during the summer because of my job, so I took full advantage of not having a regular job.

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