Another year come and gone...

I have to say, 2014 was definitely a better year than 2013. There are ups and downs in every year, but I was really blessed in 2014. Figured I’d highlight some of the awesome things that happened before we get into the new year.

First off, I graduated Magna Cum Lauda from Virginia Tech! I graduated with a degree in Communication and minors in Marketing, Psychology, and Travel and Tourism Management. Thank you so much to my friends and family who made this possible, and a huge shout out to those of you who came to VT to celebrate with me!

I also graduated with a full-time job already in place, which was awesome. I started as the Marketing Coordinator at Salsa Labs on June 2nd.

The morning after my graduation (rough), my amazing neighbor and godmother got married! What a beautiful wedding it was.

Just a few weeks later, I was privileged enough to be a bridesmaid in Kelsey’s wedding to her now husband, Emile. What a fun wedding! So glad I could be a part of it along with all the other wedding festivities.

Two weeks after that, for a graduation gift/just for fun - we did a family jump! My dad, brother, Anna, Melissa, Tom, and I all jumped out of a plane 13,000 feet up in Winchester, VA. What a rush! So much fun. We are already thinking about our next jump.

 Before

During

After 

And back to weddings… the girl in my life that I have literally known since I was born… Kelly got married! I was so fortunate to be her maid of honor and plan her bachelorette party and bridal shower. We had so much fun getting ready for the wedding, and Kelly put so much together by hand that it was exactly what she wanted it to be. I was so happy to see that.

Again while on the topics of weddings… two of my other very best friends got engaged this year! I am so excited for Taylor and her fiance Javi, and Daniel and his fiance Allie. Congratulations, guys!

 

Another go-to event for me over the summer was concerts. I think I ended up going to like 7? (Timeflies, Jingle Ball, Gavin Degraw & Matt Nathansan, Dave Matthews, and Rascal Flatts pictured below)

 

 

I also went on quite a few awesome trips. The first was to visit my family in Colorado. I had an amazing time with my Aunt Suzy and cousins Nathan and Taylor. They were amazing hosts! I can’t wait to go back soon.

The second trip was our annual family trip to Myrtle Beach. We basically spent a week laying on the beach, eating, and drinking. Does life get better than that?

I took a weekend trip to Virginia Tech for homecoming. It was really fun to be back in Blacksburg and to be reunited with all my college friends.

Another was to LA to visit Kevin! I had never been to LA before so it was super cool to see it and see where Kevin lives out there.

About a week and a half later I went back out to California, this time for a business trip. I ran my first one-day conference in San Francisco, and it went well (which is always a bonus)! After the conference was over, I stayed the weekend in San Francisco with my dad’s college roommate’s family in Burlingame. So fun to spend time with them and get to explore their hometown. I loved the area!

I also spent two weekends visiting Sarah in Wilmington for Memorial Day and her graduation in December. She’s now a college grad, too! Woo!

 

 

Some other fun times in 2014 - Nats games, Wizards games, Caps games, Redskins games, a Manchester United/Inter Milan soccer game, a VT bowl game, a Red Cross Gala, a 5K, a 10K, several lake weekends, and much more.

  

To end on one sad event of this year… I did lose my baby boy, Duke. Duke was about 14 ½ years old, and literally the best dog you could have asked for. Anyone will attest to that. He was my everything and is dearly missed. I know my mom is thrilled to see him, though.

Comparing this blog post to the one I wrote last year, I would definitely say 2014 was an improvement. Thanks to everyone who was a part of it! Looking forward to an even better 2015.