January - We decided to tackle a renovation on the first floor of our home. What started as an innocent trip to look at flooring turned into a project we won't forget! We spent the last 2 weeks in January ripping out all of our flooring and sanding and painting our cabinet bases white.
February - Renovations continued with sanding, sanding and yes more sanding. After 3 weeks of that routine we found ourselves with beautiful white cabinets. I am happy to report almost 1 year later, we are still chip free! After 6 weeks without a floor we had beautiful handscraped looking laminate installed on the first floor as well, it was a glorious sight, and we were happy to no longer wear shoes while at home. We also made it to BaconFest, making it the most delicious month of the year!
March - We were sick. Man that was a rough month. Fevers, cough, congestion, misery. That's how we lived. Our biggest accomplishment was installing cabinet hardware. We wrapped up the month by spending Easter weekend in KC with Murph's family.
April - This was a fantastic month to say the least. Our biggest accomplishment of the year was fully paying off my student loans. We both took some time off for a mini-staycation and enjoyed beautiful Spring weather. Murph went to the Drake Relays, we got our bathroom 100% in working order downstairs and we moved one step closer to our renovation project nearing completion.
May - We celebrated our first anniversary with a night out at Johnny's. It was hard to believe we had been married a year.
June - Murph ran Dam to Dam and I ran the 5k. Our kitchen finally started coming together with new chairs to go around our loved table from my Dad's store, and finally 6 months later we were able to install the trim on the first floor and call our renovation a wrap! Murph and I also headed back to KC to enjoy a concert together and spent some much needed time with his brother's family.
July - July started off with a bang and a long 4th of July weekend. We went hiking with the pup and watched him swim for the first time. Murph also turned the big 3-4!
August - Another month of fun began by celebrating Murph's Grandpa's 90th birthday! We also celebrated my 29th birthday along with my bestie Nic's 30th with our annual boat trip on Big Creek. I decided to train for the Des Moines half-marathon and was sidelined early in the game with some neck troubles, but made a full recovery by the end of the month. We also enjoyed DSM's Restaurant Week with a night at my favorite place, Alba.
September - This was a quiet month. We pretty much laid low, enjoying lots of college football and a couple of trips home.
October - Time for some vacation! We headed to northern Wisconsin for a week of relaxation ... and a car accident. After taping our car together we spent a few days hiking and attending a wedding in the Minocqua area. We also made a stop to visit friends in the Twin Cities and went to Minnehaha Park and the Nook in St. Paul before heading back home. After returning home we had just a couple weeks until our big half-marathon. It was one heck of a cold morning but we were both happy with our finishes.
November - We spent November being humbled because our car was in the shop for 6 weeks. This may sound trite but, having two vehicles is such a blessing and we were reminded of that daily in November. We spend Thanksgiving in Lake City and celebrated Murph's Grandma's birthday that same weekend. Murph and his Dad also took down some trees at Hawthorn Drive, making a big impact to the front of our house.
December - We celebrated the season with our good friends by having our 2nd annual holiday progressive dinner where I proved to everyone I can still slam a beer college style ;) We also were able to spend the Holiday's with our family which was fantastic. My Gram turned 94 on Christmas and we were blessed to be with her for the majority of the day.
Clearly 2013 was a year of wonderful happenings for us, here's to a 2014 that will be even better!
