So, we've reached the last day of 2014, but before the fireworks go off, champagne glasses clink together in victory, and we ring in the mid-night hour of January 1, 2015, I need to recap what was one of the best years thus far for E and I. We are counting down the hours to 2015 with you but first, here are 5 moments to remember from 2014:
- Funniest moment: U2 gives away free CD on iTunes and the world throws a fit. For some reason this just made us LOL! First of all, I can totally appreciate a band giving away something for free but I think it would have been better to just announce that it was free and let people go grab it, then to automatically download it to people's iTunes accounts. I mean, you know everyone doesn't listen to the same kind of music. On the flip-side, it was pretty funny seeing everyone's outrageous reactions.
- Scariest moment: Recently, everyone has been concerned about the threats from North Korea in regards to the newly released movie by Seth Rogen; The Interview. I must admit that for awhile I was a little worried that we might actually get bombed. However, E and I agree that a movie should not be grounds for destroying a country. After all, not everyone in this country wants to see that movie, so just to threaten someone for something they have nothing to do with is pretty scary.
- Sweetest moment: More like the longest and sweetest moment...the ALS Ice Bucket challenge. Although E nor I partook in this movement, it was still so amazing to see millions of people taking this challenge. It was for a good cause and we both agree that more challenges should happen for many of the other causes in the world. We agree that there should definitely be a challenge for Infertility! I mean, HELLO, its about time the world realizes that Infertility is a disease. We digress...it was pretty great to see more of the world becoming involved. There are so many people in the world facing so many diseases and if we could all recognize just how many diseases there are, maybe we could raise more money for those diseases? Either way, we commend the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge for opening eyes and raising money.
- Silliest moment: Remember The Oscars? We sure do! I mean it is mostly known for being a glamorous evening, but let us not forget the totally adorable Oscar Selfie!!! Need a refresh? Here it is...
Seriously? Aside from Dax Sheperd and Kristen Bell welcoming baby number 2, this is the cutest thing ever! I'm peanut butter and jelly! Looks like this needs to be framed and placed in all of their houses ASAP!
- Most Annoying moment: Again not so much a single moment, but definitely earned a spot on our "5 moments to remember from 2014" list; the word "bae." If that word doesn't immediately strike an "ughh" from your lips, I don't know what will. This overused, ridiculous word (not even really a word), was used by everyone and their mama. Don't know what it means? Here's the "definition" from Urban Dictionary: used by people on the internet as slang for baby, sweetie, boyfriend/girlfriend. Basically its annoying! E and I agree that this word just needs to be left in 2014 and laid to rest immediately! I certainly don't want my kids running around calling everything BAE! Oh, did we tell you what it stands for? According to some "cool kids," (aka middle-schoolers) it means "Before Anyone Else'. Again, it doesn't really make sense. Here's an example: "Bae, I love you" translates to "Before Anyone Else, I love you." Yep, still hate it!!! In the words of Regina...
Finally!!! We have finished the 5 moments to remember from 2014 and can move on to E and I! We want to recap OUR 2014. We want to share with you a few photos from each month. Let's get started...
JANUARY
At the start of 2014, we were wrapping up our last round of Clomid with our OBGYN. If you followed us on YouTube, you would've seen a few videos from our Fertility Specialist visit. Now, almost one year later, our plans have drastically changed. We can't give out too much detail in regards to our TTC journey (since we know you are all wondering what happened to that), but we can let you know that we will be sharing some updates with you in just a few days.
FEBRUARY
Pretty much all of February was spent with this little munchkin, Miss Alli. You may remember some of my 2013 posts which featured this little ones beautiful mama. Well Alli is now a year old, walking, and absolutely stunning like her mama. I still can't even believe that she is already one! I can say that I am looking forward to watching her continue to grow. Aside from her growth, she also has crazy, but beautiful curly hair. It will be interesting to see her in her pre-teens, but let's not rush anything please!
MARCH
We didn't get to share a whole lot with y'all throughout 2014, but a very memorable moment for us was when my step-dad came down to visit. He was actually visiting his mother, who was very ill at the time. She was living in San Antonio before she was called to the Lord. He was really here for her but timing worked out and he was able to sneak away from her bedside to drive down to Houston and go with us to the Rodeo. We enjoyed an evening with The Band Perry before he had to drop us off at our home in Katy and head back to his mama's side. E and I felt very blessed to have spent some time with him. Currently, he is re-married, and is on active-duty in Afghanistan. We are anxiously waiting his return around March 2015. Maybe just in time for Rodeo 2015??
APRIL
In April we headed, what seemed like, around the world! One day in particular we were crazy busy driving everywhere! First to Spring, then to Huntsville, we even stopped in College Station before heading home to Katy.
On our way from Huntsville to College Station, E and I stopped for an impromptu photo shoot in "our" town. Alright, so it's not really "our" town but it does boast our last name so it was only right to stop for a moment and snap a picture.
MAY
May was a month full of emotions...
First, on May 3, we mourned for what would have been our first baby's birthday. It's still hard to imagine that we should have a baby in our arms, but we have to understand that it was part of His plan. We lost our first baby back in October of 2013, after a miscarriage at 8 weeks 5 days.
After mourning and realizing that we were blessed to have at least been able to get pregnant, we celebrated our four year anniversary. Above is a picture from our Senior Prom in 2010. Erik asked me "out" at Prom on May 8, 2010! Hard to believe four years have gone by so fast.
A few days later, on May 12, we celebrated our two year wedding anniversary. I don't think anyone can really prepare for anniversaries. They are exciting moments but then you realize just how much time has passed and all the memories from that time come back to mind. I still remember our wedding day and feel like it was just yesterday! It's hard to believe I was only nineteen and E was only twenty. We were such babies but I swear we thought we were thirty. I'm very blessed to be married and I am so glad we decided to get married young. I don't know how we would've handled all our struggles throughout the years if not for our three rope lifestyle; E, Me, and God at the center of it all. I am thankful for four long years and two incredible wedding anniversaries. I especially look forward to number three, but it can certainly take it's time getting here.
JUNE
On June 29, we got to see and meet The Fray! It was such an awesome moment. Erik has always been a big fan of The Fray and somehow, I was lucky enough to win him tickets to not only see them in concert, but to watch their sound check and meet them. It was so much fun and they really are a Godly group, which made the concert that much more exciting. The funny part is, we didn't even get to stay and watch them perform during the concert part because it was a Sunday night and they weren't scheduled to go-on until 11pm. E and I had to leave early because the concert was all the way downtown and we both had to be up at 4am. We both admit that we were bummed but very thankful for getting to meet this amazing group and we even got to watch some pretty interesting bands perform and we look forward to their return. Maybe we will even get to say we saw them live before they made it big...who knows!
JULY
E and I didn't really get to share this with y'all like we wanted to, but our cruise was such fun! I was hoping we would have been able to write while we were on the cruise, almost like a daily log or daily dairy post, but neither of us realized just how busy we would be! I mean, from about 6am to mid-night, we were running rampant on the ship, constantly trying to do "everything!" Looking back, I still wouldn't change a thing. Some people ask us why we didn't try to "rest" more, and to be honest with you, it was so much fun that E and I agree, we wouldn't have wanted it any other way. We are both eager to take off on our next cruise but with the imminent changes ahead for 2015, our plans for another cruise haven't been set yet. Maybe when we release all the details/plans for 2015, it will make more sense...
Our cruise set off from Galveston, TX, and we spent five days on the Carnival Triumph. Our first stop was Progresso, Mexico which turned out to be one of the less-attractive places to stop. Although, we still made the best of it. E and I were able to get a 45-minute massage each for just $15 per person, so I really can't complain. Even better, the massages were on the beach, literally on the sand only twenty or so steps from the clear-blue water. Here are some pictures from Progreso, Mexico...
Massages on the beach!!!!
E enjoying the soft, white sand.
I now have an obsession with lighthouses (remember that because you'll see another one real soon). I snapped this as we were walking through the streets of Mexico.
As I mentioned, Progresso was not the most stunning place ever, but I did find it totally hilarious that as I tried to "sneak" a picture of one of the Mexican soldiers on guard as we entered the port on a bus, he actually saw me and smiled for the camera. I didn't get to talk to him, since we were in a moving bus, but I did wave at him and smile back so he knew I wasn't crazy, and also as a thank you for not being a total jerk!
After we left Progesso, we then sailed off to Cozumel, Mexico and "OMG", it was beautiful y'all! Here is an underwater picture I snapped with my iPhone 5!
Here is E flexing his muscles while we enjoyed snorkeling in the Caribbean waters. This is actually one of my favorite pictures of him during this trip.
Here I am enjoying the sunshine after our snorkel adventure at one of the mini Mayan Ruins. Ok, so this isn't really a Mayan Ruin, it's actually a small replica of one of the actual Mayan Ruins, but still it's adorable and made for a fun picture!
After our snorkeling adventure, we enjoyed a private beach party with kayaks, water slides and trampolines, hammocks, and jet-skis. Here is a quick picture of us on a kayak in the beautiful water.
Ignore me please, let's focus on that water! Again this was during the private beach party. Oh, E and I were both red as lobsters after this day because we both completely forgot to use sun-block.
Does this not look like a postcard? Well, it's not! This is Cozumel!!!! I love this panorama I took.
AUGUST
E and I had a blast spending an entire day at a concert in the Woodlands. We watched three amazing bands including Fall Out Boy (my favorite band of all time), Paramore, and New Politics (a new band). Each of them was amazing and made the night so much fun!!! Here is a picture of Fall Out Boy rocking out!
They weren't as energetic as they have been in the years before, but they still left us with a smile on our faces and the energy around us from the other concert-goers was incredible!
Pre-concert selfie=CHECK! I mean who goes anywhere nowadays without first taking a selfie? I'd also like to point out that we look so cute, so it had to be done. Regardless of the cute selfie, the concert was amazing and we are looking forward to more fun concerts.
SEPTEMBER
Once again, we didn't get to share this amazing trip with y'all as much as we wanted to but needless to say, it was FAN-TAS-TIC!!!
Can I just say that Las Vegas took all our money? Well, that's not entirely true. We won on quite a few machines and even killed it on the Blackjack tables, but somehow we still blew all of that and left with less than we had planned. *sigh* Either way, this trip was so much fun and BONUS, we spent it with family! Nothing beats a trip together like spending it with hilarious family members.
Upon our arrival in Vegas, E, his sister, his cousin, his dad and I all took part in a hilarious game of Live Zombie Paintball! So the Zombies weren't really dead (queue the boooooo!), but it was such fun and believe it or not, it really got the adrenaline pumping. I mean we were all pretty nervous because we didn't want them to touch us. I think regardless of them being alive, everyone still likes to pretend they are dead. I mean who doesn't, at least once in a while, wonder if they would survive a Zombie attack?? Either way, this is definitely a "must-do" while your in Vegas! The cast is great, very dead-like and they were pretty creepy! E's dad took a pretty hard tumble, managed to scrap his arm, but he got up like a champ and even laughed it off later. The best part, we got real paintball guns to shoot at the "zombies", who doesn't love shooting teenagers with paintballs? Kidding!
Aside from paintball shooting wanna-be teenage zombies, staying up way too late, and spending countless amounts of money in casinos, we did take time to enjoy some of the other great things about Vegas. We walked through the M&M World, even watched their 3D show, we also went to see Cirque Du Soleil and Carrot Top, stopped by the amazing Bellagio Fountains, walked through the Bellagio's Conservatory, and we even went to Freemont St. Never been? Well, make sure you plan to stop by Freemont St., it will definitely be worth it. Don't believe me?...Google it and you'll see!
Ah the Bellagio...I mean really?! It's too beautiful not to include in our review so let's just take a moment to love this photo... I mentioned that we spent this trip with family right? Well let me just list who all was in attendance. Erik, Me, E's mom, dad and sister, his cousins Adrian and Jordan, and his aunt Debbie and his uncle Mike. We "turned down for what" in Vegas as a Family for a week before heading home and saying goodbye to E's aunt, uncle, and cousins as they headed to their home in California.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that we also celebrated my 22nd birthday. We didn't do anything crazy, just dinner with E and I, and his awesome parents!
OCTOBER
At the beginning of October, E and I took a little trip to the Magnolia area to partake in our favorite tradition...The Texas Renaissance Festival! This year, to my surprise, we only attended for one weekend, but we made the most of it. Erik and I both participated in two of the shows during the festival. I was shocked because Erik never wants to do anything that requires him to get up in front of an audience, but he did and he enjoyed himself.
We also celebrated Erik's 23rd birthday! I threw him a surprise party with close friends and family members at the Houston Texans Grille in CityCentre. The "theme" of the party was Texans and I was so happy that all the guests showed up in Texans gear! I blindfolded him so he couldn't see where we were going or what we were doing.
Here's a picture of the group surprising Erik! See all the Texans shirts? I'm glad it was a surprise and E had a blast.
I was even able to reserve the patio for him and guests only! There were huge TVs, pool tables, and it was outside so we were able to enjoy the nice, cool air. It really turned out to be a wonderful night.
Finally, we celebrated with our good friends, Alexa and Josh (not pictured). They actually struggled with infertility too. Alexa was diagnosed with PCOS but to their surprise, they were able to get pregnant and now, our Goddaughter Madison will be born in less than 30 days! We cannot wait for her safe arrival. Currently, Alexa and Josh reside in Arkansas so we won't be able to see Madi after her birth, but we will be able to see her when they come down for her christening in February.
NOVEMBER
For Thanksgiving, E and I were able to visit my grandmother in Florida. I hadn't seen her in almost 5 years and it was such a blessing to be able to spend a holiday with her. She is currently the only living relative I have left that actually talks and keeps up with me regularly, Most of my family is disconnected from me after the deaths of my mother, father, and grandmother. This grandmother is living in Florida and is my mom's mom. We've had our ups and downs over the years, but she has really changed and has opened up to me so much more now. I feel a connection now more than ever, and E and I look forward to visiting my Grandma Lana and Pop Rob more frequently throughout the coming years.
Remember earlier when I said to remember my obsession with ;ighthouses? Well, here's another one! I told E that I wanted to make it a habit to visit one lighthouse, if possible, at every destination we visit. I know not many places have a lighthouse anymore, but I would like to at least try. I think they are just so beautiful! This particular one is in St. Augustine, FL, less than an hour away from Gainsville, FL where my grandmother currently resides.
Here we are at the tippy-top of the lighthouse. We climbed more than 250 steps to get to the top and my goodness it was windy up there! We were practically being blown over but it made for a great photo.
After our lighthouse adventure, E and I took part in picking from trees. We picked oranges, grapefruits, and lemons, all from trees grown on my grandma and pop Rob's property. Those were the buckets we took home with us. We had oranges for weeks after we returned home.
Erik even took part in shooting my Pop Rob's BB-guns. He had a blast and I must say that I really love this photo of him. For some reason it reminds of me of the quote; "you'll shoot your eye out."
I had to include this photo because I have a feeling that in a few years, E will take a photo just like this except our son or daughter will be beside him. I just love this photo and cherish it.
Because the property was so beautiful, we had to do an impromptu photo shoot but I only wanted a few with our silhouettes...not bad for a camera being held up by a wooden post and a self-timer. They are actually much cuter than the real, at-that-moment version. We couldn't stop laughing and when the camera took the photos, we were both shocked at the end results.
Yet we still had to take some cute, non-silhouette photos and my grandmother was kind enough to get down on the dock with us and snap these precious photos! Although E and I find it funny that in both shots, it looks like Erik has a super girly leg. Overall, I think they turned out perfect and the scenery...wow!!!
The last and final photo we tooko of our Florida trip, was a photo under my grandmother's orange tree. It was a perfect way photo to commemorate our time with my family. I especially adore it because we took some of those very oranges home.
At the end of November, E and I got, what I like to call, a "weightloss bug." Basically meaning, we got the urge to lose weight. We worked really hard throughout the remainder of November and managed to lose quite a bit of weight. As you can see, I was able to go from a size 14/16 to a size 10/12! We are still working out, eating right, and taking supplements daily to promote healthy weightloss.
DECEMBER
Finally we are at the end of our review, but not before I boast about my husband. So five Christmases ago, December 23, 2010 to be exact, E and I were a fresh, young 18 and 19 year old couple. E had just asked me "out" in May of 2010, and we had just started our first semester, Freshman year of college. I was attending community college but was planning to change to the University of Houston and Erik was attending Sam Houston State University. He had picked me up from a friends house and took me to College Station for dinner at Texas Roadhouse. I thought he would propose to me but as the night went on, he hadn't done it yet so I kept getting discouraged. It wasn't until we arrived at Santa's Wonderland in College Station, TX, where he reserved us a ride in a carriage under the thousands of Christmas lights, that he popped the question! You can see our carriage driving smiling as he pushed the ring onto my finger. We had no idea just how much we faced in the coming years. I look back at the years we've spent and laugh about this night. Mainly because just moments before this great photo, I had told Erik to be quiet so I could stare in amazement at the lights, like a child really. I laugh because I remember us moving into our first apartment in January of 2011, one month after being engaged. I remember how neither of us had money saved or jobs, but somehow we made it through (with the help of our parents haha). I remember the fighting because he had never lived with a girl alone and I never with a boy. I remember when he got upset because I threw away perfectly good steak and then I cried because I kept burning every thing I tried to make (first time ever living on my own and I couldn't even make cereal without ruining it). I remember getting Chief, who, at the time, was WAY too expensive but E gave in and let me get him. I remember it all! As we begin 2015, I can only imagine what life has in-store for us. Maybe we will finally be able to get pregnant, maybe we won't. Maybe we will travel, maybe we won't. Maybe we will buy a house or move to another city or state, maybe we won't. To be honest, I have no idea where we will be in 2015, but I do know that I am truly blessed to have E in my life. I am thankful for December 23, 2010 because I realized that at that moment, he was truly mine. Now, after almost three years of marriage, I can really start to understand how God works. 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 may not have been the greatest years of our lives, we struggled a lot, but God came through in 2014. We became closer, I now see my husband more as my best friend than a husband. I can only imagine the grand plans that God has formulated for us, and we welcome them with open eyes, open hearts, open minds, and open arms.
Here is to 2015 and saying good-bye to 2014!
God bless!!!
