{let’s play rewind}

I did a yearly recap last year with pictures and I thought I might do it again this year. I really enjoyed looking through my post last year about all that we did throughout the year. So, without further ado… we will rewind through 2011 as it turns into 2012! (An obligatory Christmas post coming soon… along with one about our recent trip to the Dells!)

JanuaryThe year 2011 started off a lot like 2010 did. I enjoyed a few weeks off of school before starting my second semester of my second year of graduate school. I was nervous to start my first off campus placement, but it turned out to be pretty awesome! I experimented with some do it yourself canvas art this month and LOVED how it turned out! My friend Kristi and I got our families together a few times this month. We went out to eat and had a Wii family fun night together! Also, my first ‘official’ book of photography came in the mail and it turned out great… totally worth the price!

FebruaryWe started off February with some cell phone drama. Our cellphone company switched unexpectedly on us and the transition was not very smooth. Both Jay and I were very unhappy with our service, but there wasn’t much we could do about it at the time. Ayden had his first blue and gold banquet for Cub Scouts and it was held at a hotel that had a pool. Ayden had a blast swimming with his new Cub Scout buddies! Jay got me an open heart pendant for Valentine’s Day and I still love it. What a sweetie! I worked on some of my photography techniques this month and also had an indoor shoot with a cute little munchkin!

MarchI started off March with another photo shoot, this time for my classmate and friend who had gotten engaged. The pictures turned out awesome and some of them are still my favorite to date! We went to the Dells again this month for Spring Break, only this time it was with my friend Kristi and her family. We stayed at Hotel Rome and we had such a great time together! The waterpark was small enough for her girls, yet big enough for Ayden to have some fun yet. We also had some really nice weather again this month… spring was on the horizon!

AprilI tried giving up soda this month and lasted for awhile, but I don’t think that I’ll ever be able to fully give it up again. My brother, sister, and I had our annual Mother’s Day photo shoot to make our mom her Mother’s Day book. My sister and I started something last year and we were told that we needed to continue it this year and so we did. Apparently it is something that we are going to need to continue in the years to come as well since my mom enjoys the books so much. Along with giving up soda, I also started to diet a little bit this month which ultimately led me to losing about 15 pounds by the end of the summer! And lastly, I shot a gun for the first time this month. It was kind of scary and I really don’t see myself doing it again anytime soon!

MayMother’s Day was very nice this month. Jay and Ayden got me the most awesome flower basket as a gift and I couldn’t get over how cool the flowers looked! I got down and dirty with Jillian Michaels and fell in love with her Ripped in 30 day program! I was featured on the Pioneer Woman’s website this month for one of her photo contests and couldn’t believe it! It was too cool! I finished up my second year of graduate school with good grades. Ayden ‘graduated’ in Cub Scouts from a Tiger Cub to a Wolf! He loves Cub Scouts more and more! Ayden started his spring soccer session, we went deer fawn tagging, and I started my summer clinical rotation which turned out to be pretty awesome as well!

JuneMy weight loss goals continued to progress this month and I couldn’t have been more happy! I continued with my off campus placement and was SO happy to be done with it shortly after Ayden was done with school! It saved us SO much money on childcare this summer. Ayden also started his third year of summer school and he really enjoyed it once again. I’m sad he won’t be going to it this summer because we are moving. We had some updated family pictures taken this month and they turned out awesome! Jay’s brother graduated from high school as well!

JulyMy mom came to visit for a few days at the beginning of this month and we had a great time together! We also participated in our first carp tournament and caught one big fish. Unfortunately we didn’t win anything, but that was okay. I was just surprised that Ayden stuck in so long! We kind of decided on our wedding reception venue this month, although it is still not set in stone. Jay was doing really good on his weight loss goals and he lost about 30 pounds by this point in the summer. He was doing great! Ayden went tubing behind a boat for the first time and loved it! And, we finally got a sectional couch for uber cheap off of craiglist!

AugustI spent the beginning of August in Colorado for an audiology summer camp and had a really great time! The mountains were beautiful and I learned a lot. I also went white water rafting for the first time too! There was also Hoerth camping where we floated down a river on tubes for the first time and Schwobe camping where we got rained out, but still had a lot of fun with everyone. We visited Whitefish Dunes State Park and Cave Point County Park and I fell in love with both places! Ayden and I both celebrated our birthdays and I almost cried that my baby turned seven years old! We had a birthday party and I dreaded the start of another semester of school! I had a few more photo shoots, I started the Turbo Fire workout program, and I began freaking out about having to move in the coming months!

SeptemberAyden started second grade this month. I started my third year of graduate school. Ayden had his first ‘surgery’, which wasn’t actually a surgery, but he did have to be put under because he had a bead stuck in his ear that needed to come out. Jay and I celebrated being together for eight years! Wow, time flies!

OctoberJay had a big month this month… he got a new truck! Well, it wasn’t by choice. His old truck died and we found ourselves the proud owner of ‘The Beast’ in which we all have decided that we love just a little more than his other truck, hehe! My bestie from Green Bay came and visited for a few days and we went to try on wedding dresses. Well, I tried the dresses on. There weren’t very many dresses to try on, but it was fun to try them on for the first time. We also went through quite a few corn mazes this month and missed out on trick or treating because of the crappy weather, but that was okay because Ayden didn’t really mind.

NovemberI had two externship interviews this month and after one of them, I visited with my bestie in Green Bay this time. We had a great time together! I got a new flash for my camera and experimented with it a little bit. I still don’t have it all the way mastered. I blogged WAY less than I wanted to. I got sucked into the world of Pinterest and just had a great month with my family.

DecemberI finished out the semester with pretty good grades. I wasn’t very happy with my clinic grade, but what can you do. I will just have to amp it up this coming semester. We had a great Christmas and then went to the Dells with my family and had an even better time. Both of which I will blog about soon!

There you have it… a mini recap of 2011! Overall, I have to say that it wasn’t a bad year or an overly awesome year. It was a blessed year though and I am so glad that I got to spend it with my family and friends. Definitely looking forward to all that 2012 has to offer for me and my family!

CIAO! LOVE ME!