Dear 2014, Consider the bar set. Love, 2013

2013 was a pretty big year for us.

January. We packed up what seemed like 90% of our stuff (but later we realized was only about 70%) and staged our house in Landsdowne to sell.

Yeah, we have WAY too much stuff.

 February. Lorien and Steve got married in Hawaii! In addition to exploring Oahu we took a side-trip to the Big Island and visited Volcano National Park, thoroughly enjoying ourselves. Our house sold (for more than asking price!) and the builders broke ground on this house in Ashburn.

Dinner cruise! We saw a whale and fireworks over Honolulu.

Overlook on our first morning.

Sunset on the Big Island.

Who knows where? It's all a windblown paradise!

Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor.

This was also pretty much everywhere.

Plane ride home, very relaxed.

March. Spring break found us driving to south Florida to visit our grandparents; and then rushing back because my commitment to coaching club volleyball insanely involved most of our weekends - including Easter. Oh yeah, and we celebrated our first wedding anniversary!

Grandma & PopPop looking good!

Framing is done for our condo!

This is Easter at Capitol Classic volleyball tournament. I made my players (14s) an Easter Bunny paw prints scavenger hunt that was taped all over the conference center of the Gaylord conference center at National Harbor. They gave me rabbit ears.

April. We closed on the Lansdowne house and moved into a basement in South Riding. Upside: I could walk to work. Downside: we lived near my students and I couldn't go anywhere in my pajamas.

At least it was spacious; even if every inch of the place smelled like curry.

We spent as much time as we could visiting the "dirty house."

Can you name that field?

Hand on Heinz Field, home of the Steelers. Be jealous.

In the locker room. Do NOT step on the logo.

Awesome girls chilling on a statue.

My team helping me with the countdown for days until Travis comes home.

As the days went by, the numbers appeared everywhere.

Even the family got in on the action at A & J's baby shower in Pennsylvania.

 May. Travis got back from Afghanistan! Took my first trip to Pittsburgh with the NVPremier Extreme team. Our house got walls and brick and siding! And we kept living in a basement.

Reunion with Eowyn in Fayetteville.

June. Another month in the basement. I went to my first professional conference (on education) and RJ survived the first month of my really extreme diet.

The Little War Twins play at the Velvet Lounge. Such entertainers!

July. Fourth of July on top of the theater and then we finally got to move in to our new house! It was a busy month of moving everything in and then heading up to Ocean City, New Jersey for a family reunion.

August. Our first family came to visit (which got things put together a bit faster) and we made it possible to park in the garage the night before the new school year (goal accomplished!). RJ also got a giant piece of HD art for the family room wall in celebration of his birthday.

September. School starts and Freedom volleyball season takes off. We make our first mortgage payment on the house and decide it is still worth every penny.

October. I reach the 2/3 mark on the weight-loss mission when I officially hit 50 pounds less than I was in June. RJ discovers the newest member of our family, so in ....

November. Raleigh joins our family! He is introduced to his first bit of extended family as we host Thanksgiving. We see the Little War Twins in concert on Black Friday and then enjoy the rest of the long weekend admiring our house, which thanks to guests is finally "finished" (only 2 boxes in the house!).

December. RJ took me to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra to start off our holiday season. We celebrate together by sharing an awesome advent, slowly opening our presents each week, Christmas Eve with RJ's side, Christmas in our pajamas and then making dinner for our neighbors (despite a serious altercation between Raleigh and their youngest daughter).

Altogether, we have a LOT to be thankful for in 2013. Also, we can definitively say that 2014 has some pretty big shoes to fill.

Love and wishes for a great new year in 2014,

~Heather

P.S. Yes, I will upload pictures from the second half of the year soon. :)