I’ve been super nostalgic lately and I think it’s partly due to the fact that my toddlers are growing up before my eyes, but also partly because the decade is coming to an end. I wanted to put together a little photo reel of images I thought summed up each year of the 2010s. Happy New Year!
2010
We bought our first house! Back when we were 24 we were not anticipating still being there a decade later and bringing home our babies to that home. We fell in love with our little craftsman and absolutely adore our neighborhood. I don’t know if we’ll ever leave Madrona, but hopefully one day we’ll up-size and get a slightly bigger house.
2011
Skiing was a major part of our 2011. This winter we made it to Whistler, Breckenridge, Jackson Hole and Crystal Mountain. We palled around Crystal Mountain with our friends Carrie and Patrick, as well as Steve and Diane, and solidified our friendship, love of the mountains and skiing skills. We rented a cabin for four weekends the winter of 2010-2011 with two other couples and that was the gateway to our quest for our own ski cabin. 2011 also marked the year that Alex and I snuck off to the courthouse and got legally married, then later that year Alex’s paternal grandmother, Maxine, passed away.
2012
Our winter wonderland wedding took place on April 14, 2012 in the mountain town of Vail, Colorado. 90 of our family members and closest friends joined us as we said “I do” while surrounded by puffy snowflakes falling down just for the occasion. 2012 was also the year we got our puppy, Aspen. Sadly, she only lived six months. We also said goodbye to Alex’s maternal grandfather, Papa.
2013
We celebrated our first anniversary in Hawaii just before bringing home our puppy, Jackson. That summer was filled with weddings and associated parties, as well as travel to said weddings. As newlyweds ourselves it was extra fun to celebrate our friends’ nuptials. Along the way in 2013, I lost both of my grandmothers and now Alex and I only have one surviving grandparent – his maternal grandmother, Nana.
2014
The trip of a lifetime was our major 2014 highlight. We spent a month touring Italy, Switzerland, Spain, London and Amsterdam. The reason for the trip was to attend the dreamy wedding of Alex’s sister, Alina, and her husband, Alberto in northern Italy. Our trip was a dream and we think back on this so often.
2015
This was the last year before we had kids and we sure lived it up in 2015. We drank all of the wine, took as many trips as possible and enjoyed our time together. I got pregnant in the fall of 2015, so the year ended with my first trimester.
2016
During the earlier parts of my pregnancy Alex and I managed to squeeze in quite a few memorable ski days. We went to Park City together, then Alex went on a cat ski trip with our friend Patrick while I went to Whistler with my dad. I’m so grateful we got that many ski days before we became parents. Ben arrived on the very last day of May in 2016 via an abrupt c-section. After a month in the NICU we brought him home and started our life as a family of three. Having a premature newborn is no easy feat. There were many challenges and so much joy in 2016. We certainly adjusted to our new normal and were so very grateful to have had Edina, our wonderful nanny help us navigate the beginning of parenthood.
2017
I had a hard time coming up with a “theme” for 2017. It really was a fun year but not one with a major trend, other than navigating parenthood. We managed to travel a bit – we went to Arizona, Whistler, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois and we bought the property in Leavenworth that we eventually built The Lodge on.
2018
Hannah was born right in the middle of summer 2018. She was the absolute best baby and made us feel like a real family. A few months before Ben turned 2 we broke ground on building The Lodge, and Alex had a big job change.
2019
The Lodge was completed in early 2019 and our year was spent adjusting to our new life with two toddlers and two homes. The joy we experienced in 2019 is a life’s worth. We made all of the memories and squeezed in as much as we possibly could to this special year. We spent so much time together as a family, as well as with our extended family and close friends. Early in the year I left my job to stay home with our kiddos.
I can’t even imagine what’s in store for the next decade. I only hope that the 2020s bring us more family time, a continued love of exploration and nature, good health, an abundance of travel and patience. By the end of the 2020s our children will be teenagers and Alex and I will be approaching our mid-40s. I don’t really think I’ve thought about what those days late in the next decade will possibly look like – I just hope they’re happy ones.