2014 Wrap-Up

That does it for 2014! It was quite a year to say the least. Here are some pictures of the things that happened!

• In January, we rang in the New Year with black-eyed peas and had dinner at the Kuemichels' new house. He had an hors d'eourves party, went on a sushi date, and Hannah played with her friends outside.
• In February, we got a membership at the Children's Museum, we had a Nifty-Fifties Party at church, and we had some meatloaf and ribs for Valentine's Day. Hannah also made her first snowman and got to go to the circus. My parents also moved back to Nebraska after more than a decade in North Carolina.
• In March, we had a pink and blue party and learned we'll be having a boy in June! We went to Jitterbugs' Night Out (twice), dropped in on one of Kaleb's Game Nights, attended a fish fry, a St. Patrick's Party, and wished Little Matthew Happy Birthday. I went with Hannah to mud pies, took Vivian out to Big Mama's Kitchen, and also brought Hannah to the Benson Library to meet Clifford (among other people). Mom and dad also provided free babysitting until they bought a house, and then we took them to Venice Inn to celebrate.
• In April, we ended lent with pasta at St. Pius X, we grilled out with Jack and Donna, had a freak snow, and took Hannah to her first Easter Egg Hunt. We had Easter dinner with all four grandparents for the first time and went to Venice Inn a couple times more to say goodbye. Gifford Farm got threatened by a fire while Keystone Drugs Homecare actually burned down. I also met Yaron Brook from the Ayn Rand Institute while the Mills had another baby.
• In May, we celebrated Cinco de Mayo at the tail end of the parade and then flew a kite with grandpa, Hannah painted a cup for Mother's Day and played in some mud. We visited the Lauritzen Gardens with grandpa and grandma Johnson, raided Wohlner's before they closed, attended JNO and Lindy in the Park, saw Frozen at the Sumtur, saw a concert with our friends at Stinson Park and then saw Loverboy, The Guess Who, and Three Dog Night at Loessfest.
• In June, Hannah helped make a pizza and got to play in some sand. We also got to attend Shakespeare on the Green and see Uncle Kracker, Smash Mouth, Sugar Ray, and Blues Traveler at Memorial Park. Best of all, of course, we welcomed our son Aaron Edward into the world.
• In July, we celebrated the Fourth with burgers and fireworks at our house, a parade, and barbecue ribs with the family. We went to Louisville Lake with Libby and friends and then went to Lincoln to celebrate our anniversary with flowers, a snake, and selfies. Eric also had a hot, hot birthday, and Vivian and I went to the ballpark for hot dogs.
• In August, Tamra had a giant Jenga birthday, we went to the Sumtur twice more, we had a baby shower at work, and we celebrated my birthday in Lincoln with pizza, wine-tasting, and hot dogs. We also went to Cedar Rapids for a big family reunion celebrating my Uncle Ben and Aunt Carol's 50th wedding anniversary.
• In September, my folks took us to Johnny's Cafe for a belated birthday. Vivian and I spent a day at Fun Plex, Laughed Our Way to a Better Marriage™, and took Grammy and Hannah to see a balloon glow. We also attended the Applejack Festival, had a birthday by the lake with Venche, visited Gifford Farm, and dropped by the Eagle's Lodge once or twice. We even did some painting and camping for Vivian's birthday.
• In October, we visited the Farmer's Market, went on a hayrack ride, and visited Vala's with our friends. We went to Cedar Rapids for a family wedding with some fall fun in the Amana Colonies afterward. We also participated in every aspect of Halloween, from Trunk-or-Treat at the Y, to Trick-or-Treating in our neighborhood (with horses), and dropping by Jitterbugs Night Out. We also had Aaron dedicated at our church with a bunch of family and friends in attendance.
• In November, we got a big, new dining room table to make it easier to celebrate Thanksgiving. We got to visit the Zoo for free with Hannah, played a bit in a light dusting of snow, and celebrated Hannah's third birthday. We also went see Santa and the tree-lighting at the Durham, per tradition.
• In December, we celebrated Christmas with all four grandparents (and Uncle Jonny) for the very first time. We hosted a smashing party with with gifts and games at our house, checked out some Christmas Lights, Aaron looked cute in his new blue suit, and we had the traditional Christmas Eve service at Twin Valley Church. We also took my folks to the Children's museum and rang in the new year at the library and at our house with a Cheese Fondue (and football).