Happy New Years!
Okay, now that that is over with. I generally love to review what the past year has held, mostly so I don't forget that I'm still an interesting person who sometimes does fun stuff!
January I was still riding high on The Force Awakens release, and I ended up seeing it a total of seven times in the theater! However, between coupons, gift certificates, dates, and family outings, I really only paid for it myself about twice. I also attended a Grizzlies ice hockey game, and got to see my good friend Catherine who was visiting from medical residency. My brother Blake turned 25, and we celebrated by shooting stuff, and going out to dinner. January I was still working primarily in the American Fork office, but filled in the Orem office, especially since my wrist was now allowing me back to full function!
At the beginning of the year I undertook the project of reading 50 or more books in the year. I don't think I quite hit the mark, mostly because I didn't keep track. However, I got pretty dang close! First book of the year was Ready Player One, then I dove into the Wool series.
February I got to hang out with my family when they came up for state swim. Blake and I commemorated Valentine's day by going to see Deadpool! (Basically the best romantic movie I could ask for as a mostly single lady.) Cue awkward Valentine's blind date! It was actually a pretty fun night, especially since I got to try out go kart racing. February wasn't a total bust, and I actually started a casual relationship (not the blind date guy).
March was an eventful month. I went on a California trip with my family to Newport Beach. We spent a few days at Disneyland, and a day out at the beach. It was lovely, despite it being rather rainy and cold for California. The week after that was Comic Con, and this Con was particularly awesome. I got to hug Dean Cain - my favorite Superman - get my book signed by Christopher Paolini, pose with Hawkeye, and debut a few costumes.
April I took advantage of the lovely weather, and went for lots of weekend hikes and drives up the canyon. I visited Cedar, and we did some hiking around there as well. One of my dear college friends, MaryAnn, was married at the end of April, and that was really neat to attend.
May started off with "May the Fourth," which included a Star Wars 5k. The new Captain America also came out, which helped feed my Marvel addiction. My brother Blake and I escaped to our parent's cabin at Panguitch Lake, spent the night, and then took an adventure to Bryce Canyon. I love hiking Bryce Canyon!
May was spent doing more hikes, and basically just biding my time till summer! Seriously, I discovered Silver Lake, and it was still completely covered in snow and ice at the end of May. Still, it was beautiful. I also took an adventure out to see the Salt Flats since I'd never been there before. May was my last month working at the American Fork office, and I had to say goodbye to several friends. I was able to return a little closer to home, and go back to work at the Taylorsville office.
June turned out to be a pretty incredible month. I'd been dreading it because I was turning thirty. However, I commemorated the milestone with all kinds of fun events. I participated in the Dirty Dash 5k with Scott. At the beginning of the month Brent and I went and saw The Cure. It was an amazing, long concert with three encores, and we left with souvenir concert shirts. We also got to attend one of the Real Games, which they won. We then planned a trip to Moab to celebrate both our birthdays by going hiking and skydiving! Jumping out of a plane was terrifying and incredible, and I'd totally do it again! I definitely need to spend more time exploring Moab as it is gorgeous.
July I spent some time four-wheeling with the family over Independence Day weekend. A group of friends and I had a bonfire up Big Cottonwood canyon, roasted some mallows, and were politely asked to disperse by the police when we stayed past dark. That month I also dove into a massive project that involved a whole bunch of materials and techniques I'd never really gotten into, and took me the next three months to complete. I built a set of Mandalorian armor to wear to Comic Con in September, which was a huge challenge, but a lot of fun!
August I managed to get away from work long enough to take a trip to Lake Powell with the family. Powell was lovely as ever, and I discovered that I was actually okay at stand-up paddleboarding. Now to just move someplace with an ocean... August was really an emotional roller coaster for me, so I was glad to finish up the month with the Color Run 5k.
September kicked off with Comic Con. I spent almost the entirety of this one involved in Star Wars. We actually had Luke Skywalker himself - Mark Hamill - come visit us, and because I'm a part of the Rebel Legion, I had exclusive access to the panel, and I attended with a huge herd of Jedi! I also got to debut my Mando armor, which felt like a huge nerdy accomplishment! Later that month I went four-wheeling with the brothers at Coral Pink sand dunes. I spent a good amount of September enjoying the changing leaves up the canyon, and finished out the month with the Hobbit Hustle 5k.
October is my favorite month because the combined weather, changing leaves, and Halloween! I spent nearly every weekend hiking around enjoying the brilliant colors. I had also cultivated a wonderful group of friends who did all kinds of Halloween activities with me. These included haunted houses, a Sleepy Hollow haunted hay rack ride, riding the roller coasters at Lagoon's Frightmares, two different corn mazes, carving pumpkins, and lots of scary movies! I got to go to a Yellowcard concert with Brent, and even managed to get stranded in downtown Salt Lake since we missed the last train. Halloween was spent working dressed as Captain America, and a big group of us got together to eat wings, and watch scary movies!
November started cooling off, so most of my weekend activities became indoors. We went to several moves including Dr. Strange and Fantastic Beasts. We did have a fire pit hot dog roast in someone's backyard, and went to Airbourne, an indoor trampoline warehouse. I also started working at yet another new office that month. Prior to this I'd been working exclusively in Taylorsville, but when the other dentist came back from maternity leave I branched out to the office in Sandy. Thanksgiving was a fun affair in Cedar with the entire family, and a whole bunch of food. It also was the longest break I'd taken since about August.
December started off with a new, shorter hair cut. I also participated in a whole host of Christmas activities. I attended the Festival of Trees on two different occasions, baked lots of gingerbread and Christmas cookies, and to see The Nutcracker. Something I'd been looking forward to for months was the Empire of the Sun concert. It was held out at the Great SaltAir, and it was the coolest, most insane concert I've ever been to! The guy even smashed his guitar at the end of it. Seriously, if you haven't heard this band, give them a listen! The other headliner of my December was Star Wars! Because the new movie was being released, the Rebel Legion was fairly active. I attended the Grizzlies Ice Hockey game on their Star Wars night dressed as a Jedi Knight. I did not fall and injure my wrist while out on the ice this year, although it really felt like deja vu. I actually gathered my courage, and went out snow skiing for a day with Brent, then headed back to Cedar for Christmas. Christmas was amazing as usual, and that just about wraps up the year!
