I debated doing this post or not (because I didn’t know how interesting it would be to anyone other than me and my family), but after seeing Steph’s recap of her past decade this morning, I just couldn’t help myself! I mean, it’s not often you get to start a brand new decade (this is only my 4th time!), so I might as well take advantage of it.
So allow me to indulge my nostalgia a bit as we take a walk down Memory Lane…
Here’s what I (and we) have been up to for the past 10 years!
2010
- I started the year in El Salvador in my second (and last) area on my mission, serving with the companion who would later become one of my closest friends AFTER the mission.
- I was able to extend my mission by 3 weeks so that I came home after being gone 18 months almost exactly. The last branch I served in threw me a surprise goodbye party, which resulted in an evening of very emotional farewells.
- I arrived back in the States at the beginning of August and had just a couple weeks to try and figure stuff out at my mom and stepdad’s before I moved back up to college. In that short span of time, I quickly realized that the guy I thought it would work out with wasn’t the right one for me. In the same day (#truestory), I also realized that Matt was the one worth giving another shot to (as I’d written him a letter while I was on my mission telling him it would never work out between us).
- I went back to school at Utah State, and Matt and I started dating seriously, with him still living about an hour away.
- Matt and I got engaged in December.
2011
- Matt transferred up to Utah State at the beginning of the new semester in January to be closer to me (and because he planned to finish his schooling up there once we were married).
- Matt and I got married in May and then went on a glorious one-week honeymoon to St. George, with day trips at Zion National Park and in Las Vegas.
- After our honeymoon, we moved fully into our first (somewhat dumpy) place together and found jobs so we could pay for it. They were the worst jobs either of us had ever had (me at a concrete plant, Matt at a beef plant).
- I started my last semester of classes in the fall.
- I quit my job at the concrete plant in December since I would be student teaching in January.
2012
- In January, Matt and I started training for our marathon.
- I started my student teaching at a middle school (teaching Language Arts).
- Matt and I both ran the Salt Lake Marathon in April, finishing hand in hand.
- I got called as the Young Women’s President in April as well.
- I graduated from college in May.
- Matt was finally able to quit his job at the beef plant in June.
- Matt and I went on a cruise to Alaska in August.
- I landed my teaching job, which also started in August. That first year, I taught Language Arts and Creative Writing.
2013
- We lost my grandpa in January.
- Matt started working part-time at the university in Testing Services in January.
- I started my 50 Weeks to Organized project, which took the entire year.
- Matt and I went to Bryce Canyon over spring break (my first time).
- I finished up my first year of teaching, and Matt and I went to St. George with my mom and stepdad for a week after so I could decompress.
- I got my first DSLR.
- We did our first year of participating in the community garden.
- We went out to my dad’s place in Missouri (Matt’s first time going out!).
- I started my second year of teaching, which would prove to be my hardest (as I had many students who were a bit, uh, challenging). From this point on, I taught Language Arts and Spanish.
- Matt applied to get into Physical Therapy school for the first time, but with no luck.
2014
- Matt and I went to Yellowstone over spring break.
- My beloved grandma passed away in April.
- I ran my first half marathon the day before she passed.
- Matt started a second part-time job in June at a pet food manufacturing plant.
- I finished my second (and hardest) year of teaching.
- Matt and I moved to a much nicer apartment in the same neighborhood in June.
- I started my small photography business in June.
- I found out I was pregnant with Raven in July.
- Matt got called to be a counselor in the bishopric during the summer.
- I got released as the Young Women president and was then called to be in the Stake YW Presidency as the secretary.
- I started my 3rd year of teaching while super sick during the first trimester of pregnancy.
- Matt applied for the second time to get into PT school with still no luck. We gave up the PT dream for good.
- Matt graduated from college in December.
- We went and volunteered at Best Friends animal shelter in Kanab after Christmas, one of my bucket list items.
2015
- Matt quit his job at the university since his job at the pet food place started requiring more hours (and paid better).
- I gave birth to Raven in April (and subsequently didn’t go back to teaching that year since I had enough days saved up to take the rest of the year off as maternity leave).
- I had my gallbladder removed in April after chest pains landed me in the ER.
- I made Matt walk in his commencement ceremony, even though he really, really didn’t want to.
- The three of us took a road trip out to Missouri to go to the wedding reception of my dad and stepmom in late June.
- I got released from my calling as secretary in the stake YW presidency.
- I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease in July after going months with strange symptoms.
- I started my 4th (and final) year of teaching in August
- I surprised Matt with a birthday getaway to Park City in September
2016
- Matt’s job at the pet food plant went full-time in May.
- We went to Moab with my dad, stepmom, and all of my siblings and their families in May, too. We ended up leaving said vacation early because I got strep.
- Our ward boundaries got changed, which resulted in Matt getting released from his calling in the bishopric.
- I quit my teaching job once the school year was finished to stay at home full-time with Raven.
- We took a trip to Island Park with Matt’s family.
- I ran the Top of Utah Half Marathon in August and beat my previous half marathon PR by over five minutes and was just three minutes shy of my lifelong goal to run a half in under two hours.
- Matt got called into the High Priests Group leadership at church, and I got called as a counselor in the Primary Presidency.
- Matt and I both turned 30 in September.
- We tried out doing a little side hustle of buying up storage sheds at auction for the first time in October.
2017
- We almost lost Matt’s dad in January and seemed to spend weekends (and weekdays too, when we could) living in the ICU at the hospital.
- Matt’s dad was finally released from the hospital in March, two days after we received the news that Matt’s grandma had passed away.
- I suffered a miscarriage in March (the same weekend as the two events above, actually).
- We bought our first home in June.
- We got new callings in our new ward—me as a Primary teacher, Matt as Scoutmaster.
- We potty trained Raven in August.
- We traveled to Idaho to watch the total solar eclipse in August.
- I relaunched the blog under a new name and a self-hosted platform in September. #finallylegit
- We found out I was pregnant with Mathias in November.
2018
- We rang in the year by doing a short weekend getaway to St. George with Matt’s family
- Matt’s church calling got changed so that he became my co-teacher in Primary
- I started my 101 in 1001 list
- We took another trip to St. George in May as a last hurrah before the baby came
- Mathias was born 3 weeks early, in mid-June
- Raven started her first year of preschool in August
- Matt and I had several life-changing conversations in September that made us realize we’d become rather lazy/tired/complacent when it came to consciously working on our faith, our marriage, our parenting, etc. This marked a HUGE but positive shift for us towards greater devotion to all the little habits that make the most difference—family night every Monday, family prayer (and a prayer with just Matt and I) each night, going to the temple weekly (rather than just once a month), scripture study daily (neither of us has missed a day since this time!), etc.
- Matt broke his arm in September, the night before my birthday.
- I badly injured my back while exercising, which has put a stop to all exercise ever since (and which I’m currently trying to work through with a chiropractor).
- We did something I thought I would never do and dog-sat for Matt’s grandpa, who broke his hip (which only further made me realize I really never want a dog).
2019
- I got called as the secretary of the Young Women in January
- In March, I made the major investment of buying into the Elite Blog Academy course
- Mathias got ear tubes put in at the beginning of April, which drastically improved life (and sleep!) for all of us
- Matt’s parents left on their mission to Hawaii in April
- We got our first chickens and decided to really pursue our dream of having a homestead NOW (while we’re still living in the suburbs)
- I started dealing with what I thought was major anxiety/anxiety attacks in April and May, but found out I have a metabolic problem. After going on an L-carnitine supplement and a low dose of an antidepressant, I’m feeling a ton better.
- I found out I was pregnant with Hyrum in May
- I got released from the Young Women’s presidency in the summer and got called to be a Gospel Doctrine teacher (my dream calling!), which I still have
- We bought a minivan in September
- I was put on bed rest at 32 weeks along due to preterm labor symptoms
- I gave birth to Hyrum a month early in mid-December
It’s been a whirlwind, but we’ve learned and grown so much in the last decade! I can’t wait to see what the next 10 years brings to our (not as little) family!
