Wednesday, January 4, 2012

2011 - A Year in Review


Grant and I had another great year! I won't go through every single month. Just the highlights! :)

February 

Crazy snow storms in Tulsa

and an awesome new job as a travel agent for Maren!

March

I got to go visit my sisters in Chicago! Mom and Emily met me there and we had a mini girls reunion. This is a picture of us downtown after the St. Patrick's Day parade. They turn the Chicago river green! Grant had surgery on his ACL and I was called as the Riverside Ward Primary President. Scary!


April

Even though Grant was laid up we still managed to make it to Troy and Brooke's wedding in the DC area. We were only there for a couple of days, but we went to Gettysburg, some of the Smithsonian museums and I even got to see my old roommate and long lost friend Lauren Cozzens while we toured the national mall. The wedding was super fun and so classy!





June and July 

Went to Utah and Idaho to visit family. It was maybe the prettiest I've ever seen Utah. We had a great time! We went boating, hiking and made it to Justin and Sunny's wedding up in Nampa, ID. We even got to see the famous Melba 4th of July fireworks! Totally worth the trip alone! ;)


August

Grant took me on a surprise trip to Branson for my birthday! Although Branson itself is pretty cheesy, we had a great time! We went paddle boarding at Table Lake, we saw an awesome Chinese Acrobatic show, ate at some really fun places, and (my favorite) went antiquing!




September

By far my favorite month of this year! We started by going to Austin to visit my dear friend Lindsey (who was just about to have her baby) and her husband Blakely. Oh, and BYU just happened to be playing Texas that weekend too. :) 





On the way home from Austin Grant and Mark surprised me and Sam by pulling into the Dallas/ Fort Worth airport where they announced that we were flying to Costa Rica!! The second surprise of the night was when Dallas and Audrey met us at the airport! Costa Rica was incredible. It was lush and green and full of great hikes and incredible waterfalls. We ate the most delicious local food at roadside shacks. Then we topped the trip off by going bungee jumping! 








September (continued)

I told you it was a great month! The week after we got home from Costa Rica I flew to Cancun to spend five days at a luxury resort (El Dorado Royale) in the Riviera Maya for work. Although I had to do some site inspections and training meetings, I had all morning  and early afternoon to myself to do yoga on the beach, try out all the fancy restaurants and yes, get a tan!


October

Over conference weekend Grant and I and Mark and Samantha set a new tradition! We decided that every October conference weekend we are going to go camping! We camped at Greenleaf State Park where we went fishing and then we cooked Samantha's delicious campfire dinners. And we roasted s'mores of course!




November

In November our little gang met our friends Dustin and Emily in Las Vegas. Troy and Brooke live in Vegas too, so we got to hang out with them, too! We went to see the Elvis Circque du Soleil and also Ka Cirque du Soleil. We ate at an amazing Spanish restaurant at the Aria, and even went dancing! :)



Grant's parents were called to serve in the Greece, Athens mission, and left later that month for Cyprus. We are so proud of them! November is the month that we found out that we were having a baby. What an exciting time! We can't wait to meet you, little one. xox

December

Christmas at the Cranes! Pictures still to come. 


Grant and I have been so blessed this year. We are grateful for our health and for our wonderful marriage! Next year will be full of a very different set of adventures. We can't wait! Bring on 2012!






5 comments:

Amanda P said...

Luckily I'm just crazy enough to still be up! I loved seeing your fun filled, beautiful life! Maren, as I always say, I am so proud of you, and glad you are my sister! Also, I love those friends of yours Lindsey and Lauren! :)

Stefani said...

I can only dream of having a life as exciting as yours. I have however eaten at Gordoughs!! YUM!!

Melodie said...

speachless.

christensen mission adventures said...

Love your 2011 blog! Isn't it amazing all that we get to do in a years time? By the day it doesn't seem all that exciting, but when you put it all together so beautifully as per this blog, our lives are extremely full and blessed. Can't wait for the sweet, tiny addition to your family! -And maybe you bringing him/her to Cyprus? Love, Mom

Unknown said...

So happy I found your blog! You guys are awesome! And you're expecting! Congratulations, that is so exciting!