Rachel, Day by Day

The best day of my year! Our wedding day on April 27, 2013.
This year has been utterly amazing. I’m having a hard time putting it into words. These past 365 days have been full of so much love and happiness and I am grateful for every moment. Scott and I have so much to be thankful for; we have wonderful friends and family that have been with us this year and our whole lives.
We did so many things this year and saw some cool places. Instead of writing a paragraph about every single thing, I decided to just make one giant list and put some photos in between some text. When I went through this list, I was in shock. We did all this in one year?? It’s been an amazing journey!
My Year in Review: 2013
- Last New Years Eve: Went out to dinner for Uncle John’s birthday and then to Christina’s party.
- Brendan and Anne visited in January.
- Trip to Springfield in February with Scott (see photo).
- Double dates with Anne and Drew.
- Scott’s grandparent’s 65th anniversary party.
- Bridal Shower with Scott’s family and friends in Bloomington (February).
- Bridal Shower with my family and friends at Brio Tuscan Grill in Lombard.
- Caroline Lou (my new cousin) born on February 14.
- St. Patrick’s Day parades in Elmhurst and Normal.
- Myles Thomas (my new cousin) born on March 12.
- Shopping day with Sydney at Woodfield and went to Red Robin for dinner.
- Easter weekend: Made bunny cakes, had a scavenger hunt, and dyed eggs (see photo).
- Bachelorette party in Champaign (hung out at Kate’s, went to Boltini and C Street).
- Bachelorette party in Naperville (got our nails done, had dinner, danced and drank at BlackFinn).
- Went to Rosie’s with Granny, Maggie, Ashley, Barb, and Stacie to celebrate!
- Rehearsal and dinner for our wedding at Maggiano’s.
- Our wedding on April 27, 2013 (see photo). (This bullet point deserves to be in bold!)
- Vacation: Our honeymoon at Excellence Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (see photo).
- Maggie’s graduation and party.
- Saw West Side Story musical in Peoria with Scott.
- Went to Arlington Racetrack with family friends and won a little money!
- Vacation: Miami Beach in June with Melissa, Brittany, and Christina (see photo).
- Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup on June 24! We watched it at Esquire with Steve and Jillian!
- Scott’s birthday party in our man cave with friends and family.
- My mom, my grandpa, Ray, and Uncle John visited July 4th weekend!
- Vacation: Went to St. Paul, Minnesota with my mom and Ray for John’s wedding. We went to Mall of America, too (see photo)!
- Christina visited me in Normal. We went out to dinner, mini golfed, and rode bumper boats.
- Went to Shakespeare Festival with Scott in August. We had a picnic and saw Comedy of Errors!
- Blackhawks Convention in Chicago. I met Andrew Shaw and saw the Stanley Cup (see photo)!
- Went to County Fair with Scott’s family. I got to hold a rabbit!
- Fancy happy hour at Boltini when Anne moved away (see photo). 😦
- Went to Cubs vs. Cardinals game with Scott and Jeremie at Busch Stadium. Cubs lost. 😦
- Vacation: Went to Wisconsin Dells in August with my mom, Ray, Grandpa, Uncle John, and Scott (see photo)!
- Vacation: Went to Milwaukee in September with Brendan, Anne, Graham, and Kate (see photo)!
- Celebrated my grandpa’s 86th birthday in September at my mom’s house.
- I started my Double Takes project in September. I’m loving it so far!
- I saw a meteor on my way to work on September 26!
- Went to Becky (Scott’s cousin) and Angie’s wedding (see photo).
- Melissa and Larry visited us in town! I now love Settlers of Catan.
- Golfed 9 holes for Ray’s birthday and went to Emilio’s for dinner with family (see photo).
- Halloween: Scott and I dressed up as Mario and Luigi and went out with Liz, Jillian, Graham, and Kate. Graham performed at the bar (see photo)!
- Carved pumpkins with Scott’s family!
- Went to Alli and Jake’s wedding.
- Scott and I stopped in Dublin, Ireland on our way to Paris.
- Vacation: Scott and I went to Paris, France and spent time with Renée and Chris (see photo)!
- Went shopping with Melissa, Christina, and Melissa and ate at Mago Grill.
- Spent Christmas Eve with my family.
- Spent Christmas day with Scott’s family.
- Got to see my friend Kim at her baby shower. My friend Andrea is pregnant, too!
- I fell in love with Tom Hiddleston this year.
- New Years Eve… stay tuned!
As I mentioned earlier, this year was incredible and one of the best in my life. There have been so many awesome changes in my life this year; I’m not sure if I want 2013 to end! I can’t believe I went on six vacations in one year! Scott and I did so many fun things by ourselves and with family and friends. Thank you all for an outstanding 2013 and I can’t wait to see what happens in 2014!
Yay!