Best of 2018

Can you believe it’s the end of 2018?!?! I sure can’t! As it is, it’s time for my annual “Best Of” post. We’re going to do things a bit differently this year, and rather than identify big life events to celebrate for each month, I’m just going to highlight 10-12 things from throughout the year. Lots of things happened in short periods of time this year, so I think that’ll be easier than me trying to find something each month (July and August could be tricky to fill in particular....)

Well, let’s start with a couple of big things I suppose....

► I now have my first ever loan....for my new to me car! After mom and dad got theirs last December I started keeping my eye out. Mom and I stumbled on mine in the lot while waiting for theirs in maintenance. It passed the “dad test,” and the rest is, well, putting me in debt 😂 it’s a RAV4, and I absolutely love it! I’ve already put close to 9,000 miles on it, and it’s only been nine months.

► Travel! I’ve traveled more miles via car and plane (and my feet!) this year than I have in a few years combined. Of course there’s all the in-state travel to Vancouver for various adventures, and the Port Townsend area for a couple of weddings (see next point), and then to Spokane twice for 4-H, but there was also the trip to Sandpioint, ID for Steph’s bachelorette party...and then there was Kristin and Bob’s wedding in Savannah, GA (so much fun exploring!), and the drive to Twin Bridges, MT for Steph and Tyler’s wedding (gorgeous!), and let’s not forget the trip to Austin, TX with a few students and faculty. *More about those three trips in a few posts back, each trip got its own post....

► 2018 was the year for my friends and family to get married! I went to or was a part of seven weddings this year, six of which were between April and June. The last one was in November. It was a busy time, and my involvement in each one was different, but I’m so glad I was able to celebrate with all of my friends and family!

Those are really the big things that kept me busy this year, but there are some other fun things I’ve been doing too...

► Last summer I played on a women’s league softball team. I played again this year! And we had so much fun that most of us also played on a co-ed team too, making a total of three months of softball (aka wind blowing dust and dirt into our eyes). The best part though was when Dad agreed to play on our co-ed team! Of course everyone LOVED him, and he was on the ground diving for balls more often than not. Both of our teams were horrible, but we had a great time playing each week.

► My friend Cori introduced me to paint nights last fall, and this year alone I think I’ve done a total of 10 or 11 😁What can I say?!? They make a really great outlet for any frustrations or mental blocks, and they’re just plain fun to do! Mom and Dad have even done a couple with me (Dad didn’t paint, much to my disappointment lol). And, they’re great social outings too, cause you get to visit with people while you’re painting. My advice is to try one, and take a couple of friends with you!

► Due to life circumstances, I moved into the old farm house this summer amidst the craziness of traveling for weddings and work.....over the 4th of July holiday we painted most of the downstairs. After agonizing over colors for a couple of weeks, we got right down to business. It took us a total of five days between four of us — thankfully a friend who is a painting expert came to our rescue in lending us a hand! With her help in the detail work, it turned out great 😍 And yes, Dad “helped” too, haha. We also had an update on the bathroom done....the tub isn’t 70s gold now, instead only the the sink and counter are 🙌 (Pictures: Dad working on the kitchen; the bathroom; living room wall that was our palette; Dad and Ace working in the living room; Dad being, well, Dad...; the color difference for the accent wall in the living room; the dining room; looking from one side of the living room all the way through to the dining room.)

► My ten year high school reunion was this summer. How did THAT sneak up on me?!? It was a good time, and even with all the work it took, I enjoyed helping prep for it. We were smart though and saved pictures we printed this year for ten years from now, haha!

► I was able to go to a Shania Twain concert with my friend Katie this spring. It turns out Katie is a BIG Shania fan, and we had a great time! I also had the chance to watch Joe Diffie play when he did a concert during our county fair. He is a great live performer and it was lots of fun singing along. Hoping I can add a couple of concerts to my bucket list for each year.

► I’m returning to some old 4-H adventures with new(er) faces by my side to help. The former KYG leaders stepped down this year and the office was looking for someone to pick it up, so I volunteered. Then I asked a couple of “my girls” to help me. Amber and Tyra were delegates the first time around when I was coordinating before. Now we’re all working together to make it happen for our small but mighty group!

The other big part of my life is work....
► I just started my third year at Central as the advisor/recruiter for the STEM Teaching Program and I'm loving it more every day. We've branded the program as TeachSTEM, and it has definitely caught some traction this year! 

► As part of the field experience component for one of our classes we hosted 600 middle school students on campus over the course of three days. It was crazy to organize, but now that we've got it figured out it will be easy to replicate I think (I hope). We are hosting students again in January on the second week of class, but this time just for 200 students rather than 600. 

One of the interns made us each a personalized gift....the "Proud Intern Mom" sticker was mine :)

There are lots of adventures on the horizon for 2019, and I'm hoping it will be an exciting year!

Happy Holidays! I hope you're able to enjoy lots of time with your family 😊

Rachel