2024 Rapid-Fire Year in Review

Our Year: 2024

January

Rang in the new year in Mexico! Hiked the Toluca Volcano and met our baby niece. Started a new lifting program! (Momentum by Sohee). Worked on pull-ups (still terrible at them). Dabbled in running…? (quit). Lots of work changes. Helped boys plan high school courses! Bathroom remodel continues. Watched a lot of Emily in Paris (j’adore). I was on a podcast for the first time ever! (Best Laid Plans Episode 183!) Enjoyed puppy Charlie’s first winter.

February

Ethan chugged along at driver’s ed and behind-the-wheel sessions. Went to a bunch of swim meets. Watched Asher perform at band Solo Ensemble. (He did awesome, and then he quit band… sad.) Made a reasonable dent in some home decluttering! Watched the Superbowl. Went to a movie. Charlie switched to a new vet (great switch). Finally got a shade installed in the kitchen. Volunteered at Asher’s swim Regionals. Tried out dance videos for cardio. Dealt with lots of doggy GI issues…finally sorted after multiple food switches. Spent a weekend in Milwaukee with Asher for State swim meet. Organized my jewelry!! Lots of outdoor winter walks, tried out new light up gear! Attempted to dial-in my nutrition (for a while, lol).

March

Spent a weekend in Minneapolis with Ethan. Saw a very dear old friend. Finally met in person one of my best new friends! Went to the Great Smoky Mountains and Asheville. Got a physical. I played volleyball a few times! Celebrated Ivan’s 43rd birthday.

April

Spent a long time planning our June Hawaii trip. Researched and booked a lot of activities! Went to a swim team banquet. Big progress on bathroom reno- tile done, countertops in. Started up an insane trifecta of spring sports for Asher (VB, soccer, swim team, all at the same time…oof.). Ethan’s spring soccer started. Went to an on-site full team work meeting. Started watching Suits with Ivan. Got pretty sick for a few days. It snowed in April…. Said goodbye to our hamster, Summer- the end of our “hamster era”. It also was warm enough for shorts in April. WI is crazy.

May

Ethan played freshman year high school tennis, super fun and did great. Also lots of soccer, and swim. Volunteered. Asher got his first job. Cooked quite a bit this spring! Ordered some fun new clothing items for Hawaii that I love (rash guard, cover up blouse, swim suit). Went to Asher’s final band concert. Went to Ethan’s tennis banquet. Drained and cleaned the hot tub. Cleaned the garage. Printed a ridiculously large blog book from our 2023 Costa Rica trip. Celebrated the boys’ end of school year, and Asher’s 8th grade graduation. Said goodbye to their elementary/middle school for good!

June

Went to Hawaii for 2 weeks!!!!! EPIC is only way to describe this trip. So happy. Re-entry to life, after. Got a back MRI. Found a new dog groomer. Got Charlie neutered! Summer swim season. Kids both busy working, playing lots of golf and Asher fished an insane amount this summer.

July

Kind of a chaotic July. Some extended family drama; mother-in-law in town for a long time. All mentally draining! Celebrated 4th of July with my parents. Traveled x3 weekends for swim meets with Asher. Celebrated Ethan’s 16th birthday… he got his driver’s license!! Eek. Fall high school sports “summer practices” kicked off. I met blogger friend Kyria! Watched a TON of the Olympics. Walked outside as much as humanly possible, enjoyed beautiful weather.

August

Asher qualified for State for swim; spent a weekend away with him. Wrote a guest post for NGS. More time with mother-in-law. Ate a lot of Mexican food (both out, and my MIL cooked a lot at home!). Did a major bathroom cabinet declutter project. Went to a local quinceanera. Ethan started sophomore year, driving to school for first time alone. Ethan had soccer tryouts. Asher on first BREAK from swim in ages- joined high school volleyball team. Asher switched jobs to McDonald’s. Back to school nights, high school orientation, etc. Ordered 2 new pairs of Rothy’s for first time! Cute and super comfy, I concur the hype is legit. New shower door installed! Went on a solo outing to downtown Madison with Ethan.

September

Celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary with my parents (their 52nd! We share an anniversary). Hired a dog trainer. Hired a new local piano tuner. Asher started high school! Repainted our front door trim and tried my hand at caulking (not good). Lots of high school soccer (E) + high school volleyball (A). Love it, all soooo fun to watch! Started spring break planning (spoiler, wasted a ton of time planning one trip, only to later switch it to something else…ugh.) NFL season started/ watched Packers games when possible. VB parents night. Bought a fancy dress for our niece’s quinceanera. Went on a work outing. Ethan went to Homecoming. Went to a UW Badgers volleyball game w/ Ivan. Asher fished and fished. He also had oral surgery. Put up fall and Halloween decor. Started a course at work. Searched and finally found a bathroom light fixture.

October

Crazy busy month. Went to Nashville for work conference- first work travel for me! Super fun and dressed up like a grown up. HA! Hit the honkey tonks. More soccer + VB…. Asher’s turn for Homecoming. Went to Mexico!! Brought the boys’ 13 year old cousin along. They had a blast. Were the godparents for our niece’s quinceanera. What an event! Beautiful and memorable. Got an eye exam. Asher back to club swim. Went to a haunted forest! Asher got braces. E’s soccer team made playoffs. Went to a UW Badgers basketball game. Squeezed in some local leaf peeping with Charlie around town.

November

Went to Asher’s volleyball banquet. Voted. High school boys swim season started up! Volunteered w/ Ethan at swim meet. Got my flu/covid shots. Took Halloween decorations down. Asher started drivers ed, passed his temps test. Went to a really great soccer banquet for Ethan. Put up Christmas decorations early! Got our fireplace fixed, thank goodness! (Can’t live without….). Wrote a guest post for Elisabeth. Fall yard clean up, more exterior trim painting, drained the hot tub again. Bought a bathroom mirror. Had coffee out with 2 coworkers. Put up outdoor Christmas lights. Went to the dentist. Thanksgiving. Went to my aunt’s funeral. Celebrated my dad’s 74th birthday at a hockey game. Squeezed in a little reading (very little) and puppy snuggles by the fire.

December

Asher turned 15 and officially got his driver’s permit! Went to a freezing cold holiday parade with Ethan. High school swim season going great. Attended a big in-person work meeting. Did Christmas shopping, wrapped gifts, baked cookies, made holiday cards, did all the things. Work very busy. Hosted my sister + family from Ireland. Went out for a special Christmas dinner at Lucille. Went to a movie. Saw the State Capitol Christmas tree. Attended 2 swim parents social nights out. Enjoyed a big snowfall and white Christmas. Celebrated Christmas with my whole family! Christmas Eve church.

And that’s a wrap!! Whew, what a year. Time keeps spinning on, and looking back, I think I can say that we fit a lot into the time that we had!

Clearly, this is a highlight reel. I’d say “behind the curtain” it was a great year, but came complete with a few bumps and headaches and stress and chaos mixed in, too. Surviving a whole first year of PUPPY was no joke. Work was really stressful for me. My job changed so much and it all really threw me for a loop. Family drama never disappoints. 🙃 And big travel= lots of prep and planning (a good problem, but, still!) We and people close to us also experienced some gut-wrenching losses and health issues. Full calendars led to some flat-out busy times, and not always in a positive way.

Overall though, the GOOD far outweighed the bad, and 2024 definitely goes down in our family history book as a really amazing year!! 🙂

Wishing you and yours all the best in 2025!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Cheers and Love,

Kae