Recap of 2019
What a year 2019 was for us. I figured before we made it all the way through January 2020, I would take the time to write down how incredible this year was. We stayed busy but somehow also grew roots deeper than anywhere else we’ve lived over the past few years. I feel so incredibly thankful for the connections we made this year with our community in San Francisco and our friend and family all over the country. This was truly a prosperous year. So here it is - a little summary of some highlights month by month.
JANUARY
Rang in 2019 with our college friends back in Minnesota.
Took our firs trip to Lake Tahoe, (re)learned how to snowboard and took some lessons and discovered we actually don’t hate winter when we can drive away from it after a weekend.
FEBRUARY
Spent a long weekend in San Diego. Went to the Zoo, beach, Balboa park, ate lots of good food and explored the city on scooters!
Explored our own city, San Francisco, a lot this month too! Took sunset photos at the Sutro Baths, hiked the Dipsea trail in Marin County with friends, walks by Ocean Beach, and lots of little dates around the city.
Went snowboarding in Tahoe again.
MARCH
Matt’s parents, sister, and my sister all came to visit us this month! We had such a great week. Explored the city with the family and took my sister hiking in Marin and Big Basin Redwoods State Park.
Matt and I finally took our long awaited Europe trip. We visited 3 cities: Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Paris. It was such an incredible time together!
APRIL
Went to a San Francisco Giants game.
Spent lots of time in the Presidio picnicing after church and playing tennis.
Took another snowboarding trip to Tahoe, then surfed with friends the same week in Pacifica.
MAY
Lots more mid-week surf sessions.
Girls trip to Healdsburg for wine tasting, drove back down to the city through the coastal headlands.
Took our spring Yosemite trip with friends. Hiked and saw the most beautiful waterfalls in the valley. Went to see the Sequoias and it started snowing! It was gorgeous!
JUNE
Lots of hanging out with friends, late night talks.
Day trip to Santa Cruz to surf and explore with my girlfriends.
Weekend trip to Huntington Beach with Matt.
Visit from Matt’s friend from college.
Camping trip to South Lake Tahoe and Eagle Lake with Matt and my cousin.
JULY
Matt and I celebrated our 6th year of marriage with a road trip down to Big Sur and Monterrey.
Spent lots more summer moments with friends exploring the city and surfing.
AUGUST
Wine tasting with Matt in Sonoma.
Went hiking at Armstrong Redwoods.
More surfing.
Cruised the SF bay on a yacht for my girlfriend’s birthday.
Bridesmaid in my cousin Mikayla’s wedding back in Minnesota.
Went to the Minnesota State Fair with my sister and grandparents.
SEPTEMBER
My birthday month.
Went on little dates around the city all month with Matt.
Took a girls trip to Maui. Went surfing, hiking , ate so much good food, went on a snorkeling trip/got seasick/feed fish with my vomit, went to a luau, got the worst sunburn of my life haha.
Visited Matt’s family in Colorado Springs. Hiked the incline, went to Garden of the Gods, and Pike Peak. Lots of sweet family time.
More surfing back in California, sunset chats on my friends deck, hangs with my work friends.
OCTOBER
Sunday sunrise hike with Matt before church.
Got our first tattoos.
Visit from Matt’s friends from high school. Went on a camping road trip to Big Basin Redwoods, backpacked in Yosemite, and spent a day in Santa Cruz.
NOVEMBER
Visited Matt’s grandmother and family in Washington. Took Grandma up to Vancouver, BC. Went to the Capilano Suspension bridge.
Drove up to Sacramento to cheer on Matt’s sister, Marissa, as she ran in the NCAA II National XC meet.
Went to Minnesota for Thanksgiving. Spent lots of time with the family.
DECEMBER
Went snowboarding in Tahoe. First trip of the season.
Picked out a Christmas tree and decorated our apartment.
Had a date night downtown. Saw the Christmas tree in Union Square.
Went to Colorado for a week. Spent Christmas with Matt’s family in Colorado Springs. Went snowboarding in Winter Park, CO. Spent a few days exploring Denver with the family.
Ended the year with friends hanging at our place for New Years Eve to ring in 2020.
Writing all of the sweet memories we made this last year makes me even more thankful for the loving people we have in our lives and the experiences we were able to have in 2019. On top of all that, we met several goal we set for 2019. We paid off our car last year, along with a significant portion of our student loans. Staying on track with our post-doctorate 3 year plan to be completely debt free by 2021. Both Matt and my jobs are going well and we are enjoying work and feeling fulfilled. Our church community has been a huge blessing over this year as well. We are excited to see the new things we’ll experience and learn this next year.
We are hopeful for 2020 and all the growth it will bring. The first few weeks have already taught both Matt and I a lot about how you attitude can set your intention for not just your day but the rest of your life! We are striving for positivity and getting rid of silly excuses that harm our growth in plenty of areas of life. So here we go, another year. We hope that your 2020 is the best year yet!