2011 Recap

Once again, another year has absolutely flown by. Maybe it's just me getting older, but they sure do seem to be going way too fast. There's something about turning thirty that makes you sort of stop and think about your life. I remember when I was in high school thinking how old thirty seemed... but now that I'm there, I keep thinking well, it's not that old! Without further ado, here is my recap of the major things that happened in 2011.

January

My Flaming 30th Birthday Cake

• Jan 2: My 30th birthday! I went to dinner at Sudwerk Riverside with my family and then we went to the movies. As you can see to the right, I had a crazy flaming cake... that's what thirty candles looks like! In my "A New Decade" post I looked back on all of the things I did in my twenties... I accomplished a lot! 
• Jan 15: I picked up my wedding dress. It was just as amazing as I remembered it and I was so excited to finally have it here!



Engagement Pictures!

• Jan 22: Mike and I had our engagement photo session with Michelle Trujillo of Michelle Trujillo Photography. We had decided that we wanted to take them at one of the local fire stations so that we could include an engine in some of the pictures. Michelle was amazing and managed to get some shots in three or four different places on the fire station grounds so that it actually looks like we were at a bunch of different locations!
• Jan 30: Mike and I saw Daniel Tosh from Tosh.0 in San Francisco. I bought Mike the tickets for his birthday in November... we've been hooked on this show for a while now. It was a really fun show!

February

• Feb 20: Alyse's Baby Shower - little McKinley arrived later in the year and is absolutely adorable! The shower was a ton of fun!

March

Eric Clapton

• Mar 4: Eric Clapton concert. Mike and I gave my parents tickets to see Clapton for Christmas, but feeling a little selfish, I bought some for us too. It was an amazing show. The man can seriously play guitar and it was really cool to actually see him do it! As my mom put it, he plays his guitar so well that it sings. Los Lobos opened for him - they were great too!



Mike And I At Cooper Vineyards

• Mar 6: A Weekend of Zin. This is the annual Amador County event and it was my first year going. There were twenty people in our party, two vans and two designated drivers. We made it to eight vineyards total... it was definitely a good thing we had designated drivers! We had some amazing wine, delicious food and had a great time with the Blankenheims. We broke a total of three wine glasses (average for the event, I'm told) and had a lot of fun!
• Mar 13: We registered for our wedding at Williams Sonoma and Macys. We had so much fun running around the stores with the scanners!
• Mar 14: An 8.9 major earthquake hit Japan, sending tsunami waves up to 133 feet high towards land. Reports were that the earthquake lasted twenty seconds and shifted the entire island of Japan EIGHT feet. The confirmed death count was 15,842 people with an additional 3,485 people still missing. It was completely horrible to watch and for a while there were serious concerns that the tsunamis would make it across the ocean to California (as it turns out, waves about 8 feet high hit parts of California and Oregon).
• Mar 28: Our house was broken into. Definitely a very sucky time. I chose not to blog about it at the time, but it was not an experience that I would like to repeat. I lost every piece of jewelry I've ever owned, but even worse, they took my jewelry box which had a lot of sentimental stuff (notes from the tooth fairy, etc).

April

Oma's 82nd Birthday

• Apr 5: I learned how to fire my first shot gun. Between the break in and the mountain lions, I decided it would probably be best to know how to defend myself. I was scared to death, but it wasn't that hard once I did it!
• Apr 13: I took a biofeedback class at Kaiser to help with my migraines. It was an amazing class and in the personalized sessions afterward I learned a ton about how to help fend off the headaches and how to deal with them when I already have them!
• Apr 17: We celebrated Oma's 82nd birthday. I sincerely hope that I am as healthy as she is by the time I reach that age! She has early stage Alzheimer's, which is seriously awful, but beyond that, she's as healthy as a horse!



Droopy Tail Shadow

• Apr 18: Shadow gets "limber tail". The poor little guy couldn't lift his tail up or even sit down and spent the entire night pacing the downstairs bedroom with me. It's basically a very painful syndrome brought on by cold water (we had taken him swimming the day before). The vet gave us some fantastic medicine that made the pain go away and about four days later he was finally able to lift his tail up again!



Kati's Bridal Shower

• Apr 24: Mom and I threw Kati's bridal shower. Kati had wanted a big tea party, so I spent the entire day before making homemade scones and other yummy treats. We stuck with pink and white (which went along with her wedding colors) and had an absolutely wonderful time. My favorite part was the toilet paper game where the girls were broken into teams and had to make wedding dresses on one of their members out of rolls of toilet paper. It rained at the very end of the shower, but other than that, the weather completely cooperated!
• Apr 29: Prince William marries Katherine. Their wedding doesn't hold a candle to mine or to Kati's!

May

• May 2: Osama bin Laden is killed. More than anything, I think it was a symbolic act than anything - obviously it didn't make everything better or bring back anyone that was killed.
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  Mike and I at CATS

  May 7: Mike got to see his very first musical - we went to the Orpheum in San Francisco to see CATS. It was every bit as wonderful as I remembered it from seeing it when I was younger. The one complaint we had was that the seats were a little close to the seats in front of you, but other than that, it was wonderful. Next up, opera!
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  Kati's Bachelorette Weekend

  May 13-15: Kati's Bachelorette weekend. We headed to Aptos for the weekend to celebrate Kati's final fling before the ring. We rented a beautiful beach house and had a total blast hanging out. There were 14 of us girls total... we pretty much took over the bars! As it turns out, it was my cousin Jared's 21st birthday that weekend, so they met up with us at the bar too, which was pretty special. The weather was not entirely cooperative, but we did get some nice walks on the beach in. And, of course, no bachelorette party is complete without "Pin The Hose On The Fireman". Yup, we went there. It was one of the most exhausting weekends of my life, but it was loads of fun!
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  Mr. & Mrs. Wood!

  May 18: Amgen Tour of California. Mike and I headed to the Bay Area to watch the pros ride Sierra Road. We rode our bikes to the top to get a good view of the finish. What took me almost two hours took the fastest rider sixteen minutes. Yeah, I'm still working on that.
• May 22: Dave & Courtney get married. This was the first of eight weddings (including ours) that we went to or were invited to this year. Their wedding was absolutely beautiful and they had the same colors that we were going to use, so it was really need to see a preview! The weather was beautiful, the ceremony was perfect and Courtney's dress was stunning... the food was absolutely yummy too! We had a wonderful time and, as always, it was so much fun to see good friends get married!

June

Kati & Nate's Rehearsal Dinner

• Jun 3: Kati and Nate's rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. In hindsight, their coordinator was quite entertaining, but at the time, I would have called her a name I shouldn't say in church. The dinner was amazing - we went to Sienna in El Dorado Hills and had a really fun time. We had the whole little patio area to ourselves and they had an outdoor fireplace to keep it warm! Nate's mom even brought stuff to make smores! The best part (besides celebrating Kati and Nate's marriage, I guess) was their world famous donut holes - they bring them to you with a bunch of different dipping sauces that are amazing!



Mr. & Mrs. Barcklay!

• Jun 4: Kati and Nate get married. Despite some crummy weather (hey, it's good luck to have rain on your wedding day, isn't it?), Kati and Nate's wedding went off without a hitch. It was absolutely beautiful. I have to admit, I was skeptical about the hot pink wedding dresses, but I think everyone looked amazing in them. We really had a lot of fun - from the limo ride to the reception to the party itself! Kati was a beautiful bride and Nate looked good, too. The weather was crappy for most of the day until just as the sun was setting - when Kati and Nate got some beautiful pictures out on the golf course. It was a perfect day!
• Jun 11: I bought a new bike. The obsession with cycling began. I bought my first road bike, a Specialized Dolce Elite Compact. Since then, I've learned how to ride downhill fast and have fallen off twice, once on account of gnats. Yup, gnats. France 2012, here we come!  

July

• Jul 8: I picked our wedding flowers. Gordon Hill Flower Shop in Jackson did them and they were absolutely amazing! I went in with a vague idea on colors and where I wanted them and the folks there delivered an absolutely amazing end result!



Mr. & Mrs. Hawkes!

• Jul 16: Emily and Graham get married. Kati and I were bridesmaids in their wedding and flew down to San Diego for the weekend. The weather was beautiful, the bride was beautiful and the weekend was a lot of fun! 
• Jul 22: First fall off my bike. I was heading uphill, got tired and stopped pedalling. I forgot that my feet were stuck to the pedals and couldn't figure out how to get them out quick enough. Fast forward to me sprawled in the middle of the road.
• Jul 23: Amy Winehouse dies. Not entirely surprising, but sad, nonetheless. The more I learn about alcohol and drug addiction, the more I see how horrible it is for the people caught up in it. It's never as easy as "just quit" and it never goes away. I hope she's resting in peace after her struggles.
• Jul 25: Mike and I met with our cake baker and picked our wedding cake. We went with an almond cake with an orange filling. It was absolutely amazing! Ingrid Fraser was our baker and she's both affordable and does fantastic work!

August





Mr. Remington Porter


• Aug 6: I made the trip to Lodi to see Brigitte and Dan's beautiful new house and meet their super cute new puppy, Remington! That little guy is super smart and we had a fun little BBQ while I was there!



My Bridal Shower

• Aug 13: Kati and Mom threw my bridal shower. They did an amazing job - Kati had chosen a tropical beachy theme (hello, perfect!) and completely decked the house out. She bought me a real lei (sent from Hawaii!) and did these amazing centerpieces that were made out of fruit and flowers. One of my favorite parts was the cake decorating contest - each lady got a cup cake that they had to decorate in the style of a wedding cake - some of the girls got really creative! We all had a really good time!
• Aug 20 - Aug28: Lake Almanor vacation. As always, our annual trip to Lake Almanor was wonderful. We fished, we kayaked, I napped and Mike climbed Mount Shasta. Just another typical vacation for us! 

September

• Sep 3: Kati & Nate's housewarming party. They put a ton of work into making their house exactly what the wanted it to look like and it's absolutely beautiful! We all had a chance to visit and have a delicious BBQ!

  

  Never Forget

  
• Sep 10: Rivercats game. Dad got us some great tickets to see the Rivercats in the playoffs, so we headed into Sacramento to watch the game. It was a lot of fun and reminded me of just how great baseball is live (I can't stand to watch it on TV).
• Sep 11: The 10th anniversary of September 11, 2001, my parents wedding anniversary and the Capital Air Show. It was a busy day. I took some time to reflect on exactly what I've done over the last 10 years and how devastating that day was. The air show was a lot of fun - I got some great hands on EMT experience. Finally, it was my parents 35th wedding anniversary!
• Sep 13: Merritt's funeral. A friend of Mike's passed away far too early at 40 years old of cancer. She left behind a husband and a sweet little boy. Her funeral really opened my eyes - there was not a dry eye in the house and there was standing room only. The only people who weren't there were the firefighters that were out on the wildfires. That's a life well lived.
• Sep 17: Fiddletown Fiddlers' Jam. This was Mom's first year attending and the bummer of it was that it was so dang HOT. We didn't stay super long, but the few that we heard were really good!



My Bachelorette Party

• Sep 24: My bachelorette party. Kati threw me a really fun bachelorette party. We started at her house with some girl time in the afternoon. Nate had made us jello shots that were, well, potent. They did the trick! She had shirts made that said "First the rock, now we roll" on the front and "Anna's Bachelorette Blowout" on the back, all in the browns, oranges and reds that were my wedding colors.We then took a limo to Buca di Beppo for dinner and then downtown to The Park for more drinks and dancing. It was a really great time! Needless to say, I had a pretty spectacular hang over the next day!

October





Meghann's Bachelorette Party


• Oct 2: Meghann's bachelorette party. Like I said, lots of weddings this year! This bachelorette party was for my friend Meghann, who I went to high school with and later reconnected with in Choral Society. We started the evening off with dinner at Mas Mexican in Roseville (yum!) and then headed over to the Glass Turtle for a night of drinks and karaoke. It was a blast!
• Oct 8: Dancing with the Sierra Stars: Our friend Kassie works at a local hospital that did a fundraising dinner. The end of the dinner was capped with several of the nurses, staff, volunteers who had been training to ballroom dance! Kassie and her partner did the freestyle salsa and were absolutely amazing! In fact, they won the competition!

  

  Mr. & Mrs. Blankenheim!

  
• Oct 21: Our rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. We had spent the few days before the wedding working on getting the hall ready for the reception, so it was really nice to sit down and enjoy some time with everyone! The rehearsal went very smoothly (I swear, our priest could moonlight as a comedian) and we had a delicious dinner at the Blankenheims house. We had invited everyone who was coming to the wedding to come to the rehearsal dinner so that we could spend a little more time with them, especially our out of town guests. What a great night!




The Ol' Ball & Chain


• Oct 22: OUR WEDDING DAY! Honestly, it could not have been a more perfect day. Us girls spent the morning at the hair salon and then headed over to the church to start taking pictures. Finally, the time was near and I was smushed into a tiny room (with a whole lot of dress) so that no one would see me. Walking down the aisle with my dad was really special, as was stopping to give my mom a flower from my bouquet (like her mother had done, she had done and Kati had done). Finally, I was at the alter with Mike. Our ceremony was sweet, funny and just what we had wanted. I still catch myself thinking that I can't believe we're actually married! The reception was everything we had dreamed it would be - one great big party! Our DJ was awesome - he even dressed up people and taught them choreography for YMCA! And, of course, there was the Blankenheim ball and chain tradition that became this year's Christmas card! At the end of the night, Adam and Eva whisked us away in our decorated car for some much needed sleep!



Honeymoon In St. Lucia

• Oct 23 - Oct 31: Our honeymoon to St. Lucia. The one thing that people don't tell you after your wedding is how exhausted you're going to be. Going to St. Lucia was the perfect remedy - we went to Sandals which is all inclusive and therefore we had to do nothing! We did choose to do two excursions - deep see fishing and horseback riding. My drink of choice for the week was the pina colada... and I drank a lot of them. The bar opened at 10am and I feel like we both had drinks in our hand the entire rest of the day! We also did a candlelit dinner on the beach, which was super romantic and really beautiful. It was a fantastic, relaxing week and we had a great time together!

November

• Nov 1: I officially became Anna Blankenheim (according to the State of California and the Federal Government). Yay!!!
• Nov 12: Meghann and Bryan get married. It was our eighth and final wedding of the year and it was as wonderful as the rest of them. They also had the fall colors but they were done differently than ours - still absolutely amazing. Their wedding was at the Forest House Lodge in Foresthill and Meghann was a beautiful bride - I loved her red heels!

  

  Mr. & Mrs. Stedman!

  
• Nov 24: Hullaballo 2011, hosted by Adam and Eva. This Thanksgiving tradition never ceases to satisfy... as always, it was a complete blast. This year Aunt Sandi and Geoff joined us and really took the pajama contest to heart - Aunt Sandi won the contest and looked super cute! The food was delicious - Adam brined the turkey for the first time this year and Eva decorated the table so beautifully!

December

• Dec 6: I accepted a new position at work. I'm super excited to be starting it after the new year and it's a great opportunity for career growth.
• Dec 10: I done lost my mind and signed up to run 26.2 miles in San Diego next summer. Yup, I signed up for a marathon!
• Dec 12: The madness continued with me signing up for a half marathon (you've gotta train, right?) in March.
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  Raymond Shooting

  Dec 18: Welcome home party for Shane. Shane is my new nephew (new by marriage) who just returned home from serving in the Army in Afghanistan. We're so incredibly proud of him and can't believe he's done what he's done. Tim and Nicki had a great big party and pig roast to celebrate his safe return at their new home. It was a blast!
• Dec 24: We spent Christmas Eve with the Blankenheims. Church was great and we had a lot of fun watching the kids excitement when they opened presents!
• Dec 25: We spent Christmas Day at my parents house. It was a lot of fun, but both Mike and I were still sick, so that was a little bit of a bummer.
• Dec 26: The Blankenheims, Smithsons, Barcklays and Counts' hit the shooting range. It was a total blast and we had some serious weaponry out there.

As you can tell, 2011 was really a wonderful year. I am truly blessed to have the friends and family that I do. I can't believe how quickly the year has gone by! I can't wait to see what crazy adventures 2012 bring us - sabbatical being one of them!

Happy New Year to you all and be safe!