Nebraska, Cheyenne, and 2012 in Review

Happy New Year's Eve, everyone! Hope you all enjoyed a wonderful holiday season with friends and family. J and I are back in Denver after a relaxing Christmas at the ranch and a quick road trip through western Nebraska and Cheyenne. It's always great to get away from the city--truth be told, J and I aren't huge fans of Denver.

A few pictures from the past week--

J's pre-Christmas ham

Sadie playing catch with her new toy

Christmas morning -- fleece pj pants from Momma Parsons 

Rainbow connection

Exterior of the Dry Valley Church

Carols by candlelight

 Interior of the Dry Valley Church

Caking the cows

Sadie dusted in snow

Cows chasing the pickup truck

Barn cat

Carhenge

Chimney Rock

Wyoming State Capitol building in Cheyenne

lobby of the Historic Plains Hotel

Ride 'em cowboy!

Cheyenne Depot Plaza Christmas lights

The Wrangler Building

These boots were everywhere

2012 was full of amazing moments,

like going to the stock show with my in-laws and extended family,
hanging out with my old roommates in DC,
reuniting with J after his deployment,
training it across Europe,
revisiting Heidelberg, one of our favorite cities,
catching the Vienna Boys' Choir on Palm Sunday,

eating our way through Salzburg, Vienna, Zurich, and Bratislava,
visiting J's grandparents in Nevada and seeing the house in which J grew up,

making new and wonderful friends who are now like sisters to me,
numerous Jazz in the Park concerts and shows at Red Rocks,

getting married (officially) to my best friend,

honeymooning in Rocky Mountain National Park and Aspen,
making dinner and catching up on movies together,
seeing Punch Brothers play in Boulder,

etc. etc. etc.

But 2012 also brought with it some horribly challenging moments and mid-life crises and health issues,
many of which I'm still processing and facing now. 

I'm a sucker for a new year and new beginnings, and I'm optimistic that 2013 will be even better than 2012. J and I just bought our plane tickets for a honeymoon to Greece in September! So there's that to look forward to. On the other hand, there will be extended periods of separation (J's headed to Austin, TX for three months and he still needs to attend the Space 100 course in California) and many more mid-life crises, no doubt. But I still have faith that the upcoming year will be the best yet.