2 0 1 0 (one year of memories in 130 photos)

In 2010, I took a little under 13,000 photos to document our year. Narrowing it down to the 130 that bring me the most vivid memories was a little overwhelming. How can you choose a handful of moments, frozen in time, that shape us year in and out to become who we are?

2010 was about overcoming fear, negativity, struggle, insecurity, and doubt. It was about physical, and most importantly, mental strength and courage to say "I can do this."



The beginning of the year brought a blanket of snow, making the world look new. With the snow came new life, and little Brady. Time spent with family, and moments spent preparing for a new year to conquer.



With Spring (1, 2, 3) came the real new year, the first day of everything coming alive again.
It was the first stages of bark & leaves.
And lots of days spent Backyard Farming.



Spring also brought a long girls weekend out of town to see my best friend, Monica, in her beautiful city of Austin. Sometimes we tell people we've been best friends since we were 13 years old, when we met in the 7th grade. Other times we'll say we've been best friends since the day we were born. One day apart, sleeping next to each other in the same hospital nursery. The day we really met, we became life-long friends, a bond that can never be broken with the gaps of time that pass between our moments spent together, again.
That weekend we walked around the city, shopped, and spent 3 muddy, Woodstocky days at Reggaefest. Dancing, and having fun in the pouring rain, with mud up to our knees.
It was a trip I will never forget.



Early Summer brought my first Arts Market.
Time with family (1, 2, 3) and sweet bits of Summer, beginning to make its way into our lives.



Summer was time spent outdoors, hiking, fishing, gardening, and shopping at the Farmer's Market.



Baby Brady, chiminea nights, Arts Festivals, Summer Breeze concerts in the park, good food, and picking Oklahoma wildflowers.



Road trips across our sleepy state to watering holes, fresh fruit, and lots of lazy, Summer evenings on a blanket, watching Michael and his friends play sand volleyball while listening to music. I never complained.



Patio nights, rain boots, 100 miles a week on my new shiny green bike named Elsie, outdoor concerts with friends, sweet tea, and the beautiful Oklahoma storms of Summer.



Late nights with friends around the firepit, and a sleepy 4th of July. Watching fireworks from the dock, fishing, and laying in the hammock with a gardening book.


All year I wait for the grass to turn green and life to start again. Over the Spring and Summer, I am truly living. Breathing in the beauty of every single day.
We took three important trips, this Summer.

The first in June, we were back to Austin for a long weekend. We shopped, ate amazing food, and listened to live music. We walked everywhere we went, and met some wonderful people.



We went to a Reggae bar, the air thick with smoke and belly laughs.
We went to a hipster hangout and watched the Givers, live. I think we were the oldest, and most non-fedora wearing ones there. We loved it, and I bought a cd and a tshirt.
We went to a bar called Liberty, half indoors, half outdoors. We stayed out, under the Summer Austin stars, and ate from an old bus that served the most amazing food I've ever eaten. I wanted to memorize the menu.



We laid like lizards in the sun, and swam until we were prunes. We climbed cliffs and jumped from 20 foot ledges.



I learned to fly, close my eyes, breathe, and take my first steps in this world without feet.



A month later, Michael and I were off for a much needed, week long trip to the beach. (1, 2, 3, 4)



I learned to find calm in my heart, surf, and to search for the most simple joys of life.



We kayaked in a swamp, found alligators, and peered at all the creatures in the water.

In July, we headed to Colorado for a backpacking and camping trip.
It was a very important trip for us.



Full of adventure, courage, and necessity to push myself to places I didn't know I could go. To put aside fear, doubt, and struggle.
When we got home, we found out we'd brought home a little souvenir.



The end of Summer brought a time to say good bye, to those sweet few months that made our year what it was. We put together all of our favorite memories into one video, that we will show our little bird when she is old enough. It was the Summer she came to be.



In the Fall we celebrated 4 years of marriage, had lots of lazy, perfectly imperfect days to rest and start growing this baby, good comfort food, Thanksgiving with our families, and turning 28.
We also announced to our families that the littlest adventurer was indeed a little girl, just like every one suspected. We filled a giant balloon with pink confetti, and in front of our family, Grandpa popped the balloon as the air (and wood floors) were littered with her first hello.



At the end of the year, baby Brady turned 1 year old. We celebrated the holidays with our families, snuggled by fires, and drank lots of hot chocolate. These last few months have been a quiet, welcome change to the adventures of Summer. My body is growing tired and sluggish with each month that passes, and in a couple weeks I will be entering my 3rd, and last trimester of this pregnancy.




And that was our year, friends.
So here we are, the 4th day of the new year and today I will finally set my resolution for 2011.

It will be one that I learned in 2010, and will continue to take with me every day into the new year. This year, my resolution is to just live. Freely, with happiness, gratitude, and renewed enthusiasm for our ability to shape each and every day how we choose it to be.

Happy New Year, friends.