New Year's Eve is always an anxious day for me. What will the new year bring? How could it possibly be better than the last? This year was a year of travel! I never want to say no to a new adventure, even if it means I'm always on the go. It was fun to look back on all the adventures I had this year and share a little bit about each trip!
Paul and I started off the year traveling to Chicago in January to visit his parents. Chicago is one of my favorite cities, but definitely not in January! We only got a few blocks before Paul's mom and I had to stop to buy leggings for under our clothes. Being from Nebraska I know cold, but there is nothing like Chicago cold!
I headed up to the Nebraska cold in February for a very exciting day for our family! My oldest brother, Jordan, turned 30!!! For those of you who do not know Jordan, you are missing out. He is pretty amazing! He has shaped my life in so many ways and I am so lucky to have him as a brother. We had a big party to celebrate him and our family was blown away when over 100 people came to celebrate with him! He has touched so many lives and it was so special to see how loved he truly is.
During the winter I also went to Iowa to celebrate some other special ladies. My sister had her 3rd successful Iowa Miss Amazing Pageant! It is always so much fun to see old friends and meet new ones. Miss Amazing has such a special place in my family's heart.
Luckily my other trips brought me to warmer weather! In the spring, Paul and I went to North Carolina with his Aunt and Uncle for some sun and golf! We spent a day exploring Charleston and then drove to Myrtle Beach where we were staying. I had fun practicing my golf game, but I was very disappointed I didn't see any wild alligators!
A few weeks later, Paul and I crossed the pond to meet his mom, dad, brothers, sister in laws, and niece and nephew in Portugal. I have been to Portugal once and I was dying to go back!! The food in Portugal was definitely the highlight (other than spending time with family of course). Everyday we ate fresh bread, cheese and fruit outside by the pool. At night we would go to local restaurants that would have the most incredible fish and steak! It was great spending time with our niece and nephew who we don't get to see very often. I loved going to Lisbon Zoo with them, and probably enjoyed the dolphin show more than they did. Another trip to Portugal is definitely on my list for the new year. Little did we know that our Portugal trip would turn into a New York trip as well! On our way back, our flight from New York to St. Louis was cancelled and we were stranded in New York for two extra days! Too bad it was freezing and soaking wet!
The start of the summer I headed home to Nebraska. This time I brought my friend Ellie back with me. She had been to Nebraska twice before, both times it was freezing! It was so much fun showing off my hometown to her when it wasn't negative 30 degrees outside! We went to the College World Series, walked across the pedestrian bridge, explored the old market, and stopped by my favorite boutiques. We even attended the most exclusive summer event in Omaha... a Friday afternoon jazzercise pool day at my parents house!
Ellie and I hit the road again a week later. This time we headed south to Orlando! Florida was one of those trips that I didn't really know what to expect, and it turned out to be amazing! We both went down to work at the Miss High School America pageant, I spray tanned the contestants and she was a judge. My sister Maddie flew down to help me and to keep us company when one of us was busy working. We all had Thursday off together and spent the entire day at the Magic Kingdom. Disney was wonderful, but it didn't hold a candle next to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! Going to WWHP has been on my bucket list since it opened and it was more than I could ever imagine! Maddie and I went on the day Ellie was judging because she's a muggle and would be incredibly embarrassed by us running around with wands and butter beer! I loved being a sponsor for Miss High School America. It was a great pageant to attend and I met so many great girls. It was also incredibly exciting to see my friend Emily Bray crowned the winner!
At the end of the summer, Paul and I crossed the pond again, this time my parents and Maddie came too! Maddie had been to Scotland the year before, but it was my parents first time. It was so special to me to show them where Paul came from and the country that I've fallen in love with. It was a whirlwind of a trip cramming in both wedding planning and site seeing. I was able to show my parents the venue we had chosen in the east of Scotland. We visited the church Paul and I will be married in and the castle where will be getting photos taken. The craziness continued when we took the train down to London. We saw all the sites and visited the Tower of London. I had to make my grandma proud and stop by Harrods before we left and pick up some great fashion books to add to my collection! I am so excited that the next time we will all be in Scotland together will be for our wedding!
A lot of Paul and I's friends are from all over the world, so Paul had decided to have his bachelor party (or as they call it, Stag weekend) a year early so everyone could make both the bachelor party and wedding. After six days (yes he had a six day bachelor party!) a couple friends came back to St. Louis. We decided to take a weekend trip to Nashville that started out great and ended up horrible! Paul had been sick since coming back from his trip, so he ended up staying back at the Airbnb while we went out on Broadway. The next day I wasn't feeling great, but was able to go out to dinner and meet up with Ellie H. and I's Miss USA sister, Brenna Mader. Half way through the night I knew something wasn't right. I have never felt so sick! Paul and I dragged ourselves to an urgent care and I had strep throat and he had a chest infection. It was not a fun drive back to St. Louis. I just have to say that Ellie Holtman is the greatest friend a girl could have! I forgot to mention I also had a cold in Florida, and she took great care of me in both places. It's great having a pharmacist as a friend! She always knows what to do!
We had to get over our sickness quickly because the following week we went back to Nebraska with one of our best men, Joe. I got to go to the bars with my newly 21 year old sister while the boys were at the Husker game. I also got to see one of my other best friends, Hannah with her new bae (haha I hate that word!) Mr. Shay Mooney! It was nice to finally meet him and hanging out backstage at his concert was an added perk! If you haven't seen Dan and Shay in concert you absolutely have to! They are amazing! Check here for their upcoming shows! http://apps.danandshay.com/bebacksoon/
In the fall, Paul and I took our first trip together alone since 2010! We spent a long weekend in Washington D.C. I had never been before and I was excited to go. However, it was not what I expected. We wasted a day looking at monuments from a bus when I wish I had spent more time at the Smithsonians. We fell in love with the Air and Space Museum! Fun Fact: my grandpa invented a part that was on the space shuttle and is displayed at the Smithsonian!!! Another highlight of the trip was renting bikes from City Bikes. We spent the evening riding around the monuments which is much more fun than sitting on a crowded tourist bus! D.C. was great to see, but I'm not dying to go back in the near future.
We were supposed to go back to Nebraska one last time to celebrate Christmas with my family, but Paul and I had a little impulse buy named Zoey! We had been planning on buying a dog in the New Year, but when we went to the pet store one random weekend they had exactly what we were looking for; a mini goldendoodle. She was perfect and we had to have her at that exact moment! Two weeks after having her, I picked her up and she squirmed over my shoulder and landed on the hardwood floor. We were both hysterical to say the least. Paul and I rushed her to the emergency room and she had a broken back leg. She had to have surgery and our trip to Nebraska was cancelled. She is in a cast for four weeks, but doesn't even notice it. She's still our playful, cuddly pup and her decorative casts have managed to make her even cuter than before! So instead of going back to Nebraska, we decided to meet my family half way in Kansas City. It was fun to see the Plaza's Christmas lights and visit a favorite place from our childhood, the Crowne Center!
After a flight delay and a reroute to Chicago and London, Paul and I finally made it to our last destination of 2015. We spent Christmas in Scotland with his family and got to meet our newest nephew, Ollie! A few friends from England will be coming up to spend New Years with us in one of my favorite cities, Edinburgh!
I have big plans for 2016 that I cannot wait to share with all of you, but until then I hope everyone has a Happy New Year!
Lots of Love,