2014 in Review

It's that time of the year! There's only about a week left of 2014. I did a blog post like this last year too... 2013 in Review ...feel free to compare. I wrote last year that 2013 was the best year of my life, but now I'm undecided! 2014 was pretty great too.

At the beginning of January, I flew back to France after my Christmas break in Wisconsin. I started my job teaching English again. One of the best days in January was meeting up with Olimpia in Lyon for a day of shopping and sightseeing. Towards the end of the month, I went to my 14th country (Switzerland)... by myself! I treated myself to a day trip in Basel and Zurich, and it was awesome. Chocolate, mountains, and lakes... enough said.



At the end of February, we had a 2 week break from work, which prompted a European vacation extravaganza. I met up with Olimpia in Brussels, Belgium for a few days of waffles and sightseeing, before heading to Amsterdam alone for a few more days. I enjoyed the Anne Frank house, the beautiful canals, and some Dutch art at the Rijksmuseum. 



In March, the vacation extravaganza continued in Germany. I had fun with Olimpia hanging out where she lived as a child and casually visiting at least one castle a day. The highlight of our German trip was the only time in snowed while we were in Europe: on a carriage ride at Neuschwanstein. From Munich we hopped on a train to Vienna and I was thrilled to see things like where Marie Antoinette used to live and that one art school that rejected Hitler haha. Yes, we obviously went there. Our last stop was a very short trip to Prague. It was too short, but so cool to see such a gorgeous city. Can't wait to go back someday. 




As if that wasn't enough, at the end of the month I went to Grenoble to visit Olimpia. And I stopped in Geneva on the way there. And it was one of the best weekends of my time in France. And this was the month when I found out I would be officially coming to Israel!! And I started hanging out with this cool French person (edited 3 years later- that "cool French person" turned out to be my husband!! :). So March was a pretty good month.


By the time April rolled around, my time in France was almost over! My last few weeks in France were spent finishing up work (yeah, I haven't mentioned work that much... but I actually did work in between all of the traveling). I loved my job, too! One of the last trips I went on in April was visiting Reims, which has one of the best cathedrals in France. On my last day in France, April 17th, I got to spend it in Paris with that one cool French person. The next day, I got home just in time for Easter. It was weird to be back in America, but I was happy to have some time at home.



In May I celebrated my 25th birthday and went on a trip to Utah at the end of the month. It was really fun to see family and friends, and kind of weird to be back in Utah after being gone for a while.

In June, I started my dance teaching job... which I absolutely love doing! It was great having Jenna visit, and then at the end of the month we left for the Houdek family reunion in Branson, MO. It's always great to spend time with the family, but I'm praying I never have to go back to Branson. Not my kind of place.


After Branson, we headed to Kansas to spend the 4th of July with some other family. From Kansas I flew to Tennessee for a reunion with my long lost friend Stephanie. It was so so fun to catch up with her and meet her cute son Westin! After getting home, I went along on a YSA trip to Kirtland and Palmyra.


In August my job ended, Jenna came home again, and then David (the French person!) came to visit. We showed him around Nauvoo, downtown Milwaukee, Chicago, Madison, and a Packer game in Green Bay. 


I have NO idea what I did in September. Probably because I did nothing and I started getting really bored and excited for Israel. I did lots of scrapbooking, Zumba, a ballet class, and spent a good amount of time bothering my puppy Daisy.

At the beginning of October the whole family went back out to Utah, and I got to reunite with friends and family again. After getting home it was time to pack for Israel!! On October 22nd, I moved to Haifa. I was happy to be back in Israel and having more adventures.


In November I got more adjusted to classes and Israel life. However, the best part about November was having the chance to go back to France! On Thanksgiving I flew to Paris and spent the weekend in Strasbourg. It was an amazing, Christmasy few days.


In December I was distracted because I only had a few weeks of class before flying home for Christmas. I did some exploring in Haifa and got to make a quick stop in Jerusalem for stake conference, so that was fun. Right now I'm happy to have a few days to relax at home!



Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone! Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année, חג מולד סמח ושנה טובה

It's been another great year, and I think 2015 will turn out pretty great too. I'm excited to have more time in Israel, and I have some ideas in the works for more international adventures...



Comments

  1. Wow, quite the year. You lead such an interesting life! So proud of you. Thanks for keeping up with this blog so all your friends and family can get a glimpse of your adventures!

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