T is for Townsend: 2013 Year in Review

*disclaimer: for all you non-bloggy folk, the words in pink provide a link where you can find the original blog post

I realize you probably rolled your eyes at the mere title of this post, seeing as how every single one of your social media news feeds is probably inundated with some variation of a 'year in review' post but what kind of a blogger would I be if I didn't do one myself??...Not one of the cool ones that's for sure.

It's actually times like these when I'm really happy I have a blog, because I can literally go read about my entire year... which is really helpful when all the years start blending together and you can't really remember what happened in what year.

Is it just me or does January 2013 seem like a loooooong time ago??

It does, but per the above paragraph, thanks to my blog, I know that it got really really cold last January. Like, 29 degrees, colder-than-Alaska cold. And that's cold for Arizona folk. I also know that my husband killed a Javelina on the very first day of 2013

...and then skinned it in our front yard. We never got any nasty grams from the HOA so it appears none of our neighbors lost their cookies over it.

In February I tried my own hand at Javelina hunting, and since I camp up empty, I just talked about my outfit instead. Another Valentine's Day also came and went and I reflected on things that have (or haven't) changed between Nate and I.

March came along and Google tried to pull a fast one on me and deleted my blog. And then when it came back I blogged about how I almost lost my blog...with clever Gloria Gaynor references laced throughout. More importantly, my precious little niece Miley was born in March.

...She came in like a wrecking ball.

So sorry. Couldn't resist.

And then there's this picture that's not from March but it just melts my heart, because Miley is so dang cute, and her and uncle Nay Nay together are even cuter.

In other political news, Rand Paul staged a good 'ol fashioned filibuster in the Senate in March, and I wrote about what I would talk about if I had my own personal filibuster.

In April Nate and I celebrated four years of being married by taking a trip to New Mexico to see George Strait in concert on his farewell tour. I also had Nate take over my blog for the first time. That was fun. Oh and I graduated from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizadry.

Boom.

In May I had another graduation of sorts, my Master's Degree. No big deal.

I also enjoyed another weekend in the vineyards wine tasting in southern AZ, threw a surprise bridal shower for my cousin-in-law, and had to say goodbye to my work BFF.

I kicked off summer by hanging out with Taylor Swift in Glendale, and camping at Bear Canyon Lake.

Nate also helped me realize how much Gunther and I are the same. Speaking of Gunther, the dogs took over my blog for the first time in June too. They're a hoot.

July brought with it another fantastic 4th of July complete with sparklers and a new NRA shirt. I also dragged Nate to a baseball game and we waited in the 100+ degree heat for a free t-shirt. He was pretty happy about that...not. We went to California to watch my cousin get married, took our annual hike to Kinder Creek, and I wrote more about my dogs and things they never think about.

In August I went on my first archery deer hunt, enjoyed shark week, and came to terms with everyday decisions I'm really bad at making.

...Newsflash: it's January and I'm not any better at making said decisions.

I welcomed September with Brian Littrel and the Backstreet Boys and discovered a few Backstreet solutions. I also finally got the nerve to ask a few questions I was too afraid to before. I gave aerial yoga a try, threw a few first world fits, and got into my first car accident.

September was busy.

In October I met Luis Gonzalez and took a vacation to Dallas...that the government ruined.

We still managed to have fun though...cause, duh, we always do.

We dressed the dogs in Halloween costumes too, cause duh, we always do.

November came along and I recycled my favorite post I've ever written about my favorite veteran for the 2nd year in a row. I wrote about 7 things I won't blog about, and went on my first rifle deer hunt.

Arizona State University beat, ahem, that other team down south...

...beat 'em good.

...and won a PAC-12 south title

It was a good year to be a Sun Devil.

It's always a good year to be a Sun Devil.

Before we knew it December was here and the holidays were in full swing. We took Christmas photos, went to the Princess for ice skating, and cut down our own Christmas tree. We laid low and spent Christmas day together, and I finally watched The Christmas Story. Or is it A Christmas Story?