Year 26
It’s my birthday!
May the 4th be with you. ;)
Entering age 26 doesn’t feel as scary as entering age 25 did. Something about turning a quarter of a century just made me feel old. I was stuck looming over the question of have I done enough so far if my life is a quarter of the way lived? But if there’s anything I’ve learned in the past year, it is that I’m still so young and feel full of life.
My birthday is kind of at a weird time of the year regardless. Being in Michigan’s UP, it was never really warm enough to be running around in summer attire outside and I remember quite a few birthdays being blanketed in snow. This one takes the cake in its strangeness happening during a pandemic and all, but I’m very happy and content to be with my family and able to say hi to other close loved ones at a distance or virtually.
Here’s a little recap of year 25!
Bridal shower at Keweenaw Coffee Works!
Val and her team are seriously the best hosts ever. We all had a bagel bar and coffee brunch.
I married the love of my life!!!!
I mean, this is hard to top. We got ready at the Keweenaw Land Trust cabins at Lightfoot Bay and the Lindemann camp, had our first look near the base of Bald Mountain, and exchanged vows in a cathedral of red pines at the mouth of the Huron River.
We threw a big, backyard, pizza, wedding party!
We have zero regrets about making our wedding shenanigans a two day event! With so much help from our incredible families, we pulled together a backyard celebration that featured Smelted Wood Fired Pizza, a handmade dance floor beneath the open skies in our orchard, lawn games, and a big ol’ bonfire. We were able to focus on the marriage on the ceremony day, and were able to visit with and entertain a larger volume of family and friends the following day!
Mini-moon across Lake Superior’s southern shore.
Ayden is a huge part of our lives too, of course! Since we all officially became family, we thought it only fair to bring him along for a “mini-moon.” Ayden is very interested in shipwrecks at his current age. In fact, one of his all-time favorite songs is The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot. Therefore, we surprised him with a tour along Lake Superior’s southern shore, making as many shipwreck related stops as we could.
We went on a honeymoon in Italy!
We’re super thankful we were able to escape to Italy before the pandemic swept across Europe! This was Dustin’s first trip to Europe in general, my second. We started off in Rome, and traveled by train to Florence, Bologna, and Venice, then flew south to Naples and spent time in Pompeii and on the Amalfi coast. We miss the food and the fact we easily clocked 8+ miles on foot daily!
Full-on hockey mom mode!
Ayden started playing actual hockey games this year! We’ve had so much fun driving around the U.P. and northern Wisconsin for his games and tournaments. It’s a hustle we thrive on!
We adopted Jeeves!
On our way back from our mini-moon, we adopted Jeeves! He’s our first pup that we’ve owned together as a family. Growing up, my family had always adopted dogs from the animal shelter (still huge advocates for this!) and we missed the young puppy stage. It has been fun and amazing forging a bond with a pup from such a young age. Jeeves is a German Shepard-husky mix and has proven to be surprisingly calm, the right amount of protective, and ever so sweet!
We found out we’re expecting Baby Lindemann!
Okay, so maybe there is a highlight competing with getting married to Dustin - having a baby with him! If you haven’t already heard on social media, we’re having a boy! So, I’ll remain outnumbered but happily so. Fun fact: we’re 26 weeks pregnant today on my 26th birthday!
We learned a lot about becoming un-busy.
Living during a pandemic, it can be hard to see the silver linings. We feel so heavily for those at higher risk, the hospitals that are incredibly overwhelmed, those facing job insecurity, and so much more. But, I grew up being taught to remain optimistic and to find the good that can come even from the darkness. Becoming un-busy has been a blessing in innumerable ways. The irony is that I swear we’ve stayed just as busy, but we’re intentionally filling our days with more things that give us life. We’re reading more, playing together as family more, working on our apple orchard, catching up on projects that have been previously cast aside, and even affording some rest when needed.
We started the Street View project!
My dear friends, Bryana at Riutta Images and Sabrina at Sabrina Leigh Studios teamed up with me to create the Street View project! So many small businesses are taking a hit due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Together we decided to offer mini socially-distanced sessions where all revenue directly benefits three local small businesses in Marquette, Baraga, and Houghton areas! Our goal (which we’ve almost reached!) is to raise at least $1000 per business. Any little bit helps!
Despite the current craziness we’re living in, I can’t wait to see what year 26 brings. There’ll always be a million things out of our control, but something that you can always have control over is attitude. Harnessing a positive attitude is what I pledge to do for the duration of this trip around the sun.