2018: Year Summary

"The Year We Said I Do"   

 

As I sit here on the last day of December, I can confidently say that 2018 was by far the best year of my entire life. While the year prior seemed amazing, this year completely blew it out of the water. 2018 was most definitely a year of big events! From buying a house to getting two new jobs to getting married to the love of my life...it feels like so many BIG things happened to us! This year in particular I was completely astounded by the overflowing love shown to us with each passing day. So many people in our lives went above and beyond to help us in so many different ways. The biggest thought in my mind while looking back at this past year is how incredibly lucky I am to have such an amazing group of family and friends in my life. And, without a doubt, I am so blessed to be loved by our amazing and gracious God.

Let’s take a look back at the past year in my footsteps, as I reminisce on all the amazing moments 2018 had to bring me. :)

January

• Mike and I celebrated our third relationship anniversary with lunch at George’s, a movie at the iPic, and shopping at the mall.
• On Michael’s 23rd birthday, I surprised him with a special Subaru cake and a day filled with three exhilarating activities: indoor skydiving at iFly, go-kart racing at K1 Speed, and golfing at Topgolf! The next two days, my family spoiled Mike with dinner at La Dolce Vita and more Topgolf fun, and Mike’s family treated him to a yummy dinner at bd’s Mongolian Grill.
• Mike bought VR for his PS4—it was an instant hit with all of our friends and family.
• Gembara family movie night to see 12 Strong!
• Mike & I started back up at Columbia for our spring classes.
• The two of us jumped headfirst into house hunting—with an ultimate goal to move out of our apartment in mid-March when our apartment lease ended.
• On Mom's 49th birthday, the family came got together for takeout and a game night.
• We booked our church and wedding hall! We choose St. Cyril for our church, of course, as well as the William Tell Banquet Hall for the reception!
• For my 23rd birthday, Mike treated me to a delicious lunch, an out-of-this-world (literally) escape room, shopping in Naperville, and a movie date! He even made me my very own dinosaur cake!

           

February

• A few days after my birthday, my family took me out for another yummy dinner and crazy-cool escape room! The next day, Mike's family had more over for even more cake.
• My cousin Meghan gave birth to her sweet Virginia Maeve!
• After a few weeks of searching, we found our dream home and made an offer! Just a day or so later, it was accepted!
• Ash Wednesday fell on Valentine’s Day, which was perfect because I was already full of so much love for our God and the amazing gift of life He so graciously bestowed upon us! Later in the evening after work, Mike and I surprised one another with Vday gifts.
• My sweet Charlie turned 2!
• For Mitch’s 18th birthday, we celebrated a few days early with dinner and an Egyptian-themed escape room! (Can you see a trend in our birthday activities?)
• My dad founded his new company: Blue Ghost Consultants! I designed their logo and created their entire website.
• I also coded and launched the Donelson Construction website.
• I said yes to the dress! :) I found my beautiful gown at Bella Sposa Bridal Bouquet in Tinley Park.
• Mike and I made a massively adorable “Mr. & Mrs. Donelson” sign to hang in our new home.
• I suffered from an immensely inflamed throat and spent the next 1-2 weeks mainly just laying around. :(

            

March

• Mike and I binged all of This Is Us.
• I said goodbye to the doctor’s office I worked at after three wonderful years to focus on finishing up school.
• Luke home came to visit and I was so happy to see him!
• We headed to the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade in downtown Plainfield with the Donelson-Marsceau crew! On the day of the actual holiday, Mike and I selected all the paint colors for our home before meeting my dad and brother for lunch!
• The two of us headed to the Blackhawks game—an engagement gift from my cousin Jon! While the Hawks didn’t win, they played an amazingly close game that went into OT!
• Two days later we headed back to the United Center for another game! This time we went with the Don-Mar clan to watch Kolten skate on the ice during the national anthem with all the players! The Hawks ended up losing the game pretty badly, but it was amazing getting to see our little cousin skating with the players.
• We closed on our house and officially became homeowners! :)
• My fur-baby Sookie turned 8!
• We completed our Pre-Cana class and took one step closer to “I do”. :)
• We spent most of our time working day and night on our new home and moving all of our things over from the apartment! My amazing family came over constantly to help us paint, install flooring, and move furniture.
• My dad was officially promoted to Captain!!

     

April

• We enjoyed the usual Easter agenda: mass at our church followed by heading to IBC for their Easter service. Afterwards we hung with the Don-Mar’s and Charlotte’s roommate Jody before heading to my aunt’s house for the Weston-Gembara party.
• We had a painting party at our apartment to repaint all the walls back to white.
• We turned in the apartment keys and said our goodbyes to our first home together at Windsor Lakes. :’)
• Jax turned 16!
• We continued to avidly work on the home, and also bought a bunch of shiny stainless steel appliances to go in our kitchen.
• I was rear-ended on the way to school by lady who was on her phone and didn’t stop in time. Thankfully no one was hurt…aside from my poor car. :(
• I started the “Read Around The World” Challenge (and proceeded to make next to no progress on it as the year progressed, lol).
• I saw Avengers: Infinity War and bawled my eyes out.
• While enjoying a nice dinner with Mike’s parents, we were hired by his Aunt Mary to make a Minnie Mouse cake and cupcakes for a sweet little girl’s birthday party the next morning.
• Mike and I finished the art room in our home.

           

May

• The Kammer family so generously gave us their next-to-new couch to use for our living room.!
• I painted our mailbox, “Up”-style.
• We went downtown for the absolutely stunning Dragon Lights Festival.
• The Donelson and Kammer families surprised Jeff for his 60th birthday.
• I passed all my spring classes, thus ending my last on-campus semester at Columbia.
• I officially started working for State Farm!
• Mike and I started on our kitchen remodel.
• We enjoyed a lovely Mother’s Day visiting both sides of our families.
• Rachael turned 25!
• Mike repaired a next-to-new TV he found...so we ended up with a new downstairs TV for free!
• Ang and I celebrated our 10th Friendiversary!
• Mitch graduated high school!
• Celebrated Memorial Day with my family by the pool.
• I started my online classes; my last semester ever!

           

June

• Enjoyed a pool party for Matt’s 35th birthday.
• We attended the tasting for our reception and decided on our dinner menu!
• I started taking my insurance classes to get my license.
• We had my family over for dinner and a bonfire.
• Designed and bought my custom wedding band! :)
• Father’s Day fun consisted of fishing with Mike’s dad on Saturday, and Topgolf with my dad on Sunday.
• We saw the new Jurassic World.
• On Charlotte’s 20th birthday we successfully escaped an Alice In Wonderland-themed escape room and then headed back to the house for piñatas and backyard baseball.
• We (finally) sent out our Save The Dates!
• Two back-to-back date nights: mini golf and arcade games at Haunted Trails, then drinks and more gaming at Gameworks!
• We went to Lisle’s Eyes To The Skies festival with my dad and brother for day one of our Fourth of July fun.

           

July

• My cousin Jon got engaged to my co-maid of honor Jess!
• We enjoyed three more fun-filled days of festivities for the holiday! On the 2nd we went to Morris for fireworks followed by late dinner at IHOP. On the 3rd we met up with a ton of friends and family at Settler’s Park for fireworks, sparklers, and ice cream. On the 4th we headed to the Morton Arboretum to have our engagement photos taken! Then we headed to my aunt’s for a BBQ before running over to the Bolingbrook Golf Course for fireworks during an insane thunderstorm.
• Mike and I went to the Blacklight Slide event at the Chicagoland Speedway for some glowing fun.
• I took Mike to Subie Fest! He had a fabulous timing seeing all the beautiful cars, collecting all kinds of free stuff, and buying some new parts for his car.
• My car was finally returned to me all fixed up and good as new. :)
• We received our engagement photos and instantly fell in love with ALL OF THEM!
• Mike, Charlotte, Laura, and I made an impromptu trip to the Renaissance Faire one weekend and partied like it was 1574.
• The girls and I picked out the bridesmaid dresses for the wedding!
• I passed my property and casualty insurance tests and officially received my license!
• My wedding dress arrived all the way from Australia!
• We headed up to White Lake for our yearly vacation. We had a blast seeing all our favorite people, enjoying the lake and sun, going paddleboarding and pontooning, and of course killing it on karaoke night. You can start reading about day one of the trip here.
• I finished my online summer classes and officially graduated from Columbia!!

           

August

• Our kitchen island and granite was installed.
• Dad and Jax brought Charlie over for a relaxing evening spent fishing and watching a movie.
• Our beautiful kitchen remodel was completed!
• We helped Charlotte host a fiesta-themed party for the college class.
• We had fun with family and friends at Mitch’s graduation party.
• Mike, Dad, Jon, Jess, and I headed downtown to Replay for their The Office pop-up bar.
• My parents hosted our Bridal BBQ at their home! SO many of our lovely friends and family came out to celebrate and spoil us with generous gifts! All of the food and desserts were amazing and the decorations were phenomenal! During the party, we asked my cousin Aria to be our flower girl and Mike’s cousin Kolten to be our ring bearer! We also asked both of our aunts (Jan & Mary) to do the readings at our wedding!
• On Zack's 20th birthday, Mike gave my brothers their (very overdue) Groomsmen boxes.
• Despite my shin splints acting up, we finished with a great time at the FoamGlow 5K.
• Mike and I celebrated our 5th Friendiversary together. :)
• We painted the dining room and started our “family wall”.
• Dad, Mom, Mike, and I managed to nab 4th place at The Office Trivia night despite everyone in the place totally cheating.
• Mike made us two sofa tables for our living room and dining room.

           

September

• My aunt hosted a joint 30th birthday party for both Jon & Jess.
• Got totally soaked in the rainstorm at the IBC Labor Day Picnic.
• Mike picked out his tux!
• Jess threw a surprise birthday dinner for Jon.
• We ordered our wedding cake!
• Had a blast at Mikey's 21st birthday party.
• I started teaching my 3rd grade religious education class. :)
• I repainted the front door.
• Mike installed new tile by the front walkway and in the upstairs guest bathroom.
• We had my family and the Weston crew over for a BBQ. The food was delicious and the boys had a blast fishing all evening.
• We went to Konow’s Junktique and found some awesome additions for our home.
• Our wedding invitations were sent out! We were instantly flooded with RSVP’s. :)
• We bought Mike’s wedding band!
• The old willow tree in our backyard fell down on a very windy afternoon. :( My dad came over the next day to help Mike cut it up into firewood.
• We took a trip to all of our deceased relative’s graves to drop off flowers and an invitation to our wedding. It was a very special, very emotional day spent recognizing each of our loved ones who wouldn’t be able to physically attend our big day.
• I ran my third Warrior Dash alongside my hunky fiancé.
• Mike made a wood storage shelf for our new abundance of firewood out of pallets.

     

October

• We found out Rachael was expecting.
• Mike headed to Montello with my brothers for his Bachelor Party while I headed to Milwaukee with my mom, aunt, and the girls for my Bachelorette Party! We had an insanely fun weekend heading to all different kinds of yummy restaurants, a peddle tavern, and escape room! I also gave the girls their (belated) Bridesmaid boxes! Start reading about day one of the boys trip here, and day one of the girls trip here.
• We picked up our marriage license!
• My (soon-to-be) mother-in-law and sister-in-law treated me to a lovely evening getting dinner at Ditka’s and going indoor glowing mini golfing.
• We headed to the All Seasons Apple Orchard for the fourth year in a row of apple picking and other farm festivities. (We then made apple pies a few days later, of course.)
• Our Disney magic bands arrived in the mail… 💗💙
• For Dad’s 49th birthday (and Sweetest Day!) we went to Konow’s again for a competitive cornmaze race. My team “lost”... Later we stopped by our friend’s for their annual chili cook off before heading to the movies to see the new Halloween.
• I had a make-up and hair trial run for the wedding, and picked up my wedding dress after the final alterations!
• We had a blast downtown at my brother’s Halloween party. Mike and I went as a steampunk couple and got an abundance of compliments on our costumes. :)
• Dad and Mike had fun at the Bears game together on Dad's actual birthday!
• I received my homemade blanket from Camilla Mitchell, who had mentioned making me one for my future wedding about TWO YEARS ago!
• We made our placecard wedding favors!
• On Halloween, Mike and I passed out candy to the neighborhood kids, watched some spooky movies, and carved pumpkins.

    

November

• By some miracle, all the events scheduled to be held in our reception hall were cleared for the weekend so we were able to head over there to set up everything ourselves a few days beforehand!
• Our friends and family came out for our wedding rehearsal! After the walkthrough at the church, we headed to La Dolce Vita for a delicious dinner where we played a cute slideshow and gave our wedding party some gifts.
• On November 10th, I married the absolute love of my life. The wedding was perfect in every way and everything was absolutely beautiful. So many wonderful people came out to celebrate us. It was by far the best day ever. I couldn’t be happier.
• The day after the wedding, us newlyweds flew off to Florida for our honeymoon! We enjoyed an amazing trip together with six days at Disney World and one day at each SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, and Discovery Cove (along with a few unplanned days to relax and such!). While we were enjoying our thirteen days in Florida, we celebrated our 1st engagement anniversary as well as Thanksgiving! Start reading about day one here.
• Laura turned 52!
• Peter turned 4!
• Our amazing wedding photographer sent us the photos from our big day and we were absolutely blown away by how gorgeous they turned out!
• We went with my family to help them pick out their Christmas tree.
• We put up most of our Christmas decorations. This included: three trees, a 55” wreath, a bunch of outdoor lights, and much much more festive fun.

     

December

• Had a spooky time at Rylan's 3rd birthday party, which was themed after The Nightmare Before Christmas.
• We had my brothers, Jon, & Jess over for dinner and some intense games of Heads-Up & Pictionary.
• Mike and I visited the Morton Arboretum for their Illumination event for the 5th year in a row! It was so special getting to stand in the exact spot Mike had proposed to me a year prior—but now as his wife!
• We got dressed up all fancy for the IBC Cantata—and then had an “unbreakable” amount of fun at the college class party. ;)
• I passed my life & health insurance tests and became certified to sell said products!
• Said goodbye to my kiddies on our last class before Christmas break, and they surprised with all kinds of presents!
• We hosted the Christmas party for Mike’s extended family this year! It ended up being a perfect night with yummy food, thoughtful gifts, and fun games!
• On Christmas Eve, we rushed around for most of the day. We had breakfast with the Don-Mar crew before exchanging gifts. Next we rushed to church, where my dad played Santa at the children’s mass like always. Then came the 10th Annual Kammer Christmas party, were we enjoyed seeing family and feasted on amazing food. The last stop of the night was at my parent’s house for the Gembara-Weston Christmas party.
• Christmas Day was much more laidback. We had lunch with the Don-Mar family before going to my parent’s home to open gifts with everyone. Later, my Grama and cousin came over for dinner, presents, and Switch gaming. We also made a trip to my mom’s work to visit with her.
• Oh, and did I mention that Mike bought me my very own CAROUSEL HORSE for Christmas?!
• My father-in-law Mike turned 54!
• On New Year’s Eve we got dinner with Jax and my dad at the most delicious Sushi restaurant before heading back to the house where we had a blast jamming to all the music hits from every decade!

          



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Books

Seeing as I hadn’t met either of my reading goals for the last two years, I set a much lower goal this year. Knowing I would be pretty busy with wedding planning, I decided on a goal of 15 books...but I ended up reading only 2. It ended up being a MUCH crazier year than I ever could’ve imagined (with house hunting, wedding planning, finishing school, home remodeling, etc). The only time I really got to do much reading was over Spring Break and when I was stuck home sick in bed. :( I can at least say that the two measly books I did manage to read were excellent ones that I thoroughly enjoyed! This new year is looking much more laidback in comparison to last, so hopefully I’ll be able to change that number to something more respectable. For reviews and other fun stuff, be sure to check out my Goodreads account…maybe add me as a friend. ;)

• One Dark Throne - Kendare Blake (5/5)
• Heaven Is For Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Store Of His Trip To Heaven And Back - Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent (5/5)

      

Movies/TV

We didn't find as much time to go to the movies this year as we usually do. We still did see a good amount, but there was also a bunch of movies we never made it out to see due to our busy schedules. There were a lot of good movies that came out this year though! I truly wish we could've seen more! As always, be sure to check out my Letterboxed account for more movies, ratings, and reviews!

• Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle (4.5/5)
• Insidious: The Last Key (4/5)
• The Greatest Showman (5/5)
• 12 Strong (4/5)
• Maze Runner: The Death Cure (4/5)
• The Post (3.5/5)
• Fifty Shades Freed (3/5)
• Annihilation (4/5)
• Game Night (4/5)
• Black Panther (3.5/5)
• The Strangers: Prey At Night (3.5/5)
• Red Sparrow (3.5/5)
• Tomb Raider (4/5)
• A Quiet Place (5/5)
• Rampage (4.5/5)
• Avengers: Infinity War (5/5)
• Hereditary (2.5/5)
• Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (5/5)
• Ant-Man And The Wasp (4.5/5)
• Deadpool 2 (4.5/5)
• The Darkest Minds (3.5/5)
• Slender Man (2/5)
• The Meg (3/5)
• The Nun (4/5)
• Life Itself (5/5)
• The House With A Clock In Its Walls (4/5)
• A Star Is Born (4.5/5)
• Halloween (4/5)
• Ralph Breaks The Internet (4.5/5)
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald (4/5)
• Aquaman (4/5)

            

In addition to the movies, Mike and I also watched a bunch of shows too! We binged all of This Is Us and are eagerly waiting for the return of the second half of season 3! We also binged all of Nailed It, Skin Wars, and Miraculous Ladybug. Recently we got into Black Mirror, which we accidentally have been watching out of order. We finished seasons 3 & 4 and are moving on to 1 & 2 (plus the new movie!) next. And, of course, we've also probably watched through The Office at least four or five more times. ;)

                   

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I hope everyone else had a great year—I know we certainly did! While last year was phenomenal, it was also so very busy. I am looking forward to a less hectic, “more time for the fun stuff” year! Some exciting stuff coming our way in 2019:

My family dog Charlie will be breeding with a friend’s dog in February, and then having said puppies in late April. Once the pups are big enough to leave their mom (early June), Mike and I will be taking home two of the pups: a male and a female! We are so excited to finally become puppy parents and add eight little paws to the Donelson family!

Mike is taking over as the new manager of Donelson Construction! I am so incredibly proud of him and all the hard work he puts in on a daily basis. I know that the company is going to absolutely flourish under his lead and I am so eager to see what he does this new year!

We shall be finishing up the last few miscellaneous home projects! Such tasks include: building our dining room table, cleaning the garage (and turning it into Mike’s Subie den), and turning the crawlspace into a puppy room! We plan to knock these things out over the next few months, as well as to post some before/after photos of our home this coming March (aka the one year anniversary of closing on our house!).

2018 will certainly be hard to top, but 2019 is looking promising already! I wish everyone a safe, healthy new year to come with nothing but happiness. Don’t hesitate to go on adventures and take chances! Here’s to another year full of laughter, love, and good memories!