25 new things while 25

This has been a good year. It was a relatively quiet year mostly marked by both good news and good weather. And really cute kids.

To celebrate, I thought it would be fun to make a list of things I did for the first time this year. There are lots of great things I did that didn't make the list because I'd done them before. There are also probably other, more exciting things I did for the first time this past year, but here's what I remember so far:

1. Went to Holland, Michigan.

2. Visited Huntington and Porterville, Utah. (Both off the beaten path, though not close to each other.)

3. Learned how to swallow large pills without trouble. (This was a big deal.)

4. Went to the Henry Ford Museum.

5. Spent the night in Canada. (I had been to both Niagara and Palmyra before, but this part was new.)

6. Gave birth with no epidural. To a really, really, really cute baby.

7. Went on an airplane with an 11-day old, and then 11 days later, with a 22-day-old baby.

8. Taught preschool to 6 cute kids. (I ended up teaching A, I, L, U, and Y.)

9. Went to the Hands-On-Museum. Finally.

10. Visited Frankenmuth.

11. Regularly attended a Zumba class. (there are existing pictures . . . but I won't share them haha.)

12. Purchased both a Kindle and a smartphone. Big changes for this Luddite.

13. Boarded a bus with two children and a double stroller.

14. Encouraged a child to play in the sprinklers in November.

15. Traveled through Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama.

16. Ate mushrooms knowingly and almost willingly.

17. Replaced the lightbulb to fix the blinker.

18. Stayed in Michigan for Christmas.

19. Became a Primary teacher.

20. Purchased asparagus. (It's become a staple now.)

Sadly, this was also the day the dishwasher broke.

21. Sang a solo in Sacrament Meeting.

22. Attended the Church Music Festival.

This was right before the concert, I think.

23. Took care of two kids by myself for more than a week.

24. Broke a smartphone. (silly gravity.)

And also a silly mommy for letting someone play with the phone.

25. Read Middlemarch. (And Northanger Abbey and Silas Marner and some Sanderson books and  skimmed enough of the last few Cinder books to get the point of them all.)

I am so grateful for wonderful family and friends who have made this year so enjoyable. I am looking forward to 26!