2015 year in review {and christmas card!}

I've wanted to send out Christmas cards every year we've been married (this is our fourth together), but it has just never happened. I never plan ahead well enough and I never feel like it's a top priority. I wasn't going to send one out this year, either, but then I saw Elise's post about her Christmas card which caused me to head over to Tiny Prints and spend hours looking at all the cute cards! I was sold, and in typical Petersen fashion, I had to write up a giant letter to go with it! So here's our little family's Christmas card and letter! :)

I had to steal Elise's address idea, too!

And the idea to frame yearly Christmas cards! I already can't wait for next year just so I can add another to the display!

2015 has been quite the year for us! We've hit some milestones, traveled a lot, and enjoyed one more year together :)

The biggest thing that happened in 2015 is that we bought our first house! We upgraded from our one-bedroom apartment of three years to a four-bedroom house in Springville, Utah. Though I wasn't a fan of the home-searching process, I'm very happy with the house we ended up in. I have absolutely loved decorating and furnishing the house, and everything is finally coming together! Now to landscape . . .

At one point during the year, I was teasing my parents for how much time they spend traveling, only to realize we've done quite a bit of traveling ourselves this year!

January - We took a wonderful trip to Hawaii, just the two of us! It was the first big trip we'd taken alone since our honeymoon, nearly three years earlier.
February - We had a romantic weekend getaway to the Anniversary Inn in Logan, Utah, for Valentine's Day.
March - We invited Russ's parents and sister Lacey to join us for a camping and hiking adventure in Zion National Park.
May - We traveled down to Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado.
June - We went on an unforgettable trip to Europe with my family, cruising through Spain, Italy, and France. Family, food, and fun, our three favorite things!
July - It had been a while since we'd been up to Boise, Idaho, to visit Russ's family, so we went for a weekend trip complete with boating, a 5k, and a car FULL of Russ's stuff on the way home!
August - It was time for another Holmes Family Reunion in Burley, Idaho!
September - The wedding of Russ's cousin took us on a road trip to California to visit Yosemite National Park for a few days of adventuring with Russ's parents and Lacey again :)
November - Russ and I love weekend getaways, and our little getaway to Park City, Utah, was no exception :)

The beginning of the year was largely occupied by fulfilling a goal list of mine--a 23 before 23 list. I turned 23 in May, so I was fitting in several of my items before that time. I did work in every temple in Utah, met up in Vegas with (for the first time in person) my blog bestie, organized a Dance Company dance workshop reunion, read the Book of Mormon again, and graduated, among other things. It was quite fulfilling to make goals and reach them! Since then (and since graduating), I've been focusing on decorating the house, doing crafts, and enjoying the life of a stay-at-home wife (minus cooking . . .)! However, I was recently hired as a junior content editor for Boostability, so I'm excited to use my editing degree starting in January!

Russ has been keeping busy in 2015! He works full-time for a start-up company called Omadi as one of their customer/tech support representatives. Several of Omadi's clients request Russ because he knows the software really well and builds good relationships with the clients. Russ also loves adventuring, so he's done his fair share of that this year. I, for one, am very glad he has his dad to accompany him on the longer, more strenuous hikes like Kessler Peak (Utah) and Half Dome (Yosemite). Also occupying his time is the 1966 Volvo Amazon he bought earlier this year. So far, he has refurbished the fuel tank and fuel pump, replaced the fuel line, replaced the tires, ordered a lot of parts, and done a bit of troubleshooting along the way :) Hopefully it will be up and running soon!

At this time of year, our thoughts turn to a baby. Brand new, perfect, and come to save us all. Perhaps this year, more than any other before, Russ and I are thinking about what a gift that baby, and any baby, truly is. We're especially grateful to have had each other and the love and support of friends and family throughout this year.

Wishing you peace, joy, and love in 2016! :)

Love, Russ & Ashley Holmes