Top 14 Moments of 2014

2014 has been a great year for Joe and me!  Last year, I posted about the top 13 moments of 2013, so I wanted to do the same thing this year.  It was a lot of fun to look back on the year and see all of the great things that we did this year.  

So, here you are!  A countdown of my top 14 moments of 2014!  

14. Paramore/Fall Out Boy Concert

When I heard back in January that Fall Out Boy and Paramore were touring together, I couldn't WAIT for the show!  I've been SO in to both of these bands since high school, so them touring together was a high-school-dream-come-true.  The concert was in July, and I had a blast rocking out to both bands.  Great show!

13. Running new-to-me races series

The Daytona Beach Half, Disney's Wine and Dine Half, and the Space Coast Half were all new-to-me races that I really enjoyed!  They were all great courses and very fun overall experiences.  My pregnancy will keep me from running this year's Daytona Beach Half, but I'm hoping to run Wine and Dine and Space Coast Half again in 2015.

12. Helping with the youth group at church

I started helping with the youth group at church this year, and it has been one of my favorite things this year!  I've enjoyed getting to know the students, leading a small group, and being there each Sunday night for their whole-group meeting.  It's something I'm looking forward to continuing in 2015!

11.  All of our visitors throughout the year

Joe's mom and siblings visited, Farrah came down and spent a few days,

I met Krista in Orlando on my birthday,

we saw Andrew and Jacqui in Orlando, and my mom came to visit.

I'm so happy that people we love want to come see us!  We love having visitors, and I hope we'll have more in 2015!

10. Skydiving in Seattle!

My whole visit to Seattle in August was great, but one of the things I will always remember is skydiving with Kristie and her husband Joe.  It was an incredible experience to share with my best friend.  Little did I know, I also shared it with Baby Fish (again, not recommending sky diving while pregnant-you shouldn't!!  I just didn't know I was pregnant at the time)

9. July 4th in Maine!

Joe's classmate Adam and his family hosted us for 4th of July at their home on a lake in Maine.  Neither Joe nor I had been to Maine before, so it was really nice to spend July 4th in a new-to-us part of the USA!  We had fun boating, seeing fireworks, and playing games with friends and family.  Fun times!

8. My first race-cation to Chicago

At the beginning of August, Joe and I headed to Chicago for my first race-cation!  I ran the ZOOMA Chicago Half Marathon on top of getting able to enjoy the city for a few days.  We had a great time, and while I had a bit of a tough race, the beautiful course with great views of Chicago made it a lot of fun.  Plus, it was Baby Fish's first half marathon!

7. PRing at the half marathon distance

This was completely unexpected, but when I ran the Lake Minneola Half Marathon in April, I PRed by about 4 minutes!  I felt undertrained, but by using the run/walk intervals, I was able to control my pace and run the best half marathon race I've ever run!

6. Celebrating our 2nd wedding anniversary

Joe and I had a low-key celebration of our second wedding anniversary.  We ate at Vince Carter's Steakhouse, went to the beach for a little bit, and just enjoyed spending time together at home.  I think this will be a highlight of my year each year :)

5. Our trip to Washington, DC with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law

Joe's mom wanted to go up to DC and see the cherry blossoms for her 60th birthday.  While we didn't get to see the cherry blossoms due to the cold winter, we did see lots of sites in DC, toured the White House, and got to spend lots of time with each other and see my family.  It was a great way to spend Spring Break!

4. Eric and Sara's Wedding

The Clark family gained a new family member when my brother Eric married his childhood sweetheart Sara.  It was a beautiful day filled with tons of people that I love--both family and friends from my childhood!  I was honored to be a part of it, and we had a lot of fun celebrating their marriage.

3. Welcoming a new member to the family

We got Tequila at the very end of March this year, and she has brought us so much joy throughout the year.  She is such a sweet puppy with so much energy.  We love her--getting her is definitely a big highlight of 2014!

2. Our trip to Dubai

Even though this just happened, it was definitely the second best thing to happen to us this year!  It was exciting to travel to a part of the world I've never been before and explore all of the incredible things in the UAE!  I'll be doing full recaps of our trip very soon, but needless to say, it was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of trip.  What a great way to end 2014!

1. Finding out that we are expecting!

While quite unexpected, Joe and I found out that I am pregnant in late August.  As the arrival of Baby Fish gets closer and closer, we are getting more and more excited!  My pregnancy and all that's come with it has been a new and enjoyable way to finish up 2014 and was definitely the best thing to happen to us!

What a great year!  I'm so thankful for all of the opportunities we had in 2014--quite a lot of exciting travel, races, and fun activities.  I'm also thankful to YOU, my readers, who have allowed me to share all of it with you!  I appreciate you reading and your comments, as that's why I created this little corner of the Internet.

As great as this year was, 2015 is sure to bring a lot of new and exciting experiences with Joe graduating from chiropractic school and the arrival of Baby Fish!

I want to wish you a very Happy New Year!  See you next year ;)

Question for you: What is a highlight of 2014 for you?