2013 in Review

We'll 2013 has come and gone and this poor blog hasn't received the love it should have had, especially towards the end of the year. To make up for my poor blogging habits (and to kick off my new goal of blogging more frequently!) here are our top 13 moments of 2013.

1. We celebrated our first wedding anniversary! 

We celebrated by going to Ben's best friend's sealing and reception. Josh and Katherine are ao great and we love them so much! We are really going to miss them when they move to New Hampshire in a few days! We also celebrated by spending an afternoon in Salt Lake and eating out at Olive Garden.

2. Ben graduated from BYU!

Ben graduated in December with a bachelor's degree in Political Science and a minor in Communications. 

3. Ben got a full time job! 

Remember back here when I talked about Ben's internship at The More Good Foundation? Well, he ended up getting a full time job there as a social media manager. We are both really excited for this opportunity for Ben to be working in such a new field. 

4. Meagan taught (and survived!) first grade!

As part of my program requirements for becoming an elementary teacher, I have what is called a practicum. This is like a pre-student teaching where I spent 4 weeks in a first grade classroom. I absolutely loved it and it made me super excited to be a real teacher!

5. Ben applied for graduate school! 

Ben plans to continue his education starting next summer. He took the GRE in August and worked on his application to BYU's Instructional Psychology and Technology program. It is now submitted and all we have to do is wait. 

6. We saw Wicked!

For my birthday we went down to Arizona to see my grandma and go see the Broadway musical Wicked in Tucson. Ben had been wanting to see it for years and I had really wanted to see it too. I found a great deal on tickets and we were so pleased with the show. At intermission we were ready discussing when we could see it again!

7. We went to 3 family reunions!

This summer was spent going to 3 reunions. The first was to the Davis family reunion (my mom's mom's side of the family) in Durango, Colorado. The following week we had a Cherry reunion in Highland, Utah and we ended the summer in Logan, Utah with the Nielsen reunion.

8. We became an even bigger Apple family!

This is something that was very exciting for Ben. In February, we bought an iPad Mini. Ben used this mainly for school but we use it for lots if other things too. This summer Ben bought an iPhone 4S at a yard sale for a super good deal that he has been using to replace his iPod touch. For Christmas, we were blessed to be gifted 2 new Apple products from Santa. I got a new iPhone 5s and Ben got an Apple TV. 

9. We moved to a new apartment! 

While we loved living in Marilyn's basement, we jumped at the opportunity to move in May when I found an apartment that is within walking distance to campus for about the same price we were paying. Our new apartment still only has one main room but it is MUCH bigger than our old apartment and our kitchen is GiGANTIC! We love our new home and are so grateful for everyone who helped us move and gave/brought us furniture. 

10. We saw the Sacred Gifts exhibit at BYU's Museum if Art...twice!

The first time we went, we got to go to a private showing through Ben's work. We were able to get a private tour by the head museum curator. We heard lots if interesting stories about the beautiful paintings in the exhibit. We also got to go with some of my family over Christmas break. 

11. Meagan took (and passed!) the Praxis!

At the end of finals a few weeks ago, I took the Praxis (a national test I need to take and pass to be a teacher). It wasn't too bad of a test and I'm glad I was able to take it before the craziness of 2014 begins. 

12. Meagan learned to play the organ!

Winter semester, I took an organ class at BYU. While it was hard in the beginning, I really enjoyed learning how to play the organ properly. It is a good thing I learned too because when we moved, I got called as the ward organist in our new ward.

13. For Ben's birthday we went to Tuacahn!

Tuacahn is a really neat outdoor ampatheater in St. George, Utah. They have different musical productions every summer. For Ben's birthday we went to see Starlight Express. It was a really cute musical about a boy and his trains that was done on roller skates. To see more about our trip see the post on it here. 

Well, 2013 has been a good year, but we are looking forward to the new adventure that 2014 will bring! Stay tuned for our adventures in teaching, going back to school, fun trips and welcoming a new nieces and nephews into our family!