2013 in review

I say this every year, but in my opinion, 2013 has been the best yet. We made new friends, welcomed new family members, and spent time with old ones and ones that we don't see too often. Oh, yeah -- and we bought a house! All of that in itself would be a busy year but on top of that, we did as much exploring as we could, all over the Tidewater area, and saw/heard/ate/experienced some amazing things.

It was hard to pick, but here are the highlights from our jam-packed year (you can visit our archives for a full rundown of everything we did).

In January, we road tripped to the Eastern Shore of Virginia and walked the boardwalk trails at Kiptopeke State Park.



In February, we visited Air Power Park in Hampton and posed with the Mercury Capsule.


In March, we discovered the Fred Heutte Center in Ghent. Also, Anouk turned two (and we couldn't believe how time was flying).



In April, we hiked around the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.



In May, we went strawberry picking at Cullipher Farms and made some delicious strawberry flummery from a colonial recipe book.



In June, we made our way up and down the Outer Banks of North Carolina, from Bodie to Hatteras to Ocracoke Island.



In July, we explored Rosewell Plantation ruins with friends, and also did some more work on our backyard Pollinator Protection Project.



In August, we we were enthralled at the Chrysler Museum Glass Studio.



In September, we started renovations on our new house. We also rode the renovated Pokey Smokey mini train at Portsmouth City Park.



In October, we made our annual visit to Bergey's Breadbasket, in search of pumpkins and baked goods and fall festivity.



In November, we spent some time at the Armed Forces Memorial in honor of Veterans Day.



In December, we hit up holiday events all over the #HRVA area, beginning with seeing scuba Santa at the Virginia Aquarium and ending with a festive visit to the Yorktown Victory Center.

Looking back at this list, I'm excited to see what the new year holds for us. Wishing you a happy, healthy, and adventurous 2014!