Wow, my last post was March 15th. I’m doing an excellent job with this, aren’t I?

I have no excuses for my absence other than that I just haven’t felt like blogging lately. But, today, I do. Let’s just go with it.

I really want to write about a bunch of fun things that we’ve done in Austin this summer- we’ve been knocking things off my bucket list left and right- but it doesn’t feel right to jump into that without addressing the gap of time between March and August. So, I’m going to speed through that chunk with a quick recap today, moving on to more recent fun the next time I feel motivated to write. Cool? Cool.

Here are my top two favorite memories from each of the past five months:

MARCH

Meeting GRRM. Are there any Game of Thrones fans out there who will geek out with me about this? For Christmas this year, I gave Stephen tickets to a private dinner and tour of A&M’s Game of Thrones exhibit in the Special Collections Library. George R. R. Martin attended too! We’d been looking forward to this night for MONTHS, and it did not disappoint.

Easter cookie-decorating class at Make It Sweet. My friend Claire nabbed a Groupon deal and invited me to join her. We had an awesome time and learned a ton of easy decorating techniques. I’m glad we were able to take our creations home, because there’s no way I’m ever baking and decorating sugar cookies in my own kitchen, on my own time. Fun, but WAY too time-intensive for this Crock-Pot cook.

APRIL

Mini college reunion in Austin. The six of my closest friends from college are spread across the country (and Brazil), and this was the first time we’ve all been in the same city since graduation four years ago. We had drinks at the Oasis, rode a mechanical bull on 6th Street, hiked and swam at Reimer’s Ranch and Hamilton Pool, and cried our eyes out when the weekend came to an end.

Oh! And my brother proposed to his girlfriend- my soon-to-be-sister- Kristy this same weekend!

2013 Houston Avon Walk. For the third year in a row, my aunt Nancy and I walked 40 miles through Houston to raise money for breast cancer. I look forward to this weekend with her all year long. It’s a really special event, made even more special by the help and encouragement of my uncles, my cousin and Stephen.

MAY

Sasha’s bachelorette party. One of my closest friends from high school got married this summer, and she picked Austin as the destination for her bachelorette party. I was so excited to show the ladies around my favorite city! We celebrated with champagne and silly games, a sunset at the Oasis, SUP on the river, lunch at Whole Foods flagship, and a night out on 6th Street.

Hiking and camping in Bryce Canyon and Zion. I’ve been dying to see Utah’s national parks for years now, and Memorial Day provided the perfect timing for a visit. My friend Tracy (see college reunion above), her boyfriend Stefan, Stephen and I met up in Vegas and drove out to Bryce Canyon and Zion for five days of scenic hiking and back-country camping. This trip really deserves like three blog posts of its own; hopefully I find the motivation to write more about it soon.

JUNE

Sasha’s wedding. The same lady who rode a mechanical bull in a tiara in May became a wife in Williamsburg, Virginia less than a month later. Everything about her wedding was beautiful, from the bride herself to her husband’s grandmother’s touching reading from the Velveteen Rabbit. Tears. Everywhere.

Visiting family in Virginia. Stephen and I normally come home to Virginia for two long visits twice a year. We both work remotely, so it’s really easy to pack up our work laptops and log in from whichever city we’re living in that day. With Sasha’s wedding on the calendar, it made sense to extend our trip to include a few weeks with family. Stephen’s mom, dad, and my parents all live within three miles of each other. We’re so lucky!

JULY

4th of July at the Reisers’ lake house. The Reisers own two incredible homes on Cedar Creek Lake outside of Dallas. Carrie invited Stephen and I to join for the 4th of July, and we spent the long weekend tubing, swimming, playing board games and eating delicious food. Their lake house is seriously my happy place.

Matt and Whitney’s wedding in Maine. Stephen’s cousin Matt and his beautiful girlfriend (now wife!) Whitney planned an intimate wedding in Camden, Maine a few weeks ago. We were SO excited to attend. The wedding was on a Monday, so we had several days beforehand to explore the area. We hiked in Acadia, explored downtown Portland, and soaked in as much family time as possible.

So, that’s the scoop! Hopefully I’ll be back again soon to chat about Austin fun!