2016 Year in Review

2016 was overall a great year for my family with a very difficult loss of my Busia in November (see below). The high-high of the year was finding out that we are expecting a second baby and the -super-low low was losing my Busia.

I love doing a year roundup because it gives me an opportunity to look back on the year and reflect! 2017 is going to be insane for our family with the birth of our second baby and my brother finishing optometry school and becoming a doctor. I can't wait!

Aunt Natalie and the Polish Princess!

January

-We rang in the New Year at my brother's house on the west side of the state. We had lots of champagne and made the most delicious appetizers. Time spent with family = priceless!

-Had a Polish family reunion at my Busia's house.

February

-We celebrated my mom's birthday- for about a week straight!


-Troy and I had a night away at MotorCity Casino Hotel- we loved it!


-Went to Frankenmuth for the day for a German chicken dinner and shopping at Birch Run.

March

-We went to Castaway Bay Indoor Waterpark.

-We celebrated Easter at the farm- one of my very favorite things all year.

-We took Adalyn out of the country for the first time and went to Niagara Falls!

April

-Spent lots of time with family on the weekends! One of my favorite things to do.

-I went to the dermatologist to get some moles looked at and the doctor was concerned about 3 moles which I had to get removed. They all ended up being okay (thank god) but it was very eye opening.

May

-Spent my 2nd Mother's Day at the farm with my mom, grandma and family!

-We planted our annual garden: lots of tomatoes and bell peppers.

-Had a ton of fun memorial day weekend with my cousins bonfire, brother-in-law's 21st birthday celebration and spent Memorial Day in Ferndale at the parade and grilling out.

June

-We went to Traverse City for the first time and cannot believe we had not been there before. It was one of our favorite trips and we cannot wait to return.

-We went on a fun boat trip for my parent's 30th wedding anniversary.

-All summer long, we spent a ton of time doing fun summer events: spending time with family and friends, going to the pool, lots of little vacations, time at my parent's farm, trips to the Zoo, Michigan State University, University of Michigan, etc. We really made the most of the summer and it is a summer that I will never, ever forget.

-Had my in-laws up to the farm for the first time.

July

-We went to Petoskey and the Upper Peninsula with my sister and it was the trip of a lifetime! I literally cannot wait to hike those waterfalls again someday.

-We celebrated 7 years of marriage! Love my husband.

-Troy turned 32. We still can never figure out how old he is- we always guess 31 and he thinks he is 33 which can make me laugh at any given time.

-Probably the most exciting moment of the year, we found out that we are expecting our second baby April 2nd, 2017. Adalyn is so excited to become a big sister.

-Very sadly, my grandma's boyfriend of about 10 years and a close member of our family, Edmund, passed away. We will miss him a lot and his tough humor.

-My Busia (grandma) turned 88 years young!

August

-We went to Ludington, MI and loved exploring nature.

-Spent a couple of weekends at my parent's farm soaking up summer. We went to Port Austin for a fun beach day trip.

September

-Troy went back to school and is teaching honors physics, earth science and astronomy.

-Adalyn turned two! We had a mini party and it was perfect.

-We celebrated lots of birthdays in my family including my sister, mother-in-law, etc.

October

-We went to Grand Rapids for a mini trip to Art Prize and other local GR places.

-We watched the Detroit Free Press Marathon for the first time and cheered on my sister's boyfriend Joe. We love spectating so much!

-Went to a bunch of fun Halloween celebrations: Zoo Boo at our zoo, trick-or-treating at our local park, my sister-in-law's Halloween party, dinner and trick-or-treating at my mother-in-laws. Adalyn loved dressing up as a witch, bee and strawberry.

-I visited my favorite grocery store headquarters in Chicago on a press trip: ALDI!

November

-This was by far the hardest and worst month of the year for my family. We lost my beloved Busia (grandma) that I was so close with and love so much. She was a healthy 88 year old and had a cerebral hemorrhage with a large brain bleed on November 8th and passed away 6 days later. This was so shocking and hard on my family as she was completely independent before. She died very peacefully while holding my hand as I was praying with her- so sad but a beautiful way to go. We miss her so, so badly and life is not the same without her. We love you Busia! Rest in peace : (. I am still completely in shock to be honest and sometimes, I pick up my phone to call her as she was my phone call buddy and am surprised each time I realize that she is gone. Grief is tough. Adalyn was so close to Busia and constantly talks about her, tells me that she is in heaven with God and that she misses her- this kills me.

-Had a fun family weekend at the farm where it was unbelievably warm and we ate dinner outside and had a bonfire. This is unheard of in Michigan. It was 60-63 degrees and Adalyn had so much fun spending time outside.

-I turned 27. We also celebrated my dad's birthday and my sister's boyfriends.

-We found out the sex of the baby!! It's a boy!

-We celebrated Thanksgiving with family.

And I'm writing this post early because I had a bit of free time so that is all I have for now! Hope you all had a great year as well.