Summer Highlights

Before my little unexpected sabbatical, I used to post one of these at the end of every month as a nice roundup of the major events, the things I'd been enjoying or the feelings I was having. Ironically I've missed posting them for some of the most life-changing months of my life, so let's take a sec to look back on the summer as a whole.

Wedding - Obviously the biggest event of my summer. It was an absolutely perfect day, from the setting, the people, the weather, the food all the way to the playlist (which is honestly probably the thing I spent the most time on during the entire wedding planning process 😂). Planning a wedding is truly a nightmare if you're not a detail-lover, even if you're doing a smaller affair, but it was worth it because I felt like our wedding was a great reflection of us as people and as a couple, and I had the time of my life forcing all my friends and family to make fools of themselves on the dance floor and during karaoke. I just never want to do it again, thanks.

Honeymoon - We had a few weeks after we got married to recuperate, but then it was off to Europe for our honeymoon. We spent a few days in Copenhagen, a city that surprised us by how much we liked it, and then over to London again because we just can't stay away from it. It was a very laid back, cozy, enjoyable trip for just the two of us -- the perfect antidote to the more stressful wedding planning time and all the extroversion that requires.

Selling John's House & Nesting - Technically this can be part of the Honeymoon section, because it actually sold at 4am Copenhagen time a few days into our honeymoon. We spent so much time fixing the house up right before and after the wedding, so having the house sell on the first day it was listed was such a great outcome. It's so nice to be down to one place, no more shuttling between the two homes all the time, mowing two lawns, cleaning both places, etc. Even now, three months later, we're still getting all of the remaining things that hadn't been moved over before all settled in (does anyone know how to hang a 25 ft ladder in the world's smallest garage??), but we're making good progress. I am really pushing for the day when everything has a designated spot in our home again. The end is in sight!

Seattle Family Trip - At the end of July my family went to visit my brother-in-law's family in Seattle. We stayed at their house for the weekend and got the highlights tour of the city. We haven't been on a family trip for a few years so it was nice to spend some time together and to see a new city guided by incredibly hospitable locals.

Seeing Friends - Summer is the most social time of the year for me. Every year we get together for all the summer birthdays -- Thai food and beers for one, after work drinks and burgers for another, morning sand volleyball for another. Then there was the annual trip to Brews at the Zoo, where we old people pretend we can still drink in excess prior to eating dinner, with a backdrop of cute animals. We celebrated new jobs with old coworkers, met up with old roommates in different cities and window-shopped at many, many stores. It's always nice to hang out with all my various people, and something about the warm weather makes it even more fun.

A few other things of note that I've been enjoying this summer: our little garden, seeing Nick Offerman, going to the Omaha symphony with my sister and brother-in-law, new vegan restaurants in town, free yoga at the park near our house, my dad's retirement and the mayor declaring it Steve Henderson day, biking to pop-ups, fall sports starting, scheduling overdue maintenance and improvements for the house, swimming in family friends' pools, composting, new house plants, summer scented candles and our new diffuser, reading early in the morning on weekends.