so long, 2014.

i ended 2014 completely and utterly exhausted. i'm still not sure if that's good exhaustion that makes you feel all worthwhile and accomplished or that exhaustion that you feel to your bones and makes you want to sleep for twenty-five years, but either way, it's been quite the year. the best and hardest of my life. that probably doesn't sound like it makes any sense, and that's probably because it doesn't. i've experienced such highs and such happiness this year. i married my love. i spent so much time with the people i love. i furthered my career and started working in a new one. but with all of that came challenges-- physical ailment, sleepless nights, emotional distress. i've learned and grown and matured this year. i've come a bit closer to becoming who i want to be. i have a lot to be grateful for and a lot to remember fondly.

i'm not usually one for these types of posts, but i also am usually a million times better at blog updates throughout the year to look back on. so, in lieu of a formal christmas card (realized in mid december, whilst busy taking everyone else's christmas card photos-- a formal card wasn't happening for us this year) or a year of awesome, witty blog posts, i'll share with you some awesome highlights from the year 2014. in no particular order! (just kidding, we're going chronologically to keep things organized...) i also will be writing this in third person narrative because let's face it-- all of the best year in review posts are written from a third-party, completely objective outsider. 

january: mateo + anna rang in the new year with most of their favorite people in boise, idaho with a lot of pizza, board games, and salsa dancing. a few weeks later, anna introduced mateo to mickey mouse and disneyland churros as they visited the most magical place on earth with their aunt, uncle, and cousins. they viewed l.a. from the griffith observatory with devaun and took their engagement photos in santa monica. oh yeah... and planned a wedding in six weeks! 

february: anna nannied five (!!!!) children and realized that she's nowhere near ready to mother multiple teenagers. or six year olds. they continued with allll of the last-minute (read: ALL) wedding plans and snuck in a trip to arizona to see the grandparents before the big event! they watched the olympics whenever possible, "modeled" for a photo friend in some ice castles (read: tried to learn how to not look awkward in their own wedding photos), and headed to utah to get MARRIED (!!!!!!!!), whilst surrounded by a host of many of their closest friends and family. best month ever. 

march: anna + mateo said "adios" to the snow and set off for a honeymoon in the tropics in puerto rico! they ate waaay too many platanos, swam every day, and explored old town san juan, one of the most magical places in north america. they returned to the states for a wedding fiesta in colorado, and picked up odd jobs wherever possible-- consequently finding out that mateo rocks at dog walking. mateo started his computer programming internship and found another hidden talent!

april: a wild month, filled with photography + adventure! anna and mateo spent a spring week with their beloved grandparents in arizona, eating as much mexican food as humanly possible. they headed out to the east coast during a 48-hour period of torrential downpour to find housing in baltimore, and then they returned to utah to celebrate will's college graduation. throw in a few weddings, photoshoots, and the start of a trip to florida, and you've got april summed up.

may: mateo + anna jaunted off to florida with the gleaves for a week of kayaking, NASA-ing, fish eating, gator hunting, and disney world-ing. anna was fortunate enough to fly to mexico with a close friend or a few days of wedding shooting and taco eating, while mateo worked hard at computer programming. they made a ridiculous cross-country move to maryland (with the help of their incredible family) and spent way too much money at ikea, crate + barrel, and anthropologie to furnish their little loft. they tried steamed crab for the first time... maybe for the last time, too? 

june: johns hopkins. world cup. there really isn't anything else to say.

july: was it mentioned that anna was in school? and mateo was watching the world cup? mateo DID take an awesome trip back down to peru to visit some family, and they received great news of a successful green card interview, so there were some excellent things to celebrate! anna's mystery illness came back full-force, so she was quickly reacquainted with doctors' offices and uncomfortable procedures.

august: anna finished her first semester of school at hopkins! then, they took a tour of the wild, wild west, shooting weddings the whole way through! they partied with family in boise (and met their new cousin!!!), celebrated friends' weddings in salt lake, spent time with grandparents in arizona, salsa danced in colorado, + photographed a record-shattering 15-hour wedding full of vietnamese traditions. 

september: anna quickly realized her hatred for pharmacology, while mateo realized his hatred for english grammar. they shot weddings in delaware + virginia and headed up to nyc for a weekend to shoot engagements and explore the city with will and tess. mateo developed an incredible knack for cinematography and decided to jump on board the family business, and thus: anna + mateo was born.

october: mateo was offered an incredible job in programming with a tech company and started working from denver + baltimore. they shot a few lovely weddings and flew to kentucky to spend fall break with their aunt and uncle. it was there that they discovered their love for grit cakes and sweet potato fries dipped in marshmallow cream. they spent their first halloween together in the ER (with anna's sneaky illness back in business) and spent any downtime they had watching gilmore girls (or wait... was that just anna?) they bought ridiculous amounts of camera equipment and said it was for "work." (just kidding, it totally was... hire us.) 

november: mateo continued commuting to denver a few times a month for work, and anna kept on surviving in school. she realized that she had a thing for working in the psychiatric unit, and mateo realized that he had a thing for american thanksgiving. they celebrated the holiday in colorado with lots of food + good memories, immediately following another dear friend's wedding celebration. 

december: anna survived another semester of school! miraculous, i tell you. mateo finished up a solid work quarter, and the pair prepared for family to come stay in baltimore for the holidays. they loved hosting the family for a few weeks and traveling down to virginia to spend time with will, tess, and tess' family. the year ended with a bang with the beautiful, happy wedding of will + tess. it couldn't have been more lovely. new years was celebrated with a delicious dinner in little italy and watching fireworks over the city through their bedroom window. 

and now... a smattering of never-before-seen iPhone + real camera images (via, via, via, via) for your viewing pleasure!

god was good to us this year. looking forward to the adventures to come in 2015! thanks to all of the amazing people in our lives for being part of it. XO.