2011 was a big year for us individually and collectively. Here are some major accomplishments from Holly:
*Kissed three different boys (this number may seem low, but remember that I became exclusive with Matt in February)
*Managed to work for the same company (but in two different locations in three different positions) for twelve straight months TWO YEARS IN A ROW (but quit my job two months in to 2012)
*Had five different renters in the area of my house I rent over the course of 2012, in addition to the handsome man moved into the area where I live
*learned the real meaning of love and learned how to be in a healthy/blissful relationship
Major accomplishments/changes for Matt
*went from being in a funk in the beginning of January because I (Holly) had shot him down romantically, to being given a second chance in mid-January, to convincing me to be exclusive with him in February, to persuading me to marry him in April. (typing that makes it sound like it all went by pretty quickly, which really I guess it did, but I felt like I put up quite a fight for quite awhile.)
*worked his same job for the 8th year in a row (he is a lot more stable than I am)
We also fell in love (well, I guess Matt, technically was already in love), planned the best wedding reception ever, got married by Matt's grandpa, had an awesome honeymoon road trip including two nights at a five star hotel in Park City, Six Flags Chicago, a lovely beach trip at Lake Michigan, and visiting my family/second reception in Saginaw, Michigan.
Now I will just quickly share the pictures I've taken throughout the year for the purpose of eventually sharing them on my blog.
We took my three nieces for the weekend (this was pre-wedding) (and a nephew has been added to the group this year)
Matt did a lot of work on the house (pre and post wedding)
I almost bought a convertible, but then didn't (which, ultimately was the best decision). Someday!
I managed to find a wedding dress, which was pretty much the most stressful, tear-inducing thing of my entire life up to that point (for reasons of my mental sanity, I have decided against sharing a picture of the shopping process)
I enjoyed having three awesome wedding showers!!
One with my work friends 
(can I also just say that when I started my new job in February of 2011, there were six single teachers and as of today, only one of those people is still single. I am good luck!!)
And a shower by my super awesome sisters-in-law (two of the three hostesses shown here):
And a shower by my sisters and Cousin Sally (which I don't seem to have any photos of).
We got married, which I already told you about.
The flowers I planted in December of 2010 came up beautiful in the spring:
We went to the Crawfish Extravaganza at Ikea (turns out I don't particularly care for crawfish)
We went to the State Fair and ate "Rocky Mountain oysters," frog legs, and alligator. Then we saw Weird Al in concert. 
On the one year anniversary of our first date, we got to recreate the whole thing (but with kissing and groping). It was awesome!
Us in 2010:
Us in 2011:
We celebrated our first Halloween together, and although not one single trick-or-treater came to our door, we did have a jack-o-lantern carved and ready to go. 
For Thanksgiving, we went with Matt's parents to visit his sister's family in Las Vegas. It was very fun, but not well photographed by me.
I was very excited for Christmas, and put the tree up shortly after Halloween. I've been collecting ornaments for years, but this was my first time putting up my own tree with my own decorations (shown here is the collection of Hallmark ornaments I've been receiving from my friend Jamie for every birthday for more than a decade):
For Christmas Eve, we had Matt's parents over for a traditional Scandinavian rice pudding dinner, which was awesome. I had a tiny little sore throat while they were there, which turned into chills and fever (my first ever!) shortly after they left, and eventually evolved into me being sick in bed with a fever of 103 for more than a week, unable to swallow anything without extraordinary pain, causing me to miss Matt's family's Christmas gathering AND my family's New Year's Eve Party AND a week of work, which ended with me in the emergency room because (after giving me two liters of intravenous fluids, pain killers, and antibiotics, then oral steroids, then a chest x-ray) my doctor (who only four days early had told me there was nothing to be done and just go home and suffer) decided I might have blood clots. Well, I didn't have bloods clots, and my fever was down to 99.5 by January 3rd, and I went back to work. (sorry that my sickness/near death ended up being the longest story for 2011!)
For Christmas Eve, we had Matt's parents over for a traditional Scandinavian rice pudding dinner, which was awesome. I had a tiny little sore throat while they were there, which turned into chills and fever (my first ever!) shortly after they left, and eventually evolved into me being sick in bed with a fever of 103 for more than a week, unable to swallow anything without extraordinary pain, causing me to miss Matt's family's Christmas gathering AND my family's New Year's Eve Party AND a week of work, which ended with me in the emergency room because (after giving me two liters of intravenous fluids, pain killers, and antibiotics, then oral steroids, then a chest x-ray) my doctor (who only four days early had told me there was nothing to be done and just go home and suffer) decided I might have blood clots. Well, I didn't have bloods clots, and my fever was down to 99.5 by January 3rd, and I went back to work. (sorry that my sickness/near death ended up being the longest story for 2011!)So, that was 2011 for the Harkers! Our wonderful first year together! Love! Romance! Weddings! Vacations! Holidays! Everything a girl could want, and more! Stay tuned for more adventures!
