A Look Back at Our Time in DC [In Pictures]...

Well, here we are, our final week in DC. 

Over the weekend, I decided that I should do a post looking back over the past 4 years. I figured it would be a great way to honor our time in the Nation's Capital--however, had I known that this idea would lead to my spending hours combing through millions of pictures, piecing together our DC timeline (when I should have been packing), I might not have decided to do this *1 week before moving* (!!!!!).

But, I did, and it ended up being a great way to reflect on our life in DC and produced this blog post, so I guess I'm still glad that I took the time to do it, even if it will make this week slightly more hectic ;)

So, here's a recap of our past 4 years in the DC/VA region, and some of the memorable experiences we've been lucky enough to have here. I should note that I have only included things that happened in DC/VA (besides just three events that I felt were big enough to be included!), so you won't find any of our travels away from DC included below...

A Look Back at Our Time in DC [In Pictures]

AUG. 2009: We move to DC, into the Archstone Van Ness. Below, Ben is a man on a mission after parking our UHAUL.[ If you missed the horror story that was our move to DC, check out this post.] Ben starts his job as an attorney for the Department of the Navy and I start my position as a Job Developer for the DC Fathering Court Initiative. 

SEPTEMBER 2009: I enroll in and graduate from Level 1 Teacher Training at Tranquil Space. My teaching journey begins...

FALL 2009: Friends (from Cape Cod!) visit and we celebrate our first DC Halloween dressed as hipsters (this won't be the last time we dress as hipsters), Ben runs the Marine Corps 10K, and we have our first mini Christmas Tree together. 

WINTER 2010: We experience Snowmageddon, and get the [wrong] impression that DC winters are always brutal.  I begin Level 2 Teacher Training at Tranquil Space. 

MAY 2010: I graduate from Level 2 TT and start teaching right away--I'm a teacher! OMG!

CONTINUE OUR JOURNEY [IN PICTURES] AFTER THE JUMP...

JUNE 2010: Ben competes in his first CrossFit competition, and this one event creates a monster. He will compete in 8 more competitions before we move. I am hired as a Tranquil Space Teacher (yay!). 

AUGUST 2010: I quit my job to teach yoga full-time. Tranquil Space Arlington opens, and I become the first [part-time] manager there...again, this one event creates a monster ;) 

FALL 2010: Ben runs the Navy 5 Miler and we dress as hipsters for Halloween again. 

NOVEMBER 2010: Some of my family members visit for the first time and we all have Thanksgiving together in our tiny apartment. 

WINTER/SPRING 2011: I start Starr Struck and begin painting yoga poses for the first time. 

SUMMER 2011: We attend the U.S. Open and move to Arlington so that we can be closer to my "job" at Tranquil Space Arlington. 

JULY 2011: We get engaged while in Stockbridge, Massachusetts for July 4th! This didn't take place in DC, but is worth mentioning...

FALL 2011: I decide to enroll in and begin Advanced Teacher Training at Tranquil Space, we start planning our wedding, we stay in DC for "Friendsgiving," and I show my work in a group holiday show at my painting studio. 

NYE 2011: We celebrate New Year's with some of our new CrossFit friends in DC. 

WINTER 2012: Ben competes in his second (of 3) SuperFit competitions, I compete in "The Smackdown" (my first and, thus far, last competition), and I co-host my first baby shower for a dear friend...

SPRING 2012: I graduate from Advanced Teacher Training! Wooohooo! I also participate in Artomatic, where I show my work for a couple of months. 

SUMMER 2012: We enjoy lots of wedding celebrations--for our own wedding and our friends' weddings (including Bachelor and Bachelorette trips)--and attend our first DC wedding at the Newseum. 

OCTOBER 2012: We get married in Atlanta and go on a mini-moon in Ellijay, GA! 

WINTER 2012/2013: We celebrate another New Year's with our CrossFit friends (we've become very close by now) and I am a Teacher Training Mentor for the first time. 

SPRING 2013: We go on our belated honeymoon to San Diego and Ben turns 30. He also decides to start studying for the Massachusetts state Bar, so that he can start applying for jobs in Cape Cod. 

SUMMER 2013: I start "A Dress a Day" and teach Mixed Media Painting at Tranquility Summer Camp (for the second time).

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2013: We go tubing in Maryland, I try the flying trapeze for the first time, Ben interviews for his dream job in Cape Cod, I speak on a panel at Yoga Alliance's Business of Yoga Conference and Tranquilologie is released (Kimberly Wilson's latest book featuring my illustrations). 

OCTOBER 2013: Ben is offered a job in the Cape & Islands District Attorney's Office. We obsess over  the decision, but eventually decide that he should take it and we should move. We celebrate our 1 year anniversary and start packing. 

This Past Weekend, 2013: Friends throw us a small going away shindig (complete with ADORABLE, handmade map-inspired decorations), we start saying goodbye, and we get down to some serious packing (yuck). 

Our last week in DC/VA: I will teach my final, regularly-scheduled classes and go out with a bang teaching Hip Hop Yoga on Friday night (sold out--sorry!), Ben will finish work on Thursday, and the movers will arrive at 8am Saturday morning. [OMG.]

So yep, it's here. That's it (we obviously experienced many more ups-and-downs over the past 4 years, but those are some of the DC-related highlights).

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of our lives here in the DC/VA/MD region! Although I didn't want to move here in the first place, it's been life-changing and I am forever grateful for the time we spent here. 

We will miss you all SO much!