2016, so long sucker!

2016, so long sucker!

Please do let the door hit you on the way out!

But 2016 was not all bad. Here were my favorite memories and accomplishments from the WORST YEAR EVER.

— best snowstorm: 32 inches on January 23, 2016

Highest point on the east coast, done. #hiking #NorthCarolina A photo posted by Laura Amos (@lauraraeamos) on

— summits climbed: 4

— novels published: 1 (2 if you count Drown)

I can’t decide which journal to use next. They are both so pretty! <3 A photo posted by Laura Amos (@lauraraeamos) on

— learned to: bake paleo, bullet journal, and play the violin

I don’t want to start back to Virginia today. Virginia is where my husband has a really great job and where my child goes to school, but I always knew that it wasn’t my home. My heart does not live there. Maybe that’s also why we never bought a house there, because we always kind of knew we didn’t belong. Maybe that’s why we’re always traveling, because our hearts are restless. I always thought my heart belonged to Michigan, but I’d never been to Maine before this week. Every place we go to, we do this, we think we want to stay there forever. New places are shiny and interesting, but I know my heart belongs to the mountains and to the sea, and here I can stand on the rocks and see the wide curve of the ocean all at once. We stopped at this little lobster stand on the side of some road, and the guy at the register asked us, “Are you local?” Like he couldn’t tell if we were tourists or not. Maybe it’s a sign. Maybe our traveling hearts will always feel restless, but when it’s time to come home, I would love for home to look like this. #Maine #notallthosewhowanderarelost A photo posted by Laura Amos (@lauraraeamos) on

— favorite selfie: shadows in the sun, Maine

  Ocean Path Trail, #Acadia National Park. #Maine #hiking   A photo posted by Laura Amos (@lauraraeamos) on

— best hike: Ocean Path Trail, Acadia National Park, Maine

— best place I want to go back to again: Bar Harbor, Maine

  The tiniest little turtle I’ve ever seen. I moved him off of the path so he wouldn’t get stepped on.   A photo posted by Laura Amos (@lauraraeamos) on

— best wildlife: this itty bitty turtle

Long division makes your kids crack up. 😳 A photo posted by Laura Amos (@lauraraeamos) on

— best picture of Dylan: math alien

  One brand new shiny American! 🇺🇸   A photo posted by Laura Amos (@lauraraeamos) on

— best picture of my honey: becoming an American

I didn’t have a pantsuit or a nasty woman t-shirt to wear, but I voted. #imwithher #nastywoman #vote #futurevoter

A photo posted by Laura Amos (@lauraraeamos) on

— best picture of me that isn’t just shadows: voting day

Banana chocolate chip crumble! #yum #baking A photo posted by Laura Amos (@lauraraeamos) on

— best baked: banana muffins

— best sunset: Outer Banks, North Carolina

Misty morning (yesterday) in #Massachusetts. A photo posted by Laura Amos (@lauraraeamos) on

— best sunrise: Sutton, Massachusetts