January
During January I watched the first Lord of the Rings for the first time. My roommate decided to set up a movie night at our apartment to watch the extended version of the movie, which was 3 hours long. I still have not seen the other two movies, but I'm glad to finally say I watched at least 1/3 of the Lord of the Rings. I also saw Homestead in theatres with Mary, before going to Honada's afterwards. At the end of the month I watched Donnie Darko for the first time with Rebecca. We had both never seen it, but I had been wanting to watch it. There's a bunch of random actors in the movie including: Patrick Swayze, Jake Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Seth Rogan, and even Alex Greenwald. Alex Greenwald is the lead singer of my current favorite band Phantom Planet. My uncle unfortunately passed away after battling with kidney problems for years.
February
On Valentine's Day weekend I went to a Galentine's Day party where we ate tacos and made bracelets together. This get together helped me reconnect with my friend Shayna who I hadn't seen in years. For my birthday I took off work and went thrifting and Hobby Lobby. That night I ate dinner at El Camino with a few friends.
March
Since my mom has her birthday in February, and my dad has his birthday in March, I bought them a hotel package for their birthdays. A Kenosha Page put together a deal which included a night stay in a hotel overlooking Lake Michigan. $50 worth of gift cards to use at downtown Kenosha businesses. A $50 gift card to use for dinner at an Italian restaurant, and tickets to the Kenosha Comedy Club. The Kenosha Comedy Club had comedians from Saturday Night Live performing that night. While they were in town we went axe throwing, and got lunch in downtown Kenosha the next day. Church put on a benefit concert for the School of Worship and the theme was "At the Movies". Each song performed was taken from a movie. At the end of the month my sister in law played in the Pit Band for the play "Next to Normal" which is a very emotional story about the toll of Bipolar Disorder. We also had a dog party to celebrate Drake and Astro's birthdays which are one day apart. Drake was born on April 2nd, and Astro was born on April 3rd. (different years though).
April
Astro turned 1. I went to a clothing thrifting event at the Waukesha Expo Center with Shayna. It was a warmer day so we got boba tea after. I tried contacts for the first time. We had a day that got into the 50s so after church that day, a few friends and I, went out to lunch at Tacos El Norte. We went for a walk at Pet's Park afterwards and I brought Astro along. Astro had fun running and jumping into the stream while we sat on a log over the stream.
May
I took off work to go with my friend Shayna to the School of Worship open house, because Shayna was thinking of maybe attending the School of Worship. I went to the 7 mile fair for the first time with my mom. The School of Worship had a Hawaiian themed songwriting showcase. Each student writes two songs in a 9 month period and has the option to perform one of them at the showcase. On Mother's Day Rebecca and I took Astro for a walk in Bristol Woods and found a baby duckling. I went to Treasure Island Florida for 5 days with my Uncle Mike. We stayed at an AirBNB condo looking out at the Gulf of Mexico. The ocean was just across the street. We went to Clearwater beach, hung out at the beach and pool, went to Busch Gardens, went on a dinner cruise on the Coastal highway, saw a manatee, watched dolphins jumping in the water, went snorkeling, and collected seashells while enjoying the sunshine. It was definitely a top memory of 2025. The month ended with the School of Worship graduation.
We had another movie night at our apartment where we watched "Clueless." There was a Pet Walk put on by the Wisconsin Humane Society in Milwaukee which I took Astro to. I stopped at Collectivo afterwards for coffee. We celebrated my friend, Mary's 30th birthday by going to a golf simulator. The golf simulator was actually a ton of fun, and you could play games on a screen based on where you hit the ball. (The axe throwing place had games like this too.). I took Astro to Independence Grove Dog Park which is an off leash dog park in Illinois. At the dog park there's a mile loop trail that goes around a pond. Astro really enjoyed playing and swimming with the other dogs there. I also went to a dog friendly restaurant afterwards that had a dog menu where I got Astro chicken and rice.
July
July 3rd held my favorite memory of the year. I had found out that 3 of my favorite bands would not only be performing at Summerfest, but would also be performing on the same stage, same day, and one after the other. I was able to meet up with the members of Phantom Planet besides Alex when I first arrived at the Summerfest grounds. I am apart of their Patreon, and due to this they know me by name, and told me they'd come out of the tour bus area to talk with me. They talked to me for a few minutes before going to get ready for the show. I found other fans from the Patreon and we all got pictures with the band after they performed. iDKHOW performed after them, and then Lovejoy went on. Lovejoy hadn't performed anywhere in over a year, so their first show back was in Milwaukee. That's even more why when I first saw their name as a headliner I was shocked. They hadn't announced they were playing at Summerfest at that point. I celebrated Astro's gotcha day. (He had been adopted on July 10th, 2024). I went to see the live action version of How to Train Your Dragon with some friends. We were meant to have a beach day that day, but it was pouring rain that day. My friends CJ and Kaitlyn moved back into town after moving to Ohio in 2021 so CJ could do his residency. I went to 7 bridges for the first time with Astro in Milwaukee. We celebrated my 2nd cousins 80th birthday with a surprise party. My brother and sister in law played the lead roles in Midsummer Night's Dream at the end of the month.
August
I went to the State Fair. I took off work and explored Lake Geneva. I visited Independence Grove Dog Park again. I went to Irish Fest for the first time. I went to the Chicago Botanical Gardens to see a jazz band that is lead by one of the elders at Living Light. I went and saw Freakier Friday in theatres, and took Astro to the Windpoint Lighthouse at the end of the month. My friends Machaela and Trae moved back to Wisconsin after living in North Carolina since 2023.
September
Celebrated the semi beginning of Fall with a Gilmore Girls watch party at my friend Liz's. My cousin Danielle got married. Saw iDKHOW again, but in Madison. Took Astro to Pawfest in Milwaukee. (A dog festival). Saw "Big Bold Beautiful Journey" in theatres. Saw the original Spiderman in theatres. Took Astro to Independence Grove Dog Park once again as well as Bark at the Park which was another festival for dogs but in Racine.
October
Another movie night at our apartment where we watched "Dirty Dancing." Visited Waterfall Glen Preserve with a group of friends in Illinois along with Astro. We walked rock to rock across a shallow stream. The fall colors had not kicked in yet, but it was still beautiful. When the fall colors did show up I took Astro for a walk at Pet's Park and he played in the stream and dog park there. I went to Richardson's Corn Maze which was Back to the Future themed for the 40th anniversary. Mary and I went with the young adults group at Homestead church.
November
Saw Les Miserables on Broadway in Milwaukee. Took Astro to a pumpkin patch in Franklin and then to the Caledonia Dog Park. Watched "The Thorn" with some friends. Went to a shadow box craft night. Saw Part 2 of Wicked on opening night with a coworker. We got together for dinner beforehand, and it was SOO good. Saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in musical form. (My sister in law was in the pit band.) Celebrated Thanksgiving with family.
December
Went Christmas shopping with a coworker at Gurnee Mills. Went to a dog Christmas market in Milwaukee with Astro. Astro tried a treadmill for dogs for the first time. Went home to celebrate Christmas, and got Christmas Eve off unexpectedly. Went to work for 2 days before coming back home to bring in the new year. For New Year's Eve my mom found games on Pinterest that we could do before midnight came.
