Before we get back to our regularly scheduled programming, I want to do my big ole yearly recap. 2020 is a year that will not soon be forgotten. We all have many reasons that we won't forget it! I still have many raw emotions about it. It had painful moments, it was hard, and there's still lots of things that have question marks attached to them as we move forward. But I've grown and I've really made peace with the question marks that are still in my life, it's something I learned through 2020! Along with the pain, we made some of the sweetest memories of our lives. When everyone else kept their distance, we grew closer as a family unit and that means more to me than anything else ever could. Our family relationships are most important. I remind the kids constantly to have each others back and I hope all this time together has helped instill that into them! I can see God's blessings all over things if I take the time to stop and look! God is good, all the time! So here we go!
2020 started with lots and lots of baby snuggles. I knew the days of snuggling would go far faster than I wanted so I enjoyed every second this little one would allow me to snuggle her and love her and enjoy her. Having precious Ayla in our lives brought so much joy into this year! She has been so fun, full of so much personality and makes us smile with delight constantly!
I laugh looking back at this picture from last January. Peter still had a bit of maternity leave so he was home during the day and I loved it! It was so rare to have him home more than just a couple hours for the night routine and we were always dreaming about him getting to work from home. Little did we know what was to come!
Eli turned 9 years old in February. We had no idea this would be the last "normal" birthday celebrated for quite some time!
Valentine's Day! We love our little family traditions of a special dinner cooked together!
In March we went to the beach. Work had been crazy for Peter and our family time was really suffering so Peter planned a surprise weekend away for us to enjoy as a family. The timing was perfect because as we were gone, Oregon had its very first case announced and within a week, life as we knew it was about to change! We got Ayla's little toes into the sand for the very first time!
While doing another year of preschool with LB I noticed that she was ready for a bit more. She started showing a strong interest in her letters and writing. So I decided to give Kindergarten a go and figured we could always take it slow. Well, there was no need to take it slow because she flew through the curriculum in 6 months!
As the world shut down and we thought Peter would spend a couple weeks to a month at home (ha, it is going to be a minimum of 15 months by the time this is all done) we took on some fun hobbies (as did everyone) and started to perfect the sourdough. I am proud to say Rona is still going strong and is approaching her first birthday!
Easter 2020 was different, we weren't allowed to partake in our normal traditions but we still had a sweet day as a family!
Malachi somehow turned 10 years old! It's true that it goes so fast! We wanted to celebrate him big but the world was shut down! But he was a great sport and was fine with burgers in the car and a fancy steak dinner at home with video games!
Then Sabrina turned 8! We found sweet ways to celebrate with custom donuts and special meals. It wasn't quite the same as normal but we still celebrated as big as we could and made the kids feel special! The kids really have been so resilient through this year!
And then she started piano lessons!
So much of life looked different though. An entire baseball season was cancelled, piano lessons and ballet and dance took to zoom. Dance recitals were cancelled, but we still got pictures and watched them perform with their classes on zoom.
We did take advantage of the awesome car deals and finally upgraded the ole swagger wagon!
Summer always holds special memories, but this year it was even better. Life was so still and calm. We had so much family time and we loved it! I think it is extra fun when our family is as big as it is, because we never get bored! We had adjusted to Peter being home from work and without commuting 2-3 hours a day we were given so much more time as a complete family and it was amazing!
LB learned how to ride a bike and the kids partook in many bike rides! It really felt like we went back in time to a simpler life.
The slower pace of life allowed us to fix up the boys room. It was the room they were in since toddlers so it was definitely time for an upgrade!
This summer brought some major milestones for Peter in his career as he played a key role in his company's IPO. He worked his tail off for months and months (really 2 years, sometimes working well into the night) to see this to fruition so it was a really big moment for his company and for him! As a result of that hard work he also received a long awaited promotion! I am super proud of his work accomplishments and how hard he has worked to get where he has gotten! It has not been easy or without a lot of sacrifice but it was still pretty cool to see our son on time square!
We did escape for a little bit to Peter's Grandma's house for 4th of July - it is one of the kids favorite places to be!
LB turned 6 and really grew and changed a lot this summer. Definitely leaving the little girl behind and growing into a pretty special little lady. Hers was probably the closest to normal that we've celebrated since the start of all this stuff so that was a nice little reprieve!
Late summer was still strange, but we were loving it, along with making the most of Family Day!
LB wrapped up Kindergarten in just 6 months and jumped right into 1st Grade on schedule! I was so proud of this girl and her hard work!
In August we really needed to get away. So we did, to my happy place and it was so needed to just have a moment to breath.
As if 2020 wasn't weird enough, we had the strangest storm roll through our area. A very rare high wind storm in a dry September, a perfect storm that put almost the entire state on fire! Entire towns were burning up, we knew several people who were evacuated. It was just another strange thing in 2020. We've had smoke roll in before in late summer, but nothing like this before! And then it all hit a bit too close to home as we watched a fire start on the hill nearby. Thankfully the really bad winds had died down or it would have been catastrophic but living life for about 10 days in heavy smoke was eerie and depressing!
But fortunately as the smoke left, so did we! After many cancelled vacations we decided to rent a house with a pool in Vegas and we had so much fun! It was the perfect time of relaxation and sun and water! The kids just loved every second of it and we enjoyed the down time!
Fall almost felt normal for awhile. We got into a good school routine, our small business was getting back to work, the kids got an entire soccer season in and had a couple weeks of ballet in class. We even had an almost normal trip to the pumpkin patch and halloween. It was nice!
In November we took a long awaited trip to Arizona! The plans changed drastically but we still had a blast and saw some pretty darn cool places! Bonus that I just love the desert!
And then one of the best decisions we've made all year! We spur of the moment decided to leave town and go travel together and that brought some of the sweetest memories that I will never forget. The kids were amazing on this road trip and we saw some pretty cool places! The freedom for Peter to work from home opened up so much opportunity for us that I am not sure we will ever get to experience again so these moments will mean so much to me for years to come!
Poor Sabrina had the very first bout of stitches in the family while we were on this trip. She's a trooper!
Thanksgiving was just a weird time as our state was basically threatening everyone with legal action for gathering. So it was just as well that we were on our own, far away. But you know what? We loved it! Cooking in a tiny worn out kitchen in Utah, no actual dining room. It didn't need to be fancy, it was just fun and we loved every second of the day!
The kids have been able to ice skate a couple times this winter. Thankful for a few outdoor options that are still open to have fun!
We have our first kid in braces! Malachi started his journey with Invisalign and it has been a breeze! I'm super jealous that he doesn't have to have a brace face like I did!
Another fun highlight was finally getting the boys on ski's. This was yet another unplanned event for the year but we took advantage of the opportunities given and the boys loved it and are looking forward to their next ski trip!
And then it was Christmas. We spent 2 1/2 weeks away in our happy place and just had a wonderful time! Christmas was perfect with no stress, no hurry, and lots of time to enjoy the season, the music, the food, and our kids!
Everything about this year was different. Very little went as we had planned. But I am so thankful that we approached it from the glass half full. Yes, a lot of things sucked! But we adjusted and took advantage of the opportunities we were given and it turned into some of the sweetest moments that we will never forget. I am sad that so much is different, but I was surrounded by those I love, we lived and we loved and maybe 2020 wasn't so bad after all!
