{2020} A Year In Review

 Oh boy, how do we even talk about 2020? We started off the year with Kendall getting pinworm, so that should have the clear indicator that this year was going to be a complete shit show. Honestly though, despite COVID, it was a pretty decent year. We successfully navigated the many bumps in the road, had some really fun adventures, and overcame every health issue along the way. 

To start off the year, Kendall decided she wanted to try basketball. We signed her up for Y-ball and she had an absolute blast! She's quite the aggressive little defender, and it was really fun watching her navigate this new sport.

Then the entire world was tipped on its axis with COVID. Stay at home orders were issued, so we did the things we knew how to do well.  We went to the mountains frequently.

We played a ton of games.

When it was too chilly to go camping, we camped inside the house!

We played more games.

We did extra school work.

And puzzles.

And Carter started his braces adventure!

We basically got outdoors every chance we could.

We fished. A LOT.

Did I mention we got up to the mountains a time or two?

We navigated at-home learning with the dreaded paper packets. Some days, we did school snuggled up in bed. 2020 has sure changed (multiple times) the way school looked for the kiddos.

Carter somehow grew 87 inches in the span of six months and was able to get in not one, but two flag football seasons. 

We got outside.

We coached an all-star team and won the state championship!

We walked to Kleiner more times than I can count and found evenings like this.

Addie completely rocked both fairs this year, showing her sheep for numerous ribbons and other winnings!

We escaped the heat.

We camped.

We cancelled vacation plans.  Or rather, the plans were cancelled on us.  Alaska, we will see you soon!

We entered another wonky school year.

We went club. And not just went club as in playing for someone else. We developed a new team how WE wanted it formed with me as the manager. And then I took over as President of that entire organization as well. Now wearing the President hat of two softball organizations here in the valley.

We road-tripped it to Lagoon!

We decided that if we were truly going to spend this much time in the outdoors, we might as well have fun with it!

The kids grew.

We got Covid. And survived it.

Carter completed hunter's ed and got to go on his first hunting trip.

This dog lived his best life with his humans home most of the time.

The kids ice skated for the first time.

I set a reading goal and completely smashed it!

Overall, 2020 was an adventure. Sure, we had Covid and it derailed a couple things. However, it was still an amazing year that was filled with creativity, time together as a family, exploring the outdoors, and learning to constantly adjust and go with the flow. 2021, we are ready for ya!

December's Literary Adventures

December was incredibly hectic at work, so I didn't get as much reading done as I would have liked. A Good Marriage was an okay read. I am going to hang up on the Women's Murder Club series by James Patterson. They are getting really bland and repetitive, so it's time to just be done with them. Sister Dear was actually a pretty good book. And The Return was actually pretty weak considering the past success of Nicholas Sparks. 

Holidays!

Warning!  Massive photo dump ahead.

Given all the continued COVID restrictions, it was a challenge to make Christmas feel like Christmas this year. However, looking back through all of these pictures, I think we definitely succeeded in doing all the "normal" things we typically do, just in a different fashion.

The kids still got to see Santa! I have been trying to stay away from The Village for Santa, simply because waiting in line was turning into a multiple hour wait, and nobody is in a good mood after that. This year, they offered "reservations", which was a freaking life saver. You could reserve a specific time, and we only waited for 10 minutes. This is the way to do it! Even though there was plexi-glass, the kids still got a great experience with Santa.

 We also ventured out to Indian Creek to check out all the lights. This is one of my favorite places. I absolutely adore Christmas lights. It was a super chilly evening, but we bundled up and avoided crowds as much as we could. 

On the way home from Indian Creek, we stopped to check out the lights at Scentsy. As always, the light tunnel was a huge hit. They had a new, huge Christmas tree that changes colors, so that was fun to watch.

Kendall's class still got to have their Christmas party, thankfully! We were wondering if they would be able to pull it off. Her school had themed dress-up days each week leading up to Christmas break, and they got to wear Christmas pajamas for their class party/movie.

Banks got into the holiday spirit as well!

Each year when we pass the ice skating rinks at The Village and Indian Creek, the kids ask to ice skate. And each year, I tell them "another time". Well, another time finally came and they were able to get out onto the ice for a 30 minute reservation. This kept the crowd small and they were able to move around freely on the ice.

We started our hunt for a gingerbread house a little late this year. We finally got a gingerbread train, and the kids worked together to make it a masterpiece.

As usual, the gifts outgrew the tree. :)

We celebrated Christmas Eve at my parents' house with a warm fire in the fireplace, good music, and yummy food.

Matt and I were able to continue our Christmas Day tradition of finding snow. We ventured up to Grimes Creek this year, then onward into Idaho City, and then up and over the mountain through Harris Creek area to Horseshoe Bend. It was a beautiful drive!

Addie was in Mexico over Christmas, so the kids graciously waited until she got back to open presents. She was very homesick on Christmas, as Mexico wasn't exactly her idea of where she wanted to be during the holiday. Carter and Kendall were counting down the minutes until she got home, and then it was GAME ON for opening gifts!  Santa was very good to them this year!!