{2025} A Year In Review

2025 was an amazing year. I feel like I have been saying that for a few years now...alignment sure is a funny thing, isn't it?  I truly believe in that.  Another thing that really added to the richness was "less is more". Less busy = more rest, and more focus on the things that actually matter.  What a difference there is between "busy" and "productive".  

We really dug into live comedy this year, after watching quite a few specials last year. We were able to see Dusty Slay, Tom Segura, and Nate Bargatze live this year, and already have tickets for Matt Rife in 2026.  The amount of belly laughs in 2025 is top tier!

Our annual sledding adventures seem to happen later and later every year. This used to be our New Year's Day tradition, but the lack of quality snow early in the season has put quite the damper on that. But we do always make it up to Grimes Creek for sledding, good food, and great company.

Randy and Kendall sure dug into their latest obsession:  thrifting!  While I may not be as passionate, I will accompany them from time to time, mostly to find the most unhinged treasures to share and take pics of....never to buy. Plus, someone has to chaperone Randy or those things WOULD end up in our house, guaranteed!

Kendall got her braces off!

Mason decided he wanted to give baseball a try again, so we spent many days/evenings rooting for him, with Dana helping out on the coaching side of things.

In the spring, Carter and I did a campus tour at BSU, where he learned all about the school he wants to attend.

We celebrated Dana's 40th with a great surprise party!

The kids wrapped up a great school year....and the end of middle school for Kendall.

Randy's girls came for a visit over the summer, and we spent quite a bit of time up in the mountains, as usual.

We took a trip with Dana, Easton, and Mason to Puerto Rico! This was absolutely one of my main highlights of the year. We were there for Randy's birthday, stayed at an amazing air bnb, and had the best time together.

We also road-tripped it to SLC to see the Harry Potter Exhibition because...duh. It was a long day, but well worth it!

More mountain time.

Addie continued her success at numerous jackpots and local county fairs. It sure is amazing watching her compete!

The kids started a new school year - Kendall as a freshman and Carter as a senior.

Painting his senior parking spot.

We celebrated our anniversary at the cutest little cabin just outside of Boise.

And in keeping with the theme, we spent three weekends up at Boiling Springs for some fall camping.

Kendall got all dolled up and went to her first high school dance with a fun group of friends.

Carter turned the big 1-8 and we celebrated him up at Boiling Springs and then again at the Eric Church concert.

Carter getting accepted to BSU!!!

We FINALLY took that "free vacation" we won back at the beginning of 2024. Long Beach, Washington was a sleepy little coastal town and we absolutely loved it.

Got some updated pictures of the kiddos.

Randy's girls came to town for the week of Thanksgiving - always a busy week!

Dana and the boys got a new pup - named Maverick!

And to cap off the year, Addie went down to Arizona National and is now a two-time, BACK-TO-BACK grand champion intermediate sheep showman. 

And a ton of small moments in between all the bigger moments.

Work was a hectic, insane year...busier than most. There were several times where I desperately felt the need to tap out, but I took advantage of the small breaks in between and managed to cross the finish line. The insurance world is quite rocky right now, so I am anxious to see what 2026 brings.

The kids have done quite well in school. Carter is definitely feeling the crunch of his senior year and Kendall is still trying to feel out high school classes/teachers/grading. I have no doubt they will both have a successful school year.

I met, and exceeded, my reading goal this year.  I kept the end goal the same as last year - 65 books. I finished the year with 68, though my "year in reading" summary didn't capture them all.  I am still pleased with the stats and looking forward to another great year of reading.

My word for this last year was "cozy" and I believe we met all aspects of that word by intentional design.  One of my favorite things we did to create "cozy" at home was add a new TV stand/fireplace.  Until we decide to pull the trigger and open up the real fireplace in the family room, this will have to do, and we completely love it!

I thought long and hard about my word for 2026. I was starting to panic that I wasn't landing on anything as obvious as when "cozy" hit me. But I didn't force it, and let the word find its way to me.  My word for 2026 is HEALTHY and I already have several sub-categories for all aspects of the word.

2025 was an amazing year, and I can't wait to see what 2026 brings!

Happy New Year!