2020 Recap

 Holy Moly - WHAT A FREAKING YEAR! 2020 has somehow been the worst possible year, but also parts of it were the best. At the start of the year we had NO idea that we would all be surviving and global pandemic call COVID. We had no idea how much our lives would be changing. That we would live to see the day where wearing a mask and homeschool was the new normal. It has been so crazy - but we have all thankfully been healthy and kept our sanity (well most of it). We also tried to keep as much or a normal and exciting life as we could. 

Reflecting back on our goals for this year...

• Hurricanes Hockey Game (Blake's first) - Yep! We had a great time and it was one of our last fun outings prior to COVID.
• Blake turns 8 on SuperBowl Sunday (and maybe the 49ers will be in it!) - He had a great SuperBowl/Birthday Party and Ninja Academy. He now actually does Ninja Academy classes once a week. That has been a fun addition to our year!
• Basketball and Baseball Seasons - We were able to squeeze in both sports - some were just a little modified because of COVID. Blake was able to pitch his first game, though! 
• Great Wolf Lodge (our annual Spring Break Trip) - Sadly we were not able to do Great Wolf Lodge this year. COVID shut the US down and we missed out on our trip. BUT we do have plans to continue this next year. 
• Harlem Globetrotters - This also got cancelled thanks to COVID. Sad times. 
• Lots of beach trips - YES! This is what kept us going this summer. Blake got to see the horses on the beach and we got to kayak in the sound and fish in the ocean. Great times! 
• Maybe a trip to Atlanta?! - NOPE
• Working on my National Boards - This also got shut down because of COVID. Hard to complete when we weren't in school. 
• Maybe building a house for our new Fam Jam - We didn't build, but we purchased our first home and we LOVE it. Such a great neighborhood. 
• Blake wants more muscles (haha) - I think it worked. He has grown a ton in a year! :) 

Some other things that happened because of 2020 - that we didn't really expect....

• Joyner and I got married on July 15th - backyard wedding with just family. 
• We survived a pandemic - and we now all wear masks everywhere. 
• We are expecting a baby girl in April 2021 - she was a big surprise! :) 
• We are still back and forth from school and school at home - thanks to COVID. It's been interesting! 

2021 will start in a few days. We aren't sure what it will hold, but we are going to hope it is a whole lot more normal that 2020. :) 

Nice List

 Santa officially found our new house - and we were all on the nice list! :) It has been a heck of a year with new traditions, old traditions, and lost of fun... we are grateful that we were still able to have the amazing Magic of Christmas. It is such a special time of year and we love Christmas morning with family - in our new wonderful home. :) MERRY CHRISTMAS!

This year Blake was happy to get a camera, LEGOs, books, new switch controllers, new shoes, AND a new futon bunk bed and room "renovation". He really racked up and had a great Christmas! Nice list for sure. :) 

Santa Letter

 This year we weren't able to see Santa in person. We were being extra cautious and trying to avoid COVID. So, Santa made sure to call all the boys and girls that he couldn't see. Blake was so surprised to talk to Santa and he loved telling him all about life this year. We also made sure to write Santa an official letter - just to cover our bases. :) We BELIEVE and we are so excited to Santa to come this year - I think we have all been on the nice list! 

Grinch Night

 COVID ruined a lot of our holiday traditions.... we weren't able to see the Rolesville Christmas Parade. We weren't able to see Santa in person. We weren't able to do alot of our typical fun... so instead we created a new fun traditions. We hosted a Grinch Night for Blake and his best friends. 

We had the Jarrell Brothers over for play time and the Grinch Movie - they also had a visit from the actual Grinch - ahem, Joyner. Haha. And don't forget all the sugar. The boys had a blast and Joyner and I survived the chaos. I think we will have to try it again next year! 

Christmas Lights & Doughnuts

 Even though we are in the year of COVID, we still continued the tradition that we started last year - Christmas lights and Duck Doughnuts with Blake and Lilli. Due to COVID (sigh) we had to switch out Christmas lights up a little bit, but we still saw a great light show. Most light shows this year were all drive thru - with extremely long wait times! We actually had to wait about 2-3 hours, but it was worth the wait! And at least we had doughnuts! 

Oh Christmas Tree

 Blake and I went to pick out our tree from Booger Mountain - where we always get our tree. We also invited GG to come with us to pick our tree. We love these traditions. :) 

This year we got to decorate our tree in the new house. We really loved showing Joyner all of our favorite ornaments and the stories behind them. He loved sharing his, too. We also got to relax and drink hot chocolate after decorating. I just LOVE sitting in front of the tree during December. It is just so magical. 

We also get to have two trees in our new house. The tree upstairs is a little more fun for our bonus room. :) The fun just gets better and better this year. 

Rudy is Back

 It is that time of year again.... and RUDY IS BACK! Rudy, our elf, is one of our favorite parts of December. Traditionally, Rudy comes to our house and spends the month with us - doing all kinds of tricks and giving all kinds of treats. :) Blake loves searching every morning to see what Rudy has been up to. Here are a few of our favorites this week... 

Oh yeah, we made sure to write Rudy to tell him about our new address. Thank goodness he found us  - he just got a little tangled in the lights on the way in. Haha. 

We can't wait to see him again next year!