2021 - the rollercoaster that we lived.

I started to write a recap for 2020, and it never got published. It still makes me sad, but after that shit show...do we really want to remember much of it!? The answer is no, no we do not. 

Soooo, to 2021 we go, even though some parts weren't much better than 2020. I will try to only highlight the good parts, because isn't that what we do in social media...highlight reel baaaby!

Drakey boy {age 6} - Drake kept us on our toes like he has since the day he was born. We kicked off the year with our first set of stitches and ended it with another broken arm. He started Kindergarten and cries on the weekend when he doesn't get to go. He took the reigns of being obsessed with the Switch, his favorite games are Fortnite, Minecraft, and occasionally he will mix it up with Mario. He made new best friends in Christine and Caleb, but his family still ranks up there as favorites.  He likes anything his Momma likes...Mini Brands, Target runs, Coke, treats, and snuggles.

Bina  {age 9} - Sabrina left her school and friends behind to start a new school. She has made new friends, but she has struggled with the change. She loves doing her make-up, and all things extra girly...and can't wait until her Dad approves a second piercing in her ears. She still spends most of her time on YouTube watching tutorials, she loves to create all things. She added baking to her hobbies but are we surprised, she loves making messes. She bribes Drake to sleep with her every night with candy, she doesn't like to be by herself. Sabrina thrives on one on one time, and always picks margaritas for her parent date. Gosh, she is a special one, I can't wait for the day she sees herself how I see her.

Devin {age 11} - If you could sum up his year it would be BASKETBALL! He plays whenever he gets a chance, and plays for multiple AAU teams. He finally stopped obsessing over Fortnite, and moved on to obsessing over trading cards with his Dad. We finally convinced him he should start wearing his glasses, now we just have to convince him jackets are okay too. He started collecting matchbox cars, and already has an entire wall display of them. Devin started a new school, and has been a little bored because he has already learned everything they have worked on this year (he does love his teacher though). He is our official garbage man, and is so helpful and kind. 12 and Junior High is right around the corner, and he is excited.

Savannah {age 17} - It has been quite the year for our girl. One car accident, one broken heart, 3 school dances, countless trips to Jordan Landing, working, made some new friends, and her basketball career ending. She took an art class, continues to spend her time in the gym being the basketball manager, and I have loved watching her confidence blossom. I am always in awe of Savannah, and how well she can communicate her feelings. She is the queen of selfies, responsible, and even though she is terrified to be an adult...she is gonna rock it. If you want to know anything about music, she is your girl...best keeper of the aux ever.

Paul {forever 32!} - Paul had a year of travel, success, and soul searching. He started a new hobby of collecting trading cards, and gained a new little buddy in Devin by doing so. He went to Vegas, Southern California, back to his old stompin' grounds, and made quite few trips to Wyoming, Idaho, and St. George. He is still a master at Farm Saga Heroes, has a deep love of baked goods, but hasn't gone to as many movies as he would have liked. He found a therapist he likes, goes shopping for himself again, and is sad that the pandemic led to a shortage of size 13 shoes. Tiktok is still our favorite way to communicate during the day, by sending all the funnies back and forth.

Evonne { FORTY!! 40!! The big 4-0} - I always have the hardest time talking about myself, so let me see if I can come up with stuff. I worked on myself for most of the year, and even though my weight doesn't show it...my mental stability is much better. I started a little side hustle working beer stands, serving food, and lots of manual labor at the Jazz, Bees, and Real games, and concerts. It has given me all that extra money to buy Mini Brands (thank you Christine for being my collector buddy), lunch dates (mostly by myself), and Target runs for the dollar spot to decorate my mantel. I was diagnosed with ADHD (which explains a lot), got a lot of bad news (which made me take different paths), and started talking to my Dad again after 15 years. I started studying crystals, and Savannah humors me with her Tarot cards. Phew, 2021 was a weird one, especially when you put it into a paragraph.

Our family experienced lots of "firsts". We flew to Florida and experienced Disney World and Universal Studios. This is the first year in almost a decade I didn't do "Adventure a Day", and I still have loads of regret about it. We had lots of kidless weekends, and found new favorite hotels in the process. We started doing puzzles, and man is it nice to sit and bond over a good 2,000 piece puzzle. We sat through more basketball games than I could even count, but then we spent a lot of time just hanging out at home with each other.

Our goals for the new year consist of traveling to a new place, saving money, throwing more parties, start checking off that list of medical stuff the Dr gave me, and learning to be more present. 2022, you aren't ready for us. 

Day 6 Covid 19 + Devin's 10th Birthday

Today has been much less eventful than yesterday, but for all the right reasons. Today is our Devin's 10th birthday, and we are lucky to be able to celebrate him. We had a big party planned at the arcade, but that was obviously canceled last week, long before this escalated to even the point we are at now. He cried. He was disappointed, but we have made the most of it. 

Ice cream, cake, presents, funny balloon games, and "What is in your mouth?" challenge. We have laughed more today than all the other days combined. It is gloomy and rainy today, and the kids have only ventured out to get mail and take the trash out. It is always hard when you don't get to be in the fresh air to reboot yourself.

I was able to venture out once today, I donated plasma this morning. It felt weird to have minimal interactions in a place that is normally bustling. They have cut down on the beds that are available to ensure that everyone is staying a distance while laying donating. In a few days this could be our only source of income, unless they follow suit and close with the rest of them.

Paul is still trying to find locations that haven't closed yet, pulling all the money out to live in on the meantime.  He comes home exhausted, mentally and physically. It is weird not having contact with the outside world, living in a bubble you almost forget why we are doing this. The reality is harsh when you come face to face with it when you work. 

I was thankful for Savannah's therapist who is doing phone appointments. She had hers today, and I was glad that option was available. He will be calling weekly until we have a change in situations. That is what scares me the most in all of this, our mental health will suffer. We have all been working so hard for the past 4+ months with our therapists, Doctors, etc. 

Day 5 - Covid 19 + 5.7 Earthquake

We were shaken awake by a 5.7 earthquake, besides Drake. Poor Drakey was in his bedroom by himself getting ready for the day when it hit, and he came screaming/crying into our bedroom. I hurried and grabbed him, Paul ran down the stairs to the basement where our 3 older kids who were huddled together scared out of their minds. We got everyone in our entryway/door frame until the shaking stopped. It felt like all hell broke loose after this. Anxiety is a problem in this household, everyone handles it so differently. We had 2 boys immediately get stomach aches, and need to throw up. There have been too many aftershocks to count, but the last one had us running to get under our kitchen table when it clocked in at a 4.6 magnitude. 

We spent most of the morning/early afternoon snuggled on the couch trying to calm nerves. Paul still had to work, and it was so hard to watch him drive away knowing I was the adult in charge to make sure these 4 kids are safe. 

Things settled down enough for some outside time, even though it is chilly. We started home school late afternoon, and are plugging along on projects that need to go back on the first day, whenever that happens.

Paul can't get to his locations fast enough, and some have already been closed for almost a week. Dentist appointments were canceled today, my freezer meal party canceled today, Drakey had a little operation scheduled for next week...canceled. Our lives consist of what meals we are going to eat next, what show we all can agree on, and memes that get us through with a good dose of laughter.

Day 4 - Covid 19

Trying to have semi-normal life, even though everything around us is changing. We celebrated St.Patty's Day, the corned beef wasn't a hit, can't win 'em all. We decorated our neighbors doorsteps with gold coins and confetti, we are trying to spread joy.  Our neighborhood had everyone hang a clover in the window, so when you were out on walks/drives, you could find them all. Everyone in our group came up with a different number, but I am realizing the simple things are bringing us large amounts of happiness.

Paul is working crazy hours, because any day, everything will be shut down and we will have zero income. When you leave the house it is eerie, no crowds - places are closed - people losing their jobs. I cried when one of our vending locations wouldn't take their commission money from us. Life is hard, but we are blessed. I know Heavenly Father was preparing us for his exact situation months ago. 

Home school is going well, we have a really loose schedule that works for us. We are enjoying the sunshine when it makes an appearance. We are working on projects that have been put on the back burner for so long, but we suddenly have time for. We are catching up on shows/watching movies, spending lots of time all huddled in one room. 

2019.

2019 was a doozy for all of the wrong reasons. We are barely limping into 2020, and hoping this year is kinder to us. We have a few highlights worth mentioning, but man oh man, lots of hard shiz happened that we will gladly leave in 2019. 

Drake {age 4} ~ This boy has been a dream boat this year. He has endless hugs, kisses, and I love you's to hand out. His love of hot wheels cars and Target has only deepened this year. While the kids are at school, this boy can get me to do pretty much anything...including eating McDonalds every day. He played his first season of soccer, and even though he is good...he hated it.

Sabrina {age 7} ~ Miss Bina has finally started to get hobbies that don't involve making messes disguised as "projects". She started gymnastics this year, and never stops flipping/twirling around the house. Bina convinced us she needed her ears pierced, and has become girly in all things. She loves playing school, as much as she loves going to real school. 2nd grade has been good to her.

Devin {almost age 10} ~ Mr Dev eats, sleeps, dreams Fortnite, he wants to become a master gamer. He had another fun year of soccer and Jr Jazz, and prefers to never stop moving. Devin found himself back in therapy at the end of the year, and doesn't mind one bit. Although, he would like me to reschedule his appointments during the day to get out of school more. He also got himself new specs, and looks so grown up. 

Savannah {age 15} ~ This girl. I don't know how she is ever going to top this year. She made 1st chair in the orchestra playing the viola, she trained for months and made the highschool basketball team, and still managed to get 4.0's. Savannah gained confidence, made friends, started managing her anxiety, and found a love of therapy she didn't realize was there.

Evonne {age 38} ~ This year was a lot of soul searching, and finding myself. I still enjoyed my happy little hobby of decorating our mantel. I found out I love all things rainbows, pedicures, crazy colored lipsticks, earrings, and baking. I gave myself permission for large amounts of self care, and I am better because of it. 

Paul {age 32 fooorever} - We finally convinced Paul to dress up with us for Halloween as a family. He rocked that Buzz costume, IMHO. Paul jumped right back in to basketball with Savannah, and found his passion is still alive and well. He had his best year in business, and still managed to see all the movies he wanted in the theater. He continued to conquer one level at a time on Farm Saga Heroes, and even will sometimes let me play it too.

Coca Cola & Hershey Chocolate {9 months} ~ We had our Stitchy hamster, and also our Dumbo bunny die this year. But we added these two to our zoo. They are more smelly than I would like, but it makes me insanely happy to watch them jump around the yard. 

We made our way to Great Wolf Lodge in Colorado for our family vacation, and realized that we get Altitude sickies, so we will skip that destination from now on. We still made the most of it, even if puke was involved. We had lots of fun company, made our way to Idaho for Twin Falls family and Lava Hot Springs. We had plenty of weekend getaways in Park City, Downtown SLC, and even tried a new hotel out in our home city. 

We are thankful for new beginnings, and for the opportunity to grow from our past. We always look back and realize how much stronger we have become from our challenges. 

2020, be good to us. We need it.

2018.

2018.

Honestly, it was mostly a blur with a few highlights. 

We had lots of company visit, finally took all 4 of our kids together to Disneyland, and went on a few weekend trips. We played, we tried new things, and laughed more than we cried.

We spent a lot of time with both of our families, and those are my favorite 2018 memories. The "Redneck Slip 'n' Slide" with my family, axe throwing with Jill & Vince, bowling with Paul's family, Little America with my family, escape room with Paul's brothers, just to name a few.

Drakey Boy {3 years old} - We potty trained the baby, and with that means no more diapers in our house. Holla! He became less cranky, and will actually sleep through the night. Miracles do exist, PTL. He is obsessed with dinosaurs, his blankies, Coke, movies, and "his bone"-{phone}. Drake was the first in our family to break a bone, and he took it like a champ. His arm was all healed up in a month, and he was back to his wild ways.

Bina {6 years old} - We finally had to squash the habit of not wearing pants around the house, she is still distraught about it. She is a total homebody, and hates school. She pretends to not know how to do things, just so someone will do it for her. Sabrina had to get glasses this year, but you would never know it...because she always forgets to wear them. She is easy going, and awesome to have in our family. Sabrina is obsessed with Jojo Siwa, YouTube, dancing, and make up.

Devin {8 years old} - It was the biggest year for our boy. He graduated from therapy {both OT, and his regular therapist}. You can find him drawing, making origami, playing sports, riding his bike, or watching YouTube. He got braces on to fix his grill, and they may never come off at the rate his teeth are growing in.

Savannah {14 years old} - She officially acts like a teenager, it took her a minute to figure it out. Savannah babysits on the weekends, tunes us all out with her music and headphones, and loves her Utah Jazz. She made a good group of friends this year, and now doesn't dread school as much. She started playing Junior Jazz, and still plays her viola. She now quotes Friends episodes, and has binge watching down pat.

Paul {foooor-ever 32 baby!} - Paul managed to sneak in a trip to his happy place this year with Shane, Las Vegas! He expanded his business, and stressed about it for an insane amount of hours. He still loves to watch the housing market, and dreams about moving one day. If he is not working on getting our house repaired, he is relaxing on the couch to his favorite TV shows.

Evonne {37 years old} - I finally got to live a life-long dream of mine, being the Chick Fil A cow, yup...that is me! I managed to keep a semi clean house, cook dinner almost every night, pack a astronomical amount of sack lunches, and keep everyone alive. I consider that a pretty successful year. I kept #sellfamilyadventureaday going this Summer, and hit rock bottom after it was all over. I just love the active, go-go lifestyle, and coming down from the high of Summer is always a tough one for me. I deleted Instagram, and cut back on my other social media stuff. It was all good changes for my mental health.

Stitch-y {the rodent} - He is STILL ALIVE! Can you believe it? Neither can I. Our Black Friday special has made it in the Sell House for more than a year! He is fat and happy, and only escaped a time or two..and appeared to have a roaring good time while out of the pen. Savannah didn't appreciate all of clothes being chewed through in her laundry basket, but Stitch apparently loved it!

We look forward 2019, and cross our fingers it is a good one for us. We have a surprise for the kids, and maybe it will make it on the blog when it all goes down. We are thankful for the people we have in our lives that stick with us through all the crazy. We sure are lucky, even if we like to complain about the injustices of life.

Happy New Year friends.