Hey Friends!
Happy 2021! Whew! WE MADE IT!
And I’m SO GLAD to be back! It’s been a while, friends! You have been missed! I hope your holiday season was great! And praying your 2021 is off to the perfect start!
{I really didn’t take many pictures of our Christmas/New Year so I decided to recap mine at the bottom of this post.}
I asked for some blog post ideas and you guys came through for me! THANK YOU to everyone who threw out some suggestions for what you’d like to see in this space in 2021! I’m working on completing my January blog calendar and am pumped for what’s to come. Hope you are too! From 2021 goals to organization to books to daily life, we’re gonna cover it all! It’s gonna be a fun year and I truly hope you’ll join me!
Today, I decided to take a walk down memory lane called 2020 so that once we’re finished, we can bid it a big FAREWELL!
January: 
January of 2020 began for our family in Pasadena, California, bright and early at the Rose Bowl Parade. I’m talking BRIGHT and EARLY, but truly an experience of a lifetime.
This was a trip of a lifetime we’ll all cherish…from the parade to the game to Disney Land we made some amazing vacation memories.
Right after that trip, Britty underwent another surgery repairing a little more of her palate along with some nose repair. This recovery was tough and kept Britty and I home for over two weeks.
February:
We kicked off February with the Super Bowl and some of our favorites!
Bowen {along with Marla’s help} managed to make an incredible valentine box.
And after a year of hard work behind the scenes planning the Manda Strong Gala the big night finally arrived and we blew our goal out of the water!
Ebby Lee was busy with club volleyball tournaments.
While Nixon’s baseball season had just begun.
And Tab began another season of officiating with the new XFL.
We wrapped up the month with this new, fresh smile brace free. 🙂
March:
March started out strong with an amazing Spring Break vacation to…
HAWAII!
The Shull Six joined us for a glorious week and a half checking out all Hawaii had to offer. Spoiler alert-I’m ready to go back. Anyone wanna join me?
We returned from our trip right as the world was shutting down and this Peloton became my BFF. When gyms were closed and we weren’t leaving our house, this Peloton kept Tab and I sane.
We, along with the rest of the country, pivoted and instead of elementary school inside a classroom our school went virtual.
These four and their new teacher made it through, “Day One”, and then many many more school days at home.
April:
We celebrated this 11-year-old with a drive-thru party with the best friends stopping by to toss some eggs with birthday wishes. Ebby Lee dubbed it one of the best days ever and I learned a big lesson on just showing up for your people.
Easter looked WAY different this year. Not only did it fall on Nixon’s birthday but church was virtual. Then we followed it up with a drive-thru party for Nix. Once again, his people made his day SO SPECIAL and my mama heart almost burst with how much simply showing up can mean.
May:
The Blug Angels flew through our town so we began the month checking them out. There was something special about practically our entire city pausing to watch.
There was LOTS and LOTS of swimming.
These four made my Mother’s Day so special!
Many, many silly moments happened as well. Lots of outside walks. A good sense of humor was a must in the year of 2020 too.
The girls and I participated in my favorite campaign with Walmart to date…comfy, cute gear for staying at home. It was just what I and lots of you were looking for!
June:
These big three finished fifth grade, fourth grade, and first grade.
And some of the boys Bowen looks up to the very most attended one of his baseball games to cheer him on from the stands. I’m positive he’ll remember this moment forever!
We wrapped up the month with a little visit from our Missouri family.
July:
July 4th found us celebrating the USA with slushies and a blow up waterslide in the backyard.
And even more baseball.
Marla hosted an, “Older Than Dirt”, party for Gary and we partied hard with a fun dump truck/construction theme.
On July 30th, Tab and I had a special anniversary dinner out celebrating FIFTEEN YEARS.
August:
In August, Marla outdid herself with a “Prime Time” Birthday Party for me and Tab.
And we kicked off a new school year-virtual style for the first three weeks.
Britty decided to try gymnastics and LOVED IT! We hung up her ballet shoes for balance beams and trampolines.
September:
Britty started Pre-K in September {and since then we’ve decided to hold her back this year so she’ll do another year of Pre-K or Transitional Kindergarten before kindergarten in 2022}.
And Tab kicked off his NFL season officiating the first Washington game.
I teamed up with Walmart for a really fun campaign where I transformed this upstairs loft into a space my kids now use.
And we ended the month throwing a Sonic-themed birthday party for the best birthday party thrower in town. 😉
October:
We made a little drive to see our favorite senior play under those Friday Night Lights.
We had our annual pumpkin carving competition.
And I hosted a little Halloween dinner for some girlfriends.
Halloween 2020 we managed to visit with some neighbors, trick-or-treat a bit, and watch a creepy, scary movie in the Shulls’ backyard.
November:
November found our fall sports wrapping up…first it was 7-on-7 with the first place ending for Nix.
And then Bowen’s baseball team ended strong as well.
Counted our many blessings on Thanksgiving Day spent with Gary and Marla.
And celebrated our EIGHT-YEAR-OLD as well!
December:
We attempted to pack as much holiday cheer into the month as we could.
We took family pictures to commemorate the year {and those Christmas cards I used these on arrived WAY too late}.
Christmas Eve-we met G and M at one of our favorite fancy steakhouses for our Christmas Eve Dinner. My kiddos look forward to this all year long.
We typically go to the Christmas Eve church service first but this year that was all virtual.
Love these three!
And my FAVORITE girls!
We could only get a 4:30 p.m. reservation but we actually loved eating early and having a little more time on Christmas Eve night.
We made our way to a few neighborhoods to check out some lights before everyone went to bed so Santa could come.
I took ZERO pictures of Christmas morning at our house but Santa came, I promise! We opened presents, had a yummy brunch, and were super lazy until later that afternoon we went to Marla’s to open presents with them. Marla always has the most original gift and this year it was these face pillows!
A self-timer picture at the end of the night!
To celebrate Christmas with Tab’s mom and her side of the family, we met up at the Gaylord after Christmas for a little staycation.
The Gaylord is absolutely magical at Christmastime. It’s gorgeous and my kids were HERE for the activities…especially Bowen and Britt. {If you have kids around those ages, I definitely recommend it.}
Snow tubing was Bowen’s FAVORITE! Not mine…that double tube for me and Britty was heavy! ha!
The cutest Elf on the Shelf I’ve ever seen. 😉
We rode the carousel.
We checked out all the lights.
And we even enjoyed a little story time with Mrs. Claus.
The gang was all here!
After our staycation we road tripped to Missouri to see my family. These girls were so excited to be ringing in the New Year in Missouri!
We pretty much hung at my parents’ house most of the time. On New Year’s Eve, we shot fireworks and didn’t like it one bit. Can you tell?
We played games, ate delicious food, and all made it to midnight. Britty took a little cat nap around 10:30 p.m. but she’s a firework fan so she jumped right up when she heard it was firework time!
These cousins played HARD for three days! My brother and sister-in-law spent the weekend at my parents’ house too so it was like one big slumber party all weekend long. We had so much fun and are already planning our next trip to Missouri! The perfect way to kickoff 2021!
I’m so excited to be back and to start this new year. I’ve got some really fun things planned and I can’t wait to share it all with you! Thanks for reading and joining me on this little journey!
PEACE OUT, 2020!
Here’s to 2021, friends! Let’s make it a GREAT one!
XO
What a great year!!! Thanks so much for sharing! Happy you are back!
http://www.elspethsdaybyday.com
Did I miss the recap of the Hawaii trip??? I'm not sure I ever saw a post about your trip with the Shull's.
Your boys are looking SO grown!! 2020 was so hard, but I loved how you looked through the bad and at all the good!! Wishing you and your family the best 2021!!
I saw so many blessings in your 2020!!! Love you so much!
What a great year and loved following along for the journey!
What a great year, despite the chaos! I have to know where Ebby Lee’s “Beach Dreams” sweat shirt came from?
Unknown-it is a Billabong sweatshirt from Nordstrom.
What a great year and great memories.
How did I not know you guys went to Hawaii!?! I am so jealous; that is one destination that has always been on my list. What a wonderful year of memories from start to finish.