January

2021

Happy New Year!

It was unseasonably warm on January 1st so we spent the day outside. The boys played down at the creek and Lacey looked for squirrels all day.

Luke didn't mind Christmas gifts being shipped a little late this year.

We've started Lacey on some puzzles, which she loves. It doesn't take her anytime at all to find her treats.

Lacey was gifted with a Wisdom Panel DNA test for Christmas, and we found out that our "Lab mix," as she was listed with the Humane Society, is actually a mix of 11 breeds!

Our sweet girl is mostly Border Collie, with a little Staffy, Lab, Pomeranian, Pointer, and a few other mixed it. Haha! Everything makes sense (except for the Pomeranian!) and we are even more in love with her! She is a great mix of all four types of dogs!

And, she looks precious in her pink velvet and fleece coat. 

The first snow of 2021 came on January 8th.

Creed spent a few days skiing in Aspen (He had to get a trip in before his knee surgery!) and the boys and I rented the new Croods movie and ate lots of popcorn and candy.

And this little lady snuggled with me each night. :)

Aspen never disappoints!

PeePaw and Grandma Beth came the middle of the month to celebrate Christmas (and Beth's birthday!) so Luke had two sweet girls to walk.

After Hallie Girl left, Lacey was exhausted. Three days living with another dog and all she wanted to do was nap!

I was lucky and got my first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine on the 25th! 

January 26th was the day the boys began homeschooling!

The 2020-2021 school year was hard, and while we were blessed to be able to attend school in person, it just wasn't working great for our family. And, because we were not given a remote learning option, homeschool seemed like our best option. 

Thankfully I was able to talk to other moms that made the homeschool decision for this year and get excellent recommendations for curriculum. While most of Caleb's curriculum is from various online resources, I am planning a lot of Luke's since I was a 4th grade teacher. :)

Saying goodbye (for now) to WA was very hard- both boys have attended in some capacity since they were two! However, we were confident in our decision and excited for this new chapter, regardless of how short (or long) it may be.

Another snow and this crazy guy thought a snow angel with no shirt sounded like a fun idea.

The next morning... I love the view from our back deck when the trees and ground are covered with snow!

Sleepy baby girl- She is getting SO big!

On January 30th, we had a Drive~By baby shower honoring Briana, Luke and baby Tilly. The day turned out perfect and it is obvious Tilly is going to be very loved (and spoiled!) 

Little girl favors- My Favorite (mini) Muffins and a bag of pink candy.

We also had muffins, wild flower seed mix, hand sanitizer, and more pink candy in the big favor bags.

My dining room served as the warm up area in between guests. :)

December

With the boys finishing their school work most days around lunchtime, there was never a dull moment.

Lacey was spayed the beginning of the month and she did great. While she was pitiful that day, she was basically back to normal the following day. Keeping her from running and jumping for two weeks was super hard! 

Remote learning at the cabin

Our happy place

Lacey does fantastic on the trips to and from the cabin each week. She is a road warrior, just like the boys!

Caleb was so excited to get her a pup cup at Starbucks

We went to Turkey Run park on the 21st to view the Christmas Star. Hard to believe that it showed up so well with just my phone's camera!

After watching Elf, the boys were desperate to try spaghetti with syrup!

Christmas Eve

Normally we make the rounds on Christmas Eve with two very large extended family meals but obviously with Covid that didn't happen this year. Because the boys had been home and our contacts were very limited, we wore masks and visited both Grandma and Grandaddy as well as Marshma and Papa that day.  

Luke found Creed's wooden rocking chair from when he was little and put it on his hoverboard... I was just happy to find him wearing a helmet!

After the boys went to bed, Santa got busy...

Christmas Morning

The boys were so sweet and wanted to get each other a gift- Caleb gave Luke an Echo Dot and Luke gave Caleb a pair of Shady Rays.

Caleb's number one wish this year was a cross pendant.

Grandma Beth and Peepaw sent Lacey a Wisdom Panel DNA kit...

Creed got the best gift from his mother in law... haha

Lacey is quite the snuggle bug...

New Years Eve at the cabin always calls for Monopoly!

2020...

While 2020 was hard in so many ways, we tried to make the very best of the situation. Being able to walk to both sets of my grandparents houses and visit outside on their porch is something we are thankful for.  The boys also loved running down the hill to Grandmom and Grandpa's cabin each weekend.

The boys are at incredibly sweet and FUN ages, and really made this year a blast. Watching their bond and friendship grow this year was awesome! They both did incredibly well with remote learning and actually prefer it to attending school in person during the pandemic. 

We were able to get in two trips to Colorado before the shut down and then had the boat in the water from March until November. We were able to spend more time on the water, and therefore explored parts of the lake we hadn't been to before. Since we felt safe being outside, we were still able to spend the summer with friends at the lake.

We learned this year that we are really good at social distancing.

It was also very apparent that we have so much to be thankful for, even during the hard times.

Looking forward to 2021...