a year later.

 dear sweet children. at this point in time there are only 3 of you, but that is soon to change! and so i thought it a good idea to write down for you what the last year entailed- what you may have experienced but won't remember.  it's been a year today, since the world essentially shut down. and i've spent a year watching the world and trying to figure out what your takeaways should be when you're an adult. of course, this is just me once again projecting my thoughts and feelings on you, (oh, mommmmmm) so feel free to rebel and think your own thoughts. but for what it's worth, here are mine. and it starts with a timeline of events:

march 13th, 2020: utah shut down due to covid. your school was the last to shut down (they're stubborn like that), and we spent the remainder of the school year "learning remotely." <-- we did our best, but thank heavens you were in preschool. you both stayed caught up and seemed to be quite content with the entire thing.

** take away: just because the prophet and other leaders aren't preaching preparedness and food storage as loudly anymore doesn't make it any less important. when this happened weird stuff like toilet paper, water bottles, bread were nowhere to be found in stores. it was like no one was prepared to stay home for an extended period of time. it was worrisome. we were prepared and had everything on hand. the only thing we didn't have enough of were girl scout cookies....

march 18th, 2020: biggest earthquake in utah history. 

march 20th, 2020: we got chickens. best decision ever. just ask your dad.

summer 2020: was relatively quiet because everyone was keeping to themselves. people were super worried about catching the virus and that really kept them either at home, or outside far way from everyone else. RV and outdoor toy sales were up 900%, not even joking. it took us ages to find a slide for the playhouse, but we eventually got one. 

august 2020: was a doosey. the elections are ramping up so already politics are getting heated. last year it was between trump and biden. so people were feeling charged. add to that the death of george floyd, and the country had had enough. we saw protests right here in our neighborhood and downtown. the national guard was dispatched for about a month around the capital to keep the calm. 

** an important thing to remember here is that because of the news outlets of the world, it is hard to get a full and unbiased story. during this time numerous things kept coming out and happening concerning race in america and here is what we have to say: do your very best to find all perspectives of the story, then form your own opinion. beware of instant certainty. and then love your neighbors and community members as sincerely as you love your family. Heavenly Father created people of all colors because they are important and needed in this world. do not ever place anyone below yourself just because they don't look or act like you. you are better than that.

september 8th, 2020: the wasatch front experienced a crazy wind storm. 100 year old trees all around the valley fell down and caused lots of destruction. the avenues and slc cemetery specifically suffered and only in the past month has the city been able to catch up and remove stumps where trees used to be. just across the street there is still a huge tree stump sticking into the street.

** a take away here is that at this point many had simply had it. lots of locals had mental breakdowns and it was the straw that broke the camels back. and i get it- it was a lot. but it was also very tender to watch how people came together to help each other. when things died down neighbors came out with their trash cans and gloves and started to help each other clean up. when people need to rise to the occasion, generally they can. try and always be in the camp that rises when needed. 

later in september, 2020: although utah experiences many a year, to have wildfires all over the west was very eerie. in northern california they had orange smokey skies and air for weeks. then that all blew over here and that on top of the fires in utah and colorado utah was just one big smokey mess for weeks. 

halloween 2020: it was weird to look out the window and see just one or two families on the streets. usually we get thousands of kids, but not this year. this year we went out with 5 other neighborhood families around the block on the night before. you kids didn't know the difference, and on halloween we watched a movie and went to bed. it was kind of nice to be honest, but also sad to know that still after 7 months, people were still too afraid to open their doors to strangers. 

and then the holidays came. and guess what, they were pretty darn normal. we didn't have any big parties, we just stayed local with family and it was delightful. lots of extended family traditions were put on hold, but that is okay. this time in life calls for pauses on certain things and we are a flexible people. 

so sweet children, please try your best to harness your "pioneer spirit." work hard. be nice. be flexible. be courageous. stand up for what YOU know and feel to be right, not what the world says is right. if you do these things, you will thrive.  and now enjoy these photos of all the fun you had the last year. because you are children, it's not your job to worry about the world- that's ours. your job is to be a child.

>>> utah has been the perfect outdoor escape. and people are catching on! everyone is moving here. but thankfully we snagged our own corner of paradise and these views are just up the street from us. you lucky kids....

>>> birthdays still happened and they were still a ton of fun!

>>> told ya... we went on so many hikes... lol

>>> we smoked a lot of meat.. and no one was mad about that... 

>>> we discovered the U has some great bike paths and relief from the heat! 

>>> and here comes the onslaught of photos from the many days we spent at the lake. it became a weekly excursion and we became very efficient at packing for a fun day on the water. it's not the beach, but we're not complaining! just look at that view!

>>> these amazing photos are from our weekend down in st. george. it was so blazing hot, but it was as much of an escape as we could pull off over the summer. and you guys loved it, so it was worth it!

>>> this was a cool utah discovery, dripping rock river. it was a drive, but definitely worth it! so unique and fun!

>>> visiting the poppy fields in mantua...

>>> another bonus to this year was having so many guests! no one had anything to do, so we all road-tripped to visit family and friends. while family was in town, we went on a little family history tour to the local cemetery and found some family members!

>>> we don't want to forget that during this time, our chickens all started sleeping in the trees. it was very annoying and at first frightening when we couldn't find them anywhere. we never thought to look up! oh, and in late august they started laying their first eggs! it was super eggciting....

>>> and after asking so many times, grandpa finally took you fishing. although it was a very un-utah like experience because the fishing was so oversaturated over the summer (no one had anything to do, so everyone went outdoors and many went fishing) that we only caught one fish. i think the adults were more disappointed than the kids, but it was still a great day!

>>> late summer we roadtripped to california to spend time with friends in monterey. it was a nice break from the 100 degree summers of home, but we went more for the company...

>>> so school started end of august and you were truly one of the rare few utah kids who got to go back in person. your schooling was such a blessing this year and we will never again take it for granted.

>>> summer was filled with so many ice cream trips. and we have no regrets. worth every cavity.

>>> give us all the outdoor fun! these were taken at the sunflower fields at cross-e-ranch.

>>> evidence of the windstorm in september:

>>> i hope you always remember this shirt that i love so much.

>>> his first haircut. he rocked it. and he still loves it. 

>>> family photos from this year. we got many compliments on our card this year, but also come comments like "you probably could've gotten a better picture if you didn't include the chickens...." funny thing is, we wanted them in it for the funny faces. this year deserved some goofy photos and we definitely got them!

>>> these are literally the only two photos i took in december of 2020. maybe i should've documented the holidays better, but honestly we were just too busy enjoying them. and i don't regret not having those photos! it was a season of minimal technology and it was awesome.

love you. be a friend to everyone.

xoxo,

mom