2021

 Going into 2021 we honestly thought that we were going to have a different year. We thought that masks would be a thing of the past. We thought that we were going to have a year that was filled with less restrictions, more traveling, and reduced Covid-numbers. Instead, we just had to deal with multiple strains of the terrible virus that has plagued the world!

The year 2021 I was very interested in creating a better year for my children. Of course, that wasn't so easy when I had just lost a 2 year job at Baby Gaga. 

All three of the boy started gymnastics because I just needed them to get out and do something! 

Colt stared preschool at the Krco center and he loved it so much. We were so excited to get him into the group and he met a boy named Crosby that he loved so much!

We also had our first snow when we were at the Zoo. It was so cold but I was so happy that I got the kids all bundled up so they weren't too cold. Penny loved the zoo. She chased after the animals and was growling at them. She just was growling at the lions...even the statues of the lions. 

Duke was really bummed out because he said that he just wanted to see the bats but then when we got to the end the bats were closed because of Covid.

On February 10, we felt confident enough that Maverick was potty trained and he went to the Kroc center with Colt. Mavy loved being able to go to school, make friends, and learn with his brother. Colt was so kind to Maverick. 

On March 8 my cute little family went to The Great Wolf Lodge. We were really tired of putting off everything and so we headed off to take our kids to have fun!

 

My kids had a great time, we ate a lot of junk food, we laughed a lot, and Penny was living her best life. She was running around like crazy. 

At the beginning of April, I built a new deck for my family! It was definitely a learning experience and I know a million things I will do differently next time!

On April 4 we celebrated Easter. We loved being able to enjoy the time as a family and Collin dressed up as a bunny to chase after the kids. 

I started smelling something weird and so I went over to where the smell was, felt the carpet and it was warm. So I pulled up the carpet and realized there was a leak. 

My sister convinced me to start my own business and start working for people. So I got professional pictures to help me with my business. 

On April 10 we celebrated Duke's birthday at an Art place with his cousins. We were devastated because since we had a leak we had somebody coming to fix the leak. But he was late...so Derek missed Duke's entire birthday. That was traumatic for Derek. 

The kids all got to go around and paint furniture, toys, tables, and themselves! They also got to create a Minecraft Creeper. 

Since Derek missed the first birthday party we decided to have another birthday party! We went to Adventure Park so dad could come too!

At the end of April my older boys started t-ball. They liked being able to get out and do something but they were very bored with t-ball and I don't know when they will want to do it again. 

In April I started my first "real" job outside of contract and freelance work. I started working for a company named Schauerman Thayer. They are a personal injury law firm. I worked entirely from home and I started getting way more confident in SEO and digital marketing. 

At the end of April/beginning of May I had Covid. I had to stay away from my children. I was sleeping in Duke's room and Duke was sleeping with his brothers. When I did want to leave the room I had to wear a hazmat suit. I got Covid about a week and a half after getting the first vaccine.

I was so sick, couldn't breathe, my chest hurt so bad, and I was having panic attacks because of how much I felt like I couldn't breathe. I was also always tired!

Even after a month we were still dealing with a big hole in our living room.

At the end of May I took each kid out for a special date. 

I took Duke to the store where we bought him a bike!

I took Colt to dinner and we then bought him roller blades. 

I took Maverick to Red Robin and he drank all of his soda (he never gets soda) and none of his food hahaha.

We then went and bought him a spiderman scooter. 

I took Penelope to the park and we walked around together. She loved having me just follow her around while she was in charge. 

At the beginning of June we decided to spend a little bit of money and pay for gym memberships for the entire family for the Summer. We knew we wanted to spend time in the pool. 

On June 10 I got lasic. It was a tough time. I really liked getting perfect vision but it was a difficult transition. I was having a lot of anxiety because every night I would go and take out my contacts. So it felt so weird and off-putting not having to take them out anymore. 

I would definitely do it again!

I got my hair cut! It was a weird change but with the new job, I wanted a change.

On June 23 we went to the river where we played and threw rocks in!

On July 2 we went to Enchanted Forest with the Christensen side. We love going to Enchanted Forest. We had a lot of fun. We happened to go the two weeks that masks were no longer mandatory. Sadly a couple days after this we were forced to wear them again. But it was fun to not have to wear them for that trip! Definitely, one less thing to worry about. 

Then Delta popped up and we had to go back to masks. 

On July 4 we had our annual July party at my brother and sister-in-law's home! My kids loved having parties and their uncle and aunts!

On July 7 we headed off to Utah. We took a long drive to Boise. It was so hot in Boise. Even at about midnight it was still 100 degrees! It was so uncomfortable in our hotel room because the air conditioning wasn't working - so then Penny didn't sleep. I was walking around the lobby and outside for a few hours with her. 

While there I had a feeling that Derek needed to join us so I booked a plane ticket. 

On July 7 we stayed near Draper and it was the most amazing hotel. There was a pool ontop of the room and we got to look out over the city. I was just sitting there and thinking, "wow this is a great day!" I just sat there and took a deep breath realizing how just amazing my life was at the moment. 

On July 8 we got to visit an old college roommate (and really good friend). We took the kids to an indoor playground/childrens museum. We had the best time and I could only be envious that we didn't have something as amazing as that.

It was amazing to see my friend and to see all of our kids. There were 8 kids - 7 and under. Thankfully we had my mom there to help us out with the craziness. My mom just stayed on Penelope so that we wouldn't lose here.

One of my favorite parts about the whole trip was just sitting by the amazing splash pad in Lehi. I just sat there wishing that Oregon had the same feeling as that moment. It was the most amazing little splash pad with a toddler lazy river. Our kids could have played for hours and hours.  

On July 9 we got to the farm. When I saw my Grandpa his eyes lit up. He was very excited to see us. He was a delight the entire trip but I could tell he wasn't doing very well. I was very grateful that I bought Derek a ticket because I knew that this would be the last time that we would see my grandpa.

Penelope LOVED the houses and she kept yelling at us to go outside to show her the horses. Anytime we would even leave she would tell me to go and look at the horses. The horses were so nice and they were incredibly social so the kids were able to play with them a lot.

After the first night I drove to SLC by myself to pick up Derek. It was terrifying! I couldn't see anything because my night glares were so bad. I had a panic attack for the entire drive. I was just praying the whole way I wouldn't die. 

I was excited to see Derek and I made him drive me home.

We took Colt on a ride to big ledge and I showed him where I spent a lot of time. It was really cool to share that experience with him. 

The kids got to ride horses, and also ride on a tractor. They loved playing farmer. Their aunty Tiff was so nice and took them on all of the fun things. 

We also had a big family reunion that had bouncy things, jousting snow cones and a lot of food! It was so great to see all of my cousins and all of their children! I hadn't met any of their kids and so it was such a fun time! My kids got along with everybody. It was a great time. 

On July 18 we went camping at the beach. I didn't really want to go because I knew I would get NO sleep and I would be so grumpy! Sure enough, I got like 2 hours of sleep and I was so miserable! 

On July 19, while camping, my mother got a phone call saying that her dad had passed away. My mom started bawling. We knew it was only a matter of time. He wasn't looking very good and he was very depressed. He was ready to go back and see his wife in Heaven. 

We left our trip early because we knew that she needed to get back to Utah. 

At the end of July we were able to welcome our sweet niece! Emily and Collin had their beautiful baby girl Finley. 

At the beginning of August, Colt and Duke did a football camp at South Salem High School. Colt loved football and he decided he wanted to play football.

I also attempted to make a stream in my front yard...it did not go very well. 

We were FINALLY contacted about fixing our leak (it was bout 5 to 6 months of having a big hole in our floor). 

We got brand new carpet and brand new flooring in our office because of the leak.

In the middle of August we figured out that we had a mouse problem! We found a mouse in our house and also in our garage.

One of the BEST times that we had this past Summer was going to Black Butte. We went with my whole family and it was probably the best memory for this Summer. It was such a great time. 

We rode horses, went on hikes, played pickleball, went swimming, went to sisters and had icecream, watched television and played games. It was such a great time!!! We went for Colt's birthday and so we got a lot of presents and it was a great time!

On August 28, Penny turned 2! And she had a Yoda birthday! I love her!

I signed up for Rover (a dog sitting service) and I only watched one dog. It was too hard to get rid of him after. I had a tough time saying goodbye. I realized I wasn't strong enough. I wanted to keep Hansel so much and I literally still think about him!

In September we went to the state fair! 

On September 8 Duke started his first day of second grade. He was so excited to get back in school! Since we were afraid that they might not be able to be in person again. 

On September 13 Colt started his first day of kindergarten and he was ecstatic! I was so excited for him!

On September 17 Maverick started the first day of his second year of preschool! He was excited to go back to the Kroc center. 

On September 19 we went to visit my McClellan side while they were at the beach. We were able to spend some time with the family and look at the sunset. 

Toward the end of September I started coaching Duke and Colt's soccer team. 

And I also started coaching flag football. Thankfully, a dad stepped up and helped me wrangle all of the kids. It would have been impossible to do both teams without his help. 

On my birthday Derek surprised me by taking the day off! And he surprised me by taking us to the beach! I was so excited. 

It was around this time that I decided to leave Schauermann Thayer. I started getting a couple of clients on my own and I got about 5 clients who were paying me to help with their digital marketing needs. 

I got to go to Maverick's preschool field trip. I was so excited that they let us go! It was a lot of fun to be able to be with just Maverick. I love being with one kid at a time. It is so great to spend time with him individually. 

At the end of October we found a rat in our car. And we couldn't get him out!

Maverick turns 4 years old and his aunt Chelsea threw him a Ghostbusters birthday! We were really struggling financially with the rat issues, all of the kids activities, preschool and I quit my job - so it was a rough month. I was very happy that Chelsea was so happy to help!