2021: Year in Review

Hello! Can you believe that 2021 is almost over? Much like 2020, some months seemed to crawl by while others were a blur. I guess, really, that’s life in general. Of course, 2020 and 2021 have been full of ups, downs, masks, and an ongoing worldwide pandemic.

That being said, this is another favorite post of the year. Now, it’s a long one, but I love looking back on all that we’ve done this year. Also, it’s great to have a year full of memories all in one place!

After two years of doing these reviews, I finally got smart, and started this post last January. I just added to it each month in order to share it today!

Here’s a look back at 2021.

January:

To kick off the new year, Girl Scout cookie sales began for Hadley.

We still weren’t back to school, and my kids attended a pod of students two days a week. Before heading back to school in January of 2021, they had a pod roller skating party where I lived my best 80’s life, Hadley got the hang of skating, and Hayden gripped the side of the rink the entire time.

Hadley started phase two of braces.

We celebrated my birthday.

I was able to get Covid shot #1.

…and we had the first snow of the season.

February:

To kick off February, unfortunately, our Chiefs lost in the Super Bowl.

We celebrated Valetine’s Day with dinner, as a family, at home.

I got Covid shot #2…which kicked my tail!

We had lots more snow and ice off and on for two weeks!

Cookie sales wrapped up, and Hadley sold so many boxes!

March:

Finally, in March, we were headed back to school which meant the kids’ time at the pod wrapped up.

We had our first day of in person learning in over a year on March 3, 2021.

Hayden’s team won the winter season basketball championship.

Hayden made the big switch to wearing contacts.

Hadley had her first ever dance competition.

April:

In April, we spent Spring Break at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville.

We had our first ever Top Golf experience while in Nashville.

Baseball started for Hayden.

We celebrated Easter.

Travis and I were able to spend an afternoon at Keeneland.

Baseball continued…

With 2020-21 being a very different school year, 5th grade photos were taken once we got back to in person learning.

Hadley had her second dance competition of the season.

May:

May was a blessed and busy month.

It started with a the third and final dance competition of the season in Gatlinburg, TN.

We celebrated Mother’s Day.

My mom and Gma visited, and we celebrated my mom’s birthday.

The kids’ made the decision to be baptized…

…and had 5th grade graduation!

June:

We started off the summer with Hadley’s dance recital, and..

tons of baseball for Hayden. He had so much fun playing with his summer team.

Hayden also attended baseball camp, and he loved it.

We celebrated Travis on Father’s Day!

…and took a vacation in Isle of Palms, SC.

July:

In July, we celebrated the 4th, and…

…then we celebrated Trav’s brithday.

Hadley went to camp, and lived her best life with so many new friends!

Hayden enjoyed golf camp while she was gone…

…and baseball continued…

Swim team finished up in mid-July.

August

In August, we started all the back to school prep, and Travis and I spent a few days in California.

The kids started middle school!

Hayden continued to play baseball with this fun crew:

The kids also had dance and cross country tryouts for school.

September

In early September, Hadley’s time as a Girl Scout wrapped up.

Baseball finished up, and Hayden won the Sportsmanship award for his team.

I decorated for fall which is one of my favorite things to do.

We attended a few UK football games.

Middle school cross country was in full swing.

Unfortunately, September ended with Covid for Trav and the kids.

October

We were able to visit the pumpkin patch.

School cross country wrapped up with the state meet.

One of my college friends visited, and we were able to make it out to Keeneland.

Hadley had her first middle school dance team performance.

Hayden spent lots of time on the basketball court.

We ended the month with GG (and Gma) visiting for Halloween.

November

November started off with a photo session for Hayden with his talented photographer uncle. (Hayden had missed xc school photos when he was out with Covid.)

Hayden ran his first club race of the season…

…and continued playing basketball.

The twins turned T W E L V E !

We travelled to KC for Thanksgiving, and we had a great time with family.

We also bumped into Santa while at Union Station in KC.

December:

December began with us picking out our Christmas tree.

I put out some of my favorite Christmas decorations.

We attended a few Christmas parties.

Hayden started winter basketball with Trav as an assistant coach on the team.

Hadley had her Winter Showcase for her dance studio.

Hayden finished up his club running season at at USATF National race in sloppy conditions!

My mom visited and baked cookies with the kids.

We sent out Christmas cards.

Hayden tried out and made the middle school basketball team.

The kids got their first vaccine at the beginning of break.

We celebrated Christmas at home.

The second half of break was spent relaxing, organizing, working on science fair projects, playing with friends, seeing the Spider-Man movie, shopping at the mall, and a few other activities…like going for a hike at the Red River Gorge yesterday.

What a year! 2020 was so hard. We didn’t know what to expect with 2021. Honestly, 2021 was pretty difficult too, but of course, we had so many wonderful times as well.

I continue to count my blessings while wishing time sure would slow down.

I’m glad we still have a few days of break. I’m not sure why, but we don’t go back until Tuesday! We’ll take a few more days of no alarms, catching up on shows, and a few other fun activities planned before getting back into our normal (super hectic) routine.

Leaving off with a laugh…

I hope everyone has a wonderful NYE and a great start to 2022.

See you back here on Monday.