Because Two Fell In Love: The Summer of 2020

I never would have guessed that 2020 would turn out this way. From quarantining, to empty grocery stores, to mask mandates and just general upheaval all over the country... it's been one heck of a year.

Our first vacation was scheduled for the end of May. The uncertainty of beaches being open caused the family to decide to cancel before it was too late for a refund on our shared beach house in Gulf Shores. It was devastating to the 15 cousins who were looking forward to a beach adventure with each other.

We spent a week in Arkansas--the same week we should have been at the beach--and enjoyed family time despite covid. I called it a bonus visit, because normally we spend a few weeks there during the summer and still planned on doing that at some point later on.

Once we returned home, the kids and I made the most of summertime in Texas. Not easy to do when everything we enjoy doing is either closed or requiring a mask. Not to mention, the average summer temperature here in West Texas is 7,000 degrees-- that's not enjoyable. Chick-fil-a Cow Day and Summer Dollar Movies are a tradition that covid ruined for us. Before the mandates came though, we did escape to the Odessa Mall for some ice skating and Nathaniel participated in some hockey clinics. We bought a new couch that fits the entire family, and Justin started surprising me with spontaneous breakfast dates on the weekends. Gabriella and Lillianna learned how to play Bananas, Addie conquered some swimming fears and Pennie did too. Juliette started taking a few steps here and there (and by her 1st birthday became a full time walker and cut her first teeth). We also got to enjoy the sunflowers Addie planted in spring, and I failed at my first garden. And we started volunteering at Breaking Bread Ministries, which we looked forward to weekly. The kids were able to participate in VBS at a friend's church, and was one of the best weeks of their life, and resulted in us finally finding the right church for us after 4 1/2 years in Midland. Our sweet neighbor shared her pool with us, Juliette learned how to climb (and give me a heart attack) and we celebrated our June and July babies' births.

Throughout all of that, we started discussing vacation plans and rescheduling our beach house with my siblings and parents. We set a date, but really expected it to get cancelled again. As the date approached closer and closer, Justin and I finally started hammering out the details of our vacation. We chose stops in Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee, as well as crossing off Mississippi and North Carolina from our list, and finally ending in Arkansas to visit family for two weeks. We booked our hotels (and a cozy cabin) and started looking into what sights to see and things to do--all of which was a bit more complicated to plan with covid. We got it done though and it was our best vacation to date. Far too amazing for what you'd expect from the year 2020, and much too long to write about in this post...

Here are pictures from the rest of our summer: