2016-2020 [Cliff's Notes]

Well, five years ago, life got busier. Ha ha. I will try and go back and fill in some of the gaps over time. 

In 2016...

• The kids and I finished our year with Acton Academy and went back to homeschooling. We learned some great stuff through Acton, but we were glad to be back to just us.
• In the summer, we took a trip up to South Dakota and saw Keystone, the Badlands, Mount Rushmore, and so much more! We then drove over to Estes Park and spent a week there in the Rockies with my family. It was a great trip!
• In the fall, we piggybacked on to a business trip Aaron was taking to Arizona, and we did Phoenix, Las Vegas (just for a night), then Zion National Park (ask about the big fight someday), and the Grand Canyon! We still haven't really seen the Grand Canyon as a family because it started snowing big time about 10 minutes after we showed up!
• We became very close friends with the Drumm family (who also homeschooled) and they were such a gift to us for a couple of years. We had dinners together every week, and went camping (in below freezing temperatures) at Mo Ranch in December. It was crazy cold, but so fun!

In 2017...

• It was a great year of homeschooling! The kids were at such fun ages, and we had a great time!
• In the Spring, we went to Big Bend National Park with the Drumms and camped for several days. It was beautiful there!
• We went to Mexico in September and explored the Yucatan Peninsula! We started in Cancun, went to Merida, then circled back to Cancun by way of Tulum and many other beautiful places. There were ruins, cenotes, great food, and more. Coming back from Cancun, we scheduled an overnight layover in Mexico City, which we loved. And then--within a few hours of arriving--we were in an 7.1 earthquake. It was a very eventful last couple days of the trip, so that will need to be it's own post as well.
• Abby turned 13 and made a new best friend, Danielle. They had such fun together!

In 2018...

• We took a trip to New York City on a whim and had a great time! That should also get it's own post one of these days.
• We finally decided to take the leap and sell our house on Sierra Trail to move out toward Bandera/Pipe Creek. It was all a bit of an ordeal that included backing out of a house we'd planned to buy, moving out of our house in tons of rain and mud, and living with our best friends, the Sizemore's for 3 1/2 weeks. Additionally, it included falling in love with a house we couldn't afford, and then over a month or so the price dropping until we kinda sorta felt comfortable and put an offer on it. They accepted our offer, but then... everything went wrong over the course of the deal and it looked like it might fall through on multiple occasions. However... finally, we got the house (and at a price we felt 100% comfortable with because of our negotiations after all the issues)! We couldn't be happier with our little piece of heaven out here in the Hill Country. I'll make it its own post sometime.
• At the same time, the kids decided to go back to public school and started in the fall of 2018 at Bandera ISD. Carson was starting 7th grade and Abby was a freshman in high school.

In 2019...

• We went to Boston + Portland in the dead of winter because we had some travel vouchers and the airfare was cheap. It was one of the best trips, and we all had such a good time over the four days we were there!
• In June, our friends Shannon + Ana (Shelby's brother and now sis-in-law) asked us to come to Oregon with them so they could get married there! Aaron officiated, I photographed, and Shelby played the music. That was it! It was just the five of us at this remote waterfall we had to hike to (and nearly died). It was such an amazing four days (except for the danger hike), and I'll never forget it!
• In the summer, we took our longest road trip to date and explored the Midwest. Aaron had business in Indiana, so the kids and I drove up to meet him in Fort Wayne and then we all travelled from there. We did Detroit, Toronto, Niagara Falls, Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Nashville. We were gone 2 1/2 weeks! We had some good times, but it was a bit of a moody and stressful trip too. Lots of fun memories though.

In 2020...

• We took a Spring Break trip to Atlanta (Abby's request) and had a really fun week there! We saw Stranger Things sites and then stumbled upon two real life shoots! (We were really geeking out.) Also went to Coca Cola, the ballpark, and lots of other fun stuff. Then on the way back...
• We started hearing people talk about this Coronavirus thing. We were so confused. People were starting to freak out. There was talk of the kids school closing the following week. WHAT?! It all sounded crazy. We were coming back on Saturday, so we decided to stop at the store on our way through Mississippi to get hand sanitizer for the church and they were ALL OUT. We stopped at multiple stores across several states. No sanitizer or cleaning products anywhere. Then it is confirmed that, yes, the kids school will be closed the week after spring break.
• We got home in time for the kids and I to drive to Dallas to visit Nanny who wasn't doing well, and she sadly passed away on Monday. Abby was the sweetest and was there with her all Sunday night and all day Monday, and it was a truly beautiful thing. More on that later too. We didn't really get to have a funeral due to COVID, just a small graveside service where none of us could really hug or stand close and it was all very strange and sad, especially because we are such a close family.
• To unpack the rest of 2020 up until now with COVID and politics and racial tensions would really take a whole lot more space than this, but until I write that down, the history books will well document this season.

To be continued...