Tuesday, January 26, 2021

FL Keys getaway

My parents took the kids and Doug and I flew down to the Keys for the weekend.

First stop at Tijuana Flats, oh how I wish we had one in Michigan! They have cookie dough flautas which are amazing. 


The view at our airbnb on Key Largo


First day in the Everglades


Hiking


Alligator



Soaking up the sun!



We went out for BBQ and had a nice relaxing evening.


Watched the sunrise, got breakfast and drove down into the Keys where we rented paddleboards





We saw so many sea creatures from our boards! Starfish, jellyfish, 4 sting rays, a nurse shark, conch. It was very cool. 

Then we went to John Pennekamp beach and Doug did some snorkeling while I did some beach reading.




We went out for a sunset dinner


And Doug whacked down a coconut from our airbnb's tree and enjoyed some fresh coconut water :)




We were up at 5am to drive back to Miami for our flight, and back safely to snowy home and our happy kiddos :)


Monday, January 11, 2021

life lately

 Love the little pigtails.

My dad had built these storage cabinets a couple years ago, and we wanted a little more storage so Doug built me a shelf. 




Extra space! Maybe someday I'll get pretty baskets. But maybe not, it's just the laundry room so it's not really on display. 


August got a needed hair trim. (no picture of the after, but nicely trimmed). 

He was obsessed with this little airplane thing, it even made sounds.

This daddy is adored.

Cuties playing.



This girl loves books. 

Play doh fun!



Monday, January 4, 2021

Reflections on 2020 Goals

If 2020 were a word, I'm pretty sure it could be summed up in one: "Covid". Well at least as I'm looking back on my 2020 goals:

- Read 2 books, then discuss and apply.  You & Me Forever and  Tactics Yes! We both read them, had some discussions here and there, but probably could have had a more thorough chapter by chapter discussion and lengthier application talks. 
- Lower my cholesterol into normal/good range! I did have a 3 month post-January recheck and my levels were lower, but still above normal. I will have another physical with blood work later this month, and recheck again. 
- Dance lessons. Um, yes? We bought the lessons! We did one so far, it was actually really fun, we just need to plan more "home dates" and do them. 
- Buy our second rental property and get it rented. Sheesh, again no. Last year we had an accepted offer, but then backed out after the inspection came back with tons of expensive repair to do. 
- See a financial adviser. Nope.
- Do a 5k together. Nope. Also, thanks to Covid, all 5ks this year were virtual. Lame. 
- Walk the Mackinac Bridge. No, this was also cancelled this year due to Covid, but I'm not sure I'll ever be able to do this thanks to my work schedule. If I don't work the actual holiday I'm required to work the day before or after so that would give no time for traveling up there :(
- Talk with our neighbors about building. We did chat with our neighbors about building, but also my desire to stay in this neighborhood has increased and there is no land available. We actually wrote several letters like "we like your house should you be thinking of selling!" and put them in mailboxes in our neighborhood, but no bites yet. 
- Learn to play a piano song. Nope. It seems like my free time is always during the kid's quiet times or after bedtimes, so I can't be plunking around on the piano :(
- Read through this stack of books:
I read Surrender to Love, and Retire Inspired, but the rest of those need to be read still. I did read 12 additional "fun" books, one a month for book club that I seem to have no problem whizzing through, but these "self-help" and application books take so much longer as I try to absorb the information and take notes. 
- Travel. Thanks to Covid, my host-brother in Germany ended up postponing his wedding to August 2021, so no international trips for us. But we did do some stateside traveling. Jeanie and I went to Colorado to visit my brother and his family in February; we did a weekend trip to South Branch, Michigan in June; and a long weekend in the UP in July. Glacier National Park, Montana in end of August; and Sedona, Arizona in October. And a couple times up North to see my Grandpa as well. 
2020 went differently than many of us planned, but it was a wonderful year of learning to be flexible, letting go, and trusting the Lord!