2020 was a weird one, y’all. And everyone has a story out of it. I’m going to tell ours in cliff notes style with this post.

While we were wrapping up our tri state camping trip, Nathan tested with Exxon for a position at their new Corpus Christi plant as the beginning of a “let’s pull on this string and see what it leads to” venture. And, really, if wasn’t for that developing into more, we probably would’ve come out of 2020 with little tale to tell. Haha

With the rest of March, we managed to purchase 12 new chicks before they went out of stock nation wide and had new windows installed downstairs completing our big house purchase for the year. Or so we thought.

With more and more closing down by the day and the craziness that we were witnessing in big cities starting to reach our small ETX towns, we were forced to stay home more and more. But, never fear! Digital age to the rescue! The kids started participating in a weekly art class stream amongst other interesting streaming programs and made all kinds of masterpieces. Thankfully, Archer and I were able to make a Hobby Lobby run 2 days before it closed down for a month’s worth of supplies!

In April, boredom got the best of me and I started tearing into our downstairs guest room and transformed into an amazing master suite. I really enjoyed the retreat space it created for Nathan and I. We no longer walked out of our bedroom into generally a chaotic mess of the craft/classroom and the kids had the upstairs bathroom to themselves.

By May 1st, I needed a change of scene and time out of the house to keep me from working on it more. Lol! I was getting tired, but couldn’t just sit and rest with so many projects going on at once that my ADHD created. We jumped on the PERFECT opportunity to be the first guests at my former boss turned friend’s rental condo on the Comal River. What a way to pandemic travel, eh? We stayed 2 nights at Froh Haus (check them out on Facebook!) and had a fun and restful time.

When we returned, our friends that we hadn’t seen since the end of February threw Ashlyn a surprise birthday party and I’m pretty sure that was the best day of the year for her.

Mid May, I built the countertop for the massive kitchen island myself and the girls performed their recital routines for Ashlyn’s number one dance fan.

At the end of May, Dad was relocating for his temporary assignment on the Corpus Christi project and Weston and I had the exciting opportunity to be his crew on passage of the “Mother Ocean” to Port Aransas to serve as his residence! Absolutely amazing and empowering experience and as a result, I’ve become addicted to sailing YouTube channels. 😀

On my birthday, Nathan found out he was selected for an interview for the position he tested for 3 months earlier (thanks corona for dragging that process out), and I guess you could say things got real! I started working on wrapping up house projects without going into debt just yet, because that would be pointless if he didn’t get the job. I also experienced my first emergency haul to the ER with one of my kids! A replacement door that was still leaning against the wall, got knocked over by some kids that weren’t supposed to be playing in that room and it fell squarely on Archer’s head. He received 5 staples like a champ and Hospitality ER in Tyler was amazing. Everything turned out just fine, but I don’t think we’ll forget the sight of that much blood coming out such a little dude for quite a while.

In June, miraculously, baseball resumed and for 2 months Weston enjoyed a whirlwind season with his team placing 1st in district and playing some competitive ball at State in Waco. He played catcher for the first time in a few games and while we thought he was pretty good at it, he didn’t like it too much. I guess I haven’t met many boys his age that like all that gear. The state tournament itself was a wonderful reprieve from reality. We rented a massive, secluded house with 2 other families and the outdoor facilities at the ball park made life feel pretty damn normal. Our boys didn’t place and they took it hard, but I love me some summertime baseball regardless.

Nathan’s interview took place mid month in Corpus Christi, so we decided to make a family trip of it renting a condo on Corpus Christi Bay. It was a rushed and exhausting trip as we learned just how far the drive is with 3 kids and the 2 nights we gave ourselves sent us back more tired than when we went. But, Weston found his biggest hermit crab to date and Archer got a taste of surf fishing. And Nathan felt like his interview went well. All we could do was wait some more.

We even managed our annual meet up vacay with my bestie and her family at the end of June. We rented a house on Lake Whitney and had a fantastic time soaking in the clear water and getting drug around the lake on their toy. A little bit of Sahara Dust hanging in the atmosphere made for interesting sunrises and sunsets.

July wrapped up baseball and we enjoyed another trip to Lubbock to visit family. The cousins were thick as thieves, we had tractor rides and Ashlyn learned she loves ribs. As long as Uncle Travy cooks them.

Our first half of the 2020 experience wasn’t too bad! We altered, adapted and overcame pretty well. But there’s even more curve balls to come starting in August…

-Lindsay