Love Notes: 2021

Dearest Boys,

We kept chugging along in 2021 - always thinking that surely the pandemic would end at any moment. Luckily, we live in a state that chilled out quite a bit regarding mandates and our leaders worked hard to keep things afloat. We tried to live our lives to the fullest, so here's a look into our 2021:

It started with black eyed peas & cabbage - but our big group was much smaller than normal.

We spent a lot of time getting to know our guinea babies!

Some folks battled Covid during what would've been our annual triple date so it got bumped to January and we took our group pic in Kate's fun room!

For the record, January is typically my least favorite month of the year - however, I admit that the school calendar is pretty nice. My girlfriends and I took full advantage of one of our days off by meeting up for a yummy brunch.

Schools attempted to adapt to the various curve balls thrown at them by the virus - and one way they did that was by quarantining students who were known to have been in close contact with people who tested positive. We got the call one day in January about you, Jax, and Dad picked you up so that you could come home and learn virtually for a few days. While you were bummed to miss a basketball game, you loved your furry classmates!

And then January proved itself to be the lamest month of the year as we got the call that your Great Grandpa passed away. Grandpa was 91 but decently healthy so God took him in the best way possible - he went to sleep for the night and just didn't wake up. Our hearts were hurting but we were so glad that he was reunited with Grandma. We traveled to Indiana for a small celebration of life.

Y'all surpassed Aunt Jess since the last time we were together!

Sweet story time: Dad would use Great Grandpa & Grandma's basement to work on robotics projects when we were in high school. As the girlfriend who just wanted to spend as much time with her boyfriend as possible, I would sometimes tag along. While I don't remember the specific instance, at some point I entertained myself by doodling on a chalkboard while Dad tinkered away nearby. Dad's cousin, Teah, bought the house from Great Grandpa and showed us that not only is the chalkboard still there but so is my mark. T still hearts J 20 years later!

While we weren't in Indiana under the best circumstances, we tried to make the most out of it and had fun meals and game nights with the fam.

February started out pretty chill.

I got to know our sweet guinea friends.

But then the weather forecasters started talking about winter weather and excitement levels rose! Imagine our joy when we woke up on Valentine's morning to this view:

Temperatures stayed LOW and the snow turned to ice and could not melt. Texas wasn't prepared and schools closed down. Y'all tried to enjoy it despite our lack of snow gear. (Please notice the sheet pan!)

The winter storm wasn't all cuddles and naps though! It actually caused many many headaches throughout our state as the power grid was overloaded. We lost power intermittently and Dad had to make frequent visits outside to the pool to break up the ice.

We also discovered that we didn't have enough candle holders so Lego came to the rescue! HA!

Overall, we were incredibly fortunate and it turned into yet another sweet bonding time.

The cancelled school meant that your basketball season ended abruptly - but the next sport, track, came on fast!

Spring baseball also kicked off - and, Colt, you joined a new team!

We used Spring Break to knock a few things off of our travel bucket list. First, we flew into Las Vegas. Our hotel, The Red Rock Resort, was off the strip but really nice.

We met up with Mike & Melissa for dinner that first night and then closed the night down at our resort's bowling alley.

The next day we hiked the Red Rock Canyon with Mike & Melissa even though it was a chilly day.

We checked out out of our hotel and left for an epic road trip. First stop was the Hoover Dam. Colt wasn't game to walk across the observation bridge so it was just us, Jax!

We liked the view from the back and everyone felt safe from this spot ;)

Next pit stop was the meteor crater in Arizona.

From there, we headed north to Horseshoe Bend. It was a gorgeous stop on the trip but not easy to photograph!

Dad & Colt avoided the edge again so this was the best family shot we could manage.

We then finished our long day by arriving at the Grand Canyon just as the sun was setting.

We woke up the next day eager to explore as much of the canyon as we could. But first we had to shop for winter wear because the temps were much colder than we anticipated!

Our path was still covered in snow but we warmed up as we hiked.

Colt, your fear of heights was confirmed and you went into full-panic so I let you avoid pictures for a bit as you preferred to stay as safe as possible on the widest paths possible! Jax, you were Mr. Living On The Edge - and even tested my anxiety a bit!

The Lake Fam joined us.

Colt, your fears subsided a bit as the day progressed and you were throwing rocks off of the side with the others by that afternoon.

The road trip continued that evening as we headed to Utah to go to Zion National Park. Unfortunately, we arrived after dark so we didn't get to see much. Can we PLEASE go back when we have plenty of daylight??!?

We were up early the next morning as we had an ATV adventure scheduled. Dad started as our driver and we all mic'ed up.

The views were fascinating and they even let you drive, Jax!

One of the stops along the way was at "The Flintstone's House". Yabba Dabba Doo!

We decided this was probably our favorite part of our whole week!

The great road trip was sadly wrapping up and we had to head back to Las Vegas for our flight the following day. For our final night, we stayed right on the strip - at the Paris hotel. I love the details everywhere!!

Mike & Melissa hosted us for dinner at their house that night and then we did a short tour of strip. We quickly remembered why children don't often visit Vegas! We attempted to distract you with Bellagio's beautiful fountain show but you two still managed to see more skin than you needed to! Colt, you declared a new motto - "Never Again Nevada" : )

We only had a little bit of time before our flight the next day. We started with a yummy brunch in a "Parisian cafe" where we bid au revoir to the Lakes. (You see what I did there?)

In an attempt to redeem your opinions of Vegas, we let you shop your hearts out at the M&M store.

Last stop of the tour had to be at the iconic sign.

Y'all are adorable!

The calendar filled with sports as soon as we got home from vacation.

Our annual bluebonnet pictures have become harder and harder to achieve. I would blame the sun - but mainly, y'all are just goofballs.

We had a Monday off from school so I trekked across the metroplex with my girlfriends just for this coffee shop -- all because we were influenced by social media. ::blush::

The teenage years officially started on April 21st and we celebrated at Grandpa and Grandma's house after soccer practice.

A few days later, you were allowed to have some of your friends over. Y'all celebrated with Top Golf and a sleepover.

You wanted a bedroom makeover for your birthday so that meant doing some manual labor with all of your new furniture.

In conjunction with your much anticipated birthday, came your much anticipated sport - SCHOOL SOCCER! I, personally, have been looking forward to this since you developed a love of soccer years ago. What I didn't anticipate was how few people would know how to play the sport. Only like 25 kids tried out, very few cuts were made, and the coaches were clueless. While you enjoyed the season and had fun playing with your friends, it definitely wasn't what we had envisioned. We're already crossing our fingers that high school soccer pans out differently.

It was around this same time that we made the tough decision to not sign another contract with your club soccer team so we wanted to snap a picture after your last tournament as a Celtic.

For Mother's Day, I treated Grandma to a fun afternoon of cookie class! It ended up being more to my liking than hers but it's the time together that's priceless!

May sped by fast & furious as you finished out your time in elementary school, Colt. The "cul-de-sac club" knew their days together were numbered so some of the parents started snapping pics of your final meet-ups.

While your class wasn't allowed to have a graduation at Downing, y'all still held some outdoor celebrations.

We kicked off summer by hosting a pool party with some of our favorite families!

And then it was time for a long-awaited rite of passage: Summer Camp! I LOVED going to camp during my teen years so I was thrilled when a sweet group of guys from school made plans to attend camp together. You'd gone to a short overnight camp with church before but this time camp was all week and it was 2 hours away from home!

I dropped you off on a Sunday afternoon and you were ready to take off before you could even put your bags down!

Now we pause our fun for a serious message....

Let's talk about health.

The day after you left for camp, I started feeling yucky. My stomach hurt off and on and something wasn't right. It continued hurting on Tuesday and Wednesday and it got so bad that Dad called Grandpa & Grandma to ask for advice (since we thought it might be my gallbladder and Grandpa had experience with this). After Dad told them that I was pacing the house and attempting breathing techniques to lessen the pain, they said I should go to the ER. Ok, so, Lesson #1: Listen to your body! We shouldn't have to tell you to see a doctor. Pain is your body's way of talking, so listen!! So Dad takes me to the ER on Wednesday night and my bloodwork revealed my lipase levels were 35 times higher than normal (Mine were at 6,000 when they should be around 160!). Even more confusing for everyone is that pancreatitis is usually due to alcohol consumption but that wasn't my trigger as I so rarely drink. That prompted doctors to run the gamut to try to figure out what was going on. Dad noted that I had been under a lot of stress lately (mainly work) but the doctors said there was only a slight chance that this was a result of that. I stayed in the hospital for two nights, wasn't allowed to eat or drink, and got poked and prodded at the most random hours throughout my stay -- only to be released without answers but with instructions to follow up with a digestive disease specialist. Spoiler Alert: I did follow up. They also claimed stress isn't a normal culprit. They cost us thousands of dollars in MRIs and biopsies only to be told that I have a clean bill of health and that I should have an annual check up with specialists. Lesson #2: Even if some doctors won't admit it, stress is a bastard and can wreak havoc on your health! Please figure out your warning signs and find healthy coping mechanisms for stressful times. They're inevitable but don't let them destroy you!

I had some sweet visitors but the best was when Dad got special permission to sneak you up for a little bit, Colt!

Thankfully, between episodes of trashy tv, I also had the camp app where they were posting pictures. I stalked that app like crazy and seeing you having a blast kept my spirits high.

Just a few hours after leaving the hospital, I was on the road to pick you up and I could hardly wait to hear about your week!! You had so many fun stories and made so many awesome memories that our conversation didn't stop for the entire drive home.

Later that month, we road tripped down south with the Vaughns for some Texas Musts. First stop was the Guadalupe River for a family float! While rivers aren't my idea of fun, it's a Texas tradition and our tubes had bottoms on them to make it a little less yucky ; )

Then we made our way to the lake house we rented and waited for the Harycki fam to join us.

The next day we hit up another Texas Must, Schlitterbahn.

Our last day was for relaxing. Gruene is all about that lifestyle so we took our time shopping, visiting THE hall, and eating lunch at another Texas Must - Gristmill.

We spent the afternoon on the lake - well, the kids did. Us adults stayed on the dock, as far away from the muck as we could! Such a fun, relaxing little getaway!!

The guineas were glad to have us home!

Colt, you were awarded The Golden Glove for your awesome fielding during a hot summer tournament.

Not long after that, you earned Super Spartan (Your team's version of "Player of the Game")!

Jax, you and your friend worked with a varsity player throughout the summer on some soccer training.

But also tried your hand at rock climbing too.

We attended our town's Independence Fest on the 4th of July. This is the only picture I have from our time there as you kids were off running around most of the night - but you did rejoin us for the fireworks.

We squeezed in our annual water park day.

July ended with a big Rabaduex Family vacation. This time we picked Isle of Palms, South Carolina.

The balcony of our condo turned into one of my new favorite places ever!!

Watching people and the ocean without the sand? Yes, please!!

Our condo had a fun private pool too!

And we were right next door to a bar that had live music at night.

Want a surprising story? Ask me about the time your dad slow danced with me on the balcony!

Of course, games happened!

We did take a break from the beach to putt-putt.

We also spent time exploring Charleston and taking a haunted carriage ride but I guess I was a crappy picture taker during those.?.?. We're already brainstorming where our next family trip should be...

The one thing y'all asked to do way back at the start of summer was play 18 holes of golf at our course.....so we finally did that - on the last day of summer!

We tried to make August 4th special and Grandma came over for gift opening.

I celebrated my birthday at a fun new virtual sports venue.

I thought it was so much fun that I convinced you to switch your party to the same location the following night!

Our church kicked off the new school year with their annual paint wars. I couldn't believe that both of my kiddos were old enough to participate in youth group!!

The Currys were so sweet to host a camp reunion at their house.

Ok, weird but true - sometimes pics get shared with me and I save them to my phone -- but then I forgot what's going on. Case in point below. I think you and Corbin were just hanging out one night but I love this picture of you and your genuine smile!

Kate wanted to surprise her parents with a 20th wedding anniversary celebration and we worked hard to plan, reschedule, arrange, reschedule, and -finally- pull off a small party for them. Solid marriages should be celebrated!

My new teammates wanted a bonding day so we took a flower arranging class together. Let me say - I will do anything for you two - but you do not want me to arrange bouquets of any size for y'all. Pay for a professional. Turns out, this is an art form.

It was a pleasant surprise to see that Brandie had the same idea!

School was rolling along smoothly but Dad & I were having trouble getting you to school, Colt. Typically, we'd just have you ride your bike but your percussion gear is too big to tote along. I was hesitant to have you take the bus as the bus was not a favorite of mine in school but you were open to it. And after only one ride, you told us you liked it because a few buddies were on there too! I typically still pick you up after school but I did manage to rush home and snap a pic of you riding the bus home for the first time.

Fall sports kept us going non-stop! Football and soccer for Jax & soccer and baseball for Colt.

Friday Night Lights are always fun!

I love that you have to "dress up" on game days!!

Grandpa & Grandma made the long drive down to Texas in mid-October. They got to see you two play all of your sports.

Halloween hit a bit different this year. First of all, you're now interested in scary stuff, Jax. That's a hard pass for me. You went with some friends to a haunted house and weren't spooked a bit.

Y'all were all about friends on Halloween night and made separate plans. Colt, you went around the cul-de-sac streets and rocked your sumo wrestler costume.

Jax, you invited your guys over and none of you seemed super interested in costumes - although you were all interested in the candy.

Y'all had a 9:00 curfew (school night problems) but were allowed to hang out afterwards for a bit.

In one of my most genius moves of my career, I took off of work the day after Halloween. A girls shopping trip is way better than any school day!

Colt, your sports took a break in November and December. Meanwhile, Jax you managed THREE sports at once - soccer, basketball, and cross country!!!

November ended with a super fun first for us adults. Brandie found an "Amazing Race" so she signed us up to race around Flower Mound, Highland Village, and Lewisville. We solved clues that lead us to important pit stops & then completed challenges at each stop. I loved every minute!!

There were over 27 teams that competed and I am darn proud to say that us newbies finished 5th! 🎉