The 2020 Recap. What Was That Anyway?

You can't have a blog and not do a yearly review, right? As I stand here typing this I find myself wondering what the heck DID happen in 2020? I shall consult my Facebook photo album of 2020 to see what happened and maybe discover things I forgot? I don't know. Hold my hand, and let's get to it....

January - It looks like we started off the year optimistic. Ha, didn't we all sort of?!? Katura and I were busy training for the Eugene Half Marathon and Eugene Kid Races. She was also taking swimming lessons. We were very busy being busy!

February - I'm scared to even look.... Ooh - we had some freaking awesome moments!!! Let's start with the parents day out...

Shawn and I went up to Portland for the smallest Comic Con ever. BUT by it being small it actually led to some ridiculously cool moments. I freaking met Michael Rosenbaum!! And not just for this photo. We went to the Smallville panel and had second row seats in the center. Then I did the photo. Then I got his autograph and chatted quite a bit. THEN we were back to buy his Left on Laurel CD, and in the midst of that he took off to sing with a band, which led to us walking back to his table together. WHAT?!?! Plus we chatted with other celebs that were wandering around - like his dad from Smallville! And I brought home ridiculously cool art. February started so rad!!

THEN we had the most fun birthday party ever! Katura's 5th birthday was supposed to be happening on a Disney Cruise, so I went big for her 4th, inviting her friends from school. The kids were freaking adorable, embracing the pirate theme, playing games, petting a snake, feeding animals AND getting a private encounter with a baby cheetah and its companion dog. That was totally the best time!!

March - Oh March. Yeah, you happened. I had this chance to go pick up Katura at school during Crazy Hair day. I really miss those days of getting to go to her class. I loved seeing all of her little friends. They would always come tell me stuff, and it was just fun seeing her playing and learning with her classmates.

I was still trying to be optimistic. Covid was suddenly a thing. People were hoarding toilet paper. Stores were insane. Everyone was on edge. While people were hitting Costco for that coveted toilet paper I was going there for camping supplies. Katura and I spent a day getting things together and practiced setting up a tent to be used for our August Ragnar trail relay. Sigh, optimism. That was cute. It is now January 2021 and I still have my gear and supplies ready to go....

It was also in March that my scientific, logical brain decided I didn't want coworkers standing on top of me. I created a barricade that people still literally stepped right over encroaching on my space. So annoying. It took months for the rest of my work to get on board with social distancing. Some still won't do it.

April - The inevitable happened. Our Ragnar Relay races were officially cancelled. I was so sad. I knew it would happen. It was the safest decision. But still I look forward to racing with friends.

Our work sort of got on board with Covid safety, and we temporarily had alternate work schedules. Suddenly instead of working 4 hours a day 5 days a week I was working 8 hours a day every other week. It was strange. But it allowed me lunch hours to do some runs in different parts of town So I guess that's a positive. 

May  - Things were officially different. The Wildlife Safari became our home away from home since we can be socially distant in the safety of our own car. We did get to go into the aviary once, just Katura and I, and I was attacked by millions of birds. Terrifying. One went in my shirt. 

We had a family day away at the beach. Katura and I enjoyed the weather. Meanwhile, Shawn was remembering how our last beach day was in the Bahamas and he was cold, as seen by the photo below.

This is also when we began making masks and I was the only one wearing one at work. 

June - June was bittersweet. Our family decided that we are all being careful and Katura could safely resume spending time with her Grandma after a couple months of far away hellos and phone calls/texting. We spent a lot of time out in the boat enjoying nature and avoiding people.

School continued for Katura, while a lot of students weren't allowed to come back for a while. But one big change was that the classes were split and couldn't mix with each other. Katura had to leave many of her friends behind, which meant we would do good bye waves to her former class while we were in the parking lot. I miss those adorable little friends.

July - We got our Covid pet in July ... the Venus Fly Traps! These little ones lasted a long time, but they are no longer with us. We do have a larger plant now though! 

Katura and I spent a day at River Forks Park doing a princess photo shoot. We had so many great photos from that day. It was nice to just be out with no people around, having fun with costume changes and lots of imaginary play. She loved pretending to be Rapunzel jumping from her tower!

That fun came to a halt when I ended up in the Emergency Room with still undiagnosed intense chest pains. I'd like to say they are over, but just last week I had to rush home from work to take some meds and lie down because of it. A heart attack was immediately checked for and ruled out, so that's good!

I did not get to run a Ragnar this July. :(

August - August was busy!!!!  First up, we learned how to do tie-dye! It was quite fun, but we never wear these things. Maybe I'll make a point to wear that shirt some day in 2021. 

Katura and her friend did summer camp at the Wildlife Safari. It was so cool when we got to have our own private animal encounter with the new Red Pandas. I never expected I'd be on the other side of the gates and feeding one of these little cuties, but it happened. Katura absolutely loved it!

Did you even live in 2020 if you didn't get a Covid test??? 

I was soooo excited when my NordicTrack bike arrived!! Meniere's Disease makes running more and more challenging for me, so I decided maybe a bike would be a good way to cross-train when I am not able to get out and run. I seriously love it! Padded shorts are a must, FYI!!

Work was pressuring me to take time off because I had such a high vacation accrual, so I had a staycation in August. One of the highlights was a day on the North Umpqua River with my mom and Katura. We hiked up to Susan Creek Falls and had a lovely time. And it's a good thing we did....

September -  Fires tore through Oregon in September, and that trip we made to Susan Creek Falls in August would be the last time we saw it green for a long time. We girls made a drive that way after the fires were gone, and it was pure devastation. See the photo below - Homes with nothing left. Trees down everywhere. There was still the smell of smoke in the air and some pockets still had red embers burning. 

We had crazy skies during the fires. But seriously, let's not do a repeat of that!!

Even though she goes non-stop, the new school year started for Katura, and now she is one of the big kids! We parents aren't allowed inside the building anymore, so our daily routine is me dropping her off, she sanitizes her hands, I verify her temperature isn't high, and then we wave good bye to each other through the window. 

October - I did a lot of Legos in October. I did a lot of them all year. That was my Covid entertainment. 2021 is lining up to have a ton of construction as well! We also spent a lot of time embracing the Fall and Halloween! I should be showing Hawaii photos here. Hawaii closed. I had another staycation. Hmph.

For Halloween this year Katura was Uma (Ursula's daughter) from the Disney Descendants movies. I was her sidekick, Harry Hook (son of Captain Hook), although I changed it to be Harriet Hook. It was a very last minute costume idea but when you do pirate things a lot you can throw this type of stuff together quite easily! We didn't trick or treat, but we still took advantage of the day and dressed up for a very socially distant safe day at the Oregon Zoo.

We also spent a lot of time at Kruse Farms taking photos and trying the corn maze. Something was up with the maze this year. It was impossible to complete without cheating. The Wildlife Safari also had an awesome safe Halloween experience that I hope becomes a thing. It was a drive through the Safari in the dark, with treat stations set up and a contest to hunt for ghosts. We brought lights to find the animals in the dark. It was ridiculously fun!

The most important thing I did in October? Voted for Joe Biden.

November - I'm 100% sure I was judged about how I started my November, and it wasn't a decision taken lightly. Katura and I were supposed to be in Disneyland. I had booked a surprise trip before Covid was ever discussed, and it was for the 1st week of November. There was a lot of homework done when making a decision on what to do that week since work really wanted me on vacation. Mental health is important and I was going stir crazy, so our family discussed it and Katura and I safely pulled off a vacation in Walt Disney World. It's been said so many times that Disney feels safer than a grocery store right now. Raise an eyebrow all you want, but it really does! It was a mother daughter trip that was soooo much fun. A completely different Disney experience, but completely positive and safe! They have this stuff down and I have absolutely no regrets! Plus, I got to reunite with Vinny!! If you've ready any of my Disney life blogs then you already know about him. Katura and his daughter hit it off and I sense a reunion of those girls sooner than later!

We turned into vloggers on this trip. Feel free to check our videos out if you're so inclined.

Other than Disney our November was nice and quiet. We did the Safari like we always do, and just hung out enjoying life amid all the political chaos that is swamping this country. This was the first time I wasn't with my mom on Thanksgiving, and I managed to pull off cooking our family a complete and tasty dinner!

December - There was an incident on Thanksgiving. It involved a 4 year old, scissors and my hair. So now I have what feels like short hair! 

Our family participated in a 24 hour race to raise money for local families in need this holiday season. You can read about that by clicking right there.

We had a lot of fun decorating for Christmas, shopping online, wrapping gifts, singing Christmas songs and planning fun things coming up in the very near future. It wasn't a bad month really, all things considered. And we wrapped up the year with a sunny bike ride in our neighborhood. Can't complain about that!

Recap: Things not mentioned - we gained a bunch of turkeys as our new "pets". I have 16 that I keep track of. They started out little and are gaining in size all the time. I adore them. They make the cutest noises. While gaining "pets" I also lost family members. My Grandpa passed away first, and thanks to Covid I didn't get to see family or  anything during that. Then my step-dad's mom passed away. And on Thanksgiving his dad passed away. I learned a lot about people this year - not always the best things. I learned what businesses I'm not going to be a patron of anymore based on their behaviors during a pandemic. I sit quietly watching things and damn, our country is just an embarrassing mess. I do have a very impressive collection of masks now! I make a lot of them, and I even know how to wear them properly. Our family did the whole social distancing thing and our normal busy summer days with people over at the river or pool didn't happen. Vacations were cancelled, postponed and altered. I enjoyed not eating out in restaurants. They are too noisy for me anyway. I missed not racing. I miss not getting to go IN Katura's school. I don't even know where her classroom this year is, but her teacher is great and sends us photos periodically so we can see what they are all up to. Katura is loving school and loves making friends, so that's been the highlight for our year!

Looking forward to 2021: Who knows what to even expect at this point. I'm being optimistic as always. As of now our Ragnar Relays are scheduled to happen, with Covid modifications. I deferred my Eugene Half Marathon entry to 2022 because I don't want to pay $$$ to do a virtual race at home. I want the experience. In case the 2021 race doesn't happen I am set for 2022! I have fun trips on the calendar, more than I'd expect - thanks to 2021 Covid plans and all that adjusting we had to do. Katura will begin Kindergarten this year and she is soooo excited! We just have to make the big decision of WHERE to go. Private school sure has been nice, I'll miss it! Hopefully I'll get to see more friends in 2021. I really miss the Enchanted Forest, so let's hope that can be a more "normal" experience this year. And I guess we just continue to wait...... for Mandalorian season 3!