November 2020 to December 2020 thru Christmas

We got a new car. Finally decided to trade in the Sedona, since we didn't want to be in a situation that we could get nothing for it if it breaks down. We bought our very first brand new car! Mark picked it, I trust his choices. He chose a Hyundai Palisade 2020, it is a beautiful car! So much more involved in it then any of our past cars, but I just love that I can rely on it. We love driving it around as our family car. 

We decorated for Christmas a bit earlier then usual, before Thanksgiving. We have been home alot, so it gave us more to do and brought more cheer into the house. Jacob and Lily were so excited for Christmas, they even had a mock present opening. 

Thanksgiving was great. We had it at my moms in Tucson and ate outside with Marks family. It was so stinking cold though! We tried to keep it safe and comply with CDC suggestions, but it was hard. I felt so bad for those who were unable to get together with family due to the Pandemic. We decided it was worth the risk. After the holiday we quarantined for 7 days because we were driving to San Diego for Elizabeths wedding. It's worth it to keep others safe. 

Santa brought the kids an Elf on a Shelf. Something I have never wanted because of the hassle. But after I found Lilys note on what it ment to her, I knew it was well worth any hassles it may bring. It really did make our season more enjoyable and the magic of Christmas stronger in our home. She gave the kids snow balls for snow ball fights, hung up snow flakes around the house, and gave the kids coco bombs to drink while looking for the great conjunction on the 21st. We found the Christmas star, and had a great lesson about Christ as the light of the world. Glad that elf could help out to make the season more fun for the kids. We were all sad to see her leave Christmas morning. But look forward to her returning December 1st 2021.

We went to San Diego for Elizabeth and Cadens wedding. We enjoyed the beauty of San Diego, went to Old Town San Diego which is one of my familys favorite places when we lived here and went to La Jolla shores with my nieces and nephews.  We love the beach so much and really need to make an effort to go each year. The kids swam in the ocean, made sand castles and played games with their cousins. Even though when the sun went down Jacob was freezing, it was so worth it. 

Liz's wedding was beautiful. She was the most beautiful bride and I am so happy that Caden is her husband. Quit guy, but you can tell he makes her so happy, loves her and respects her. They make a wonderful couple and I feel confident that they will have a beautiful marriage. We had quarantined a week prior to the wedding so we could be Covid free for the wedding. Cadens dad has terminal cancer and we did not want to push his vulnerable body over the edge. The wedding was outside, which in San Diego the natural beauty is wedding ready. Lots of dancing and laughs, it was a great time and I am so glad we went. We quarantined again when we got home just to make sure we were safe from spreading anything to others. Such weird times. 

When we got back, we enjoyed the season and prepped for Christmas. All the decorations had already been completed in November and most of the shopping, so it was nice to just enjoy the holiday's. That meant lots of baking and watching Christmas movies while snuggling under the whoo whoo blanket. We walked alot around the neighborhood to look at Christmas lights and enjoyed the morning surprises by Candy-Cane our Elf on a Shelf. Lily and Jacob also played the rest of their soccer season and enjoyed being active.

I did however have a bad panic attack where I thought I was going to die. It was scary. I thought it was just a panic attack, but was having difficulty breathing. My Whoop watch detected intense physical exertion while i was taking my shower, so that was really strange. So Mark asked me to go to the emergency room to check it out, so I did, and hated every second of it. They did all my blood work, x-rays and checked my heart. Everything pointed to healthy body. Which was reassuring, but embarrassing at the same time. I've never been in the emergency room before. Everyone there was really kind, did not make me feel crazy, but I knew that I was. I hate anxiety and panic attacks. I get them when i'm really stressed out. My life is wonderful and I am truly blessed, which is what makes me angry when I have them. I know it's my worries about the COVID virus. I feel like I'm playing a game of tag and it's just a matter of time before it tags my family. I really fear my mom, Lily and Mark catching the virus due to their asthma and other health stuff. It frightens me what could happen when all you hear in the news is that people are dying. I really really don't want them to get sick but at the same time I don't want us to stop living life and spend 24/7 in our home just trying to avoid something that may happen from just a trip to the store. Scary and unsure times for sure! The vaccine's have begun to roll out, but the virus is spreading more rapidly. Auntie Clarice broke her ankle weeks ago and has been in a care facility, the day she was supposed to leave she tested positive for Covid. So now we are worried about her. Marks mom was exposed to her on that day and got tested, but knowing the incubation time, it's not long enough for her to know if she has the virus. So we weren't able to spend Christmas with her. Which sucked. Covid sucks. We've been trying not to let it ruin our year, but it definitely makes it harder to live freely. I pray it gets better soon or that I can live without fear. 

Christmas was quiet this year. Because of Tina's exposure to Covid from Auntie Clarice, we were with Tina the weekend before she knew about auntie Clarice positive covid test, so we had potential exposure as well until Tina gets her test results back. So my aunt Lynn chose to not join us for Christmas, which was sad cause she had to spend it alone. It did not stop my dad however from coming down, so he joined us. Aunt T and Darla joined us for dinner for Christmas Eve and Day. My mom was in Idaho for Ashlyn's wedding, she had a wonderful time with my brothers. But i missed her terribly. Mark golfed Christmas Eve and Day with his friends, I'm actually glad he got to do that, made his day more fun even though i know he was sad about his mom not joining us. So overall, Christmas didn't quite feel like Christmas for me. The kids however, they had a blast getting everything they wanted. We got an Xbox, so it has been fun playing games together. Lily's awesome at Just Dance and I'm good at Fusion Frenzy, Jacob got a few Lego Batman games and Mark's been teaching lily to play Madden and NBA Live...so we are happy. We looked at lights, did the activity about the 10 symbols of Christmas our Elf left us and did a secret Santa for a member of our ward which the kids enjoyed. We've had some members of our ward who have had a really hard year. So we wanted to make sure to do something for someone to show they are loved. Wish we couldve done Salvation Army Christmas morning, but couldn't do that this year due to Covid. The lights went out in our neighborhood for like 10 seconds Christmas eve night, so that was exciting. Jacob got his lego sets, killer kroc figures and an alien to disect. Lily got lots of art supplies, geodes and books to read. Mark got shirts, books and a backscratcher and I got a Nativity set from the kids and earings from Mark (and alot of stuff before christmas for myself :) We are fortunate, we are blessed with love and what more could we ask then for what we've already been given?

Now we prepare for the New Year to come. oye.

October...and some November 2020

 We had a great October! Despite the current pandemic, political and civil unrest and lots of neighbors and friends going thru some really difficult trials and loosing one of our favorite fur family members, there were still blessings this month. 

We started out the month with going to Utah to enjoy some real fall weather and seasonal foliage changes. Utah landscape always makes me happy, so we enjoyed lots of walks. Mark had to work and my sisters family were in school/work so it was pretty much the kids and I that ventured out to the parks and enjoyed time together. We had a great time visiting and I look forward to when we can do it again, but we will wait for winter to pass. 

Aside from that it's been just life as usual. The Covid numbers have been creeping up lately causing us to not be sure what we can and should avoid doing right now. It is a really strange time, just alot of 'I want to take the risk and live life as usual' or 'I want to keep my vulnerable family members safe, so let hunker down and stay inside'. Lily is doing Online schooling again this quarter. Strategic move since Elizabeth gets married in December and her father in-law is going thru Cancer treatments and we'll need to quarantine for a couple weeks before the wedding to keep him safe. She is looking forward to returning to in person school in January, hopefully they will still be meeting by then.

We lost our sweet and amazing fur family, Captain Horton. Andrew's son dog passed away this month. it was a huge shock to all of us and very sudden. He had some intestinal issues that would have caused him a life of pain after surgery and he would eventually die from. So they decided to let him rest from this life. We were so very sad to lose him, the kids and I cried a lot (well lily was sad but didn't cry cause she does not shed tears of sorrow like her dad...she's dead inside. haha She even asked me if she could put water under her eyes so it could look like she was crying cause she was actually really sad but couldn't shed tears. haha! I think thats a sign of a psychopathy? jk) Captain was more then just a pet or a dog. He was family. He commanded respect every time he entered the room and you were in awe by his beauty (husky mix, looked like a wolf) When Andrew and Whitney would talk to him, he would grunt in response and they knew how to communicate with each other. Captain was Andrew's spirit animal for sure, brothers in spirit. It changed the way I viewed dogs and pets, they are so much more. I felt so much sorrow for my brother and his family, i knew how much they loved Captain and you could feel the heartache of their loss. But they know as I do, that Captain is near in spirit, watch over them and helping them as he did in life. He was a huge source of comfort to them when little Lucy was struggling to survive after birth and Captain protected Lucy as she recovered at home. The kids and I talk about family members we have lost, who will be waiting on the other side when it is our turn to leave this earthly life, we know that Captain will be one of them. And we look forward to seeing his majestic self again someday. Rest in Peace beautiful Captain. 

We celebrated Halloween with a Trunk or Treat with our neighborhood and Trick or Treating in Tucson with the Gardners and the moms. I was nervous at the beginning of the season that there would be no one passing out candy, but it was great to see how creative people got passing out the candy in safe ways. I knew Halloween would be manageable during Covid times. Lily dressed as Bob Ross the PBS painter, she loves to paint and she looks up to Bob Ross and she has his amazing hair, so it was perfect. She had such a blast being him for Halloween. She and Mark went to a night golf tournament, Mark dressed as a Bob Ross Happy Tree, it was perfect. Jacob was killer croc from batman. Since they don't sell kids killer kroc costumes, we pieced it together with a hulk costume and a mask we found at a thrift store. I think it worked? At least he enjoyed his look. We celebrated Halloween with treats, which are manifesting themselves on my waistline...but they were worth it. We had weekly Harry Potter movie nights, which hopefully will be our tradition. Overall our Halloween season was lots of fun and aint no pandemic gonna ruin that! 

It's election time, which is always a time I'd like to escape, but it must happen. I voted, which I usually don't, so that is good I guess. I'm pretty apathetic when it comes to politics, and so it Mark. So we both are happy with whomever is elected. The way we see it, 'How drastically will my life change when a new president is elected?' I still have to wake up in the morning, take care of my family and go to work. I still make my own choice of how I treat others and how I treat myself, that is not dependent on a President. This is not a one man show or life, so why would my world crumble is 'so and so' is elected? I just get annoyed with the noise of others and want it to stop. Now that Biden was elected hopefully there will be more peace amongst the people, but I guess that's up to us, right? Trump was a good president in my opinion, from an economic standpoint. I do not blame him for the civil unrest. I blame peoples poor choices and the liberal media for fueling that fire. He had no filter which got him in trouble, he was not a Politian or a diplomat. But I feel he had wisdom in his agenda and genuinely wanted to help elevate our country. I would've been fine had he been reelected. As for Biden, i know nothing about him other then he is a politician. Which makes him a liar by profession. BUT, I am pretty pumped knowing that we now have a FEMALE of COLOR as a VP. How awesome is that?! Gives all woman out there, especially minorities the fire they need, that they can be anything they set their mind to. I love it. And I'm hopeful.

Lily got her ears pierced finally! She looks beautiful and I of course got emotional because she is looking like a little young woman now! :( SHE IS GROWING UP!! But will always be my little lil lil. 

Now for a ton of pictures in completely random order....

I was working in the yard and asked Jacob to bring me a butter knife, this is what he looked like when he came back out. haha! he's nuts!

Obviously from the last pic we know that Jacob has a thing for creepy Halloween characters. So here, he is showing me his lego display with halloween characters like Pennywise, Harold and Dracula. I love my weird kid. 

This pretty much sums up our neighborhoods stance on the election. I saw the images of Trump, and thought 'So many Christians are voting for him, yet do they see how these images do not come close to what Christ would be as our leader? Shouldn't we crave someone who emulates Christ?' Food for thought.

Goodness I love this little woman so much. So grateful for her in my life. 

Celebrating the sweet wonderful Auntie Clarice. She is one amazing woman, we love her very much. 

I didn't get a picture this year of our halloween decor in front of our house! But it looked really cool. Here is what I did at my moms...not as cool as our decor (dang)

We had a great time trick or treating with the Gardner family.

Social distance trick or treating. We didn't go to as many houses, but i'm pretty sure the kids got more candy then ever. 

Our friends Christina and Cruz came to our neigborhood trunk or treat. They did such a good job on their display! And Cruz is the cutest skeleton ever.

We were 'Booed', the best part was 'Boo-ing' someone else! Lily chose the families and she and Jacob left them their treat. Good ol door ditching, i miss those days. 

End of the soccer season. Lily loves her coach, he really takes it seriously which has helped her to put her all into getting better at the sport. She's with him again this new season. Jacobs coach stopped coming the last few games, so that was annoying. lol, but he's got a more involved coach this season. 

Got a visit from Baby Noah! he is so adorable!

We have a new member of the Horton Family!! My nephew Caleb Horton was born this month, and I can't wait to meet him in person. Beautiful boy!

seeing more  of me in Lily every day. 

I think Jacob cried the hardest about losing Captain. 'I just wish I had pet him more when we saw him.' We saw captain two weeks before his passing. I wish I'd pet him more too Jacob :(

Our amazing neighborhood. Wish I'd taken more pics of the displays, but this one was the best.

Cat Woman and Killer Croc, We got batmans head and used it as a candy bucket.

Beautiful Captain and Sweet Lucy lu

We made Macarons for our mommy daughter date. I love spending one on one time with this girl. She brings my heart so much Joy and is hilarious!

Beautiful girl, new ear piercing.