All tagged 2020
I thought it might be fun to take a look back on last year through some pictures. Sure, it was one heck of a year, but we made the best of it. We spent a LOT of time together as a family, and we did come out with a lot of great memories, even if they were not the memories we expected to make! Follow along below!
December was a busy month full of a lot of family, a lot of traveling, and a lot of celebrating!
With 2020 being such a depressing year, we started decorating for Christmas as soon as Halloween was over. We tried to decorate as much as we could and enjoy it all as long as possible. Even though COVID has happened, we still managed to stay busy this holiday season. Follow along below!
I love decorating for Christmas. Last year I even was able to buy my dream 12 foot tree for our foyer on clearance after Christmas. So today I wanted to share all of our decor this year! Next year we will need to add some new things as well as replace some of our current things (more on that below).
This year we still decided to meet Santa. My aunt is a photographer, so we at least kept away from the mall version, ha. Melody was still a bit hesitant and didn’t want to talk to him. She even had a few moments that she almost cried. But we still managed to get a few cute pictures.
Back in November, we attended the walking nights at Galaxy of Lights. Based on what I had read, we thought it would be a COVID friendly outdoor Christmas event. And while a good portion of the event was COVID friendly because it was outside and *most* people spaced out, there were parts of the event that were poorly managed and felt very unsafe. We tried to be cautious during those moments though. Melody has not stopped talking about those lights either.
One of our hopes this year was to go to Opryland. Of course COVID kind of threw a kink into that. But we did find a time that we thought would work with both our schedule and even safety. I really wanted to participate in the Christmas stuff, but I knew that would be busy and it was possible we would get there and not feel safe. Instead we went the week right before Christmas started (November 10-13). This allowed us to see all of the Christmas decor without all the crowds.
October was a month full of a lot of fun! We traveled, we visited with grandparents, the weather got cooler, and we celebrated Halloween!
We all expected Halloween 2020 to be different and require potentially some creativity. Even with COVID, we found a way to enjoy Halloween with our excited little girl!
The pandemic has messed with a lot of plans for a whole lot of people. One of those things for us was our vacations. We had a Disney vacation planned with my parents in late August which we cancelled because we were not entirely comfortable getting to Disney safely during the pandemic. In January, we were planning to do a BIG Disney trip just us 3. We had planned to stay around 10+ days at two resorts. This would be our last during the school year trip since Melody starts Kindergarten next year. But it is hard for us to justify that kind of money for a visit that doesn’t include park hopping. I mean we love to start at one park and end at Epcot for dinner. Instead we are hoping to take a smaller trip with my parents in January. However we did keep a trip we were hoping for, the beach. This trip wasn’t something planned out far in advance. We just knew we wanted to take a trip to the beach just us 3. COVID did really mess with how we do the beach, but we made it work the best we could.
It is hard to believe it is already October, and we are thinking about Halloween. But here we are. Like previous years, I threw together a Halloween Happy for Melody. We have not been getting out as much, so I didn’t get as many things from the Target Dollar Spot was previous years, but I was able to snag a few things a few weeks back, and I ordered the rest on Amazon.
September has been busy! It is our first FULL month of school, dance, and occupational therapy! We have done some projects around the house, we traveled to see my niece’s baptism, and college football finally started in the SEC. Overall it has been a productive and fun month!
This year I started using a daily Simplified planner for all of my day to day activities instead of The Happy Planner I have used in the past. Being a little over a week in, I have really liked the planner itself. I think it will become exceptionally helpful once Melody is in school. My big dilemma was now meal planning. There is a note section in the daily planner, but I found myself using it for other things and not having the room for meals. I thought about the weekly notepad I bought, but it still didn’t provide me quite enough space. One week while doing my grocery pickup, I was able to snag a weekly Simplified planner at Walmart. This is NOT a signature planner like the one I bought directly through Emily Ley. It was 1/5 of the price and not quite as nice as the other, but it provides me the space I was hoping for.
July has been full of a lot of outside time at the pool and mainly inside time beyond that! It has been a hot month compared to the milder temperatures in May and June. We have tried to make the most of the last full month before school starts!
Prior to this year, I have been using “The Happy Planner” (2018 and 2019). I have used it for many, many years. However, I started following Emily Ley about two years ago. I became really intrigued with her planners and how pretty they were and their size. Earlier this year, she offered her teacher planners for only $10 so I bought one to use starting in March until July. I really fell in love with the quality of this planner and ended up deciding to purchase one during the launch back in April.
The last sit down restaurant we tried while in Pensacola back in February was Flounder’s Chowder House. It too was located across from our hotel and would be easy walking distance if it were not so cold! My mom had eaten here before, but it was new to me. It was dark when we arrived, so I couldn’t get any great pictures, but is really large and was even crowded on this night.
So May was a busy and fast month for us! It is always a super busy time because of all the birthdays, anniversaries, dance events, school events, etc. While we didn’t have quite as much, it was still a lot when we have done no real socializing in many weeks, ha! Check out all the fun we had below!
Mother’s Day and our Anniversary looked a bit different this year due to COVID-19. We did see our moms both before and after Mother’s Day, but we still limited our interaction with the public. So no fancy meals or brunches inside of a restaurant this year!
One of my favorites spots that we had dinner while in Pensacola in February was Crabs on the Beach. It was literally right next door to our hotel so we walked over (perfect when you have been in the car over 5 hours with a 3 year old!). It late and dark, but I saw a sign for a play area but we didn't get to see it. But I am sure that is great during the busier times when you are waiting to be seated. The atmosphere was nice and they offered both inside and outside seating which is great.
