My Year in Adventures {2020}
2020 has been a year. What is there to say about it that hasn't already been said? While I'm excited to move on to 2021, I want to look back on the past twelve months first. Since 2015, I've shared a series of posts that I call "My Year in ______" to highlight my favorite things from the year. It's one reason I always look forward to December! There were a lot of things I didn't love about 2020, but I am excited to spend the next week talking about some of the good things. Today, it's all about adventures! • Adventures in 2017, 2018, and 2019
This is typically my final post of the series, but I've added something new to the schedule this year. We'll see how I like it tomorrow! Regardless, this is my favorite post because I love to look back on my memories of the past year. As I've said previously, this isn't a comprehensive list of adventures – just 18 favorite moments captured on camera. When I think about 2020, I immediately picture all the time we spent at home. I might be tempted to say we didn't have many adventures, but that's wrong. We created our own celebrations!
CELINE DION CONCERT • In April 2019, Celine Dion announced that was coming to Atlanta. My dad bought tickets for me, my mom, and my sister to see her this January, and we had so much fun! My only real 2020 event.
LAST TRIP AS FAMILY OF THREE • Before the baby was born, we took one last trip to the mountains as a family of three. It was the perfect way to soak up extra time with our big boy before life changed so much!
WELCOMING OUR NEW BABY • On February 7, our baby entered the world and changed our lives forever. He's been the biggest blessing of 2020, and I've loved watching the relationship between my boys blossom this year.
GOING BOWLING • Nick is a Leap Day baby, and he was excited to have a birthday this year. We went bowling – an adventure that was close to home, a treat for our big boy, and something to check off our 20 in 2020 list.
BACKYARD CAMPING • This was another item on our family bucket list, and it was easy to do – even with all the changes COVID-19 brought. Nick and our big boy made s'mores and slept in the tent one night. It was adorable!
BFF LONG-DISTANCE MOVIE NIGHT • Kelly and I did this early in quarantine when we both wanted to re-watch Little Women on the same day, and then we made it a monthly tradition. It's been so much fun!
DRIVE-THRU FARM • We'd planned to take our big boy to the zoo, but that got postponed due to the pandemic. A local farm had a small "feed the animals from your car" experience, so we went + got homemade ice cream!
OUR BIG BOY IS FOUR • I still can't believe our big boy is four years old. We didn't have a party, but I decorate with rain forest decor (per his request) and loved celebrating him all day long. It's a joy to be his mama.
CELEBRATING JULY 4TH • Since we were home for July 4th, we got to experience our neighborhood's amazing golf cart parade, wave to our neighbors, and enjoy the snow cone truck that drove by at the end.
DRIVE-THRU DINOSAUR EXHIBIT • This drive-thru exhibit sounded perfect for our big boy who loves all things animals and dinosaurs. My parents kept the baby, so we enjoyed one-on-one time with him out of the house.
SISTER BOOKSTORE DATES • My sister is officially a book nerd now, and it's the best thing ever. We have had many bookstore dates, and she totally derailed all the progress I'd been making on my TBR. No greats thought!
OUR BIG BOY LEARNS TO SWIM • Our big boy took ISR self-rescue lessons, which teaches kids to swim and float. Lessons last ten minutes a day, five days a week, for 4-6 weeks. It was a commitment but so worth it!
OUR BIG BOY STARTS SCHOOL • We signed our big boy up for an amazing virtual program that a local preschool was offering. His teacher has done so much work to make it special, and it's added a bit more structure to our day.
ALL THE OUTDOOR DAYS • So many of our 2020 adventures occurred outside – going on a walk as a family, enjoying the neighborhood playground, splashing in our cheap blowup pool from Target, and sitting on our porch.
CORN MAZE & PUMPKIN PATCH • In October, we enjoyed a local corn maze and pumpkin patch that also had a petting zoo, slides, hay rides, and other fun fall activities. This has become a yearly tradition I look forward to!
ANIMAL SANCTUARY • Many of the adventures we'd planned for 2020 had to change due to the pandemic, but I was so excited to find an animal sanctuary we could visit. We loved it so much we walked through twice!
HALLOWEEN FUN • Our big boy declared he was going to be Batman this year and little brother would be Robin, and it was the cutest thing ever. Trick-or-treating looked a little different, but it was still so much fun.
READING WEEKEND WITH MY SISTER • My sister and I went to the mountains together for a weekend in November and had the best time reading, eating, online shopping, and sitting around. I loved our little getaway.
• • • •
I've already mentioned our family's 20 in 2020 bucket list, and I wanted to recap how we did since those certainly count as adventures! About halfway through the year, when it was clear that COVID-19 wasn't going anywhere, I had to re-work our list. So, you'll see what we had planned ahead of time – and how we pivoted!
1. GO: strawberry or apple picking. to the pumpkin patch. ✓
2. TRY: bowling. ✓
3. READ: this Bible and this book about prayer. chapter books. ✓
4. PLAY: board games once a month. ✓
5. EAT: a picnic in our backyard. ✓
6. EXPLORE: the hiking trails near our house. ✓
7. MAKE: a bird house. ✓
8. RIDE: on the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway. through the dinosaur exhibit. ✓
9. SEND: mail to our three great-grandmothers. ✓
10. COOK: for someone else. ✓
11. SEE: marine life at the Georgia Aquarium. our big boy learn to swim. ✓
12. CREATE: a new family tradition. ✓
13. DO: a nature scavenger hunt. ✓
14. GIVE BACK: by volunteering at our church's community celebration. through tithing. ✓
15. GROW: our savings by 20%. ✓
16. TRAVEL: somewhere we've never been. to the mountains. ✓
17. ENJOY: camping in the backyard. ✓
18. VISIT: Noah Ark's Animal Sanctuary. Yellow River Animal Sanctuary. ✓
19. WATCH: a movie at the drive-in theater. in our pretend "movie theater" at home. ✓
20. BE: thankful. Start a family gratitude jar. Make a Thankful Turkey. ✓
Did you have any adventures in 2020?
Here's to new beginnings in 2021.
It really looks like you were able to make the most of 2020, despite the circumstances! Best wishes for 2021!
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm thankful that I'd already assumed we'd spend more time at home and have a slower pace with a new baby. But whew, it's still been tough to get used to everything that's changed. Best wishes to you for 2021, too!
DeleteI'm glad you were able to do so many fun things and make such lovely memories in 2020 despite everything going on! It made me so happy to see this post and read about all your adventures <3
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