Goodbye 2020 and hello 2021! I saw this meme yesterday and it made me laugh so hard.
What a crazy week! I don’t know about you but I’m quite happy it’s Friday and we have the weekend to recover. It’s supposed to get quite cooler outside so I just might be watching Disney movies on the couch with hot cocoa. I’m sure my kids won’t mind one bit.
If you’re new around here, Friday Favorites posts are just random slices of favorites in my life. As with most of you I’m sure, my family and friends have really struggled a lot this past year, dealing with loss of loved ones, missing that regular connection with loved ones and pets, and not-so-fun adaptations to life (like virtual school, impact of COVID on the medical community, and the impact of COVID on the travel industry). That being said, I’m going to keep my little blog world positive. This is a favorites post, so it will be all about the things that make me happy. 🙂
I love sharing a little of what’s been going on around here, so let’s get to it.
Christmas/ Holiday Break Wrap-up
We had such a LAZY but incredible holiday break at our house.
We spent a ton of time in PJs and underwear (or at least Foster did … lol).
Our Elf, Ho Ho, eventually made it out of quarantine and managed to get in quite a lot of mischief each night.
Fortunately, we were able to spend time with a handful of family members in December.
And we enjoyed the Riverbend Christmas Eve service, masks and all.
I love how serious Parker was with lighting the candle. Don’t ever play with fire … unless we’re in church and telling you to hold fire in your hand while singing Silent Night. LOL.
Of course, our children were spoiled rotten on Christmas morning as well. This is what happens when online shopping is SO easy.
We’ve officially become a family with an Xbox. Can you tell Foster’s a bit excited?
Plus, Santa brought the kids a trampoline which has already exhausted the kids for several hours.
Plus, how cool is Dribble Up?
Foster’s playing basketball this winter and this has never been his favorite sport because we aren’t really basketball people (unless you count me being the 7th grade alternate to the B team as being a basketball person …). We just don’t shoot around much with him so he doesn’t get much practice. Until now! He’s been playing with it about 10 – 30 minutes every couple of days and he’s honestly enjoying it so much. Plus, he’s getting better! Yay for having an app for everything.
This winter I’m enjoying my free manicures!
I think Parker found her future career path … ha ha. The intensity in her eyes as she paints my nails is out of this world.
Fairy Land
Our sweet neighbor, Dale, retired right before COVID hit, and over the past 9 months he’s spent his days and nights bringing joy to the children up and down our street. He’s built these little fairy/ gnome/ and elf houses in over 20 front yards.
Each one is a little different than the next. How cute is our’s above? Our elf, Ho Ho, enjoyed checking its secret door one night.
Each house is different from the next and he’s hidden secret doors in most of them in which he DAILY puts little treats in for the kids.
My kids literally woke up every morning of the break and would run to check their box out front.
Here’s Foster’s box of gems and coins he’s scored over the past few months. Isn’t this incredible?
In the midst of the chaos in the world, we’ve enjoyed getting to get to know neighbors we’ve had for years but never knew much about. A little silver lining I guess you could say. Thank you Dale for brightening up our lives this past year.
World’s Best Lasagna
Seriously, you guys. This is the best lasagna recipe.
It’s actually called the World’s Best Lasagna on the recipe page, but I would have given it that name anyways. I’ve made it twice now and both times everyone’s raved about it.
It’s Wave Season and I feel like I’m channeling my inner Lucy.
I’ve learned very quickly that the first of the year is wave season in the travel industry. After the holidays, people start getting a little antsy and want something to look forward to. This year especially many of us are looking ahead to late spring, summer, or even next fall and REALLY wanting a perfect vacation on their calendar.
I’m not complaining at all, but if you see me and think I look a little off, just remind me to drink water and maybe eat occasionally. Ha ha. I’ve been super busy which is absolutely amazing after a rough COVID year.
If you have a photo on your 2021 vision board of a gorgeous beach like this one, you know who to call to hook you up. 🙂
That’s it for now. Stay tuned as I’ll be posting soon about my favorite 2020 books and about Park City, our favorite outdoor winter and summer vacation spot.
