As this year was pretty slim post-wise, I’m looking through Instagram, family photos, and my Bullet Journals for this review. (Obviously Bullet Journals should be capitalized as they are so life changing). This Year in Review is a lot more wordy than previous review posts to make up (a little) for not posting. I am not sure what I should do with this space, but looking over the previous year always feels like a good thing to do come January. Onward!
January
Several work/life things aligned and after a lot of discussion, thought, planning, and decision — including a family vote to ensure all kids were involved and on board — we began looking for houses in Idaho before the end of the year. Our landlord in Utah wanted to put our rental on the market and though we loved the area and being close to family, we couldn’t ignore how much more bang for our buck we could get up north.
The kids were enjoying their charter school experience, and had made a lot of wonderful friends, but were very excited at the prospect of moving home. After initially searching for more land (ever the dream), at the kids’ wholehearted request, we moved our search back to our old neighborhood and the surrounding areas. It meant firmly shelving those farm plans until the empty-nester years (if ever), but we had already decided that was a strong likelyhood anyway. Similar to the first time we moved to Idaho, we found a spec home that had already begun construction (basement, framing, and roof were done). We paid our earnest money and began customizing the plans with the builders.
Also in January: B turned 7, the big boys participated in their school science fair, and my doctor decided I had maybe developed some disordered feelings toward eating and put me on an ‘eat all the things’ diet. It ended up being very enlightening. (Hey, I can have gluten as long as I’m not dealing with a bout of Urticaria!) Ever since, I’ve been working on getting over a lot of food fears that have resulted from clinging to the belief that there just had to be a diet-based cure for my health problems. I posted about this, but the post got eaten after I broke my blog and had to restore from a backup.
February
Up at the house we changed the layout of the kitchen to create more cabinet space. This also closed the kitchen off more from the front room, which made me a happy little clam. I do not need my kitchen sink to be in plain sight from the front door. Down with open floor plans! I also changed the laundry room and master bath to remove the stall shower jutting into the laundry room, and turned the tub space in the bathroom into a doorless, two-person shower. I miss the tub, but the shower is amazing. There is a tub in the kids’ bathroom should I want a soak (and I have).
If I’d caught the builders just a little earlier I would have changed the corner fireplace to a regular flat-wall fireplace, but it the surround had already been built and wired and the gas insert was installed. We were able to plot out where we wanted our shop to be built and arranged to have the builders finish out the basement for us (fist pump!).
The first of the year brought a lot of work related headache and drama. Not to be too vague, but my mantra became, “The Truth Will Set you Free.” (John 8:32, and also the inimitable Miss Stacey in Anne of Green Gables.)
Also, I cut bangs, so February was a pretty big deal.
March
Progress on our house was exciting and we drove up as often as we could to meet with the builders. Cabinets were going in, walls were painted, and work on our shop took off as the season warmed.
My oldest, J. broke a finger on his right hand during gym at school and ended up needing surgery. March included a lot of back and forth to TOSH for checkups and x-rays, and interrupted a lot of his extracurriculars. B’s art was featured at an art show in SLC and we all went to see it and celebrate afterwards (he was so thrilled).
April
J. got the pins out of his finger, a working cast, and started physical therapy (his finger healed up very nicely). Miss K had a ‘mushroom man’ party with her friends from school (I don’t even know, guys, but there were cute mushroom cookies). N. continued to refuse to have his picture taken, and B. lost another tooth.
E. and I thought it would be a spectacularly wonderful idea to drive up to Idaho and epoxy the garage and the shop floors. E. used to epoxy floors for a living when we were first married, but had forgotten some of the important details. It turned out, but it will forever go down in our history as ‘ill advised.’ It was so difficult, took forever, and I ended up having episodes for days afterwards. But we are enjoying the nice, easy to clean floors now, so there is that.
May
We started packing as the projects at the house started to wrap up. We hit a snag with our mortgage (a weird red-tape requirement as to the length of E’s employment popped up, wreaking havoc) and at the last minute, switched to a smaller mortgage company. The smaller mortgage company was amazing and we whipped through months of paperwork in a couple of weeks. Our kids had their last day of school and began online programs to wrap up their school year. The kids were given the option to stay with grandparents for the rest of the school year as they were a bit sad to be leaving their friends, but ultimately decided the move home was more exciting. I kind of love that throughout all of our ‘wandering in the wilderness’ Idaho remained home for them.
Our ward (church body) in Utah was one of the nicest wards we have ever lived in. Leaving this ward was hard, but they turned out in tear-inducing droves to help us load three U-haul trailers (we were moving a lot of business stuff too). Family came as well, and it was a very, very bittersweet day. I cried buckets throughout the first five months of 2016 wishing things could be different and we could be happy suburbia dwellers and stay near family, but also excited and happy to be moving home. It was very rollercoaster-esque.
Our new home is just a couple streets over from our old house. (Sidenote, our old house went back on the market late last year, and we actually talked to the owners to see if we could buy it back. Ultimately they decided to refinance and stay, saying it was their ‘dream home.’ It was fun to see how much they are enjoying it, and all those paint/tile/counter decisions I stressed out over? They haven’t changed a thing! They love it. I’m so glad they got to stay.) Old and new friends and ward members turned out to help us move in. I’m humbled and thankful for all of these people who love my family, or who were just willing to serve. All the feels you guys.
OH HEY. I turned 40 this month. I totally forgot my birthday, and so did my husband — neither one of us are great at remembering these things, but we are especially excused since it was a harried mortgage / closing / moving month. We sneaked in a birthday dinner later with Tracy and her husband Richard when we were up in Idaho next. We had delicious burgers at the Snakebite restaurant in Idaho Falls. Their waffle fries are to die for.
June
June was spent unpacking and getting settled. I did a lot of organizing projects in our kitchen to make the space work hard for us. It is a very efficient little kitchen and I love it.
There is something in the kitchen layout that we noticed *after* everything was finished. We stood in the kitchen with one of our builders and realized that we could have moved the laundry room door and made a really functional change to the kitchen floor plan. We all kind of stood there, mouths open — it would have been such an easy change during construction. It’s really too bad I didn’t notice it before! We may tackle that ‘remodel’ down the road, but it still works really nicely for us as is.
The kids went off to swim camp and had an absolute blast. It felt like a really good way to celebrate our move back, and they enjoyed reconnecting with their old friends.
July
We watched fireworks, spent loads of time at our local lake/beach, and tried to lap up our favorite season the best we could.
I was able to go to California for work, and my daughter got to see the ocean for the first time. It was all her dreams coming true.
From Instagram:
My sister tried to teach me how to wakeboard (oops, boogie board) today. It took me forever (an hour or two?) to catch a couple waves. She and my cousin nearly peed their pants every time I fell off that dumb little board, got sucked under, and was beaten to death by the ocean. I would surface, swim bottoms full of sand and half off (bum crack nation!), hair hanging in dripping, salty ropes in front of my face, and they’d die afresh. I laughed too, but I might have cried a couple times as well. Not because of them, just because it was so dang hard and little kids all around me were doing it no problem. I don’t know. I don’t know why I didn’t quit. I think because I knew if I did, I’d never try again. This sounds all #perseverance and it’s not, not really. I finally did it and despite a small Asian family cheering me on and snapping photos of the flailing white lady, I didn’t feel a sense of accomplishment. I was mostly glad to be done with the ordeal, not a little pissed off at the sea, and tired. I laid in the sun for a while and burned my face and now I look like a tomato. An embarrassed tomato. The end.
I was SO SORE the next day, I could hardly hobble down the stairs from the adorable attic bedroom in the cute cottage we were renting. As much as I love the ocean and warm, sunny weather, it’s probably good I’m in landlocked Idaho. I did not fit in in California. I felt very old and very huge. It was a good trip and I loved spending time with my sister, cousin, and our daughters, but it was good to get home.
August
Ahhhh, summer. It’s never long enough. We crammed as much fun as we could into this month! My friend Jennifer came back to Idaho to visit with her family (they moved to Connecticut shortly after we moved to Wyoming) and we had a couple of fun parties. Miss K and I had a fun get away with my sister and mom for my niece’s birthday.
We went to Yellowstone with family and stayed in quaint little cabins and watched a bunch of geysers erupt.
We spent as much time as we could at our local lake/beach, and had a great day at Lava Hot Springs for homeschool swim day after the public schools had started back again.
I got my office and the kids’ rooms all set up, and we worked on organizing the garage. E. was able to start working for Sun Tails after our move, but kept a toe in the door at his previous job, which meant he still had to be out of town each month. His schedule improved quite a bit as the summer wore on and we were all excited to see him more.
September
Back to homeschooling! Hooray! I’m still working, but with E. home, it’s much more manageable. It’s not my ideal homeschooling life, but it’s much, much, better than it was when we tried to blend full time work with full time homeschooling in Wyoming. The kids are super thrilled and it has been so much fun. They started back up at our homeschool co-op this fall and E. was able to take them most weeks. They were so isolated in Wyoming without a good group, so it has been really good so far.
J. is in 9th grade this year and is thinking about taking a few classes at the local high school. I started a new writing class this month and dove back into a languishing WIP. We had family photos on my husband’s side – a huge stress for me (I’m not good at coordinating family outfits), but it turned out okay and it’s always good to have an updated family photo.
And heeeeyy, E and I celebrated 16 years of marriage. Aw.
October
We had the most AMAZING fall. I mean, we don’t get stunning fall colors or anything, but the weather was really pleasant well into November. It was incredible. Our homeschool nature days were wonderful, and we spent most Tuesdays exploring a new bit of Idaho with friends. We were even able to squeeze in a few more local lake days (no swimming, but lots of sand-playing, and reading). I made Halloween costumes including a Sabriel costume for K, which nobody understood or recognized, but we absolutely adored. K was so excited when Garth Nix retweeted her photo. I wish I’d had more time to make a Lirael costume for me.
A couple of loose ends got wrapped up with the house – a cabinet we’d been waiting on was finally installed in the master bathroom, hooray!
In Idaho you can get your permit and start driver’s ed when you are 14.5. J took private lessons in October, and was excited to turn 15 this month.
I binge watched all of Chuck also, so October won all kinds of prizes.
November
Our most excellent weather continued and we exploited it to the best of our ability. Nature days were the highlight of the week. My sister came up for a visit and we braved the ice caves and had fun jumping at the sand dunes. I also started Nanowrimo and suffered through my worst year ever. I still hit 50K words, but I was busy, and it was rough. However, I will say my WIP is finally shaping up to be something I might let my husband read someday. Maybe.
I stayed up all night watching the election results come in. Holy cow. I didn’t like either of the main options but the results really took me by surprise. This has never been a super political blog, but I’m watching 2017 with some wariness for sure. I had a splitting migraine the next day and spent the day in bed.
J. had a party wherein he dressed up like James Dean. K had a ballet recital at the Festival of Trees — she also turned 11 this month. We had a very busy Black Friday – Cyber Monday season for the business, so we did not travel to Utah for Thanksgiving. I had a great time making the feast in my new kitchen and we had an absolutely lovely day.
December
Our beautiful, extended autumn season finally came to a close with crazy below zero temperatures and heaps of snow. I think, for the first time in my adult life, I am not mad at winter. It might be residual joy over our new house. Or it might be that an extended (for us) fall is all I need to better appreciate this season!
The big boys had ballroom competitions this month. Very long days, but they both did well! N turned 13 and has enjoyed finally achieving teenagehood. J. got his instructional driver’s license and feels super official. We watched White Christmas and The Christmas Story, set up our nativity and Christmas tree, and tried to get E. to hang up outside Christmas lights. (Didn’t happen, but we stuck some in a window.) My dream is to have these permanent lights someday. We both hate hanging lights… and taking them down, but I so enjoy them when they are up.
We had Christmas with my folks in Utah and spent time with E’s family too. We thought K broke her foot on Christmas Eve and ended up in the ER on Christmas Day. No fractures showed, but it continued to hurt and she’s had a follow up home in Idaho. It could either be severe bruising (a brother landed on her foot while they were both jumping down the stairs) or it could be tiny, invisible stress fractures. She’s very upset about ballet, but was able to go last night with her boot and learn steps so she doesn’t get behind. She just needs to be careful while it continues to heal.
I got a cold that turned into the flu which morphed into a sinus infection. I’m finally starting to feel better in January. Insert a trumpet/horn blow joke that is actually my nose. Hooray for Puffs tissue with the lotion. #amiright?
The big boys have started snowboarding and I’m toying with the idea of figuring out how to cross-country ski.
Health
I don’t have many notes on my health in 2016. I think I’ve gotten used to the ups and downs so they don’t feel like major events anymore.
I have stopped chasing after every new diet and snake oil that comes along promising me total health and wellness. As a result, life feels much more balanced. I am eating normally, but watching my salt intake always (has to be higher than normal), and making sure I don’t go crazy on all the formerly taboo things like donuts and cake. I take the supplements that have established, documented efficacy for me (calcium, potassium, iron, Vitamin D. Iodide for Hashi’s. Quercetin and dessicated adrenal if I start getting itchy.) I am exercising regularly, as POTS responds very well to strength training though I continually wonder why I don’t look like Jessica Biel yet.
Hashimotos/hypothyroidism is well controlled. Hives are in remission (they reared back very briefly at the tail end of the summer, but they were a mild case that responded well to adrenal treatment and more sleep, thank goodness). I have photo-sensitivity to bright lights. Even forgetting sunglasses for a drive to the grocery store can trigger a migraine, which can then trigger POTS symptoms. Bright lights, especially florescent lights continue to be problematic in triggering weakness, fainting, and tremoring. I continue to wear yellow-tinted glasses inside florescent-lit areas, but it doesn’t always help. Church is hard, so is any big-box store. I found these experimental migraine contact lenses and I’d like to give them a try this year. Mostly I am able to function fairly normally, and rest when I can’t.
That’s it! I’m happy some of you are still checking in or are subscribed and getting my rare updates. I’ll do another post about last year’s goals, and then I have no other plans, but we’ll see. xo
Comments
Standard Process brand. There's a protocol to make sure your ... by Jessica
Only here and there. I sewed Halloween costumes and curtains ... by Jessica
I'm sorry! Your comments were stuck in spam for some reason. We ... by Jessica
I've been missing your posts! Congrats on the new house! What ... by Brook
Also I was wondering if you still sewed. I went looking in your ... by Melissa
Related Stories
Recently
New Year’s Resolutions and Review
Girlmore girls, shoes, and eternal youth (sorta) on Facebook.