Year in Review : 2020
Oh, 2020, where to begin?
I almost forwent my traditional Year-In-Review blog post because this year was ... well … you know .. a crap shoot. Terms that defined 2020 (and weren’t part of my everyday vocabulary before this year):
Pandemic.
Coronavirus.
COVID-19.
Social Distancing.
Quarantine.
Lockdown.
Mask mandate.
Six Feet Away.
Flattening the curve.
Gives you all the feels doesn’t it?
Alas, this all will eventually be behind us, and it will become a time we remember and reflect upon years from now. Generations have lived through much worse than this. Life somewhat interrupted and restricted? Yes. Experiencing inconveniences? Yeah. Feeling a little extra worry? Indeed. But, this year had many bright spots for us. So, that’s what I’m going to focus on here in this Year-In-Review blog post.
Moving Time.
The biggest news of our year: We moved from Cedar Falls to Des Moines area. It has been a great transition for us. Although we haven’t gotten to embrace all that Des Moines has to offer, we love being closer to family, our new house and Anna’s new daycare. We weren’t the only ones to move this year either …
Kara and Cam moved.
Paige moved.
Eric moved.
Jess and Casey moved.
Jill and Wes moved.
Wow! How crazy is this?! The housing market is strong and mortgage rates are close to an all-time low so it only makes sense. Settling into a new home and making it your own is always exciting, and we’ve loved doing just that since April.
Birthday Time!
Covid may have ruined many birthdays this year (including mine and Ryan’s), but we weren’t going to let it disrupt Anna Schnoes’ first birthday! Luckily, we didn’t have to worry about restrictions this summer and celebrated with a seafood boil, cake and family time. It is crazy to think our little girl is now a toddler. Looking back upon the last 12 months, she’s changed a ton! In case you missed them … here’s my blog recaps of Anna at 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and 12 months.
Anna Time.
The combination of COVID and having a baby equals plenty of time at home. Luckily, we love our new house … and love this little girl — because we’re spending most of our time here, with her! “Anna Time” has included stroller walks on the trail near our house, “car rides” to get the mail, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Sesame Street, reading dozens of books, baby pool time and listening to Baby Shark. We were able to have a few “adventures” that included: the Blank Park Zoo, a pumpkin patch, Paulina pond, bike rides, pool time at McCarty’s, and, of course, a few trips to Grandma’s. The weekends and early wake-ups can be tiring but we’re loving every minute with our daughter!
Family Time.
Moving closer to the majority of our family members has increased our time with family exponentially! And our hearts couldn’t be fuller. COVID has restricted us from doing things we’d normally do with our friends so we’ve used our extra time to soak up time with our siblings, parents and nieces and nephews. We don’t normally have elaborate plans … usually a meal and a few drinks and lots of laughs. Anna loves spending time with her cousins, and it is a complete joy seeing all four of them together. She also loves dogs and playing with her puppy cousins, Zoey and Brinkley!
Friend Time.
As expected, friend time was definitely limited this year. We saw some friends, here and there, but not as much as we wish we could. We will just have to make up for lost time once the pandemic is behind us! Thank you to the friends who have come to visit us in Des Moines; we always love having guests!
Holiday Time.
We celebrated some of Anna’s first holidays … and a few of her second this year. Anna’s first Easter was a bust since we were all locked up! But her first Fourth of July was super fun, spent back in Remsen, taking in the farm, checking out Daddy’s tractor and spending quality time with her Grandpa, Grandma and Aunt Paige (Aunt Jessie stayed home because of a COVID scare). And, holy cow … Halloween was a blast! Anna made the cutest cow around! She loved eating the Thanksgiving meal this year and watching her open presents at Christmas almost made my heart burst with happiness.
Couple Time.
Having time dedicated to just Ryan and I is rare. Welcome to parenthood, right?! We have been lucky enough to have sisters and a mom who want to soak up time with Anna! A few highlights for the year included: a day trip to Sioux Falls/Garretson SD, an outdoor picnic at a Flower Farm in Winterset and a couple bike rides and nice dinners out in the area.
Work Time.
It was an exciting year for career opportunities for Ryan and I. Ryan was promoted to Sales Training Manager of Northern and Western U.S. This role is unlike any other he has had at Pioneer and is challenging him in new ways. He has a new boss who loves to mentor his employees, which Ryan is enjoying for a change!
As for me, I was originally going to stay home with Anna after our move to Des Moines. But, COVID and working from home brought to light the opportunity for me to continue to work for UNI, remotely. I also was able to scale back my hours slightly as well to give me great work-life balance (and accommodate Ryan’s eventual work trips out of the state). I truly am appreciate to continue in this role. Just like Ryan, I am using different skills and developing new ones along the way!
We are very fortunate to be working safely from home without any real interruptions to our careers.
Everyday Times
True COVID style … let’s celebrate the “everyday” fun!
Some fun highlights for me:
Cut my hair
Have avoided grocery shopping since spring … Hy-Vee Aisles in Waukee is amazing!
Decorated the new house … with a few new pieces here and there. Also sold a few decor items that didn’t work in the new house.
Convinced Ryan to get family photos taken which I appreciated! Dusted off my own camera this fall for photos of Anna, Jill and Wes, the Pottebaum Family and Aunt Glenda’s grandchildren.
Bought a new Christmas tree after half of our pre-lit tree was un-lit! A little taller and more narrow … perfect fit for the new living room!
Some fun highlights for Ryan:
Tried out Cross-fit and then joined another gym, mixing up his workout routine
Oversaw our backyard landscaping project and even did a little of the dirty work himself with help from Eric, Brian and Will. Photos to come next year!
Built storage shelves and perfected his new four-stall garage man cave!
Enjoyed watching our Cyclones have a very successful football season.
Happy New Year to you!
If you’ve made it this far, hooray!, you now know what the Schnoeses have been up to in 2020. We wish you a very happy 2021.