Year in Review

 Hi Friends!

     I just love love love year in review posts, specials, and articles. When I found out I was an ENFJ/enneagram 9 personality type, welp, it just all clicked into place WHY I love that stuff so dang much. I love to reflect. Freaking love it. I love looking back, gleaning lessons, and thinking about what went well, what could go better, and memory lane is a place I love to hang out (Maybe that's why I love Buzzfeed "You Might Be a 90's Kid if..." lists). 

2020 was the strangest year of my life. Fortunately, not the toughest. And for that I am so thankful. Here's a monthly run down of our 2020. 

January: Hank and AJ both had horrible cases of the flu right at the start of the year but they got better just in time for us to move into our new house. 

February: Hank started swim lessons. AJ's parents came to visit. We hosted a Super Bowl party. We had a snow day. 

March: The world closed down. There was a 5.7 magnitude earthquake. We adjusted to being virtual teachers. Hank started staying home from school. 

April: Staying home. Celebrated Easter at home. More online teaching. AJ's brother Matt got engaged. 

May: Watched Tiger King (lol). Visited The Spiral Jetty. I spent a lot of time reading outside. 

June: The school year ended (so bittersweet). We visited St. George. We celebrated Hadley's 4th birthday. 

July: AJ's parents came to visit. We celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. Lots of hikes, visits to the farm, Payson Lakes, Ashton Gardens, and walks. We got a Traeger. 

August: I finished my math endorsement. Our backyard was finished and we spent a lot of time out there. We all went back to school. We bought a new car. 

September: Hank got a big boy bed. Lots of outside time. 

October: Hank was Buzz for Halloween. We road tripped to Oregon for a few days over Fall Break. 

November: We had our first Thanksgiving at our house. Joe Biden will be the next President of the United States. 

December: Hank turned 3. We spent a lot of time looking at Christmas lights. We are officially done teaching in 2020! 

 Thanks so much for following along at This Sunday Kinda Love! 2020 was weird and hard and painful. But I promise if you look (sometimes you have to look hard!), there are moments of pure joy and happiness.  Happy 2021 to you! 

Savor Your Sparkle, Leslie 

This & That

 Guys. It's been a minute (like a lot of weeks) since I've blogged! Why? It's Back to School, baby! I've stewed all summer about school starting. I have thoughts, lots of 'em, but I'll keep them to myself on this blog. I will say, it's nice being back with colleagues and back in my classroom happy place. This year will be different. There is zero doubt about that. I've really missed teaching, though. And I've said this over and over: I will never take a "normal" back to school experience for granted ever again. 

Oh, and pro tip: I follow a social media account, Love, Teach and she recommended putting a drop or two of essential oil in your mask and it's delightful. A friend sent me a "pumpkin patch" oil and my mask now smells like a crisp fall morning, a dash of cinnamon, and a PSL and it makes wearing a mask for 8 hours a day semi-tolerable. Anyway, Hank is back to childcare 3 days a week and he has Grandma and Grandpa days 2 days a week. It's been an adjustment for all of us having been all together chilling for 3 months. Pandemic life is weird. Especially for those of us who have young children and work with young children.  

Love a teacher out there! I've gotten a few care packages (including these awesome disinfecting wipes and mask set) and notes of well wishes from friends and family as we jump into "Pandemic School"  and it means SO much to me and warms my heart. 

First Day of school excitement!! 

Hank loves long walks! 

Some exciting things in the midst of returning back to real life: We got a new car and our yard is complete! So the lease on our current car was up this fall and we decided we wanted to turn it in and switch to a purchase. AJ and I spent the morning at the dealership last week and while we intended to purchase the car we currently have, it ended up being the same cost to purchase a year newer one. Done and done!  

Our yard has been a step by step process. To the left it what it looked like before we moved in and below is what it looks like now (from the same vantage point!).  We expanded our patio in March (a week before the world closed!) and then our neighbor behind us finished their retaining wall in June, then our fence was put in during July. The last step was sprinklers, sod, and landscaping. Finally on Thursday we came home from work to find it finished! Woohoo! I am thrilled to have all major house projects done for 2020! I am so thankful we found our home and moved this year. It's been so great for us. 

I was going to save this find for a "What I'm Loving Lately" post but decided to share it now instead! My parents bought Hank this cute giant cloth coloring mat from The Modern Cloth Co. You need to use washable Crayolas on it but when you're done, just pop it in the washing machine and it's all clean again. Hank loves this cute ocean scene. 

I really miss my 2 guys during the week after spending so much time with them for the past 5 months!. Luckily, waking up early, packing lunches (3 a day! Lord help me), actually doing my makeup (!), and returning to my classroom again sort of feels normal in a world that feels anything but! Keeping this quote in mind as we dive into the unknown....

Have a great week ahead! 

Savor Your Sparkle,

Leslie 

Home & Family

Hi Friends! 

   I titled this post "Home & Family" because those two words are basically our life in a nutshell recently! (So essentially this is a Life Lately post just gussied up with a different name).

 Before I share some recent pictures, I just have to share, guys. I am having anxiety about this school year and the state of the world. Even when outcomes can be difficult to hear, sometimes that not knowing space can be the hardest. I wish there was a simple response, a clear answer. But we (teachers, parents, the community) need to have faith and trust that we want the very best for our children.

Photo from Happy Teacher Revolution

One of my favorite parts of my job is that now, 12 years in, I know how to begin the school year. I know what to label, what to copy, what to prep, what to teach first and for the better part of a decade, I've gone into the building in August and simply done it. This year, though, I'm like shrug emoji/big eye emoji and I suppose I need to be "flexible," "adaptable," and "have a growth mindset." All things I teach my students but that I, the teacher, struggle with. My how the tables have turned. I know this, though: When this all passes (and it will, right? Right? RIGHT?), I will never again take for granted a "normal" start to the school year. I don't know about you but I take so much for granted. The truth is, I'm not about to make this global pandemic about me and my classroom. I guess all that to say---Keep trying, boo, we're all new to this current reality. And here's a pretty picture from my walk today because #zen. 

Let's start with FAMILY---Last week AJ's parents came to visit. They hadn't seen Hank since February and they couldn't believe how much bigger (and chattier) he got! We had fun walking the gardens at Thanksgiving Point, visiting the Farmers Market, going for walks, relaxing, BBQ'ing on the 4th etc. AJ and I relished that for the first time in a LONG time, we were able to have a little date night. Earlier this month, we celebrated my dad's birthday in the driveway. These are weird times but it's nice to see one another. 

Hank was thrilled to roll down this hill (it turned into crawling, no matter, he loved it!) 

Hank's face in this SLAYS me! 

Everytime I take a photo with a sunbeam I know it's Hadley saying, "I'm here too!" 

Now, HOME----AJ's dad is super handy (he's made us so many wood pieces, including our dining table!) so he helped out a ton when he was here last week. He and AJ installed cabinets in our laundry room, painted an accent wall in our bedroom, put up a shelf in the garage, and other things! The work is beginning on our fence too! Woohoo! 

I love decorating this little side table in our entry way. 

HobLob has fall out (and some Christmas TBH) and I nearly cried when I saw it 

I have a different "o" for my home sign each month and my MIL brought me lots more options to add to my collection. So fun! 

This color is "Rain" by Sherwin Williams and I just love how it turned out! Our old house had a blue wall behind the bed and I just loved it, so I wanted to recreate it here. I think blue is so soothing in a bedroom. 

In other news, Hank trying out his new bike, my hubby being obsessed with his new smoker (send me your fave Traeger recipes!)  and HAMILTON have brought me immeasurable joy lately. Much like Alexander himself, my little Hank is "Non-stop" and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

If you have not seen this masterpiece, reconsider your life choices, get Disney Plus, watch it, then message me. Deal? 

Savor Your Sparkle,

Leslie