2019 in Review

I haven't done a year in review in a while, but since I have been terrible at blogging this year....
I like to take the new year to reflect on the year. And 2019 was a DOOZY.

We had some really hard times this year.
At the beginning of the year, I wasn't sure if I could run more than a mile ever again. I was going to physical therapy every week and felt like it would never end.
In January, I was called by my doctor and told that my bloodwork came back positive for an autoimmune disease. It looked like lupus. Now, if you don't know, when I was pregnant with Cora I was mistakenly diagnosed with Hep B before they realized it was a lab error. So, thinking there was no way I would be misdiagnosed again. For 2 months I struggled with this while waiting for meetings with specialists, only to find out it WAS a false positive. So, there you go. If I ever have cancer I won't believe it.

In February the kids and I were the sickest we have ever been (simultaneously). James was on his way to getting his ear tubes, and I didn't realize Cora could still get ear infections until she started bleeding out of her ears. Thank goodness for Brandon who didn't panic when he saw it. Meanwhile I had a sinus infection and some virus.

In March James got his ear tubes. He had had 4 back to back ear infections. It was so sad to let him go with Brandon, and apparently he cried for me the whole time he was recovering. But by the time they got home he was ready to run around in the backyard (even though we're supposed to have them rest the rest of the day), so he was fine.

(Before and after, more or less)
In April we had possibly the worst Easter ever. Brandon is too modest to admit this, but he saved his dad's life. He told him to go to the hospital and turns out Steve needed emergency heart surgery. Not a good birthday weekend for Brandon since he nearly lost his dad.

In August, we found out that Cora's ear tubes falling out (in May) meant that her ears filled back up with fluid and her hearing was compromised again. I was gutted. I was SURE that we had left this behind us! They called us and scheduled it for August 20 (definitely not a coincidence).

In August, Brandon's car was backed into while he was in a meeting for Elder's Quorum. In September, we were hit hard while driving home from Taylor and Emily's wedding. We weren't sure if the van was totaled. Someone ran the stop sign and hit us, and took away our feelings of safety when approaching any 4 way stop.
In September and October, we had a bout of sickness that NEVER seemed to end. First Brandon got it, then I did, and back and forth. I had pharyngitis, bronchitis, and pink eye. I actually coughed so hard I burst a blood vessel in my eyeball. Turns out that can happen.

(Gross picture ahead) 

On top of all these things, I have struggled a LOT with my anxiety. In the beginning of the year, I was waking Brandon up 4-5 times  NIGHT because I was convinced that someone was breaking into our house. It comes and goes in waves, but that was the worst of it.
It is easy to see how looking at all of those things would make me want to crawl into a hole and not come out... but thank goodness that wasn't our whole year!
We started out the year on an AMAZING note, moving into our first home on January 1. The kids have absolutely LOVED having a backyard, and I tell Brandon at least once a week that I never want to go back to an apartment or condo.

My injury from the end of 2018 has healed, and I can run, jump on the trampoline, squat, and do everything I couldn't before.

(My first post physical therapy 5k)

We are all healthy now! Minus coughs and colds. No pink eye or lupus to be found.
This year we got to see TWO things that we have been waiting for years to see. We got to see Muse in March, and HAMILTON in November. Both are also things that have gotten Brandon out of the hole. (Just kidding, except for Muse. He's owed me since 2013 for that one.)

We had friends come visit in May! We are ALWAYS down for people to come visit, so do it!

This summer was really one for the books. In May we got to pick blueberries a LOT. U Pick blueberries is my new favorite thing to do, so come visit us around Memorial Day!

 We got to swim. A LOT.

Cora (and James) took swimming lessons, and Cora overcame her fear of the water and now can swim without a floatie.

 Obviously the highlight of the summer was my parents coming home from their mission. We're grateful for their example, and even more grateful that we don't need to renew our passports to go see them anymore. We have seen them four times since they came home! Just for fun!

We got to spend time with a lot of family in July.

We even got to see a new national park! We took a slight detour to see Kolob Canyon in Zion National Park.

We went to the beach with my family to celebrate being together for the first time in 3 years.

(As a not unimportant side note, Steve recovered from his heart surgery and is doing amazingly! For which we are very grateful)

We got to celebrate 8 years of marriage.

Brandon's brother Taylor got married, so I got another Giullian girl in the family!

Our cars WERE eventually fixed. Even though it took the van a week longer than expected, and the rental situation was not ideal.

Cora started a new dance class and LOVES it. It has been so fun for her to learn to follow directions and overcome her shyness.

Brandon and I got to go on our first trip away without the kids ever.

 As a personal victory, I think that regular exercise and cutting down on screen time has helped me with my mental health. It also helped me accomplish a New Year's resolution of FINALLY losing the baby weight from James.

 I also got to start working a few times a month as a substitute teacher. It has (generally) been a good experience, and it is helpful to my mental health. Turns out I miss the kids after I work all day.

And I got to end the year seeing Gabrielle after nearly 7 years!

Really, it depends on what we focused on for this year. For me, I'm going to focus on the positives. We are not starting the new year exactly how I thought we would, but we are healthy, safe, happy, and together. 2020 is our year!

First Disneyland trip with the kids!

For Karen's birthday this year, we went to Disneyland. We have not wanted to spend all that money on Disneyland just yet, until we knew Cora and James could survive the trip. Cora is SO OBSESSED with Disney princesses right now so I knew she would love it. And having extra adults to help with the kids was a big perk!

The night before I got this hilarious series of pictures of Charlotte trying to tear open a pack of pepper, why did she want to do that?? It was SO FUNNY.

 The first day we went to California Adventure. Cora didn't know but the ONE thing I knew we had to do was go meet Ana and Elsa. She didn't know, but she wore her Elsa dress which was PERFECT.

 Watching Cora meet Ana and Elsa was the most magical thing I have ever seen. She is a die hard Frozen fan, and to meet these princesses in real life was AMAZING. And that made the whole trip worth it.

 Also, the princesses were amazing. They all fawned over Cora, talking about her dress and her glittery boots. It really made Cora feel like a little princess. It also helps that Cora's hair matches Ana's.

 We also got to meet "Mrs. Inquibidle". Cora had been into the Incredibles for a little bit, so this was fun too.

 When we did the Ferris Wheel, I convinced Brandon that we needed to go on the cars that move on a track. It was SO FUNNY. James had to sit with Grandpa since he didn't want anyone else, and watching his face light up with excitement vs Brandon and Steve looking more and more sick was hilarious.

 Poor James couldn't hang very long. By lunchtime he fell asleep in the front pack carrier, which is so unlike him.

 Cora wanted to meet Princess Elena, even though she has seen her show about 3 times. She just loved the beautiful girl in the pretty dress.

 Brandon and Steve took the kids home to nap, and we went on Grizzly River Rapids. Which, LET ME TELL YOU, is a lot of fun when it's hot. When it is getting chilly outside, however, it is FREEZING.

 Cora got to see Donald Duck, who she also loves. (Are you noticing a theme of characters and love?) 

 Look at this little love bug bear. So cutie!

We thought James would love to see the "train" (car)... he wasn't as interested as I thought he would be! Probably because we had been going for 14 hours at this point.

Brandon and I utilized our FastPasses to go on Guardians of the Galaxy. I have been bitter about the fact that they changed it from Tower of Terror to Guardians of the Galaxy, but it was an excellent ride!

 On Saturday, we went to Disneyland. I haven't been back in probably 10 years or so (I went to California Adventure I think in 2010, but STILL), and it was so fun to see the same entryway. And right when we went inside we saw Aurora!

 As soon as I got the picture with Cora I turned around and saw James and Brandon standing in the line. And James was SMITTEN. He had his thumb in his mouth but was smiling all around it. That was the most excited I saw him about meeting anyone! She was very sweet about it. She didn't act like it was weird at all (which I thought it kind of was, but James was in LOVE.)

 Now comes the worst parenting moment of the year (possibly). Cora is 40 inches tall, so I thought it would be fun to bring her on a "big kid" ride. I showed her Splash Mountain, and she said it looked fun. WELL. So I remembered that they said the biggest people go in the back, so I assumed that meant the smallest person goes in the front. The employee didn't correct us, so I thought we were good! Cora liked the first few drops, even when we got wet. She thought it was hilarious. But the problems started when we hit a drop in the middle of the pitch dark inside of the ride. She started crying because she was scared and kept saying "No more drops mom! No more drops!" I kept telling her "Don't worry, just one more drop..." She didn't even know what was going to hit her. She only cried a little bit after the big drop, but based on the way she was gripping my hands I knew the picture would be a classic. And BOY WAS IT.

 When I saw this I laughed so hard and so loud I think I startled the other people. I got funny looks at any rate. It is already framed and sitting in our kitchen. Poor Cora! But she stopped crying pretty quickly, and once we got her into a change of dry clothes she was fine.

Brandon had heard about the exclusive Club 33, so we went looking for the door. Kind of cool.

 We were walking through Fantasyland, and Luis said he saw Belle walking by. So Cora and I went RUNNING  through Fantasyland to find her. Worth. It.

  

 I have never watched the shows before, besides the Frozen show in California Adventure (when it was the Aladdin show). It was nice to watch a few shows and give us a break. But the kids loved it! James was SO TIRED.

 We also sat and watched the Disneyland parade, which was a hit. Beforehand Cora got to see Cruella De Vil. She called Cora "dreadful, just dreadful".

The parade was so cute! So many princesses came by, and everyone is so talented. How does Disney get so many talented people involved in EVERYTHING?? Even the sweepers were amazing!

  Charlotte finally got to give James a taste of his own medicine and climbed all over him. James was too tired to even care.

 The people sitting next to us caught this moment. Cora is wearing her Ana nightgown, and Ana saw Cora and pointed to her matching dress. Then Elsa blew her a kiss, and Cora just about passed out from excitement. THIS is the magic of a 3 year old at Disneyland!

We may have not gotten the typical "picture in front of the castle", but look at the castle! And look at that smoke! The LA fire had just broken out.

 Every time James got to sit by himself in the seats he was SO proud.

 Cora fell asleep in the stroller at 5:30. She did not wake up for dinner, or bedtime, or transferring from the stroller to the shuttle and back again, or anything until 6 AM. I was pretty sure we had broken our kid.

 And the next night, same thing! She fell asleep at the table at 6:00, then didn't wake up until 6 AM.

 James was SO in love with Grandpa the whole trip (even called him "Bmpa", which is a big deal since he never uses words), but Sunday night he sat with Meg and let her show him things on her phone. Big step in their relationship!

 And in typical James fashion, he cut his head open on the corner of a stone counter right as we were heading to the car on Monday morning. Greeeeat.

Our final consensus was that it was an amazing trip. But Disneyland is very expensive and very tiring for everyone, especially the kids (but we all need to take time to recover), so it will be a while before we go again! But SO FUN.