Goals & Resolutions

2018 Year in Review

I love a good year in review. It’s so fun to look back on all the things we did and reflect on all the memories. I tried to keep this relatively short and include links to previous posts whenever possible. If you’ve done a year in review, let me know in the comments-I’d love to read it!

January

I started off the new year with a new car and flashes of 16 year old Ben driving.
2017 Black GMC Terrain SUV
Young Boy driving sports car

The boys and I made vision boards to help us remember our goals throughout the year. My board reflected these goals, while the boys’ boards mostly had pictures of toys and food 🙂Young boy making a Vision Board Making

We wrapped up the month by celebrating this guy turning 9 with a fun birthday party at SkyZone.Mother & 10 year old son

February

February was fairly quiet. We celebrated Valentine’s Day and made the cutest Valentine Bird Feeders.Young Brothers on Valentine's Day

I also won HQ and if you play then you know how exciting this is! Even if I did only win 28 cents.HQ Winner

March

One of the highlights from the whole year happened this month when my friend Abby and I got to meet Rachel (and Dave) Hollis at her book signing.
Girlfriends at Girl Wash Your Face book signing
Woman with Rachel Hollis at Girl Wash Your Face Book Signing

Second to meeting Rachel was meeting this Alpaca at a school event.Furry Brown Alpaca

J and the boys built a leprechaun trap and just like every other year, that sneaky leprechaun escaped.Boys Building a Homemade leprechaun trap

We celebrated Gigi’s birthday with almost all of her great grandkids.
Great grandma and grandkids birthday celebration

And we tried a new way to die Easter eggs using silk ties.
DIY Silk Tie Dye Easter Eggs

We wrapped up the month with Spring Break and Ben’s sky diving dreams came true.
Young boy at iFly Indoor Skydiving

April

April was the start of track season which meant Ben practiced 3 days a week including Saturday mornings. Jack also started t-ball this month and J and I felt like two ships passing with such crazy schedules.
Kids at Track Practice

Young boy at T-ball practice

And we can’t forget that our team won SECOND place at my work’s trivia fundraiser.2nd place winners at trivia night

All those track practices paid off and Ben brought home two second place medals from his first meet.9 year old 2nd place track meet medals

May

This month was filled with t-ball games, track meets, and a color run.Elementary School Color Run
4 year old boy in t-ball jersey

I blogged about how I created my Ultimate Aldi’s Cheese Board and it was one of my most popular posts to date.Creating the Ultimate Aldi Cheese Board

We also celebrated Mother’s Day with a delicious brunch and the most perfect family photo.Mother and Sons Mother's Day Picture Fail

At work, my second cohort of students graduated from our program and my niece graduated from high school.Women at Work
Aunt and niece at High school graduation party

I traveled to San Diego for a work conference and J tagged along. It was our first trip without the kids in a very long time and it was wonderful.View of Downtown San Diego from hotel room Husband and wife at the La Jolla California Beach

And as May came to a close, so did Jack’s time at pre-school.Parents and son at Preschool graduation

June

June was filled with all things Summer. We started our weekly tradition of pizza, pool, and snow cones every Friday night.
Little boy on inflatable pool Waterslide
Mother and son colored tongues from snow cones

Ben placed at both Districts and Regionals for the 1500m securing himself a spot in the Junior  Olympics.9 year old boy Track medal at districts

Jack turned 5 and we celebrated with a pool party.5 year old Troll Hunter Birthday Cake

And we checked berry picking off our Summer Bucket List.Little Boy picking blueberries

July

July started our obsession with our library’s program of finding and hiding rocks around our town.Como Rocks Rock Hiding Challenge

We spent lots of time with friends at the pool and I made this Triple Berry Pie which was a huge hit!Girlfriends selfie at the pool Triple Berry Berry Pie 4th of July

Our 4th of July was filled with fireworks and family. And lots of flagged themed apparel 🙂Family on 4th of July

The boys had another fun year at Vacation Bible School.Boys at Shipwrecked Vacation Bible School

As much fun as July was, we were saddened to learn that my best friend’s father passed away suddenly. While she and her family made arrangements, we got to love on and spend time with her sweet kids.
Group of kid friends in summer eating Popsicle's

August

The boys completed the Summer reading program at our library and I made the most delicious homemade strawberry ice cream.Boys completing Library Summer Reading Program Homemade fresh strawberry ice cream

Ben and I went to a Charlie Puth concert and I was instantly surrounded by thousands of screaming teenagers.Charlie Puth in concert St. Louis

Jack started kindergarten and despite a few tears (from me), he did great at drop off. Ben was a pro on his first day of 4th grade.Little boy's First day of kindergarten Boy's First day of 4th grade

August was also the month that we took a trip to Des Moines to watch Ben compete in the 1500m race at the Junior Olympics. Even though he didn’t place, he set a personal best record and we are so proud of all the effort he gave the entire season.
9 year old at Track and Field AAU Jr. Olympics Des Moines, IA

September

September was the month we tried to hold on to Summer for as long as possible. We spent Labor Day Weekend at the pool with friends and every weekend after that due to hot September temperatures and a gracious HOA who agreed to keep the pool open.Kids at Labor Day Pool Party Girlfriends in the pool at Labor Day pool

Ben and J tried the Carolina Reaper pepper at our favorite tomato festival while Jack was busy taking several samples of his most favorite tomato.Father and Sons at Tomato & Pepper Festival

As temperatures began to cool down and our pool finally closed, we focused on all things fall including a trip to the farm and the cutest little barn animals.
Rows of Pumpkins and Gourds

Mother and Son hayride

Momma and Baby goats

October

We kicked off the month celebrating my birthday with cake and new Apple AirPods.Mother and Son celebrating birthday

Our garden finally started to thrive and we had lots of fresh tomatoes and peppers.
Tomatoes growing on Patio garden

The boys rode a horse and in a hot air balloon for the first time and they loved both.
Boys horseback riding on indoor track
Girlfriends and kids on a hot air balloon ride

We did all the fall things including school festivals, a trip to the pumpkin patch, and carving some of our best pumpkins ever.Year in Review: Elementary school fall festival Pumpkin drop from firetruck Family of four at pumpkin patch Carved Pumpkins with candles

No October is complete without costumes and trick or treating. And speaking of costumes, our team at work hit it out of the park with this year’s theme.
Boys Flash and Jim from Troll Hunters Halloween Costumes
Hocus Pocus Group Costume

November

I completed my second ropes course and zip lining experience with some students and the best coworkers a girl could ask for.Women in zip lining gear completing a ropes course

We got a surprising amount of snow this month, but by the time Thanksgiving rolled around, it had all melted and was 60 degrees.Year in Review: Snow in November in Missouri Young brothers holding So Very Thankful felt letter board

Once all the Thanksgiving activities were over, we moved right on to decorating and getting ready for Christmas.Brothers putting ornaments on a Christmas Tree

December

After much anticipation, our Elf on the Shelf Sparkle, finally returned.Elf on the Shelf arrives in a box

And I tried to help moms & dads everywhere by posting Elf ideas for us lazy parents 🙂
25 Elf on the Shelf Ideas for the Lazy Parent

As much fun as the Elf and Santa were, we also took time to remember the real reason we celebrate Christmas.Brothers at Live nativity scene at church

J and I surprised the boys with a trip on the Polar Express and it was every bit as magical as I had hoped.Father and sons at Polar Express Train Ride at Union Station in St. Louis Missouri

Our book club had it’s final meeting of the year. Thanks to this group, I crushed my reading goal by double.Year in Review: Girls Book Club Meeting

We visited Santa one final time on Christmas Eve Eve, and he reminded the boys to be good and not fight. It’s like he knew that they might do such a thing 🙂Brothers Visiting Santa at Bass Pro

And we attended Christmas Eve service at our new church.Candle Light Christmas Eve Service at The Crossing

This Christmas morning was one of my favorites. The boys were so excited and so thankful for each gift.
Young Boys on Christmas Morning in matching pajamas

Since Christmas we’ve been taking it easy and enjoying time as a family. It was nice to take a little break from blogging and social media but I’ve got some great posts lined up for the new year that I’m excited to share.

I want to thank each and every one of you who come to this space. The fact that you read this blog, leave comments, send messages, and pin posts means so much to me.

Until next year, XO Cortney

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