Welp.

I think we can all agree 2020 was a hot f*cking mess. Right?!

I had started 2020 with the hopes and ambitions to blog a “monthly recap” each month not only to update y’all on things, but as almost a personal journal to remember things by. I’m pretty sure I did it January and February, buuuut then COVID came, and shit. hit. the. fan. Sooooo I’m going to try this again, but first let me do a quick rundown on the rest 2020.

It seemed like within a weekend everything shut down. But not before we were able to see one of my favorite artists, ZZ Ward at the House of Blues Chicago! She’s absolutely amazing and I will cherish that night forever.

So now we were stuck at home with nowhere to go for the next few “weeks” we were told (little did we know). So we got inventive and created things to do around the house! The weather got nice and my power washer got put to GOOD use – and I became a bit obsessed with washing #allthethings. We started a garden, bought a car online (yep, Carvana baby!), visited the beach, and spent a lot of the summer outside. Life slowed down for a bit which in all reality sucked in a lot of ways but was so nice as well.

In June we welcomed the first Magers man into the family when William Charles “Chip” Magers was born! It was a much needed blessing to have something good happen after we had suffered the loss of my husband’s great Aunt, Uncle, and grandmother in just the 10 days prior. They were amazing people and their losses are great but we know that all of the grandbabies now have an even stronger guardian angel presence looking over them from above. Chip has grown into one of the happiest babies I’ve ever known and we’re so lucky to get to see both him and Wynn so much.

In July we traveled with my parents, siblings, and aunt’s family down to Orange Beach, Alabama and it was so nice! We rented an airbnb with a pool and spent LOTS of time at the pool since the jellyfish were taking over the beaches everywhere! My aunt is the hobby-tographer that inspired me to try my hand at a camera, so while down there we “traded” family sessions and she captured an exiting announcement for us – we were once again expecting! We waited until after the second trimester to announce, but we were nervous and excited all in one after our miscarriage.

We were able to visit Indiana Beach a few times over the summer thanks to grandma and grandpa (and Indiana for opening back up before Illinois ever did) and Bexley got to enjoy the park with the cousins, which was a blast to watch as a parent. In August, the schools opened up with a lot of new preventative measures in place, but we were grateful Bexley was able to start Kindergarten in person, and we’re still in school to this day!

The fall brought lots of weddings, pumpkin patches, and camping, and we ripped our back deck off the house to pour a new patio, which we love! We were able to escape down to Branson with Brandon’s family and it was so fun watching the kids at Silver Dollar City! For Halloween this year, Bexley dressed as Bellatrix Lestrange from Harry Potter, and she PULLED. IT OFF. soooo well! The photos are hilarious and she loved the attention from fellow HP fans.

In November Brandon and I traveled to Riviera Maya, Mexico to photograph a wedding for the sweetest couple, and we enjoyed a few extra days while there to relax and use as a sort of “babymoon” trip. It was a wonderful way to kick of the end of fall and beginning of the holiday season! As the photography season slowed down, I was still busy painting watercolor houses as part of Sam & I’s small side hustle of Waterwood Co. We celebrated the holidays with close family decorating cookies, enjoying “chocolate bombs”, driving dad crazy with Christmas tunes, and of course hosting our annual Chili Cookoff, but brought in the new year under quarantine thanks to some positive COVID tests. 😂

All in all, 2020 wasn’t the best year, but it definitely had many good points. We left the year hopeful for 2021 and grateful for the lessons learned and experiences taken away from the past 12 months. I’m hopeful to continue this “Monthly Recap” series as we continue on in 2021, so cross your fingers for me!