The year 2020 was truly transformative for our family. It will be known in history as the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic, a year of political division, and economic uncertainty. This all impacted our family, but even beyond those circumstances, we made some big changes during 2020 that have brought us closer together, both to each other and our extended family.
For us, 2020 was hard for reasons more personal. Celeste lost her maternal grandparents this year. Daisy and Floyd Cooper had been married for over 60 years and split their time in retirement between the family home in Spokane, Washington, and the warmer climate of Sun City, Arizona. Floyd died in the Spring, and Daisy died a few months later. Then, sadly, their daughter Tammy also passed away just a few days ago. Celeste was very close to her grandparents, and all of the losses together certainly took their toll on her and the rest of the family. It was difficult to see her mother and her family experience such compounded loss in a time of restriction. It was difficult to travel, hard to get in to see loved ones sick in the hospital, and tough to arrange for funerals.
In addition to these tragic passings, we lost precious time with family due to COVID-19. In the course of three months, five planned and booked trips were cancelled. Two of them were family members who were planning to come visit us in North Carolina. Two of them were us going to visit family. And the last one was our Anniversary Trip/Graduation Celebration (since we couldn't travel last year due to Cache still nursing) to the U.S. Virgin Islands. So many reunions and experiences had to be put on hold this year.
The pandemic affected our day to day in a similar way to many families. Daycare was stopped and school was online and in our home. We spent months navigating two parents working full time while also attending to the needs of a kindergartner/1st grader who was trying to learn through a computer, in addition to juggling the needs of a one year old. As parents, we met frequently to try to puzzle together who would be with the kids while the other parent was in meetings, tried to arrange for work time for each other, and tried to make sure our kids felt like they were learning and progressing and that they felt loved.
With all of that, we will look back on 2020 with gratitude and appreciate the ways we grew together and the blessings that came from moving closer to home. Here are a few of the things we will remember and that we cherish, not necessarily in chronological order.
1. Moving from North Carolina
After 12 amazing years, we made the decision to leave our home in North Carolina and come back out West. NC will always have a special place in our hearts. It is where we became educators and discovered our passion for equity. Where Jackson worked hard to earn a master’s degree, started a school, and earned his doctorate. It is where we made friends that helped us be better people, who showed us how to bring our full selves to what we do and help make an impact in the lives of others. It is where we finally became parents and where we have memories of our young children. A part of us will always miss North Carolina, but we knew that we wanted our kids to know their grandparents, to have relationships with their cousins. We knew we wanted to be surrounded by mountains and access to hiking and mountain biking and see the outline of a mountaintop at sunrise and sunset. So we worked with our amazing Henderson Collegiate family to create a timeline to come home. We cried as we waved goodbye, but we will always be grateful for our time in North Carolina, the friendships we have there, and the memories of so much that made us who we are today.
2. Road Trip Across the Country
It took 7 days and 3,000 miles to travel from Henderson, North Carolina to reach family in Utah. We passed through 9 states and stopped at 5 National Parks. We saw funny roadside attractions, listened books, music, and podcasts. We tried to keep a 5-year-old and 1-year-old content in the back while maintaining our sanity and trying not to make too many extra stops. We sanitized hotel rooms and lived on road food. In the end, we saw and experienced so much that would have been impossible had we flown. For more details, see our previous posts for this epic journey.
3. Summer in Utah
After months of isolation, it was wonderful to spend the summer living with family. Holly and Adam graciously opened up their home, from which we lived and worked for about a month. The kids loved their amazing backyard, playing in the house, and of course, cousins. Their home is in a wonderful location where we could enjoy hiking, swimming in lakes, neighborhood exploration, and as a bonus we were only a few minutes away from Kristen and her family.
In August we spent a couple of weeks at my parent’s house where we were spoiled by my parents and were able to spend time with my brother and sister who live in the area. We even climbed Mt. Timpanogos on an overnight backpacking trip. Our time concluded with Valencia’s birthday party at my parent’s neighborhood pool. We had family on both sides come and celebrate, which was a dream come true for our little girl.
4. Moving to Las Vegas
Coming out West was a leap of faith for us, we made and moved forward with plans to move before Jackson had secured a new job. He was finally offered a position just days before we left North Carolina. I had already committed to working remotely, and now Jackson had a job offer that was also a remote position. This left us with the decision to make for where we would move our family. While this seems like an ideal situation, the truth was that it was difficult for us to decide where to live.
We only knew that we needed to live by a major airport for when Jackson traveled for work and that we needed to be within a reasonable drive of family. We seriously. considered Denver, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, and Las Vegas. In the end, we decided to try out Las Vegas – the proximity to family was ideal, we had a TFA connection, and it is home to some amazing desert mountains.
We have really enjoyed hiking in Red Rock and other state parks nearby. We are also pretty much equidistant to family in Utah, Arizona, and California. The weather is nice for most of the year, and so far, we are pleased with our new home.
5. Family Visits
In addition to spending time in the summer with family, we have really enjoyed easy access to family and it is safe to say that we’ve seen more family in the last 5 months since moving here than we had in the previous 5 years combined. These visits included:
Spokane in July
Celeste’s grandfather passed away in the Spring and a memorial service was held for him in July. This was a really special occasion as we were able to celebrate his life in his family home in Spokane, WA, surrounded by many family members. This became even more memorable as her grandmother passed away only a few months later and this was her final time to see her.
Surprise trip to Utah for Grandpa Dino’s Birthday
One of the advantages of everyone working and learning remotely is that we had the freedom to travel on a whim. One such whim was to drive up to Utah to surprise Celeste’s dad for his birthday.
Bonnie and Matt in Vegas for Labor Day
We love spending time with the Jameson’s and had a great weekend with them, including exploring Red Rock Canyon and spending time at a waterpark.
Josie and Rick passing through
On their way to spend time with family in Utah we were able to spend time with Josie, Rick, and their two adorable kids
September trip to Arizona
We went to Arizona for a family gathering when Celeste’s niece turned 8. We spent time with so many members of the family, and we even did a quick trip to the Grand Canyon on our way home.
Crystal and Charlie came to visit
Passing through from AZ to UT we spent time with Crystal, Charlie, and their three boys
Logan visit to Grandma Kiddie
Jackson brought a book his grandmother had given him to show his grandma and it brought so much light and happiness to her, it was really special.
Logan for Halloween
We enjoyed trick or treating with family and enjoyed some crisp autumn weather for a fun 3-day weekend
Arizona for the arrival of baby Tatum in November
Celeste’s sister Bonnie gave birth to her 3rd baby and she was able to drive down that same evening to come meet him and hold him through the night. It was short, but sweet, and would not have been possible had we been living in North Carolina
California for Thanksgiving
We drove to LA to spend Thanksgiving with Jackson’s sisters’ families. We hiked, played, laughed, and ate really great food. It was such a great time and the first Thanksgiving we had had with family in over 10 years. On our way over we went to Death Valley National Park, we saw the lowest point on US soil and climbed some sand dunes.
Quick UT trip for Peter’s birthday
A nephew rented out a theatre to watch Elf for his birthday, and Jackson and Vali used it as an excuse to pop back up to Utah for a quick weekend getaway
Grandma and Grandpa Dino for Christmas
It was so fun to have Celeste’s parents come and enjoy a few days with us for Christmas this year! We hiked and biked and explored while having a festive Christmas Eve dinner. We loved waking up Christmas morning to grandparents and having them with us as we opened presents and tried out new bikes. Sadly, Cindy had to leave to be with her sister who was ill and passed away Christmas Evening. We are hoping for a brighter Christmas this coming year, but feel fortunate to have had them in our home as it was the first time we had ever hosted family members for Christmas.
Joshua Tree National Park Meet-Up
The final day of the year we met up with our California family to explore Joshua Tree with family and cousins. While it was windy, it was also fun to do a quick meet up and explore a new place with family.
6. New Jobs
Jackson started a new job in July as the Director of High School Network Development for the KIPP Foundation. KIPP, or the Knowledge is Power Program, is a large network of national charter schools that serves typically underserved populations to help close the achievement gap. He works closely with high school principals to give them support and develop their leadership skills. He really enjoys working with his team and looks forward to visiting campuses when they are cleared to travel again.
Celeste continues to work for Henderson Collegiate, but in a new capacity that allows her to coach teachers and leaders remotely. Her new role includes coaching school leaders from across the state of North Carolina and feels fortunate to have this opportunity to continue to learn and grow with her HC family.
7. Cache and Vali
Valencia has grown up so much this year. She participated in her first organized sports this year and played basketball with a few close friends. She excelled at dribbling and loved to be on a team with friends. She went to one soccer practice before the pandemic hit and we look forward to her being able to play sports with friends again soon. As a kindergartner she earned Principal’s List all four quarters and worked hard to be a great scholar and teammate.
She is now in the first grade! While she is doing well with remote learning, one of her favorite things is seeing her teacher in person for material pick up and can’t wait to learn with kids again. She is growing as a reader, writer and mathematician. It can be tough to get her to work on her assignments every day at home, but she is handling it all like a champion. One of her favorite things about Las Vegas is exploring Red Rock Canyon. She loves to scramble and discover new slot canyons.
Our little man is now 1 and a half. Time has really flown by! One of the great things that’s come out of the pandemic is that we’ve been present for so many of his milestones and we’ve seen him transform from a baby to a toddler. He started walking at 15 months and took his first steps in our garage in North Carolina. He is now climbing on everything and loves to use Merlin as a footstool to reach what he wants. He enjoys playing with his sister and rides in the stroller. He likes to play in the park and is getting more adventurous by the day.
8. Class of 2020 Graduation
Graduation this year was a question mark for a long time. Would it be virtual or in person? A closed ceremony or limited seating? How could we congregate safely? How could we honor the seniors who sacrificed so many rituals for a worldwide pandemic?
In the end, Henderson Collegiate hosted a wonderful outdoor event that combined both graduation and senior signing day all in one. Each senior was announced as a graduate, then they were given the space to announce the college of their choice. After so many months without seeing kids or being on campus, it was a real privilege to be a part of this graduation ceremony during an unforgettable year.
9. Coronavirus, Quarantine, and Everyone at Home
We had planned to really take advantage of our final months in North Carolina. We had several families who planned to come to visit and we had a huge spring break trip planned to celebrate Jackson’s doctorate that could not happen in 2019 because we had a newborn.
We were sent home from school on March 13th – just 6 days after hosting Cache’s first birthday party in our home. By mid-March we started to comprehend that all of our plans would have to wait. No travel would be occurring in the foreseeable future and day to day life would change drastically.
We spent the spring juggling work, kids at home, packing, and felt robbed of our final months in North Carolina and at Henderson Collegiate. After so many years in North Carolina, we spent our final months there in relative isolation. It was bittersweet to say goodbye.
But that spring, we learned how to schedule our days to rotate between meetings, kids, work time, and get done what we needed to during contaminated “work time”. We learned to have meetings with kids on our laps, schedule our days around mealtimes and naps, and coordinate every morning with each other to keep things afloat.
We continued to isolate after the move. Valencia’s school routine became more rigorous and we continued our weekly and daily routines of balancing kids and work. By October Celeste realized that it was time to bring on help. We’ve had a sitter assist us a few days a week over the last few months and it has made a huge difference in our ability to juggle it all. We look forward to a time when kids will be back in school and we will be able to focus on work during work hours and family during family hours.
10. Final NC Vacations
In February we were fortunate to do a quick weekend getaway to the mountain with great friends, Matt and Katie DeLaurence. It was great to escape to the mountains, enjoy wonderful hikes and spend time with good company.
As a farewell to the East coast, we did a weekend visit to the beach in June. While the trip was quick and windy, it was fun to play around in the water and see the Atlantic for a final time as North Carolina residents.
Honorable Mentions:
In January Celeste flew to a Denver hospital to be with Alicia, her oldest friend, while her young son was recovering from surgery. It was Celeste's first time meeting the little one and it was great to reconnect with a dear friend.
We purchased Pearl, our minivan, in the Spring to prepare for our road trip across the country
This summer Jackson took Vali and her cousin to float the Green River with his Uncle Terry
We celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary in Park City this year. We enjoyed mountain biking and relaxing in a fairly empty resort. It was nice to be able to spend time with just the two of us, beautiful mountains, and great food.
Biden beat Trump
We hiked a hidden gem in Southern Utah called Kanarra Falls in October – this hike was a new adventure and about 1/3 of it was hiking in a stream bed that led to a waterfall
