2020 Year in Review

What a year! This year has changed everything for Plant Earth as we know it. COVID-19 has turned everything upside down. For Nick and I, it meant canceled travel plans, less opportunity to see family across the country, Nick working on medical school virtual, and myself teaching from home since March. While there have been many negative results of the COVID-19 pandemic, in many ways, there have also been so many blessings in disguise. I could not be more personally grateful to get out of a terrible job that I hated and to start another job which I love. Nick and I have been so blessed to be able to spend more time together, more time in our home, more time in reflection and contemplation, and more time focusing on the simple things that truly matter most. So, without further ado, here is our year in review!

January: 

• Spent time in St. Augustine with Nick's family and went to the circus 
• Went to Lake Tahoe with Nick's medical school class 
• I started teaching 7th grade Social Studies in East Palo Alto 

February: 

• We hosted our first ever Super Bowl party 
• Nick and I spent a long weekend in Carmel and Monterey, CA, enjoying the 17-Mile Drive, Pebble Beach, and Monterey aquarium 

March:

• Nick and I visited the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, CA 
• I began teaching from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic 
• Nick began doing medical school from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic
• I got hired as an English Language Development Specialist in San Jose, CA

April: 

• We celebrated Easter at home with our first Zoom church service (many more to come!) 
• I celebrated my 27th birthday with a quarantine celebration 

May:

• Nick and I got some much needed time in the great outdoors camping at Camp Lehi in Santa Cruz 
• We celebrated Memorial Day with a hike and a bbq for two 

June:

• I finished teaching in East Palo Alto 
• Nick and I camped at Bullfrog Pond (which sadly burned a few months later in the CA wildfires)

July:

• Nick and I took a few vacation days to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park 
• We celebrated the 4th of July with Hamilton and bbq
• Nick and I celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary by buying a new mattress

August: 

• We went to Pacifica Beach
• I started my new teaching job in San Jose 
• We camped in Big Sur and visited all of the beautiful sites--McWay Falls 
• We prepared for possible evacuation in the raging CA wildfires

September: 

• We became proud plant parents for the first time 
• We went apple picking and I made a delicious apple pie 
• We visited the famous Muir Woods and enjoyed a delicious waterside dinner in Sausalito 
• We visited Golden Gate Park and the Japanese Tea Gardens 

October: 

• We visited the SF Botanical Gardens 
• Nick celebrated his 27th birthday by studying for a big test-poor guy!
• We got away for the weekend to some natural hot springs at Vichy Springs Resort 
• We celebrated Halloween with a virtual party 

 

November: 

• We went to Lake Tahoe for some winter weather and hikes 
• We traveled to Ohio to see my parents for the first time in two years
• We celebrated Thanksgiving and an early Christmas at Sauder Village 

December: 

• We brought in the Christmas spirit with sugar cookie baking, Oakland temple lights, and Light the World
• Nick and I celebrated Christmas for two with our tabletop tree
• We traveled to Florida to celebrate Christmas and New Year's with Nick's family 

States Visited: 3

Countries Visited: 0 

Thanks COVID-19!