Countdown time!
The last 5 things we did in 2019:
5- Bike Ride to Mexico
Tanner and Jeremy rode their bikes 18 miles from our house all the way to the Mexican border. It was an adventure they’re going to remember for a long time! Along the way, they stopped for lunch at Burger King, ran into a flooded creek, and got a full tour of some very dynamic neighborhoods in our area. Tanner chatted up a storm the entire time and was super pumped to arrive at the border! They gazed with grins ear to ear at Tijuana Mexico from a bridge, then turned around and rode the bus back home.
4- Played with all our Christmas gifts, including the Legos!!
The boys enjoyed the time to work on new projects alone and together.
3- We completed our last Come Follow Me lesson for the year, which is a manual that helped us study the Holy Bible as a family. This was a new curriculum worldwide for our church. We loved learning from the New Testament with these Come Follow Me lessons, and we’re really pleased with the habits that formed as we studied together at home. It felt really neat to finish the last lesson with this coloring activity.
2- Trip to the Zoo. We got to see all the fun things they set up for the holidays during the extended hours at the zoo. Christmas lights everywhere, trampoline performers, caroling, north pole story tellers. We didn’t actually see very many animals this time though. Our favorite part was an amazing 3D light show that was done in the middle of the zoo right before closing time. Really, really cool performance!!
1- On New Year’s Eve, we went on a simple family picnic along one of the trails next to our house. We sat in a little open area that had a ton of squishy plants that cushioned the ground for us. We enjoyed the peace and quiet together and reflected on everything we had done throughout the year. It was very relaxing for us! We now call the area “picnic valley” because of this experience.
That night, it was just the 4 of us. I remember being really tired, so we kept things simple. Around normal bedtime, we had a very loud countdown and dance party in the boy’s bedroom because it is sound controlled and our drums are located in there! Jeremy drummed and we danced and cheered. Then, per tradition, we enjoyed banana splits together. I think we did toasts with Martinelli’s as well. Jeremy and I were in disbelief that we had made it to the year 2020.
Top 10 Events for the Zavoral Family in 2019:
– Enjoyed our long family retreat to Puerto Rico
– Explored Wisconsin Dells for the first and last time
– Worked the long-term sub job at Sumner & Neveln
– Left Hormel after 12 years, began at Bumble Bee Seafood
– Moved to San Diego, downsized and rented
– Suffered sciatica hospital visit and recovery
– Began first year of school with the boys at the same building
– Rejoiced at Tanner’s baptism
– Watched Dallin lose his first 4 teeth
– Launched Zavoral Music Studios
Top Milestones of the Decade:
2010 – Bought our first home (HB townhome)
2011 – Gave birth to Tanner
2012 – SL excelled in teaching at Fairmont; JZ earning MBA from USC
2013 – Gave birth to Dallin, bought our second home (MN)
2014 – Learned what Winter in Minnesota means
2015 – Started with MacPhail Center for Music
2016 – Became Airbnb hosts
2017 – Tanner Kindergarten
2018 – Dallin Kindergarten
2019 – Returned to the beach!
On New Year’s Day, Jan 1 2020, we celebrated with Uncle Matt and Aunt Johanna in Huntington Beach! We met up in the afternoon and headed straight for the beach. We were surprised to find a playground that had been built next to one of Jeremy’s old study spots. We took the boys for a walk on the pier, and had flashbacks to lots of experiences when we lived here before. I had completely forgotten about the time we took Tanner here shortly after he learned to walk, but it flooded back to my memory as soon as we were on the pier. We took our time to watch the surfers, play with the toys at the kite shop, and watch the fishermen.
I was strong enough to give Dallin a short piggy back ride!!
Which guy is Jeremy?
Then we headed down to the sand. The young boys dug holes and the big boys played catch. Johanna and I had fun chatting and watching the sunset take different lights and shape. It got prettier and prettier and prettier.
During the very last moments of the sunset, the light against the sky exploded with color. The sky was so pink that it filled every amount of space with alpenglow (yes, that’s a real word). Everyone on the beach stopped to watch in awe. It was absolutely spectacular. Easily one of the most amazing sunsets I’ve ever seen!!
It felt like Mother Earth was giving us a blessing of hope for the upcoming year. As I write this post, I wonder if she was giving us fortification so we could endure what was waiting in our very near future.
The NEATEST thing about this sunset is that it was in the very same spot as the amazing sunset that we enjoyed on Thanksgiving Day in 2011. We were able to do some remakes to compare what’s changed in nearly a decade of time. Dallin was cold and watched the sunset from our blankets. Tanner danced until the sky went dark. A perfect way to end the beginning of a new year and a new decade!!
Jeremy 2011
Tanner 2020
SarahLynn & Tanner 2011
Tanner 2020
