We started the year off with LOTS of home improvement projects! We had shutters installed on our windows, replaced all of our underground plumbing, converted one of our bedrooms into an in-home yoga studio, and xeriscaped our front and back yard. Cal also replaced nearly every light fixture in the house, so our house is officially up to his electrical standards. ;)
Cal completed two more semesters of school and is preparing to test for his journeyman license next year. He is quickly moving up in his company and is one of their top crew leads. I graduated Summa Cum Laude in psychology and positive psychology from the University of Utah in May. Due to the pandemic, I couldn’t bring guests to my graduation commencement, so we celebrated with a trip to Kayenta Art Village in southern Utah. Kayenta is our favorite place to rest and recharge, and we enjoyed spending some time with my grandparents after not seeing them for nearly 6 months during the pandemic. We saw Beauty and the Beast at Tuacahn Amphitheater (which was the first live event we were able to attend since March 2020), enjoyed the sun and red rocks, and shopped and ate at Xetava Garden Cafe. A few weeks later we threw a graduation party in our newly landscaped backyard with friends and family. We had a chocolate fountain, played corn hole, and sat around the fire talking and laughing well into the night. It was so nice to finally have friends and family over to see our house and feel some resemblance of normalcy.
In June we celebrated our first wedding anniversary! We had a romantic trip to the Bahamas planned, but the pandemic reared it’s ugly head once again, and the resort shut down weeks before we were supposed to arrive. Instead, we planned a trip to Oahu, Hawaii with my brother and sister-in-law in August. We ate açaí bowls, Hawaiian poke, and shaved ice nearly everyday and enjoyed sunbathing and playing cards on the beach.
In addition to the Blackham Seattle trip in July, we took an Allen family trip to Kayenta over Labor Day weekend and attended my cousin’s wedding in Arizona a few weeks later. I got to show Cal my childhood home, my first elementary school, and introduce him to some of our old neighbors. We ate at Rubios, the Mexican restaurant that my brother and I used to work at together, for nearly every meal.
In October we celebrated our 5 year dating anniversary at our favorite bar, Trolley Wing Co, and ate the best vegan wings and fries. We reminisced about our first date, our senior homecoming dance, and got all emotional about how far we have come together. Trolley has become a favorite for us (and for Keaton as well!)
Despite being vaccinated and wearing masks religiously, we came down with COVID-19 at the end of October. It felt like we had been hit by a truck for about 10 days, and had lingering symptoms for about three weeks. We both agree that getting COVID was the lowlight of 2021.
Some other miscellaneous details: Cal played in several men’s leagues and started participating in Tsports monthly basketball tournaments. Cal and his team were invited to play in the season finale tournament in November and took 3rd.
See highlights from one of the games HERE (https://youtu.be/XvgqlyACPkI)
I was a student TA at the U, which upon graduating I received a post-baccalaureate TA position that I am really enjoying! I didn’t know I had a knack for grading papers and helping students write thesis statements, but am looking into routes to possibly become a professor.
We went snowmobiling in Midway and rode razors in Moab, attended several friends weddings, met the first baby of the “friends from childhood” group, visited the Van Gogh exhibit downtown, had a little photo shoot with Jade for her 10th birthday and enjoyed babysitting her while my parents traveled this year.
... and that was 2021!
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