H A P P Y N E W Y E A R ! ! !

We had a very busy & action packed weekend. Uncharacteristic of what our life in 2020 has been like, but classically characteristic of what life pre-2020 was like.

December 31st, 2020

We actually spent New Year’s Eve apart this year. Jake went on a “man trip” with his dad and brothers, while Cindy had a “me-day” at home.

Jake’s trip with his dad and brothers was a special one. They did a one night camping trip out near Ojai, CA. A trip like this is pretty hard to come by these days, with busy work schedules and everyone living in different areas. Jake was really happy this trip was able to work out! It was some much needed quality bonding time– with just the men.

The five of them did so much for such a short trip. They got lost driving to their destination because they were following Jake’s dad’s questionable handwritten directions before realizing the questionable handwritten directions were actually reliable, did a 7ish mile hike, had some lunch, had some deep talks at lunch, threw around some pine cones, played in snow, checked in to their campsite, made dinner, had some deep talks at dinner, played a card game, smoked some cigars, slept, and ran the next morning.

It was one of those trips that Jake and his brothers probably look back on one day and cherish.

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As for Cindy, she spent the day at home pampering herself. She did a couple of face masks (and a belly mask!), ate her favorite junk foods without having to share with Jake, watched a couple of movies, read her book, and took a nap. In the evening, she went over to her sister’s place to play some Mario Maker on the Switch and to countdown. It was a pretty underwhelming countdown, but still fun! They popped a few confetti poppers and then Cindy went home.

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January 1st, 2021

We hosted a low-key New Year’s Day celebration at our place with Jake’s family, after all the men returned from their trip. We didn’t do much– just ate some Indian food and watched Tenet. At one point, we all went over to the local tennis courts, where Cindy’s sister and her sister’s boyfriend joined us, to play some tennis. It didn’t seem like a fun idea at the time… 10 people and 4 tennis racquets on one court, but it turned out to be pretty exciting! We played a very unorganized tournament and things got competitive. It was really nice to have all our family together.

January 2nd, 2021

One of our goals is do to a hike a week– mostly to keep Cindy in shape during pregnancy and to help Jake build strength in his leg. For this week’s hike, Cindy’s sister and her sister’s boyfriend came along! We did the Tapo Canyon Hike. The trail leads you to some tar pits at the end, which was pretty cool to see.

After the hike, we went over to Jake’s parent’s house. His brother, who was leaving back to D.C. the day after, wanted to play a game of softball. So we played some softball after a 7ish mile hike. Needless to say, we were extremely sore and tired by the end of the day.

Overall, it was a great end to 2020 and a fun start to 2021. We’re extremely excited for this upcoming year! A huge life transition awaits us!

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Also, it rained last week! So cozy!