2021 was a year of MAJOR transitions for us. The year we had to live through to get to the next chapter.
2021 began with saying goodbye to our dream house. Our ultimate work of art. After 8 years of loving renovation, we decided to give up our dream house for our dream life in the warm weather of Florida. We became a true, homeless, full-time RV family. We figured out how to live inexpensively in a Florida prime season by joining Thousand Trails. After a quick stop at Lazydays, we watched the inauguration of Joe Biden at Pioneer Village.
For February, we got COVID tested to see Mimi & Papa for the first time in over a year. After a few days at their place, we met up with the Peps at Sun-N-Fun in Sarasota. We then back went up to Lazydays – where we visited Dinosaur World, met up with the Peps again for a beach day, and had our first tire blowout while driving back to Pioneer Village. Ryan also started his new job at an energy think tank – proving that life rhymes.
We kicked off March with Adelaide’s 6th birthday – at Mimi & Papa’s. We pulled the RV to the tightest RV site ever in Naples. Had another blowout on the way back to Pioneer Village, though began to feel settled into this life. Celebrated Emerson’s 4th birthday (at Mimi & Papa’s). And wrapped up March at a really great RV resort in Arcadia.
April meant Aunt Foi & AA came down for their Spring Break. We had a ball seeing them (as much as we felt safe) and spending some time at the pool and beach. Our new house finally got started! We spent a fun-filled week on the beaches of Venice . We changed our travel plans, had another tire blowout on the way to Pioneer Village, and saw some progress on the house.
May began with Adelaide getting accepted into her new school and us delaying our trip back north again. We booked our first ever month-long RV stay – at Pioneer Village, of course. In addition to watching our home’s progress, we finally got a real taste of our new life. And we had a great month!
June was a big month. Our house was less delayed than expected – making tangible progress. We saw Adelaide’s “PBL” at school. And wrapped up our time in Florida for this school year – happy to see Grandma & Grandpa after 6 months away.
July was the whirlwind month we spent enjoying family & friends in Illinois and Wisconsin. We split our time between the lake house and Grandma & Grandpa’s house. We played volleyball with our old team, celebrated our anniversary, and had a quick trip back to Florida for the pre-drywall meeting!
August meant we headed down to Florida for good. We had a wonderful summer up north with friends & family – but were excited to start our new life in earnest – school, house, and new normal. It wound up being an up and down month – with the school shutting down for a COVID outbreak offset by a bunch of new, fun activities like soccer, gymnastics, and miniature golf.
After the COVID shutdown, September was the month when real normal began – other than living in limbo waiting for the house to get done! We started furniture shopping, mini golfing regularly, and getting into the swing of school.
October will be remembered as the month we FINALLY moved into our new house. We counted down to zero – enjoyed the last of our time in th RV – before finally moving in. We also sold our truck & RV and bought a minivan & became Florida drivers license holders – going “all-in” on our new life before Halloween fun. We also had our first overnight visitor from Illinois, Michelle!
November continued the moving process and acclimation to the new life. We had a dinner with new friends – where we all ate so much we arepa-ed our pants. We kept trying to get settled in the house. And hosted Joi & the boys & Mimi & Papa for Thanksgiving. Adelaide got vaxxed & Ryan got boosted.
In December, we continued to celebrate our new life. We attended the Winter Wonderland weekend. Bought a golf cart. Had a festive Christmas – with a scavenger hunt, friends Secret Santa, 1st Christmas in the new house, and a week of fun with Joi, the boys, and Mimi & Papa.
We celebrated the New Year with a “Noon Year’s Eve” party by the community pool and a game night at home. We had a wild 2021 full of transitions & major changes. Here’s to hoping 2022 is a much more “normal” year in all aspects.
Happy New Year!