2021 Happy Holidays from HKfamily5

I think if you really paused and thought about 2021 and 2020, then compared them side by side, then you might land on, both were equally shitty. Both had quarantine for a good chunk of the year and both had really crappy moments and happy moments. I think we can all agree, forgetting these two years would benefit all of our mental health and mindset for the future. Then again, forgetting all the bad stuff, lets it happen over and over. As a family, 2021 was just okay. Where to begin! Let start with the kids. 

Paley is up first, and I think her highlight was not only returning to campus in April but also returning to summer camp. All three kids got a good dose of away camp over the summer and are chomping at the bit too go back. Paley spent three whole weeks this last summer and on that last day of camp for the summer, we saw that look of “I am so happy and so exhausted.” In years past the look was more exhaustion or a look of “What are you doing here, I am staying another week!” While she managed to do one online production earlier this year, she opted to spend quality time with friends and her school work when she returned to campus for her 8th grade year. There was talk of trying out for basketball, but that passed by and there is hope for Volleyball tryouts in the new year. I think if I had Paley sit down and write about 2021, there would be a lot of joy being around friends and hanging out with her troop again, in-person. Family might be up there as well, I hope! 

This last summer we enjoyed two trips outside of 3 weeks of camp for all three kids. First we spent about a week out at Memorial Park camping with my brother and his kids. The camping trip was fun and weather was on our side. My family has been going Memorial Park for several generations now. I think our kids are now the 4th generation to enjoy camping life in the middle of tall redwoods. This was also the first time we got to enjoy the new bathroom and showers, which were under construction during covid. The last time we camped at Memorial, was about 3 years ago, those bathrooms, were the same bathrooms I used during my childhood and even my father used as a kid.

The following week, we hit the road and headed north to Oregon for a long overdue trip to Oregon. We realized the last time we had actually been up to Oregon during the summer was 2017 for the total solar eclipse. This trip we returned to Independence for a meetup with our friend’s the Greco’s. We met along the Wilaumet River downtown for a riverside picnic and swimming in the river. By the way, we are still slated to hit the east coast in April of 2024 to enjoy the next total eclipse. I was very bummed and happy we skipped Chile last December. We got to explore the great outdoors of Eugene, Oregon with grandma this trip. We ate great meals prepared by her and the highlight was the magical spider web covered forest of Alton Baker Park.

The twins returned to sports during the spring and fall this year. I know everyone is all about comp sports at this age range but y’all are nuts. Having twins in rec sports was bad enough. I was exhausted all Fall from the running around 5 days a week. I know, it’s only going to get worse. The twin flourished returning to campus for their 3rd grade year. They were kept together on purpose, just in case!  They were placed with an awesome teacher this year, which made up for the crappy end to second grade, thanks to a substitute. We survived all of that drama and are happy with the way the school year turned out. The twins connections with friends continue to flourish. They certainly lost some quality time learning the ropes of friendship and social dynamics in the year they locked up at home.

As our holiday card noted, we embarked on a new journey as a family back in 2020. Right before quarantine we had our first meeting with an architect to make our home larger for the coming years. The design process was lengthy, you would think we were building to huge modern architectural gem based on the length of time it took us to finalize the plans. Electrical conversations can take weeks and even months. Overall we are very happy with the design we have put together and I am excited to start purchasing all the things we need for our early craftsman home. Hiccups have become the norm for this journey. From the windows lead time being 6 months to the permit process going from two months to 4-6 months. That last one stung pretty bad. 

The dog survived quarantine with us, and cat negotiations continue. Clem has returned to campus at the flying saucer on an average of 4 days a week. While most companies have keep pushing the obvious return to normal, Clem has made an effort to bring some kind of normal back to ourhomestead routine. Myself, I am back at it, full force. Still volunteering to much but focusing my energy on handing off more things at the end of each school year. The obvious question is what will happen when the twins move the middle school and my go to answer is “get a job.” No clue what I will be doing in that job. 

A friend post an article recently about age discrimination is on the rise. My first reaction to the article, you should have been talking to women over the past 40 years. I know I am a growing breed of dad’s choosing to stay home with the kids, but at some point we have to return to the workforce. I am mostly hopeful when I see other parents make a jump towards retuning to work after 8-10 years of staying at home. I can’t believe that 2021 marks my 14th year since my last full time job. I know, parenting is a full time job.

We managed to squeeze in a family portrait this year. My last family post was about the mural we painted on the patio wall, which we used as the backdrop for our holiday portrait. Check that out here!!! The mural was a lot of fun, but being photographed by such a dear and close friend is really the best part of these photos we take every year. My family never really did family portraits when I was a child, we stole moments on family vacations to capture that one shot for the year. Most often holding a red apple with our cousins sitting along with us. These moments hold great memories for me, as most of them were taken up in Tahoe or our in Aptos. 

When we had Paley, I knew that it was time to find a real photographer who could really capture us as a new family. Then Clem and I decided to scrap our 2009 destination wedding to Tolfino, British Columbia and jump on the California legalizing same-sex marriage. Our friend Karen had a photographer husband JP and we loved his work. He shot our wedding ceremony and our wedding reception back in 2008. The photos from the reception ended up as our first family portrait. That relationship would continue for almost 5 years, when they moved back to Massachusetts. We tried one other photographer that following year, which cost us a fortune. When we booked them the quote was just over a thousand, at the shoot it was now over 2K, and when it was time to get the photos, it was another 4K. 

Then I found out one of my oldest friends was now a professional photographer and the first shoot would be the twins first shoot ever. Since that drizzling day at Lucas Art’s campus in SF. We have had the most amazing time enjoying and capturing amazing moments of our family. We are blessed to have Rachel in our lives and I am these memories are being captured.

Life was rocky in 2021 with a lot of unknowns. In 2022, we hope for a clearer vision for the year. We expect more posts coming for our impending remodel, I am even borrowing my friend Laura’s idea of setting up a separate instagram account to cover the progress of the project. We discussed reducing the project but honestly, the house would become something less comfortable. I am looking at it as I have more time to prep for the whole project. As Clem moves closer and closer to normal work routine. No clue what the future holds for this whole hybrid work environment will look like when the workforce goes back to it. I think we are just happy school is back and teachers are back. I am the room parent for the twins class, I know, Again? Besides me teaching art in the classroom, it’s most just me working in the classroom. I try to make a conscious effort to make all the events manageable for their teacher, and to make her exposure risk is manageable. Keeping masks on in those classrooms, is a struggle and I’ve seen it first hand. I hope we see a change by this Spring to a reduced need for masks everywhere. 

Wishing you a fun and prosperous 2022.