It goes without saying that 2020 has been a rough year for many of us. Though COVID influenced our races and hanging out with friends, it did not have the biggest impact on our lives this year. Unfortunately, this August we lost one of our closest friends, Mark. While I had intentions of jumping on here many times, my heart has pretty much been wrecked. I wont talk about it much. Writing about that day isn’t something I can do, still. But I thought I would share some other parts of the second half of our year-definitely not an all-inclusive showing, but some things we were able to do!
COVID made church-going an exciting event. We were not mad about spending summer Sundays outside. Services have since moved to a call-in style since it is currently cold and snowy 😉
We were able to sneak away to Flaming Gorge a couple times with our families. Nothing like camping in the middle of nowhere as a means to being very social distanced. Who are we kidding, that’s my real life anyway!
Brooke spent a good amount of time cruising around on her dirt bike.
There was a lot of time spent in costume because, well, why not?
There were some gorgeous rides…
And then there were the projects! Ken and I jumped into building a carport off the side of the shop. Thank goodness for Skiddy the skidsteer. She was super helpful.
In August, we celebrated the second year of SBT GRVL. Due to COVID, it was virtual this year. As Mark had passed about 2 weeks before this date, we all rode in his honor. A tough day.
I was able to do 2 rides, one 37 mile ride with Errin and Rene’-on which I found this antler a few miles in and rode with it in my jersey pockets. Was extra careful not to crash!
On the day of the event, Ken and I set up a little memorial to celebrate Mark. It was great to feel the support of the community.
Ken and I were excited to ride the 65 mile course with Errin and Robert. This was also one of the last real rides we did for the year. It was really hard to find motivation afterwards and I am just now starting to think about any sort of exercise, in December.
The project continued….
There were several fires which made the summer pretty smokey. None of them were threatening to us personally, but we were on alert in case friends needed help evacuating.
Brooke and I made it to the zoo once! A definite highlight.
And success!!!
Took some fall pictures. This girl.
Another project….stairs off the deck!
Over the summer, I was offered a position teaching at Colorado Mountain College here in Steamboat. I accepted and began teaching A and P this fall. It was an incredible experience and I am excited to be teaching in the spring as well.
Brooke was very helpful in preparing for the lab practical 🙂
We did get to do some masked homeschool group activities! Thank you, Rangers!
Hanging with George.
Halloween was fun! Brooke and I met up with one of her close friends and walked their neighborhood.
At least some of us got some riding in 😉
And 2020 in a nutshell….remember my wonderful green house? A day of sustained 40-50 mile winds caused complete destruction. It was so very sad. Had to spend a lot of time sorting that out and taking it apart. Is it 2021 yet?
Visitors, always.
At least we are ready for winter!
We spent Thanksgiving in Moab with our families. It was great to get away and we were all very careful with who we hung out with before we traveled.
We spent 5 days hanging out, jogging and playing on toys with motors.
On our way home, we picked up Brooke’s Christmas present. She basically outgrew her small snowmobile last year and this one should do much better in the powder at our house. She has already spent so much time playing on it!
We ventured out for our Christmas tree-it is just perfect.
And for good measure, Jasper with a squeaker.
I will mention, also, without a ton of details, Ken and I are no longer part of SBT GRVL. Due to the terrible way Mark’s wife was treated after his passing, we could no longer work with the remaining partner. We offered to buy her out, but in turn she was able to buy us out instead. While we are very sad to no longer be part of the event, it no longer reflects the values that we signed up to be part of. We are looking forward to the future and what we might be able to create.
And that was much of our 2020.
I hope that this finds you healthy and that you will be able to enjoy this holiday season. I plan to be more active here as I jump back into training and hopefully find motivation to train for the next year. Plans for the Crusher this coming July and then attempting to BQ in September in Salt Lake City if life returns to some sort of normalcy.
Fit After Little Bits 
Hey LeeAnn! Welcome back to the blogging world! Congrats on the projects at home and your “career advancements/changes”. I know this year has been tough on everyone and I hope that even though you aren’t part of SBTGRVL you will find another sporting event in SBT to support like you did SBTGRVL! 🙂 Keep on Posting! 🙂
Thanks for the push to get back to it, Lindsay! 🙂
Just saw it tonight…your blog is a welcome sight!!! Thoughtful, heartwarming and heartbreaking, and awesome to see the projects you worked on and completed. Again, congratulations on your teachings advancements! Glad we got to see you in Moab and loved all of your pictures!!! Love you!!
Thank you and love you too!