2020 ended with Delilah turning eight on Christmas Day (morning is for Christmas, evening is all about Delilah)! The Pardini's then welcomed in the year at their new(ish) property in Redwood Valley.

February brought a couple of birthdays, Austin turned 15 (!!) and Nathan turned 29 (!!!). Also in February, Bill and Carrie managed to sneak in their first shots of Moderna, setting up a great holiday (below). Finally, February ended with the build out starting (FINALLY) on the new home theater, with a simply awesome final result.

In March, Bill and Carrie got their second Moderna, and two weeks later (the second week of April) they decided to beat the stampede and bolted, for the first time in well over a year, out of the country - visiting Playa Excellence, just north of Cancun. A simply stunning resort (and at 40% occupancy), it has over a mile of pools with beautiful suites overlooking them (or the ocean), a private beach with lots of shade and lots of palms to add to the scene. They enjoyed a day in Chichen Itza, (the main temple is the Kukulcan Temple), including the Temple of a Thousand Soldiers - a great time to visit, given the complete lack of tourism. They finished the week with a trip to Tulum, starting the visit at the Temple of the God of the Wind, visiting the Castle, and the Tulum Bay with the beautiful trail throughout the property - all the while being watched carefully by locals. And what better way to end a long day at Tulum then with some bubbly? April ended with a quick trip out to California by Sandy and Ben, where they joined Bill and Carrie at the Carlsbad Flower Fields and some hot tubbing.

May saw a slight return to normalization - Delilah returned to playing softball and Shaylee rocking it with the Eagles basketball team.

June brought a bevy of birthdays - with Shaylee turning 13, Amy adding a year, and Ryan adding another trip around the sun later on in the month, and the Pardini family enjoyed a great July 4th in Redwood Valley.

In August, Amy and the kids made a roadtrip to Carlsbad, where the kids enjoyed the pool, and the girls enjoying bring the 60's back with tie dying shirts (groovy). Later in the month, Amy and Danny celebrated fourteen years of marriage. Alas, the end of August also brought back the first day of school for the Pardini kids, with Delilah and Savannah particularly excited about getting back to visit her friends in class. And in September, Austin bagged yet another buck.

In September, Nathan and Retta had an opportunity to go to Dubrovnik, Croatia, for a wedding. While the wedding took up most of their time, they did get a chance to play tourists, visiting the harbor, the city walls, the clock tower, the Franciscan Monastery, and the Lion Head Fountain. They had a chance to shoot a fantastic sunset before heading back to America.

In October, Delilah rode in her first horse show, where she won First Place for her age group! Bill and Carrie traveled to New Castle, CO to celebrate her father's 80th trip around the sun. With that many birthdays behind him, two celebrations were included; a smaller one on his birthday, and the bigger one the next day with a friends and family celebration. The boys surprised him with a Broncos game the next day, where he got to see his name on the big screen! New Castle was in the middle of fall colors, and the group got out of the brisk air during a Glenwood Springs visit by spending an hour or so at Doc Hollidays Bar (yes, THAT Doc Holliday), while seeing fairies sprouting their wings. It was definitely nice to spend some extra time with family for a long weekend.

Two weeks later, Bill and Carrie traveled to Cabo San Lucas to join friends Steve and Lisa for a week at a beautiful resort just north of Cabo. Bill and Steve chartered a boat for the day, where they each caught a dorado (mahi mahi) - one of which became grilled fish tacos that night. Bill also managed to land a rather sizable (and strong) marlin - that was a catch and release after the requisite photo to provide evidence. During the fishing trip, Carrie and Lisa enjoyed massages in the cottage, and on the last full day, after soaking in the pool all day, the group celebrated Carrie's birthday at a beautiful restaurant overlooking the Gulf of California, ending with the required birthday cake - and since it was Mexico, fireworks were included.

November was a particularly crowded month - Nate and Retta moved from Page, AZ to Telluride CO! Retta will be working a seasonal job in the hospitality industry, moving back to Page in the Spring, while Nate starts a new job as auditor for a property management company. Savannah continued to show responsibility by taking care of her pony, and Austin finally got his driver's permit! The Pardini's once again loaded up to head to Carlsbad. Once there, they celebrated Danny's 40th birthday with a steak dinner and of course a birthday cake. The next day was Thanksgiving, where the family celebrated with members from around the country along with with a few friends, enjoying the typical turkey(s), stuffing, mashed potatoes, and about 1000 types of desserts. That weekend was also busy - Saturday Amy, Danny, Austin, and Shaylee went four wheeling just north of the US/MX border for the day, with Austin and Shaylee spending that night at Ryan and Breezy's home while Amy and Danny spent the night in San Diego Harbor. The next morning, Jim, Ryan, Breezy, and Austin went golfing in San Diego. A very busy holiday weekend!

December of course, also brings the holidays. Santa once again sent the girls their official Nice List certificate, and even made videos for both Delilah and Savannah (unfortunately, the videos expire at midnight on December 20th). And finally, Delilah has her ninth birthday to look forward to after Santa leaves!

And that about wraps up the year...Bill and Carrie wish all of you the best for 2022, and are truly hoping that this continued madness of COVID-19 variants is soon behind us - so that we can just truly get back to normal.