Tag: happy new year

Christmas Magic

I blinked and two months went by.

This holiday season has been a sprint from Halloween through to, well, today actually. Conor left shortly after Thanksgiving to do his reserve drill for two weeks in North Carolina, during which I switched to ‘survival mode’, a phase that usually involves me not working out, eating cheese and crackers for dinner, herding children like a pack of cats, and falling asleep at 9pm. Somehow during this time, I miraculously managed to finish my NaNoWriMo project, 85,000 words of energy that did not get directed toward anything else in life. I didn’t manage to send out Christmas cards (a promise I have literally made to myself EVERY YEAR since W was born, and never succeeded), or take any family photos, really. I opted against forcing my children to sit on a strange man’s lap and tell him their innermost desires. We got our tree only 4 days before Christmas, which did nothing to preclude the influx of new toys I am still trying to organize. Tinsel and lights came down on the 26th to make way for W’s birthday, a party that included 10 preschoolers, zero volume control, and a theme of ‘rainbow unicorns/dinosaurs/Star Wars’.

Which brings us through to today, when I realized how long it has been since I posted on here and how my end-of-the-year slideshow is not going to happen, either. If you are disappointed not to get a montage of the suburban madness that I just described, I apologize. Instead, my time and my incredibly advanced technological skills(/s) are being put toward launching our next project. A year ago, Conor and I came up with an idea for a website to help Marines who are transitioning out of active duty. It’s a volunteer project that we think will make a huge difference against such a confusing process. The site is supposed to go live in January.

January seemed so far away when I made all these lofty goals—It was 2023-Me’s problem! 2022-Me was such a bitch. Wish me luck.

Love,

Taylor (and Conor, W, R, and Scout)

Cheers to everyone for making it through 2022!

2021 Recap

I know I’ve been posting very infrequently on here lately. These last few months have been filled with reflection, planning, and asking questions. Where are we headed and what are we doing? I’ve been quiet on all social media as we try to find our footing and take our next steps, but I knew I needed to put together one last recap video to commemorate our final year on the boat. If you want to watch them all in order, here is 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020. 2021 marked 5 years with our beloved Story Time, and it astounds me to see how much we accomplished and the life we built together.

There will be some new developments and projects in store for 2022. I’m excited for them, even though they are not boat related. I’m hoping for career pivots and fresh challenges, so stay tuned. I’ll post more in the new year, and much more often from now on! Thanks, guys.

We hope 2022 brings hope and joy to you all.

Love,

Taylor, Conor, W, and R

2020 Recap Video

Like most of you all, we will be happy to see 2020 in the rearview mirror as we head into 2021. Although this year has had a unique amount of crazy, we have also found a lot of joy. We welcomed a new member of our family, learned the value of time together without distractions, and successfully moved our boat to a new state. This was not the year we had planned, but I still wanted to commemorate the good instead of focusing on what we missed out on.

Here is this year’s slideshow recap. Song is “Get Along” by Kenny Chesney. If you want to start from the beginning, here is 2017, 2018, and 2019. I can’t believe we have been doing this for four years now!

Love,

Taylor, Conor, W, and R

2019 Recap Video

This is our third recap video! Check out 2017 and 2018 if you need a blast from the past before watching 2019!

So much has happened this year—Conor took a trip to Norway and also graduated from WTI. I published my second book and wrote a third. W is speaking in complete sentences and scooter-ing down the docks like a madwoman. I can’t believe we have a 2-year-old!

This year was also filled with visits from family and friends, epic sails and sunsets, and (probably) too many cocktails.

Here’s the wrap up! The accompanying song is “Wars” by the Strumbellas (thanks for a great time, Nashville!)