It’s been a heck of a year, hasn’t it? Despite the obvious bad taste this year will leave in our collective mouths, we are thankful for so much as a family.

We spent time with loved ones.

My parents spent Christmas + New Year’s in our tiny downtown Boise apartment. Later in January, I got to head to New Orleans to run around like an idiot with friends ahead of Jared’s wedding.

We traveled to Hawaii the next month to be a part of Danny and Kaia’s wedding. As nice as it was, it’s near impossible to spend good quality time together in the midst of something like a wedding. It was a nice introduction to her side of the family, though, and we can’t wait to spend more time on Oahu in the future!

We then made our way to spend some time in Phoenix for the previously mentioned Robinovitz wedding. We got to see all the guys (and their wives) from The Steel Cage, and we even managed to squeeze in a trail race the morning before the ceremony!

And then we all went into lockdown.

Before we traveled back in February, we managed to find a house we loved in Northwest Boise, and finalized all the details in between those trips.

By the time we got back, we were ready to move into our new home—and the timing could not have been more perfect.

Laura would continue working with patients at the clinic, but my office ceased to exist. Our CEO took steps to ensure we wouldn’t have to lay people off for the sake of cutting corners, and I’m so appreciative for that. Our team has learned how to work better together remotely as the months have gone on, and it’s amazing how well things can work through Teams and Zoom and all that other stuff.

For our home life, rather than being stuck in a little apartment, we had a house to spread out in. And when we weren’t working, we had projects to work on—yard work, painting, online shopping for furniture, etc.

When we weren’t working on the house, we were out running in the nearby foothills or riding bikes along the river. Things were starting to suck all around us, but we found a happy place together.

By July, we were excited to be able to road trip up to Coeur d’Alene (I still can’t spell it without looking it up) and we spent some time camping with Laura’s parents. It was a nice little break from stay-at-home life.

Not long after that came the moment that would change our lives forever.

Baby Schlag is on the way!

We took our time getting the word out to our family and to friends, and technically we never followed up with part two of that announcement. So, in case you haven’t yet heard – we’re having a girl!

We found out the Friday before Thanksgiving, and though I thought I wouldn’t be allowed to attend any of the OGBYN appointments—they called the day before to let me know I could see the ultrasound and find out so much about our soon-to-be new member of the family.

I know Laura is already in love with the girl who is yet to see the world, and I’m ecstatic to be a girl dad soon. We’re in full swing of buying furniture for the baby’s room, reading books, and putting together lists.

Stay at Home Christmas

This year will undoubtedly be the weirdest and loneliest Christmas we’ve ever had, but we’re making the most of it.

We have each other. We have Sawyer. We have a baby on the way.

We’ll talk to our families and open presents over video calls.

We’ll watch the new Pixar movie and probably the new Wonder Woman, too.

We’ll go snowshoeing and embrace the Winter Wonderland that is the hills and mountains of Idaho.

And with an early April due date coming up, we’ll never be quite so alone again.

Here’s to leaving behind the dumpster fire that was 2020 and moving into the new year. It won’t all get better on January 1 (or January 20, for that matter—but let’s all have a drink that day and raise a toast, regardless 🍻).

But seriously, things are looking up. And we can’t wait to have visitors in the near future. We missed out on having a housewarming party, so we’ve got some catching up to do!

Much Love,

Josh, Laura, Sawyer, and ???