This is it, folks – my final post of the year! This is my favorite post of each year, and I love looking back at all we accomplished, all we did, all we hope to do in the coming year, and more. If you’ve followed my blog since its inception (11 years ago!), you’ve seen some of the highest highs for us, as well as some of the lowest of lows. 2024 has been a challenging year for our family in so many ways, not the least of which was the fact that we spent much of the year in limbo, wondering what’s next for us. But here we are, about to turn the page on a new year, and we’re excited for what’s to come. So, let’s dive in.
Our 2024 in Numbers
1 // The number of vlogs we posted this year! I’ve been saying for years that my goal for the year was to start a YouTube channel, but it’s always been so daunting to me because I am not a video editor, and I honestly didn’t know the first thing about editing until this past week. I’m excited to learn and get better though, so I hope you’ll follow along on our new channel as we do!
104 // The number of days I’ve consecutively studied Korean on Duolingo. I also take a 1-on-1 weekly Korean class through Preply, but Duolingo has been a fun way to continue exercising those listening skills, as well as writing and general comprehension.
286 // The number of miles I ran this year. I ran over double this in 2023, and I took a massive step back this year because my mental health was trash at the beginning of the year. I’m hopeful for 2024 though. I want to love running, care less about speed, and enjoy the journey as much as I did in Korea.
10 // The number of years Ryan and I have been married! We’re a far cry from the little babies we were in 2014 when we first said our vows. Our 11th anniversary is next week, and I’m so excited to continue this crazy journey together.
16 // The number of years Ryan’s been in the Army. You read that right, folks. We’re on the home stretch. In theory, this summer’s PCS should be our last active duty military move, and that’s a wild concept to us. And no, we don’t know for certain where we’re heading yet, but we hope to know soon!
1 // The number of deaths in our family this year. We said goodbye to our sweet Jasper. At 17 years old, Jasper was the last of my OG Utah kitties, and he passed just before Christmas. I’m so grateful we had 17 long years with him and that he traveled from Utah to New Hampshire, Arizona, New York, Washington, South Korea and, finally, Alaska with us.
21 // The number of times we went fishing in 2024! We even got to take our bucket list adventure to Valdez to go salmon fishing, and it was the coolest adventure ever.
3 // The number of months our kids spent in public school. We gave it the old college try but ended up pulling our kiddos and starting homeschooling again in November, and I’m so glad to do so. It’s challenging, but we love this crazy ride.
6 // The number of months I’ve been working with my company again. I got a part-time proposal consultant job in June with a company I worked for in 2010, and it’s been the biggest blessing for my family. I love being able to work and homeschool, and it’s filled my proverbial cup so much.
63 // The number of blog posts I wrote this year. This was actually way less than I wrote in 2023, and I definitely dropped the ball on the goal of improving upon that. I’m grateful to still be here, still posting, and I’m even more grateful for all those who are still following along this wild little journey of ours.
2024 was hard, guys. Alaska has been such a beautiful (and difficult) challenge for our family. I haven’t really addressed all of it, but when Ryan’s job here was eliminated and we asked for a curtailment, we put all our eggs in one basket and prayed that it would go through – and it did, so we’re in the movement cycle once again. We don’t know for certain what’s next but we do know one thing – we’re excited for 2025, and we can’t wait to see what’s next.
