What a year! 2020 is almost in our rear-view mirror and so we celebrate. “Out with the old, in with the new …” Never before has this phrase been more appropriate! Until this week we thought our Christmas “Card” this year would be blank (as in, no highlights), but gladly that’s not the case. So, as we reflect on a year we would prefer to forget, we realize that there were indeed some highlights. Here goes…
Happily, some things do not change … such as the Daly Homestead and Christmas, although this year we are missing my brother Peter who cannot travel from Canada:
Boys and their toys – no change there! 
Peter last year with Mick, Gavin, Owen, Ben and Levi
In February we spent two glorious weeks at the beach in Cabo St. Lucas, Mexico, with no idea how the world was about to change.
Mick, Jenny, Veta & Dallas Taylor 
By April, we knew that life had changed radically. Our 6-week trip to Europe in the summer wouldn’t be happening. But life goes on, as does family fun in spite of lockdowns and Covid-19…
Family ride during lockdown – with social distancing (sort of!) 
Our wild life hasn’t heard of social distancing – thank the Lord!
Horses out back is unusual! 
Elk up close and personal 
A young buck enjoying fresh grass – wait! My grass!!!
Then there were some very special highlights … Liverpool Football Club (the real football!) became English Premier League Champions for the first time in 30 years … and we still were able to dine out (during the summer!) In June, our eldest grandson, Owen, graduated from high school. The graduation ceremony was a little different from past years but still a memorable occasion. He’s now enjoying life as a freshman at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, AZ.
By September, many people here were experiencing cabin fever, so it was a blessing to hold the only major event in Eagle in the summer, which included The Eagle Amazing Race. We were Race Directors and the family entered three teams, who just happened to finish first, second and third – out of 22 teams. We all had a blast!
In the year of Covid, August and September will be remembered in our region for the wrong reason: the infamous Grizzly Creek Fire in Glenwood Canyon. It burned almost 33,000 acres and was finally 100% contained on December 18th! We are so thankful for the 900 firefighters and other first responders who kept everyone and almost all property safe.
From that sad memory to a much happier one. In the absence of travel plans, we decided the time was right to get a puppy. Apparently everyone else had a similar thought as Golden Retrievers were hard to find! Eventually in August we brought home our adorable Annie (“Lady Anfield”) Here she is – then (“Annie, it’s 2020! TP is precious!”) and now.
Annie, it’s 2020! TP is precious! 
Coming h0me at 8 weeks old. 
She loves sitting on her bench surveying her world.
Another prize that became hard to find – electric bikes! Fortunately we pulled that trigger early – in April. They are so much fun!
Orbea Gain D20 
We’ve been “zoomed”! We had been using Zoom in our Juice Plus+ business for several years. Suddenly “everyone” started zooming and this became a new virtual reality. It even allowed us to celebrate with thousands of others, including the company’s 50th birthday. Pretty cool!
Our last “social engagement” pre-Covid lockdown was to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day. Social distancing was yet to become the norm and, although we missed four couples who decided to stay home, the rest of us had a fun evening enjoying traditional Irish food (and Guinness!) Six months later, following The Amazing Race, our volunteer team came over to celebrate (with a moonrise to add a special touch.)
We hope you too have some fond memories as we look forward to 2021. Happy New Year!
