2017 Recap: A different family update than the usual—

But an update nonetheless….

Honestly friends, I can’t believe it’s been another year. In retrospect, I know it sounds a little over the top, but last year at this time Danny and I were having serious discussions about how to uproot our entire lives and relocate to Europe. I was devastated. While our country overwhelmingly did not cast their vote for the Cheeto in Command, Trump (and the Russians’) electoral college victory had me seriously thinking about what type of country I wanted to raise my children in. A “Shining city on a hill” it seemed, we were not.

Holden Turns Eight and Decides to get Baptized! 

But ultimately, through prayer, meditation and a lot of introspection, we came to the conclusion that the best answer to our current political state was to be part of the solution. So we made plans on how to move forward.

Chicago trip... got to see "Da Bears"

How to effect change.

How to be part of the solution.

So we joined with millions of women and men across the country and marched. 

We marched in January at Utah’s State Capitol to acknowledge our privilege and to support those who were not born with the same luxuries we have been afforded. 

We marched in Maui (on our first day of vacation) for science and for the environment. 

And we marched on Tax Day to support transparency in government.

#StyleForDays

And when I say we, I kind of mean me, and my family was good to come along for the ride. In true Danny fashion, his ability to “roll with the punches” and not get overwhelmed, meant he has been a shinning example taking it all with grace and patience, talking me off a few ledges, letting me vent when needed, and supported my new found passion for fighting for the causes of social mobility and economic justice.

So yeah... 2017 meant donating to a lot more causes and supporting the rights of the oppressed. It has meant working to be engaged in a way I hadn’t before. I've tried to spend more time listening to marginalized voices and look for ways my own prejudices were affecting not only my thoughts and actions, but how I was raising my family. I took to heart the wise words from the New York Transit Authority: ‘If you see something, say something.”

Yellowstone with Mama Suite & GrandpaTOM

We continued our scripture study as a family, and made Family Home Evening even more of a priority – making sure that in our house, the most important principle in our lives was the edict to “Love one another.” 

The year pressed on with the pieces of everyday life one might expect. The kids are doing great in school. Holden tried on baseball for size – and decided it didn’t fit too well, but visiting with friends in the dugout did. He asked if we could have an “open house” for his team this summer, and Danny suggested a “pool party” might be a better fit (Holden agreed.) H found a love for sports with boards and wheels—trying his luck at everything from skateboarding and surfing (ocean and lake) to biking.  

Salt Lake ComicCon 2017

 Z danced, and played soccer, tore it up on the ski slopes with her brother, and enjoyed trying news sports as well (“Mom, when can I go back to Hawaii and take another surf lesson?”)  Both kids are playing piano and we’re finally to a point where I can say “go practice” and I don’t have to be sitting next to them to make sure they take time on the instrument.

But what I’m most proud of when it comes to my kids are their skills that don’t come with participation ribbons or trophies. --And yes, I’m totally aware this is something you would expect a parent to say when they have kids that have a low-level of natural talent when it comes to organized sports.--I’m ok with that.

Both Kids took up Skateboarding... Z gettin' her sticker game on

At Zoë’s parent teacher conference, her teachers told us she was very passionate about “social justice” and wants to make sure she and her classmates are sensitive to the nuances and challenges of race, and even cultural appropriation. She’s in Kindergarten. She turns six on December 7^th.

Cub Scouts meets Dr. Strange

Holden has been enjoying being a cub scout and made a critical decision to get baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints this past year. Not to say it wasn't a little touch-and-go for a while, but the kid’s got a serious affinity for the Norse Gods… and ironically, has some understandable concerns when it comes to Biblical Literalism.

I think Holden’s greatest accomplishment for the year has really been his inclusion of his little sister. We were  a couple of months into the school year before I realized that the kids play together at recess almost every day (the rare exception is usually because they aren’t on the playground at the same time). Zoë shared one story about how she got sad because one of H’s friends said he didn’t want to play a particular game if Zoë was going to play. “But guess what Mom?” she explained, “Holden said, ‘don’t worry Zoë, I’ll take care of it.’”

Living Wax Museum: Napoleon! 

I'm happy to say we continued our love of travel this year. The kids enjoyed learning to surf this year while we played in Maui with Danny’s family, took a trip to the Dominican Republic celebrate a bunch of my girlfriends (and me) turning forty -- and then went to New York in September to "officially" celebrate me turning 40 and seeing the Tony Award Winning "Dear Evan Hansen" on Broadway. 

In the summer, we took a trip to Yellowstone and my Dad and Holden were in geological sulfur-scented heaven. 

We also got to achieve our life-long family dream (OK, at least our dream for the past couple of years) of seeing “Hamilton” on a trip to Chicago. We looked at art, went to museums, were underwhelmed by the Jurassic Park exhibit and realized that it would be a few more years before we took the kids to Europe because Zoë's a trooper, but her short little legs put her at a serious disadvantage for long walks with a family that's been stroller-free for most of her life. 

Danny saw loads of success in the professional world – named Mountain West Small Business Finance’s “Top Producer” by dollar amount, and made it past his two-year anniversary as part of Crossfit Nation. I share this with you because while “the first rule of Crossfit is ‘Talk about Crossfit,’" Danny has been pretty shy about his successes in the Box. Also, I told him if he ever posted a picture of his hand callouses/ripped blisters on social media, there would be consequences. J

Just two dudes, and a shared love of Calderas. 

The kids wish he was a SAHD (Stay at Home Dad) because he’s so good at parenting. Sometimes I think they may be onto something we could explore a little more deeply. But that would severely cut back on my volunteer hours, so alas! We press forward.

And speaking of volunteer hours, I started volunteering at the jail teaching yoga this summer. There’s more to the story, so if you haven’t heard about our advocacy or the “Pillows for Prisoners” project my sister and I launched in October, please take a look (The Salt Lake Tribune also did a great piece on the project.) 

As always, you can find the highlights of the things my kids said this past year that I remembered to record by clicking here.

We Did IT! Finally Made it to Hamilton! 

In the meantime, I get it that this letter is a bit more political than I tend to share. And some would say that the holidays are one of the few times we should leave that stuff alone, but something about this past election has created a shift that (as I previously mentioned) I just can’t deny. In pretending that our lives just continued in the same way would be anything but a fair representation of the past year.

One thing that does remain the same though is our gratitude for one another and the love we have for all God’s creations. We are thankful for your friendship and for the relationships that enrich and bless our lives.

May 2018 be a year of health, hope and healing for our families, the nation and our world.

Sabrena, for the (Suite-)Mangums