Welcome, 2017!! But January . . . oh, January was a little bit cruel. I won't say I'm sad it's over.
I finally got moving on this painting I'd promised Melissa Ayers around Thanksgiving.
My bullet journal is in full swing. I love using it. This is my habit/goal tracking spread. I wasn't vigilant enough and Darcy added some of her own touches to the bottom right there.
Snow. That was what we got this month. SO. MUCH. SNOW. The kids had five snow days (actually, now I'm not sure if we had one more than that, I lost count). It was rough. There was so much snow and they don't plow the subdivisions, so we were all snowed in. We did a LOT of shoveling. It was cozy for the first few days, but then we all go cabin fever big time.
This picture above, Jonny said he was building "a website." :)
We made the most of it, playing with our Christmas toys and playing card games.
Jonny took a little tumble off the trunk and bonked his head. We went to the pediatrician's office and got a few staples. I'm so glad Rachael was there to take Darcy and assure me that it was ok to just pop in at the doctor's office. Love her. It was a quick and easy. Thank goodness!
Once we had gotten enough snow to make us all totally crazy, it started to melt, which caused new problems. We escaped the worst, but there was quite a bit of flooding on the streets. She shoveled slush and Dave scraped snow off the house to make sure we didn't have ice dams forming as sit warmed up. The ice dams cause major flooding in homes all over the valley, including a few friends. It was pretty bad. We were so blessed to not have any major problems from the snow storms, and Dave got to and from work just fine.
While I was out shoveling, Darcy discovered that she could access the ice cream in the freezer.
Finished!
Dave took Audrey to get her nails done for their date this month.
And then . . . Marla announced she was moving at the end of the month! See!? I told you this month was rough! I hurried and painted this for her before she left, and we hosted a going-away party.
Among all of the busyness and snow, we all got really sick. I guess we usually get something every year, but this was particularly rough under the circumstances.
But then the Hunts came to visit and we had a date. Maryjo brought me this beautiful china from Grandma Jean and we spent the day cleaning it up and stacking it safely in the buffet. It was still packed in the original crate that Grandpa Larry sent it in from Japan as a gift for Grandma Jean! I guess she hadn't liked the design. It serves 12 and is in pristine condition! What a special family heirloom this well be. I'll have to host something special so we can use it.
I loved how homey this part of the house looks right now. All those jars (the fruit inherited from Marla, the vegetables lovingly canned by Mom) look so pretty on the shelves.
It makes me pine for some serious country living. But I'll have to settle for simply the snow to go away and make it nice to go outside again. Hurry up, Spring!
Jonny wanted to try Dave's deodorant after watching him put some on. After he got some on he yelled "I'm officially a Daddy!" :)
Long ago, Jane used to make her toys talk to her in funny little voices and then she'd respond back. Well, I caught Darcy doing the same things with her bath toys. She'd make them talk in a funny low voice, and then she'd respond, usually very dramatically. Hysterical.
The other day she came into my room crying, "I want power! I want power!" I think she was meaning to say powder. She had a bit of a diaper rash if I recall. But it was just SO funny.
We spent the New Year at the Groll's. We met up in Idaho Falls and helped Natalia celebrate her birthday by playing at I-Jump (trampoline place) and having pizza. Then we had a New Year's party with the family and played games and ate fun finger food.
A couple days after we got back, I helped with a Relief Society activity where I taught the ladies about meditation and lead them all in Lovingkindness meditation. Then we watercolored! It was one of my favorite activities.
Audrey started taking improv classes with the Comedy Sportz people with her friend Lily. Dave takes them every Saturday. They really love it!
