January is a long month to get through. The holidays are over, it's a long time until the next vacation, the weather often feels punishing and it's such a long, dark month. This year I decided to embrace it and got into Life Below Zero on Hulu. Suddenly I was much more aware of the accoutrements I am surrounded with and January wasn't quite so bleak. We leaned into winter root vegetables with pot roasts and yummy soups. Did it make everything sunshine and roses? Of course not. But it did help.
So with that, here are some things to appreciate about January:
Seems Sydney also knew exactly what she needed, and didn't need in January.
This made me laugh.
Also gave me a laugh.
See what January does to my girls? Total cabin fever.
The high school is next to an elementary school so they share facilities. This was by the baseball field and made me laugh.
Winter has it's own kind of beauty.
School was cancelled so we made a roaring fire so the girls could snuggle in and binge some tv.
This actually lasted for a bit. Usually the snow precariously resting on branches either blows off with the wind or melts off once the sun is out. This stayed a while and we were able to enjoy it for the better part of the day. It's so pretty!
Brent learned to tie a tie from his mother, not his father, so we thought it wise he teach the girls.
The church developed some of the biggest icicles we have ever seen!
Sydney and I finally decided to try Amorino at the Woodfield Mall. They scoop the gelato into a gorgeous rose shape and it was the best gelato I've ever had!
Reagan told Doug I don't like to share hymnals. One person always wants to hold it higher than the other or close it sooner and I have no problem with someone else holding the entire book while I look on, but I really don't like sharing. Doug asked if I would share a hymnal with him and so I sent this video- Brent knows not to share a hymnal with me and I love him for it.
This article in the Wall Street Journal absolutely blew my mind. Apparently 1 in 4 people living in Idaho consider themselves to be a part of the Midwest!
I swear I signed the requisite permission slip but Ireland informed me I did not so I had to email the teacher my permission for her to read Lord of the Flies. Her teacher enjoyed it and later told me I'm the kind of parent she'd love to grab a beer with someday.
Friday nights are pizza nights!
The photographer who does the girl's dance studio sessions also does rain and color sessions. The results didn't come for a few weeks but the rain session was at the end of January and they had so much FUN taking those photos! The photographer's son works as an assistant and he had fun music and he clapped every time one of the girls finished their photos. It made the whole shoot so much more fun and I'm so glad I spent the money. Here the girls are stretching out to prepare.
I spotted the umbrellas and had to do one final photo with them- I can't wait to show you the final result!
