Juan-uary

January has come and Januray is going and I must admit, it's been a good one. We jumped right into the longest month of the year with the longest day at church. My kids were troopers through and through. We left the house at 8 AM, Kevin and Julia babysat while Cody and I were in meetings, we ate lunch in the kitchen after church while Cody was in a third meeting and we walked back in our house just a few minutes after three. To reward these munchkins for the best behavior ever, I wanted to have a fun dinner. We went with cheese and chocolate fondue, it was indeed a hit. After the boys turned in for a football game the girls and I were still dipping in chocolate when Julia said, "mom, do you do fun things like this so we can have neat experiences?" It made the day and dinner prep worth every second. 

Elena chose Januray to welcome tooth one and tooth two. Thankfully both came in without a hitch or any loss of sleep. She also chose Januray to start using her walker and to learn to wave "night, night!" As soon as I start filling her bottle, her hand starts opening and closing just as quick as can be. A good sign she's ready to snooze!

Kevin started Hockey this month and jumped in head first. He listens very well at practice and loves being on the ice. We've spent many afternoons getting In some skating practice. He's a little upset I won't buy him real hockey gloves and pants, but due to the fact the season is a whole 6 weeks, with only six total practices, he will have to wait til he's certain Hockey is his thing. (Mean Mom, right here!!!)

Julia also started figure skating. With a few bumps along the way, she is up on newly sharpened single blades and finally enjoying her time on the ice as well.

Lacey is a ham. She's a tease and an antagonizer. She's decided she knows best and doesn't need anyone's help or opinion. She's also decided being grumpy is where it's at. :( she's started making her bed and cleaning her room every morning like the big kids as well as doing chores. Her personal favorite is dumping garbages and if she ever sees a garbage can without a liner, you can bet your last dollar it will have one soon. She's full of funnies. One in particular, on Sunday during the sacrament she leaned over and whispered," Mom, I like your hair! Did you use the same towel to dry your hair that you used to dry your butt?" I was certain I had misunderstood her, 1-we don't use the word butt at our house 2- WHAT?! After having her repeat herself four or five or six times, I had a really hard time not bursting out in laughter and never did answer her. Oddly, she NEVER whispers at church, EVER and thankfully, this was one time she chose to use her whisper voice.  She's got a memory like you can't believe and has recently relived some of our fun times from our Idaho trip last summer. It's fun to get her perspective.

Cody has been a busy bee this month with work trainings and mutual activities so we've taken Daddy time where we could. One night was on a terribly long drive to pick up a generator he purchased on craigslist. I decided before leaving that we weren't taking any car entertainment and that we were going to entertain each other. It was probably one of our funnest car rides together. The moon was orange, we stopped for a delicious Italian dinner, learned some new Spanish words, told some awful jokes, and had a great time laughing together. We also went swimming with our neighbors to a hotel pool. After swimming for a few hours, we devoured lunch in the car and then went ice skating with Cody and his mutual group. We were all pooped by the time we got home, super cross stared that night, but we were all fast asleep before the first race was under way. I know my husband loves me because this morning before he left on a week long trip he went grocery shopping. He came home with all the goods including pre made pizza crust, corn dogs, chicken nuggets, and three cartons of my favorite ice creams. (All of which are not on our normal shopping list.) while I was unloading he said, "you don't have to do any real cooking all week and ice cream to get you through the long evenings!" That boy loves me and I love him right back!

And of course, The Bachelor has made January a bit better too. (I admit, I watch, I'll also admit, Juan Pablo is prett dang cute! I'll also admit, I already have the best boyfriend ever!)

I'm grateful we have enjoyed January and am surprised it is going already. Here's to February, I CANT WAIT!!! I love the month of love and I also learned that Random Act of kindness week is feb. 10-16. Another thing I'm absolutely giddy about. Not to mention, Cody's sister, Shasta will be coming for 10 days, Cody and I will leave on a 4 day 3 night romantic getaway, and we will send February out with Shasta flying out and my mom flying in, just minutes apart. 

We are blessed and we know it!!