Saturday, February 2, 2019

January is my Jam


January is my Jam! We love January after the dust has settled from Christmas and New Years...because then we get to celebrate Cole! We're so glad he was born!
Cole loves Skylanders! And dragons! And clearly, money!
Cole chose a very traditional dinner of tater tots and sushi in 2019. What, you've never had such a meal? Hmph, and you thought you had culture! Nah, I tried to talk him into something that went together a little more, but he was determined! And I'm not going to complain when my kiddo asks for sushi. I feel like I've done my mama job right in those moments.
Of course, after all that sushi and tater tots, you need a cream puff instead of cake!
Cole was super excited to have his first friend party. He celebrated with silliness, and dancing, and a game with animals that I didn't quite understand, but hey! he planned his own party and everyone had fun, so I'm not going to complain!
What a fun, silly group!
He did ask for a "Camo" cake. Camo is a Skylander that looks like a little lizard or dragon, but he's really made of leaves and plants. 
This is the gang playing Cole's animal game. I love their creativity!
Cole loves the color Cyan.
He loves playing video games and soccer.
Cole's bff is Hyrum.
He wants to marry Lizzy when he grows up (I'm not protesting this!).
He loves lizards and dragons and snakes.
Cole is determined. He will make what he wants happen. 
Happy 6th birthday, Cole!

Things were pretty sedate for the rest of the month. The cold and snow kept us inside more than I'd like! But we still found fun things to do...


Like taking silly selfies...
and going on walks with our babies and shopping carts (inside)...
and karaoke...
and tea parties...
and massive blanket forts...
lots of reading...
and epic games of Rhino Hero Super Battle.

Tyler admired his full, lush beard and shaved it off in preparation to teach is winter term class at BYU.
He also proved that Jack was ready to start carrying his weight around the house.
Henry and Amelia placed in their class spelling bees and went on to their grade spelling bees. Henry placed 3rd in his grade bee and went on to the school spelling bee (which has from 4th-8th graders). He went out on the 4th round (with a lot of other, older kids) and had a great experience.
Tyler took the 3 oldest to see The Scarlet Pimpernel at the high school (which our friend performed in).
As a Christmas present, Tyler also gave Jack, Sheridan, and I tickets to the Hale Center Theater's production of The Wizard of Oz. Lexi Walker SLAYED that role. It was a very memorable night!

Amelia got her first crown (and she thought she didn't want to be a princess!).
Micah reconnected with a friend who moved out of our area and they hit it off (again). He LOVES playing with friends and making new friends.
Eliza perfected her ability to reach things up high. I may have developed an ulcer.
But she also perfected her drooly close-up, so it wasn't all bad!
Another SUPER fun experience was going to Thanksgiving Point's Butterfly Biosphere. We took the whole darn fam on a super snowy day.
It was like a little tropical paradise inside! There are lots of fun, interactive bug exhibits, but the biosphere was amazing. And also VERY warm. We loved spotting all the different butterflies, but the huge blue ones were the favorite.
At least, until this yellow and black fellow landed on Sheridan. That was so cool! Eliza was not impressed, but I didn't want to leave! We got some ice cream after, though, and that helped.
One odd moment in January was when a lost cat decided to adopt our backyard as his new home. Strangely, his sister (who had been missing for months) ended up in my friend's backyard and we were able to reunite all the kitties with their real families. If that isn't heartwarming on a cold January day, I don't know what is.
This month, we started doing meditation and trying to be more mindful and present. One the little boys chose was about building a snowman. So, we went out after and built a snowman! It was such a fun opportunity to be present and active while Eliza was napping and the big kids were off at school.
January is hard and cold, but we managed to have fun anyway! Ha! Take that, winter!