Goodbye, January

hockey on the driveway
football in the backyard....in January!

Surprisingly, I don't know if I'm happy about January ending or not. It hasn't been as bad as I had expected. In fact, it's been a fun month for our family and we've had enough sunny days to get me through those terrible inversions. It got so warm that a lot of our snow melted and we've had grass in the backyard for football and a dry driveway to play basketball and street hockey. Jason and I were laughing at the kids last Sunday. Aidan was pulling Sadie around in the toboggan on the one tiny patch of snow we have in our yard. It was pretty funny...Aidan would like more snow. That, or he told me he'd settle for a trip to Hawaii so he can surf in the ocean. I'd settle for that too.

Jason, Sam and I went ice skating with the first graders last week. I pushed Sam in the stoller and he was sound asleep after only two laps. So I got to skate with Jason and Sadie...even though I could barely keep up with either of them. It was fun watching those little kids trying to balance. I felt bad for some of them that kept falling over and over again. They were all pretty good sports though.
Mrs. Wallin's cute first-graders
They all made matching stocking hats to wear on their ice skating field trip.

A beautiful January afternoon.

My favorite time of day is 3pm when the kids come cruizing down our sidewalk on their skateboards from the bus stop to home. There is just enough of a downhill that they can get going pretty fast, but not scary fast. Sam and I go outside to welcome them when the weather is nice enough to venture outside. At the beginning of the school year Cole and Aidan took turns giving Sadie a ride on their boards....they would sit on bums and straddle the boards. They can balance and steer their boards amazingly well from this postition and usually they take a detour in Marilyn Isrealson's circular driveway. I took a whole bunch of pictures in the fall of this daily ritual. Like I said, I really love it. I have since realized all those fun photos were accidentally deleted, with many other fall pictures. This makes me really sad, because Sadie is now taking her own board...just like her brothers. Maybe I will talk them into doing tandem again...at least for one picture.

About the only time I can really get something done is Sammy's naptime. I go full speed while he sleeps...at least I try to. But sometimes I have to just sit and stare at him and marvel at how beautiful he is, especially as he dreams.

I took this picture of Sammy smiling at me...just after he had pulled all of my clothes out of my dresser drawers.

January has been a great month for boarding as well. Cole makes the rails and jumps at the terrain parks look easy...but just ask Jason....it's not as easy as it looks. I won't even try boarding...the last time I tried it, over 15 years ago I was so sore I swore I wouldn't do it again.
Jason is so good about trying new tricks, however painful they may be, (grindrails included) out of love for his kids....and I'm sure, for the fun of it too.

Sammy has been loving this orange smelling play-dough. He's played with it all month. It's starting to get a little dried out though....time to make more. And time for February to begin!