Saying Goodbye to January

Saying Goodbye to January! Another 31 days that have sped by. Is it true the older you get time speeds up, or is it our world in general? Wouldn't you would have loved to have seen the days/weeks/months 100 years ago, when there was nothing to do but make your own butter, salt the pork your husband just killed, mend clothes that you've had for years, etc. I've been re-reading the Little House on the Prairie series (well, in between my newfound addiction of the Hunger Games). I love the books. I've read them dozens of times. I can't wait until Reagan doesn't want pictures to look at and can just listen to the stories as I read them. I love the simple times they had, how they knew so, so much about surviving. It's fascinating to me. Although I was born and raised in this era for a reason, I love to remember where we came from, and how FAR we have come! We have spent much of the month freezing out little tooshies off, and praying that if it has to be so cold, can we at least have snow on the ground :( We haven't even put on snow clothes or enjoyed the usual bowl of koolaid snow! Either way, I guess "freezing in the winter" in this day and age is much more pleasant!
Early in the month, Mike went to Las Vegas for the yearly Retail Convention. While I'm sure he enjoyed a little R&R time with the "dudes", we were here running the store, traumatizing our child with too much daycare (hence a month long cold he can't get rid of), and eating noodles and raman too many meals, because mom was tired. However, I'm so proud of him and his accomplishments the last year!! He was given the Franchise Rookie of the Year from the Pro Image Corp. A great accomplishment and recognition for him, and a little proof to his former company, that no matter their silly tactics to try to get him to fail, he definately knows what he's doing and they don't have a say in someone else's success. He, of course, will be embarrassed I even mentioned he got the award :)
We've had a busy month with family things. My niece was baptized in Burley and the kids and I were able to go and of course, spend time with family! The next weekend, we traveled to SLC for a weekend of fun (minus a sick little guy). We were able to have fun visiting with family, do a little shopping, eat at some yummy places we miss, catch up with "old" friends, and enjoy each other's company. My niece, Dakota, went with us and that provided great company for me while driving, and my kids love her so she is able to help out as well!
We were then visited by my sister Heather, and her kids and had a fun time swimming, making pizzas, eating banana splits, playing Monopoly, staying up too late, eating too much, but loving every minute of it!




Reagan has started tumbling, and will soon stop dance. She seemed a little disinterested and excited for something else, and the drive to dance was getting a little hectic for me, since my wild child won't allow me to stay at the dance while she is there and therefore, I either have to drive around for an hour, or hope he would sit in the car for an hour and watch a movie (which normally didn't happen).
Both kids will start swimming lessons soon at our gym and we are totally excited about that!
Last Saturday, I put on a little Tea Party for Reagan and 7 of her friends. She was able to invite 2 girls from her class and then neighborhood girls. WOW!! It was wild! Those girls ran around screaming, shouting, and playing (yes, even in their pretty little dresses)! We read the book, Tea for Ruby, decorated picture frames, painted fingernails, had some yummy food, and capped it off with decorating cookies and cupcakes. The girls all had a blast, and as a mom, it's so fun to see that and to see Reagan's eyes just aglow with excitement! Thanks to my sister Jessica who was here to help out. NO WAY I could have done that on my own! We had a nice visit her, did some shopping, crafting, and enjoying each other's company.





Here's to February and another crazy month of activities!!