January 2014

Well, here I am again, having skipped a blogging chunk but picking it up now rather than dragging around the weight of too many missed weeks!

Our January started out in a very unusual way...all four of us were sick with the flu, which was our shared "Christmas gift" from our family Christmas in Florida at my parents' -- most of us got it over the course of the week spent together.  It really threw us for a loop, and we spent two whole weeks lying around moaning.  The cats thought it was great to have so many laps available for so long -- they were the only ones who were happy about it!

Eventually we got well enough to get dressed and get started back to school again.  We hit our 100th day of school just before Christmas break, so we are trucking along nicely towards a completed year (180 days)!

David earned some extra credit while we were studying mechanical energy; he (voluntarily!) created a contraption demonstrating a fixed pulley.

We saw a hot air balloon over our house -- a rare occurrence and lots of fun.

Abigail baked gingerbread from scratch mostly by herself -- it was delicious!

We enjoyed a visit to my dad- and mom-in-law's in NC...and guess how many pictures I remembered to take -- NONE!  Grrr.... :(  We enjoyed a peaceful couple of days together (and my two slaw-dogs from Hot Dog World brought much happiness, too!). :)

I sewed a messenger bag as a gift for Abigail's friend's birthday.  I was very pleased with the finished product. (I used this free pattern if you're interested; I made several tweaks, of course, but the basic info is great.)

The kittens are still as adorable as ever.  Felix loves to share grooming love, but the girls don't always appreciate it.  This time it was mutually acceptable and very sweet!

And this week came the crowning event of our month -- SNOW!  Three inches of it, plenty for sledding -- and cold enough temperatures to keep it for a few days!  We have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Day 1...The flakes started to fall and school went downhill fast. :) I gave up and called a snow day, and the kids headed right outside!  We all held our breath and waited to see whether we would get enough for accumulation.

 We didn't have to wait long to know that this was going to be a 'real' snowfall!

 

 Day 2...It stayed, and now had a thick layer of ice underneath it.  More sledding, more fun...what a blast!  We sledded down our neighbor's hill and right across the ice- and snow-covered road toward our yard.

Day 3...it's still here!  We're supposed to inch above freezing temps and start losing it today, but the kids are milking every last ounce of enjoyment out of it that they possibly can.  I have enjoyed it very much, but I must admit that I am rather ready to be done competing with snow for the kids' attention in school, spending significant time during the day bundling and unbundling the kids and drying a zillion layers of clothing so they're ready to use again, and having sore muscles from sledding with the kids!  Yes, I am truly southern now.  I love to get snow for a few days and then I love to give it back again in exchange for our warm sun and easy-to-navigate winter weather! :)

Stay warm!!!