January

In January we:

*were invited on a hike with Spencer to Jump Creek Falls. It was just a short drive away over the Snake River and through the vineyards and orchards of Marsing.The cliffs were steep and the weather was cold (it began to snow on our walk back to the car), but the waterfall was really impressive and it was so good to get out of the house. We'll definitely make our way back there.

In January Ed:

*worked. Lots of people have asked what Ed's schedule is like, so here's what January looked like: 1 5-day trip for Delta (flying all over, including to New York, Florida, LA, Mexico, small Caribbean islands, Detroit, etc. etc. etc.), 1 3-day weekend in St. Louis working for the Reserves, and then 2 more 4-day trips for Delta. With our church now starting at 9:00, he was able to bid his schedule in such a way to be at church 3 out of 5 weeks in January (usually leaving shortly after church is done). That's a record. He's the low man on the totem pole, which means he works all the weekends. When he's gone, he's gone, but in between those trips he is home. All day. It's wonderful. People wonder how we handle this schedule, but I'm pretty sure we see Ed a lot more now than we did when he was active duty. I'm loving it.

*spent countless hours watching Making a Murderer with me while the Ks were at school and Karoline was napping. Still not sure how we felt about it all.

*took all of his girls on individual dates (including an early-morning date to the temple with me)

*was called to team-teach the 15-yr-old Sunday School class at church

In January, I:

*completed all of my New Year's Resolutions (that I never actually made...), including getting my visiting teaching done, going to the temple, reading the book for Book Club, and teaching all 4 girls piano lessons each week. Did not accomplish reading my scriptures every day (although I was pretty close), and failed miserably at always being patient and loving. But since I never actually made any resolutions, I'm still feeling pretty good about myself...

*got a new primary class and new team-teacher. I teach CTR 5 and have the sweetest 10 kids in the ward.

In January, Kimberlee:

*began to seriously consider which high school to attend next year. When we moved here we didn't realize we were in no-man's land. We are in Meridian, but are actually on boundary lines for the city, schools, and our ward. We are currently in the Mountain View high school boundaries, but due to overcrowding we are being moved to Meridian High (beginning in 2017, with the option for Kim to start in 2016 rather than changing high schools her sophomore year). We bought the house intending to go to Mountain View, and were not thrilled about the boundary change...but we've since found out some good things about Meridian. Another option is Renaissance High School, a charter school (?) focused on academics that Kimberlee applied to. The saddest thing for Kim is most of her good friends will still be in Mountain View boundaries. Sigh. I'm anxious to see what happens.

*had a sleepover at Grandma's for Martin Luther King day. She and Keira helped Grandma paint, stayed up late, did a puzzle, watched movies, did some family history, and took a trip to the craft store (because mom hadn't gotten around to taking them yet). She loved it.

*started the daddy/daughter dates with an impromptu lunch at Freddy's.

In January, Keira:

*loved the sleepover as well. She especially loved getting new yarn for her crochet projects and a journal at the craft store, and left unfulfilled because they didn't finish the puzzle.

*was asked to sing a musical number in church with her 2 good friends. When she told me, I said, "sure...wait, can you sing?" She said, "I don't know!" The ones in charge assure me she can. They'll finally perform on Valentine's Day. She also signed up to play prelude in Primary and takes that job seriously.

*chose to go window shopping at the mall for her daddy/daughter date. It's so Keira.

In January, Krista:

*won her class spelling bee, and so continued on to the school spelling bee. During her class bee they kept giving her words to see when she would mess up, and they finally had to stop for recess without her missing a single word. For the school spelling bee they did 2 rounds of 3rd grade words (Krista got "gentle" and "ladybug" and was pretty disappointed they didn't give her more impressive words like "marvelous" and "innocent"), and then moved on to 4th grade words. Krista hadn't studied the 4th grade words, but got "routine" right. She and a boy named Brody were the only 2 not to be eliminated that round (other poor kids were getting words like "precipitate," "veterinarian," "rhythm," and "unilateral"), and they needed 2 students to send to the multi-school spelling bee so Krista and Brody won. She spent the rest of the month studying the 3rd and 4th grade words for the next bee.

*mummified a carrot and built an Egyptian watering system in Challenge (G/T). I love seeing her excited about school.

*went to Subway for her daddy/daughter date, then "convinced" Ed he needed to go look at Mastercraft boats with her.

In January, Kassie:

*was super excited about the scripture chart she was given in Primary. If she colors in 30 days she gets a treat. She dutifully read her scriptures every day...until she lost her card. She obviously couldn't read without the card, and eventually it was replaced and she began again.

*had the family home evening assignment of "activity" and convinced us all the play Rock Band. We haven't played in quite a while, but Kassie killed it on the drums.

*had a Pizza Hut Book It! coupon so that's where she went for her daddy/daughter date. She even allowed Karoline and I to tag along.

In January, Karoline:

*started nursery! I was counting down to this day and it didn't disappoint. She saw the toys, walked right in and was completely fine. I thought we were home free. Sadly, the next week she began to cry as we got to the nursery door. I stayed for a few moments until they pried her off me, then went to teach primary. 15 minutes later they brought her to me - she wouldn't stop crying. I stayed with her the rest of that day. The next Sunday she started crying as we left the chapel. I stayed with her for a long time, then tried to sneak out while she was distracted, but she caught me and escaped into the hall with me before they could grab her back. She ended up helping Ed substitute for Kassie's primary class that week. The next Sunday she started crying as soon as we said the closing prayer in sacrament meeting (she's not dumb, this one). I took her and encouraged her to play. She wanted to keep a hand on me at all times, but I made her go get different toys. Finally I told her I had to go to my class, and she started freaking out, but I told her she was fine and then left. And she was! She stayed in nursery the whole time, did great for all the structured time (singing time, snack, lesson), but struggled with the unstructured stuff. The next Sunday she went back to being inconsolable, but I know eventually she'll be fine. She is my first to not love nursery right away. How grateful I am for sweet, patient nursery leaders while we train this stubborn mama's girl.

*read a lot of books. She especially loves ABC books (just like Kassie) and loves to point to letters and say "A!" "B!" "Y!" She doesn't point to the right letters, but that's beside the point. She also loves to sing, and can actually carry a tune - her favorites are "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes," "ABCs" and "I am a Child of God" (although with that one she doesn't say any of the words, just sings the tune). She only believes in singing LOUD.

*got into plenty of mischief. Like the day she colored all over her hands and feet with washable markers. It's a lie. They don't always just wash off.

Not terribly exciting, but that was our month!