January Happenings

To start off the new year, we were diligent in taking down all the Christmas decorations and attacking the Garage.   The kids went through their saved art and edited their belongings as well.  We threw away two garbage bags full of school papers, reports and art that the kids had wanted to save.

I gave away and condensed a lot our garage possessions and organized my she shed.  

It's so nice to know where all our storage is and be able to access it easily.

Flower by an 8 year old Tim

A side note: Tim is nearly done with braces.  (Mind the gap)  The ortho said that all they have to do now is finish off closing up the gaps in his teeth.  I thought the gap in front was just part of his genetics and would stay, but they assurred me it would close up soon.  I'm excited for him to be almost done!

3rd grade Tim

Watercolor by 6 year old Aaron

Dinosaur pre-school picture by 5 year old Aaron

While I held down the fort and organized the garage/shed, Scott went on his first work travel Conference in two years to San Diego.  

Of course Scott positioned himself in the least visible spot (the back right)

His professor, Tony Waas, from U of Michigan got an award 

and had a gathering afterwards for alumni who had worked with him.

The hotel.  Scott said next time he hopes to reserve his room earlier to get a room in the conference hotel.   He had to walk quite a lot back and forth from his hotel to the conference, but he said the hotel was in a really "hip" part of town with lots of outdoor cafe's and fun nooks.

We had our first big snow and the kids got a REAL snow day with NO virtual learning!  

They enjoyed being outside and getting to drink cocoa and watch a movie.

Before.....

I went to the open house for Campbell farm, just a few minutes from our house.

No one at home wanted to go, and they missed out on a cool tour and delicious refreshments.  I enjoyed some adult conversations and treats.

......After! 

They added a beautiful covered porch, and are keeping the charming while updating everything to modern convenience.

We have had several good ice skating days this month.  The ice is perfect right now.  Once we get another big snow, we'll have to shovel to find the ice again, but for right now, it's all perfect for skating!

I was motivated to learn and read and improve my yoga teaching this month and read a lot of different literature.  I learned more about breath, functional awareness and was reminded of poses I don't use as often, etc.    One tip: Nose breathing is much healthier than mouth breathing.  I knew this already, but it solidified my resolve to breath more through my nose during yoga, and to train my night breathing as well.

"Nothing Much Happens" is a great read for anyone who wants something soothing to read to get you to ready to sleep.  It's much better than I expected and certainly had the right effect!  It's also available on podcast.

I also read "Lincoln's sisters" a historical fiction with lots of truth about Abraham Lincoln's wife and sisters, and "Christmas Bells" with lots of history about Longfellow, the poet.  

It was really interesting and I learned a lot about the era.  Longfellow lived in Cambridge and is buried in Auburn Cemetery with his two wives.  I would love to go visit their graves now.

Aaron getting on an early morning bus to school.

My first Amaryllis bloom (from Lisa).  

I ended up with 4 blooms at once!

Making a volcano at Paribo's house

Her mom has a lot in common with us!  She teaches yoga at the studio with me and she and her husband who graduated from U of Michigan in Engineering!

Ollie thought of an interesting way to eat his English Muffin

Cora Jane 

age 8

Tim's First Lego League teachers and his teammate Daniel.

They came away with 2nd place in the state of NH for their Innovation project on Nanofibers.

Very exciting!

I got to pull out the XC skis for the first time this season and ski around around Mack's applies and near the Rail trail, first with Tim and Aaron and the next day with three girl friends.  It was icy, but manageable skiing.   We need to practice for our hut to hut ski trip next month in Maine!

A pandemic update: COVID cases have been the highest they've ever been since 2020 this month. 

Somehow we've been able to avoid COVID the last two years, however, testing for every cough or belly ache is part of life these days.  

We are grateful that Scott, myself, Tim and Aaron have been able to get fully vaccinated and get boosters.  Cora has had her 2 vaccines and Oliver will be able to get his starting next month after his birthday.    

We had a long break feeling that we could unmask, however, we have again continued to mask at school, at church, and in public again as cases are so high.  We look forward to summer when we will likely be able to unmask again and have some normalcy.