Winter in the Rockies

If I were a scientist I would conduct an experiment as to why January goes by so sloooooowly. It really does, I swear! Time seems to stand still after the hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving and Christmas, everyone gets sick and seems to stay sick, and the weather is just as dreary as the fact that there is nothing to look forward to for months. I've always admittedly been afflicted by the January blues. In fact, if you have any money laying around, you can donate it to me so I can use it to plan a Caribbean cruise to avoid this phenomenon next January fund my very earth-shattering research into this subject. Thank you.

Anyway, here's a little somebody who could chase away anyone's January blues! This little dress has been hanging in her closet for over a year, and now it finally fits. She looks like a Southern belle.

She is getting so big! Walking and talking and acting like she's a big kid doing all the same stuff the big kids do. The days feel so long with four little kids to constantly take care of, but I remind myself that it does go by in a blink of an eye. It seems like Leah was just barely this size, and now she's in preschool, headed straight for kindergarten!

We start to get some amazing sunrises and sunsets this time of year, as the days lengthen back out. I caught this one on the way to piano lessons one night, just as it was fading behind the Rockies.

Lucy's BOB team, the "Lightning Rebels" came to a disappointing and frustrating end this season. They DOMINATED the mock-battles throughout the fall, accruing over 200 points (most teams had around 100) and reigning as the only undefeated team out of about 20. As you may recall, they got 2nd runners up in the city finals last year, so they were really gunning for el Champions this year. They easily made it to the final school battle which is held at an all-school assembly (pictured below), and then ended up losing by ONE measly question!

They throw out the point totals (which I think is dumb) and it's whoever wins or loses this battle that goes on to the city battles. They missed one of their last questions, and the other team didn't know it either, so if the other team had gotten that question first, our team literally would have won and moved on. They lost 9-10. Luck of the draw, I guess. They were gracious losers in their defeat, so we are proud of them for that. The team that ended up winning hasn't done very well so far in the city battles, which just goes to show our team was better prepared and SO ready for redemption! There is always next year and their coach already has them reading books to get ready.

Here's Miss Lizzie helping me on a recent Costco run. This was just after Lucy, Jon, and I passed around a nasty stomach bug and we were finally fit to be out of the house again!

Resourceful Lucy had a school project to make a representation of the Colorado state flag, so she found a cake recipe online, baked the cake, made the frosting, and decorated it to look like the Colorado flag pretty much all by herself. She is amazing. And she's just 10, for crying out loud!

And last but certainly not least, Jon got his own little "Mans Weekend" when he traveled to the wilds of Idaho for a snowshoeing retreat with my dad and brother and some other manly men.

Idaho has gotten a TON of snow this winter, as you can probably see. I think there's a few feet of snow up on that cozy little cabin they shared!

There was actually almost TOO much snow for where they wanted to go, and some of the roads and trails were snowed in, but they had blue skies and sunshine, and a good time exploring the backcountry nonetheless. It's amazing what a little vitamin D does for the soul.

And of course any adventure with Maddog includes a hot springs, where they could relax and do manly-men things in. Looks pretty good to me! I'm so glad he got a little mini-vacay to shake things up a bit, a chance to sleep in, some fresh air, and a few good greasy rib-sticking post-backpacking meals to fatten him back up. It was worth a weekend at home alone with the kids to see him come back refreshed and recharged! So although January has been long and a bit dreary, we've stayed busy as usual, and we don't mind at all that Old Man Winter is finally on his way out....