January = COLD!

The New Year kicked off with some unseasonably warm weather (as in it was in the 40s), so we got to keep our tradition of a first day of the year hike! Though it was really more of a walk, the sunshine and blue skies were good for the soul. 

We got to enjoy a few more days of relative warmth and time outside. 

Roller blading has been a BIG thing for these three lately. They realized the sidewalk around the little playground by our house is the perfect "speed skating" track!

But then, Iowa winter hit in earnest! It was COLD! Cold enough to cancel school on a day when the HIGH was -15 (with wind chills MUCH lower), and cold enough that going outside really wasn't an option for over a week. So we hunkered down and tried to entertain ourselves inside. 

The girls hosted a game night that was a blast!

We played at the library...

And up in the attic...

We played in the tub. Walter is in a phase where he LOVES to play pretend. One minute he's a monster, the next Captain Hook, then a dragon, then Bluey, then Buddy from Dinosaur Train, and the list goes on and on. Here he is pretending he's a swamp monster with mud dripping of his "scary claws"!

Lenora and I competed in a Puzzle Competition with a sister in our ward and her father. It was a blast and we won third place! 

We skated on the outdoor rink. It was COLD but a lot of fun! 

One Thursday, we went on a field trip to a nature center with our homeschool co-op. Again, the outside portion was frigid, but SO cool. We learned how to identify trees in winter and how to determine the age of saplings. Luckily they had tons of fun indoor exhibits too. Mostly, it was great to get out of the house. 

Meanwhile, Eliza kept BUSY with wrestling. She worked SO hard at practice every day after school. She wrestled in a few more meets and cheered on her team at others. During a home tournament, she sadly hurt her shoulder. What she thought would heal up in a few days persisted for over a week. She eventually saw a doctor who diagnosed her with a sprain to her AC joint. Luckily it wasn't major and just need some PT and time to heal. So while her season didn't end ideally, it was a huge success in our books. She worked so hard and never game up. Way to go EE! 

We ended the month with a super fun afternoon ice skating as a family. It was honestly a bit of a long, dull, lonely month. But life has seasons. Those cold winter days sure make the warm sunshine feel all the more amazing! 

Safety Knees!