January Freeze

 January 2014 brought record breaking cold weather to Houston.  School was cancelled twice because of ice. And for about five minutes we even got some snow! 

On Friday we woke up to what we thought looked like rain drops. Upon further inspection, the kids discovered a world covered in ice.  Little ice droplets hung from every leaf, covered every surface, and clung to each blade of grass, making our yard sparkle all over.  School was cancelled.

The kids went "ice skating" on our back patio and "ice shoeing" across the lawn.  I think they touched (and tasted) just about every frozen morsel in our yard.

Nate had to scrape his windshield for the first time since Chicago and was very thankful for anti-lock breaks after skidding through a patch of black ice on his way to work. 

Then the sun came out again and Houston enjoyed it's usual warm January weather for two days until the temperature dropped again Monday night.  School was cancelled again on Tuesday.  And this time it snowed.  For about five minutes.  I love this picture of the kids out in the snow.  Look at Clayton studying the flakes on his gloves - in total awe.  Look at Isaac in shorts!  And of course it's impossible to close your mouth when there's falling snow. . .

Lydia took so long putting on her socks and shoes that by the time she came out, the snow was already gone.

So what do you on a snow day with no snow?  Read.  Read. Read.

And make cookies.

Eliza definitely doesn't get her culinary skills from me.  She was working so fast, I couldn't get a single picture that wasn't blurry.

We also practiced.  Which the boys are still mad about.  What?  Practice on a day when school is canceled?  So unfair!

The girls played "bear" with daddy.

And Isaac taught Eliza the true art of blanket superhero awesomeness.

Eliza wrote lots of stories.

While Lydia patiently listened to every single one.

We also discovered some leftover Halloween treats (and fangs) while cleaning.  Cleaning.  Cleaning. And that's how we spent our days iced in.  The boys felt robbed.

In January I sewed some foot charts for Eliza and Naomi.  If anything, they've helped to keep Eliza more in one spot (instead of dancing, turning, rolling, and flopping around as usual)

Aren't they cute?

The foot charts also make great violin mats for when the girls run off to play before the lesson is over.

And look, they even travel well.  Come to think of it, I might be more successful in the foot chart making business, than I am in the violin teaching business. hmm. . .

By way of other accomplishments this month, Brigham had his first entire week (for the whole school year) of perfect behavior! Woo-hoo! (it was a long time in coming). We celebrated at Monkey Joe's as promised.  The boys, of course, were nowhere to be found, but I did snap this picture of the girls before daredevil Eliza ran off to the big slides.

 After 11 of years of trying to convince my children, I finally have a pepper lover!  Eliza and I have been eating entire peppers for lunch.  Yum.

I made about a thousand (68) of these this month.  I'm so excited about the music for Primary this year. . . I've been singing nonstop.

And my 2013 blog book arrived in January.  Six years of blogging. 

Aren't they beautiful?

I went to grab my grocery list from the fridge and found some unusual writing.  "Coocez weth frostin, Orjuz, Cande" (cookies with frosting, oranges, candy).  Eliza has apparently noticed that whatever is written on this magic list ends up in our pantry.

Eliza found a gigantic stick in our yard on our way out the door to ballet class.

And here she is in class.  Dance is the love of her life.  And Mondays are her favorite days.

 We also went to the Symphony in January!  (Thanks for the tickets, Jess!)

   The Wild, Wild West concert was very entertaining with Cowboy Bob's rope tricks and the conductor dressed as a cowboy straddling a horse.  He had us laughing all the way through. The music itself was, of course, the best part. Fantastic!

Apart from the freezing days, January also brought some beautiful warm sunshine. We spent MLK day at the park with friends.  It was gorgeous.  All of Houston was out.  I snapped this picture of Lydia with dirt smeared all over her face.  She looked like a white Bengal tiger.

Baseball season is drawing near.  It has become the boys number one pastime. They play a game they call "Isaac Ball" which is a simpler, safer (plastic bat and wiffle ball) and kind of sillier version of the real game.  The kids love it.

Even Eliza gets in on the action.

She can even hit!

Brig and Isaac have recently taken the sport more seriously though and spend real time outside practicing with each other. Love this catch!

All in all, it's been a very happy January.  We're all hoping for a warmer February though.