January 2022 Roundup

This roundup is short as most of January was dominated by time away in Dallas and Seattle. Dave also made a quick trip to Utah to meet up with friends. Other highlights for the month include Sophie starting basketball (later post), and just getting settling back into home after so much time away over the holidays.  

While I was in Seattle with the little boys, daddy treated the big kids to a day at Chuck E. Cheese and the Discovery Center

Griffin happy to be back home with all his stuffy loves

Sophie got a balloon kit for Christmas and learned to make several creations in the following weeks

The only pictures I have from Dave's guy trip to Utah. I'm sure they did lots of stuff, but the main activity was a ski day. 

Griffin and his super big dark eyes. We get comments about them everywhere we go.

I pulled all the games from the cupboard to get organized and find homes for the new ones we got for Christmas. All pulled out it was amazing to see how much that cupboard had been storing!!

Snow Day, then Right Back to Sun

At the end of January we had our first good snow of the year.  The storm brought a few inches and came on a Wednesday, which meant the kids scored a day off school. And then just to show you how random panhandle weather can be, only a few days later it was back to 68°! Snow was gone, and we had a nice play day at the park without even needing jackets!

Once the sun returned, and the day warmed up a bit, the kids went out to play

Enjoying some snow cones from the bucket of snow I scooped and saved in the freezer

Having fun at the park - you'd never know it was only 20° just a few days ago

Mom & Little Boys Visit Washington - Part Two (Cousins!)

A few days into our trip Aunt Nat was able to join us with her boys!! Charlie and Briggen always have the best time together and it was so fun to meet baby Hudson, who had recently turned 2 months old. The boys had a great time at Kids Quest and playing around the house. Charlie and Briggen played a game spanning several days where they pretended to be frogs and it kept them so entertained. 

Unfortunately William was sick so we didn't get to see his family until just before leaving, but they did stop by for an hour so we could meet baby Crusoe, who was born just before the New Year. He was still so tiny and new. We are thrilled to have another boy cousin added to this crazy crew!

Kids Quest is always a highlight - the box room can keep those boys busy for literal hours

Doing a puzzle together

Throwing rocks down at the water. The lake had risen all they way up to the Wiseman's patio.

Two little bear cubs - nice to meet you Hudson! 

Fun times on the sport court

Best buddies since birth

I always laugh at this photo because the angle makes Briggen look tiny even though they're actually the same size in real life

Meeting Crusoe, only 2 weeks old

Heading back home after a wonderful trip

The trek home from Seattle to Amarillo is often long and involves multiple flights. This time our itinerary was 10 hours and Griffin didn't fall asleep until the last hour. Luckily we had an empty seat on our row and he was free to play and sleep instead of having to sit on my lap.

Mom & Little Boys Visit Washington - Part One

Washington was calling to me extra hard this year since it was a Texas Christmas and two new nephews had been born since our summer trip. And if we waited all the way until the next July to visit, they would be big. So the logical move was to get there sooner! The boys and I flew to Seattle from Dallas after the holidays wrapped up, while Dave drove the two bigger kids back home to Amarillo.

Flying out of Dallas always means a pre-flight stop at Dunkin for a donut! Also my greatest hack for flying with kids is to bring your own garbage bag. So much easier than trying to collect trash in a little cup or shove it in the seat pocket.

Washington welcoming me home with a lovely sunrise

Cute pics of the boys from when we went down to the water to throw rocks

We spent a night at the cabin and there was lots of snow! This was Griffin's first real snow experience since last year he was still a baby and too young to go out and play.

Griffin helping Paco shovel

Charlie helped me build a snowman and then went inside to eat a snow cone

I got to have a ski day with my dad at Central, thanks to Grandmari watching the boys

Charlie, yet again, sleeping somewhere other than bed

My first ever Escape Puzzle! The story behind this one was you stumbled into a witch's kitchen while foraging in the forest. By looking for clues and solving riddles hidden in the puzzle, you would find which ingredient in the room would save your life. Unique and fun!

The boys got to model a new pattern for Aunt Amy' business. The was the Grow With Me Pullover. Both boys are actually wearing the same size, so it really does fit over the span of a few years!

It's hard to play outside in January, but when it wasn't raining, the boys had fun on the sport court