best january ever

So January has traditionally been my worst month. 

There was Janaury 2006 where were the naive parents of a pre-mature baby who wasn't getting enough to eat and we took off caffeine cold turkey. He cried for the entire month. (That was also the year WVU won the Sugar Bowl and that seems to be all that Ben remembers about January 2006.) 

There was January 2011 where were still adjusting to life in Morgantown and we circulated every gross pre-k germ Ted picked up at school. The 4 of us were sick all month long. That month also included a dentist pulling one of Ben's teeth that ended up being the wrong tooth and the one next to it ended in a root canal. We've never been sicker than that month.

Then there was January 2014. That was one for the record books. There were 11 days of school that month. 10 snow days. And a few regularly scheduled holidays. There too many days below 0 degrees to remember.  And at least one storm that left us under at least a foot of snow and a wet basement when it all melted. Things were bad that January.

Then came January 2015. Honestly, I didn't know what to expect. We had two trips planned. We knew we would be on the home stretch of our sabbatical. I didn't know what sort of shape Ben would be in by that time, and neither did he to be honest. But it turned out to be the best. We did Seven Springs. Puerto Rico. St. Lucia. And had a great month with the kids.  

They had one snow day that was a perfect amount of snow and just around 30 degrees. We headed out to the Kozels and did some sledding on the huge hill behind their house. It was a super fun day and we all played outside. (No pics from that day. Too much fun in the snow.)

We took the kids to see Annie. I really liked it. I read lots of reviews by people who have adopted or fostered that were kind of mixed. But we really liked it. The best part was that we went to the 4pm Super Matinee (super cheap tickets all around), got the refillable bucket AND had the entire theater to ourselves. Jackpot.

We celebrated my birthday.  Ben got on Pinterest recently for some new recipes and found this cake.

Death by Chocolate Cake:

made from scratch chocolate cake and icing

chocolate chips on the sides

snickers, twix, kit kat and something else on top

drizzle with melted chocolate

The thing weighed 20 pounds and it was a 3:1 ratio on the glasses of milk to the slice of cake.

We took some to the Kozels and Lily really enjoyed it. 

The girls had a pj date night while the boys had practice.

Naps on the couch.

Ben got me Brad Paisley tickets for my birthday. He kicked off his new tour in Morgantown. Great concert. We went to see him in 2002 or 2003 (our best guess) after his first album. Bethany went that year way back when and was there the night we went too.

We (well Ben) painted the kitchen. It was a JOB. The walls were terrible and required a lot of work to get them looking anywhere near good. I had painted lots of different sample colors friends had given me. Which always helps speed along the process. He finished about 6 hours before we caught our plane to St. Lucia.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, the kids got to spend some time with sweet baby Reed while they were in New Martinsville. I think this is one of the cutest pictures ever - the boys looking at each other.

Evidently he was a little cranky that day so they have yet to hold him. They still like him though.

Ted is learning new things around the house, including filling up the windshield washer fluid in the van. He also learned about jumping a car battery when our van battery was dead as a doornail. I think it was actually right after this that they got in the van and it wouldn't start. Next up, putting air in the tires.

 

So there you have it. Back to reality and work tomorrow as we head to Oglebay for one of our favorite weekends of the year.