February Cold

 I have not been great at staying up-to-date on my blogging. But, in my defense, I have been really busy. Emma has been keeping us busy with homework, basketball practice, piano lessons, archery practice, reading, and baking experiments. Elliott keeps us busy with nightly reading, and of course some Pokemon playing. 

I have stayed busy with my food tracking and trips to the gym, Sunday school teaching and prep, certification exam studying, work, Health coach visits, suppers, and now starting to work in the greenhouse. Like I said, I've been busy. But it's a good busy, and it keeps me out of trouble. 

We just got through a really cold stretch. Like for two weeks it was highs of negative 3, and lows of negative twenty. It was cold and miserable and dark, and I'm really happy we have warmed up to around 30 degrees now. It feels great. Texas actually got some really cold weather too, and had pipes burst, lost power, and had some really big weather issues. Luckily they are warmer now too, but it wasn't good for a while. 

Covid-19 is still a thing, but it's hopefully getting better. The numbers are pretty good around here right now, and we currently have 3 approved vaccines to help fight against the virus. There are some variants of the virus that the CDC is watching, but hopefully as we get more people vaccinated, we can get closer to normal. Luckily, the kids have still had school and there have been no problems there, and the ASC continues to be open and functioning, so those are two "normal" things that I am loving. 

The kids did not have school this past Thursday and Friday, so I took those days off work and the kids and I had a mom and kids day. It was really fun. I woke up early and went to the gym, then had a call with a Fidelity advisor and then got the kids packed up and ready to go. We went to Tires, Tires, Tires to get my oil changed, and the kids thought it was great since there were cookies and pop in the waiting room. I also brought their Ipads along, and they were very content to sit and play on their Ipads while consuming sugar, Next, we went to Hy-Vee for some lunch and then we went to Midco for some swimming. The kids loved the swimming. They swam for a solid 2 hours and burned off some energy. This was the first time I had brought the kids to the Midco, and I didn't swim with them. It was really nice for me, and the kids didn't seem to mind. I studied for my CNOR exam while they swam and played. Elliott is now tall enough for the slide, so he went down that about 25 times. 

After all the swimming, we headed out to Jim and Barb's. We all worked in the greenhouse for a couple hours, and then I left the kids there for the night and headed home for supper. The kids wanted 2 sleepovers at Grandma and Grandpa's house. So, they have been there all day today. John and I have plans for a date night supper tonight, followed by some mindless TV watching. 

Tomorrow, we will go back to reality and go to the farm to work in the greenhouse and then bring the kids back home for the rest of the weekend. I have some baking plans with Emma, and otherwise plan to just have a nice, relaxing weekend with some studying and exercising thrown in. Oh, and shrimp bowls. I have big plans for Shrimp bowls this weekend. 

I'm looking forward to March, and nicer weather, longer days, manual labor, and hopefully inching our way toward normal. 

February Crafts and Outings

 Things feel like they are slowly getting back to normal around here. Thankfully, our numbers in South Dakota have really decreased and we are back to around 150 new cases a day. We did open the ASC on Monday, and it felt so good to be back. Of course some of the newness has worn off, and some of the irritating things have popped up again, but overall, it's amazing to be back. 

I have also been taking a few more trips with the kids lately. Last weekend I brought them both to the Washington Pavillion for a free carnival, and last night we went to the first Friday event and went to the Kirby Science Center for free. The kids had a really fun time, but there were so many people there it got pretty loud and crowded pretty quickly. 

Today, Emma and I ran a couple errands. We went to the library to swap out some books, and the we went to Hobby Lobby. We bought some Valentine's Crafts and also a Valentine gift to mail to Elena. It was pretty fun. In the afternoon, the kids and I worked on Valentine crafts. We had a great day.  It was freezing cold out today. I think the high was 4 degrees, and it was really windy, so it was a great day to be inside. 

Right now, everyone is showered, in their jammies, eating popcorn, and we are watching Abominable. It's a pretty special evening,  Family bonding time!

Tomorrow is super bowl Sunday. After church, we have some food to make, and then we are heading over to Hinners to watch the game. The kids are really excited to go there to watch the game, it should be really fun!

Not too much else has been happening around here. We seem to stay busy with all the school work, basketball practice, trips to the gym, and just general busyness. This week we are gearing up for the school Valentine's Party on Friday. The kids have already bought their Valentines and treats, and they can't wait to exchange them at school. I love holidays with kids. 

Well, tomorrow I am cheering for the Chiefs to win their second consecutive Super Bowl against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But really, I am planning on watching some great commercials and eating some good food. I love Super Bowl Sunday!

Emma and I baked a fondant heart cake 

Brownie waffles