Our family had a great time in January. We kicked off the new year with a lunch at our friends, Melissa & Matt’s house and then had dinner with family at Uncle Ben and Aunt Nancy’s house. It was a full day but so wonderful to see and celebrate with both friends and family at the start of the year.
Much of the month was spent getting back into the swing of things after the holidays and doing our best to stay healthy. Hank had a blast playing with his cousins and he really enjoyed visiting the Mayborn Museum with his cousins, Micah and Johanna (and thier mom, Christiane). It was great watching the kids explore all the cool rooms at the museum. Then, Hank had a little road trip with Christiane, Micah and Johanna to visit GG and Grandad. GG and Grandad took Hank to Great Wolf Lodge with his cousins Ainsely, Dalton and thier parents, Uncle Geoff and Aunt Traci. There, Hank discovered the joy of water parks over an icy January weekend (the water park is inside the hotel). While Hank was visiting with GG and Grandad, Tyler and Sarah enjoyed some much-needed down time and got to catch a stunningly gorgeous show from the classical Chinese dance company, Shen Yun.
Hank had a blast on several indoor playdates (due to the ice and cold this month), going to Sam’s with Grandpa (one of his favorite activies with Grandpa is going to Sam’s or Costco with him) and he also enjoyed going to his Bible study class, BSF. Hank visited The Thinkery (our local and newly rebuilt children’s museum), which he loved, and he had fun at his science class at the nature center this month. One exciting thing for Hank, was his return to violin. He didn’t actually beging playing again in January, but he did meet with his teacher to select his new violin. He is SO excited about playing violin again.
At the end of the month, our friend, Carolyn, invited Hank and Sarah to help her prepare dishes for a Chinese New Year celebration at her house. Hank really enjoyed helping with the preparations, especially when it involved working in the kitchen. He helped Carolyn prepare the batter for the shrimp fritters (which she fried) and he helped prepare Chinese tea leaf eggs with Mom, diligently peeling each egg. We were surprised to learn he really enjoyed the flavor combination on the eggs (which had a stong anise flavor – he doesn’t like licorice). Hank was energized by all the guests and got to stay up well past his bedtime. It was a great celebration.
Such a fun month! Here are some photos in no particular order. Enjoy!
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