January Happenings 2021

We started off January with a stomach bug. Poor Paige woke up in the middle of the night throwing up and did a couple times after that. Unfortunately, she was sick on her leader day at preschool which was such a disappointment. She handled it pretty well and bounced back in no time just as Paige does. This kid is resilient. 

Mr. Jude the dude comes out every now and then to grace us with his presence. I have said it many times, but he is a great little pet. He is very low maintenance but has been great company for Ella. He comes out of his hole when she is in her room. He likes it when she is holding something fuzzy and he climbs right out into her hand. 

Paige is still living her best life at preschool. She LOVES school, and I hope that continues through the years. She has made friends and is having a great school year. I'm afraid it will be over before we know it though. It's hard to believe I'll be sending her off to kindergarten next school year. 

Paige and her crew of friends

Rylee comes over every now and then to play with Paige, and Paige eats it up. She loves being the bigger cousin. She is like a little mother hen. Rylee thinks Paige is hilarious, and Paige loves to entertain her. 

Paige started private gymnastics lessons and is loving it. They are an hour long and it's kind of intense, but she does great. She has come a LONG way in the listening department. We had to quit swim lessons when she was four, because she couldn't listen. She has grown up a lot in the past year. 

Paige was carrying on a full conversation with her coach, Lauren, and this was the first time they had met. Only Paige! 

Ella had two weeks of virtual school in January due to a staff shortage (COVID). It was a long two weeks. She is a much better student at school. I never would have imagined last year at this time school could be done virtually and here we are. 

We get sent pictures from preschool almost every school day this year which is so fun. Due to COVID parents aren't allowed in the building so this is a great way to keep up with what they are doing.  Paige is in a class with a lot of girls this year which has been so good for her. She has made quite a few friends, but she really likes Tinley. 

Elliott loves to burrow. One day I sat down on the bed and the pillows started moving. I had no idea he was behind the pillows. He loves to be close or in-between something. 

He is the sweetest dog unless you try to get in-between him and some food scraps. 

Pajama day was at the end of January. Paige loves wearing her Jammy's to school. They were learning the letter "P" that week so they wore Pajamas, ate Pizza and Popcorn, and watched Peppa. It was a great day. 

Adam and I did something kind of crazy. We had been thinking about a new SUV for awhile. They are perfect for road trips, and we had been renting one each trip. We finally decided to buy one but couldn't find the car we wanted anywhere. I finally tracked one down at a dealer in Kansas City. We made the decision to buy it, rented a car, lined up my parents to watch Ella and Paige, and headed there the next day. We drove 12 hours round trip to pick up the car. It was completely worth it but a very long day of driving. 

I see many road trips in this car in our future.  I hope it sees many states around the US. 

This is the first time we have ever had a bow on a car we bought. 

It poured rain the ENTIRE six hour drive home which made it seem even longer. I was never so glad to pull in the driveway. We made a wrong turn and ended up driving by the arch in St. Louis which was neat to see at night with all the fog. 

Northern Michigan- New Years

We are headed home from a little getaway to Northern Michigan, Harbor Springs. A few weeks before Christmas I told Adam it would be fun to go on a trip since Ella and Paige both had two weeks off for Christmas break. We searched high and low for vacation rentals within driving distance of Indiana. It was almost impossible to find anything. 

After sending an email to an owner of a vacation rental we use in Michigan she suggested the Harbor Springs area in Northern Michigan. There was one house available for rent the week we wanted, and I jumped on it. It was almost like it was meant to be. 

We headed out the Tuesday after Christmas. It was a nine hour drive which made for a long day. Once we finally arrived Paige was so excited to get out in the snow. The snow was one of the main reasons for picking Harbor Springs. There was just enough snow to play in, but not too much that made it impossible to get around. 

Our rental had a wood burning fireplace. Each morning Adam would get it going. We stayed in pajamas until lunchtime, and I drank way too much coffee. It was so nice not to rush around or worry about our normal routine at home. 

It snowed the first day we were there, and it was so pretty. Before we headed out for the day we played in the snow for awhile. 

Paige LOVES the snow! I took a pair of waterproof gloves with me for her and ended up buying another pair while we were there. Neither would stay on her hands. 

This picture represents how I felt about being on this trip. I loved it! 

Paige and Ella both had to make snow angels. 

We stayed at 4188 Turfway Trail. Our rental was called "scenic sanctuary" which is exactly what it was. 

It started snowing before we headed out so I set up my tripod for a picture. Luckily everyone cooperated. My picture taking gets annoying to everyone, but there is a reason for it. :) 

We headed to Downtown Harbor Springs for a little shopping. There weren't many stores, but it was fun to walk around. Their Christmas tree looked like something out of a movie. It was beautiful!

 

We grabbed lunch and headed back to eat. (everything restaurant in Michigan is carry out only right now). After lunch we went out to play in the snow. 

Finally some relaxation! 

This kid has no idea how lovely she is!

I absolutely loved this house. The neighborhood was so pretty. It was perfect for this vacation!

Later that night we drove back downtown so I could see everything lit up. It was like something out of a Christmas movie. 

 

The next day we lounged around for way too long. We ended up grabbing lunch at the same restaurant from the day before and went to see Little Traverse Bay. Lake Michigan looks completely different in the winter as it does in the summer. Still beautiful, but SO cold. 

I loved this statue of a boy holding his sailboat. 

After lunch we headed to Petoskey, MI to go downtown. Yet again, it looked like something out of a movie. We didn't find many souveneirs this trip, but it was still fun to walk around. 

I made reservations at Boyne Valley Vineyards for New Years Eve. We rented a heated igloo to enjoy wine, hot chocolate, and snacks. It was a fun, different experience. 

Tri-pod for the win again! 

Nothing like sitting and listening to your twelve year old lecture you about drinking wine. :) 

Someone brought their sweet dog to work, and she couldn't stay out of our igloo. It may have had something to do with the snacks we were giving her. She was such a sweet dog though and made our visit there even more fun. 

On our way back to our rental we made a pit stop at Walmart, because Adam wanted to make a purchase. They didn't have the item he wanted (some virtual reality game), but they did have this sequin dress which was perfect for new years. 

Paige came back and put it on and wore it with pride until she hit rock bottom that night. 

Happy to be spending another new years with them!

A beautiful morning view from the deck. 

We were supposed to go snow tubing that day, but decided not to go. We were all tired and could not get moving. Instead, Adam built this igloo. He made a huge pile the first day so it could get hard, and then he chiseled it out. It took way longer than he expected but turned out so neat. 

Chiseling away!

Two hours later....

It even had windows!

It was another great trip. I wasn't sure about going right after Christmas and going somewhere new is always iffy. We had so much fun though, and it was a nice break from the normal routine. I have learned over the years that you will probably never regret going a trip but probably will regret not going. I'm thankful for all the extra time together and memories made!