January 2024

 

Miles had a fun top golf day with co-op friends as a reward for something in class. We invited friends over for a winter hot dog roast! 

Lindy got invited to go sledding with her friend Nellie!

My memory is fuzzy, but I think it was around this time that we realized our partnership with Shine Guys wasn't going to work out. That was a hard season. But one bright spot was that Richie was home a lot more and we took advantage of that! We don't get big snow days all the time, so we were excited for this one where the snow covered the road really well. Richie hooked up a line to the truck and we pulled the kids on sleds behind the truck for hours. It was a blast. 

Gwen and Lindy cashed in their Christmas present and we had a day at the salon. They both got pedicures, and then they both chopped their hair to donate! 

Gwen started doing Ballroom! My friend Chantal from co-op told us about their ballroom company, and I was so thrilled that Gwen could continue dancing without things getting unnecessarily mature. At her last dance place, we would watch the recitals and notice the older girls costumes, song choices, and moves were very mature. Gwen loved dancing, but we weren't thrilled about the future. Ballroom, specifically with this group, has been amazing!!

I can't remember now if Grandma and Grandpa Garner started doing school with the kids in January, or if they started at the beginning of the school year....either way, they decided to start coming over on Tuesdays and doing science and history with the kids. This was a blessing in many ways. I loved the idea of the relationship building going on, and it freed up not only brain space for me, but mainly freed up my time so that I had one full, uninterrupted day where I could work on my side hustles. I could make soap and deliver baskets without interruption, and it was wonderful. 

                                                        Homeschool ice skating day!

This cutie pie turned 15! He obviously got his number pancake and looks like we went to Costco for lunch. :) I'm not sure which birthday he started requesting it, but by now, most birthday dinners look the same for Miles; pulled pork sandwiches and german chocolate cake. He got a few presents, one being the online driver's ed course, so he could start preparing for that.  We had a party with friends this year, and the plan had been for them to play night games and roast hot dogs, but it ended up being extremely cold that year. I was worried and wondering how I was going to entertain all these teens inside. Turns out, they all loved playing out in the cold for hours! He's got such a good group of friends!