January

For Christmas, Paul's dad got us a National Parks pass (yay!). So, we took the first chance we could to get out to Shenandoah. We took a short hike, about a mile, to overlook a waterfall. We all loved it! Especially the half to the waterfall, since it was mostly downhill. The hike back up was a little harder so we slowed down a bit, enjoyed our surroundings, found hiking sticks, and stopped to swing on a branch we found hanging along the trail.

Also for Christmas, Jenna's aunt and uncle got her a sewing kit, and she's been having a blast with it. The second grade at her school was putting together a bazaar where each kid decided on something to make a sell (for play money they had earned). Jenna quickly decided she wanted to sew little pillows. She started weeks in advance, and worked really hard to get them done. I helped her with cutting them out and some of the decorations, but she did all the sewing and stuffing herself. I think in the end she made 25 pillows, and they sold out quickly at the bazaar.

Then we finally got some snow, and it was a TON! At least 2 feet. We shoveled the driveway half-way through the storm, and the snow still covered both cars when it was done!
Unfortunately, Liam got sick the next day and Paul still had to work (yes, he dug himself out and somehow got to work! I was so nervous!) so it was a few days before we got out to play. And it melted in record time, so we didn't make a snowman this year.

These boys are definitely keeping us entertained:

1 cent rides at the grocery store make the trip so much better!

But the biggest news of January 2016: Jenna got braces!
I know, it seems so early for that. Believe me, I went back and forth on the decision.  But for her situation, it's a major advantage to do 2 stages instead of waiting until all her teeth come in.
The whole process actually started back in October when she got an expander for her her upper palate. So the morning she got her braces, she knew what to expect and was excited about it. She got used to them very quickly and her friends think they are cool, so I'm really happy with our decision.