Go, Go, Goers!

For most of us (sorry, Scott!), this was a shorter week. G had conferences on Wednesday night (he's doing great!) and then he had Thurs & Fri off of school. Ava had Friday off of school for a staff development day, so I took Friday off in solidarity. The things we do for our kids...ha! I had a great day off - I think I need to take more! Not sure what he was doing here...watching YouTube probably! Morning snuggs with the Pria...we should all be so cozy Ava had a few crafty crates that she was never going to do, so I confiscated this one. I made this all, by hand! Wire sculpting is not as easy as I thought, but I am very pleased with how this turned out. Must capture moments of peace when they appear! My friend, Emilie, and I went to the Minnesota Ice Festival on Friday night. We spent most of the time trying to get out of the ice maze, and then warmed up by a bonfire. We topped it off with a really good dinner out at an Indian restaurant in the area. It fills my heart to spend ...

This past Thursday, we all went to G's first band concert! It seems like such a long time ago that we were at Ava's first band concert at Red Pine, and yet...one of the songs that they played on Thursday night was one that she played in 5th grade as well (Let's Go Band!) After they played their songs, Ava admitted that it gave her goosebumps. Not too shabby for a first year band! G and I went to see the new Dog Man movie on Friday after school/work...and it was National Hot Chocolate Day, so we each got a free hot chocolate, as well!  Not too many exciting things happened this week...there was taekwondo, dinner with a friend, dentist appointments, pep band for basketball, school, lots of work, LifeTime classes, and Pria and I managed to get out for a walk over lunch on one of the days that it was almost 50 degrees. We had both forgotten what it was like to be outside with the sun shining, and not freezing!  It's very blustery and cold right now, and we even had a light ...

It was really cold this week. Cold enough that they cancelled school for the kids on Tuesday, giving them a long 5-day weekend. They haven't had any snow days this year, so this was a good plan...standing at a bus stop or walking to school in those low temps is dangerous. It's warmed up a bit, so now it's finally warm enough to snow. It was surreal seeing pics of palm trees this week covered in snow, while we barely have any remaining snow on the ground. But, again, we were dealing with temps in the -30s, with wind chill. This is how Pria stays warm in these chilly temps! Garrett was accepted into the Minnesota Junior Winds first year Honor Band. Hooray! I thought that maybe everyone who was nominated got to go, but it turns out that only 4-5 kids are selected from each school. I'm so proud of him! He'll be receiving the music soon, and he'll have a month or so to practice before a one-day rehearsal with everyone else, and then a concert. I can't wait! I wen...

The kids bathroom needed a little repair (the wall by the shower was getting wet, so Scott needed to scrape out the old stuff, and fix it all up.) We let the kids choose the new paint color (I was thinking cream), and Ava realllly wanted a soft yellow (G didn't care.) So, that's what we did! But that's led into needing a new shower curtain, new towels, new art, etc. It's been fun, and we've been taking our time picking things out. It's been the same since we moved in 11.5 years ago, so it was time for an update. G earned his first stripe on his blue belt this week - we are so proud! This week has been a lot of time spent in the home, relaxing, and enjoying the slowness of January. I also picked up a new class at the gym - dance! I have been so used to going barefoot in my classes (barre and yoga) that I didn't bring any shoes for dance. I had to wear Crocs! I do not recommend that, haha. Next week, my friend is joining me in the dance class; I hope she loves...

This week was Ava's first concert with the Wind Symphony group. It's the 2nd highest band at the high school and she loves it. This was probably my favorite concert they have done so far; they sounded good! You can tell that these are kids who have more years of experience playing. They've only had a few weeks to play together, since the marching band kids didn't join this band until trimester 2 started in early December. They played the Stars and Stripes Forever by Sousa, which I remember playing when I was in high school. It was a flashback to being onstage, and then standing up at the end when the trombones play loudly. What a great song! This song will be one that is played for the concerts when the kids go overseas in a few months. Ava is 3rd from the left in the last row (trumpets) We went out to eat after the concert - she looked so pretty in her dress! G had a good week back at school, starting up his band classes again, as well. It was kind of hard to get back ...

The last few days before we went back to school and work this week were a blur. When it gets close to a vacation time ending, it seems to go by so quickly. Sigh. The only really fun thing that we did this past week was to head down to the Winfield's for NYE. It was just the 8 of us, and it was low key, like usual. I feel so fortunate that we have such good friends that we can hang out with, and just be ourselves with. We ALL stayed up until midnight, even Scott! The first day of 2025 was suuuuper lazy. I don't think I even hit 5,000 steps! Lots of couch time, while reading. Perfect! Our re-entry into work and school was fine...I think we were all happy that we only had 2 days back into reality, and then we could escape to a weekend. I have tried out several classes at LifeTime in the past week, and I've been able to rule out what I don't want to do, versus where I want to spend my time. I really enjoyed the Barre Fusion class that I took, along with the gentle yoga clas...