January 2020

We get a long winter break each year, but it is never long enough for Owen, who cries the first few mornings after Zac and Kate take off for school and misses them desperately.  Owen and I went on so many bike rides in January.  He is now a pro at his two-wheeler and easily puts in 3 miles without stopping on rides around Poipu.

He's not too good for his Jeep, though, especially when his other friends are around.

He wants to go to school with Kate, and he's convinced that he can read this book.  To his credit, he did recognize his name on the first page.

I think that I'm a good mom in many ways: I play outside, I help with homework and piano, I'm an avid cheerleader at all their activities, I do art and play dough and even orbees (oh, I hate orbees), and I help my preschooler dig around in the mud with his cars.  I'm not the best at pretend play, though, and it is so sweet watching Kate interact with Owen in ways I am not as capable.  Lately, they play doctor, bandaging each other up and then putting on plays, reading books, and finding other ways to entertain the injured party.

Owen at his preschool.  I love this co-op--laid back and concerned only with socialization.

Brady's been finding ways to make our garage more user-friendly: getting rid of the treadmill, installing surf and skateboard racks, and convincing me to get rid of my maternity and 12-year-old teaching bins.

January was rainy and exceptionally windy, which meant less beach time, but several weekends at the church entertaining ourselves with rambunctious games of dodgeball and basketball.  It was exciting to mix up the recreation

When Owen turned 4, I started doing Mommy Preschool with him just like I did with the other kids.  He loves the individual attention and the sticker charts.

His birthday present bedding arrived almost a month late.  He loves his shark blanket.

One of his favorite playdates, Ivy:

During Friday dance, Owen and I usually go for a little "hike," or we feed Hilary's farm animals.

The last Saturday in January, we headed to the west side for our first trip to the base.  The waves were way too big for any of us to handle and we played in white water. Kate a nasty ear infection and couldn't get the water, so she and Brady played together for an hour in the sand.  

We left in a rush to get back and shower before the piano recital, but decided to get cones at McDonalds and brush off sand rather than shower.  Soft serve is better than showers.

We pulled into the recital with minutes to spare--Brady and I both realizing that we cut this one too close.  Kate had practiced her songs earlier in the day but she was clearly very nervous.  She was on the program first, like she prefers.  She played both "Maple Leaf Rag" and "Sunset Serenade" flawlessly.

Zac had to wait a full hour after her to perform.  His last performance class ended with a surprising mistake that flustered him quite a bit.  He recovered well since then but he was nervous and we were nervous for him, especially when he started his songs at top speed.  He played them both perfectly, though!  So happy for him to get through that experience and realize you pick up wherever you left off with piano and sports and school and whatever else you're doing!

So adorable that Kate is staring straight at my camera.  There were probably 20 phone pics going off at once.

Celebration at Panda.  Brady and I like Panda so much that we skipped it and came home for a fried egg on toast.

Our kids die over it.

The next day, Kate's dear friend Penelope was baptized.  So fun watching these girls grow up.

...incluing watching them surf together.  Three wahines.

January was full of beaches, bikes, a birthday, futsal, dodgeball, and piano recitals.  It is the month to recover after December and was a nice breather after the fast pace of the year's end.