Here are a few of the things that happened in January. A cruise for Aaron and Darby. A temple visit for Noah. A baking class for Hailey and Audrey. A birthday for Cris. A birthday for Ryan. I grabbed a picture collage from Annie's blog, that I realized I couldn't put back in 2024. (I already captured my blog to print for 2024) so I am sharing that here, too. Christmas with Alex' parents.
For Savannah's birthday, Annie made her a book about her favorite stuffed animal... Bear Bear. I grabbed some of her pics from her blog. I haven't seen the entire book, but I am sure that is it super cute and with fun memories for Savannah. Annie said that the original Bear Bear got lost and they replaced it. The book shows everywhere that Bear Bear went with Savannah. I love this first collage with GG.
Time for "indoor snowmen" 😂 This January was easier than most for snowmen decor. We have had some cold days, and snow is in the forecast for this coming week. It has felt like a good month to stay inside, work on puzzles, curl up for a nap. (see the picture of Gracie 😉). It took we awhile to get all of Christmas put away. Most of it sat in the guest bedroom waiting to be put in tubs and then in the closet. My Christmas tree that gets wrapped with plastic went in the downstairs closet, which meant I had to clean that closet out and reorganize it. It was getting to the point where it was hard for me to get that tree up and down the stairs... better option for it to stay downstairs. And I bought a little rolling "plant dolly", so that it is easy to move. There was one week, where Ron was sick for several days. I am really surprised that I didn't get sick from him. I have been having some problems with my right knee. Surprisingly, I think it gets stiff and has fluid on it, when I am not walking every day. I got started on some sewing projects that I had been putting off. (Custom dresses for Dani.) I have some new Brown Baby Bird ideas that need to be started. (The JoAnn stores are going out of business, good time to purchase my last rolls of ribbon and use less of that on some smaller "lovey" blankets.) I also bought a few cute Valentine bears and Easter bunnies. (I need to get those to Homestead soon.) Here is my "Winter Wonderland" for January. Valentines will come out soon- lol 😍
PS- I also reorganized my pantry... it had been neglected for quite a while. Since I reorganized it, I now know exactly what food is in there... what needs to be eaten soon... and what needed to be stocked up. I am ready to just stay home for this coming week and let it snow- lol.
Ron and I never plan to "party" for New Years Eve. All of our neighbors go crazy with outdoor party's and fireworks in the street. Most of those sound like they are shooting out house- lol 💥💥😕 The most fireworks are always at midnight, but then they still keep going until about 2 or 3 am. I got one picture from my sewing room window. The second picture is what Elder Simms sent with fireworks.
2024 was a good year for us. We stayed healthy, with some good exercise routines. Ron rides the indoor bike three times a week. (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and on those days we only eat twice. Once about noon and then dinner. Occasionally we have to be flexible with that schedule, but it is pretty consistent.) I walk 3-5 times a week... usually for about 2 miles each time. We did several trips this year. The traveling is getting a little more difficult managing the airports and with me doing almost all of the driving. We stayed home for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Pretty simple holidays for us. Our house is in what we call "our little corner" of the world. It is a pretty safe part of the neighborhood. We know most of our immediate neighbors. We love being less than 10 minutes from church. We are in a good financial situation where we are. (Even though it was a huge struggle to get Ron to move and "downsize", it was the correct decision.) Our house is not fancy, but it works well for us. My Brown Baby Bird business did well, because of extra money each month from doing alterations. I have some new ideas to implement beginning in 2025. Sometimes, I am wondering how much longer I will keep it going. Right now, I have tons of new inventory. I have a hard time passing up cute fabric and cute stuffed animal toys. I need to be very conservative on my purchases for 2025. I have thought about renting a booth at a second location, but I haven't decided if that is a good idea or not. Ron stays busy keeping track of his real estate investments and watching sports games on TV and watching and listening to other podcasts on his computer. We are excited to see what President Trump will do for the next four years... hopefully good economic things!! Everyone needs that.
Finishing up with a few random pictures that were posted on Facebook. Kate and Sebree were in Canmore with Enola and Mike. Fun winter activities there. Darby and Aaron posted a couple of pics of them and the boys with Santa Claus. Looks like Muhlers and Thompson were together for Christmas. (The last picture of Jaxon and the bear might have been from Canada.)
