February

 February was a quick crazy month.  We survived another cold winter month and even had some fun! 

Mia got some cute spring pictures with her class.  

Super Bowl Sunday.  With late church we decided to stay home and make lots of yummy food to enjoy the Super Bowl with.  We really watch for the commercials but it was a fun game too! 

Alex has dealt with in grown toe nails most of his life.  We finally took him to a podiatrist after all the methods our pediatrician suggested didn't work.  The doctor was able to quickly remove them and cauterize the nail so that they wouldn't grow back again.  Alex had to get a few shots to numb the area that he was not a fan of. He was so nervous it made him super chatty.  I have never seen him so animated and chatty with the doctor.  Luckily he survived and hopefully won't have to deal with in grown toe nails again. 

We got to attend our cute neighbor and Mia's friend Megan's baptism this month.  

Between Ski Blitz through the school and his season pass Alex has been doing tons of Snowboarding this year.  One Friday we were able to all go with him as well.  It was fun to see how good Alex has gotten.  Mia and I each took classes while the boys did some runs.  Then after lunch we all got to go together. Mia is doing awesome as well but we were both so tired by the end of the day! 

We picked the most beautiful day to go! 

The next day Brandon and Alex went back to the slopes with some friends and spent another day on the mountain.  Brandon didn't know if he would survive going two days in row but was still willing to go with Alex.  They ended up having lots of fun and got one of the last parking spots at Brighton.  

Valentines was a busy but fun day.  We sure love these crazy kids and their beautiful smiles.  

Brandon surprised us all with these cute cookies! 

I got to help with Mia's class Valentine's party.  It was so fun to see her in class! 

And then ready or not the dance season was upon us.  We started off with the Showcase.  It was so fun to finally see what Mia has been working on all year.  She is in three dances this year.

The first was a musical theater dance to the song "Haus of Holbein" from the musical Six.  

The next is a lyrical to "Imagine."  

The last was hip hop that was Minion themed.  It was so cute! 

Most of my family was able to come support Mia.  She was so excited! 

Her friend and neighbor Ari also came even though she wasn't dancing this night.  

The next day we got to go see Elsie and Delilah perform as well as Ari and Syrri.  Mia loves watching all the dances.  

The next week we had one of the biggest snow storms we can remember.  Two days of school were cancelled.  We had snow drifts up to 2 feet high.  We were excited school was cancelled but also stressed because Mia had a competition the next morning in Provo.  Her call time was 8:00 am and they weren't cancelling it.  We decided to drive down the night before and stay an extra night at our hotel. We made it safely luckily though and I was glad we went the night before. 

After competing we went out to lunch with some of Mia's dance friends.  

On the way back Mia also saw a French bakery so of course we had to try out their Macarons.  She thought they were pretty good.  

Mia and I ended up staying two nights in Provo for her competition and then convention.  She was very excited to get some time in the pool with her friend Joyce.  

Another early morning.  Mia enjoyed the continental breakfast. 

This is the last time Mia will be a "mini." She had so much fun taking classes for two days straight.  

The first day I failed and didn't know I needed to bring Mia a lunch.  The only other convention we had done provided lunch for the dancers.  She called me very sad.  I made it up to her the second day and brought her some Chick-fil-A.  

It was a stressful weekend made more stressful by the weather but Mia had a lot of fun.  I'm glad to have this first convention done so we know more what to expect next time.  

January

 January was a long, cold month that felt 90 days long.  We made it through and even had a little fun.  

I had a few more pictures from our New Years celebration.  The kids stayed up so late!

We woke up to tons of snow in Logan and almost as much at home.  They even cancelled church.  Luckily our drive home wasn't very bad at all.  

Mia got a science kit for Christmas and had fun doing some experiments on her last few days off.  

Poor old lady Boo.  She was supposed to get her haircut right at the beginning of the month however she wasn't very nice so they weren't able to cut her face.  She also came home with blood on her beard from biting the groomer.  Next time she will have to be sedated to get groomed.  Poor girl and poor groomer! 

Alex drew Michael Scott's "Office" in his art class.  He loved taking art so much his first semester of middle school and is very sad it is over.  Hopefully he can take more next year.  

This month Brandon was promoted! He will now be the director of behavioral health for Primary Children's hospital.  We went out to celebrate so he could get another ice cream cone as big as his head. We are so proud of how hard he works for our family! 

Gus does not approve of Jen playing the piano! 

There is just one day during the year where I have preschool but Mia and Alex don't have school.  Mia was very excited to help with my class.  She was such an awesome helper.  I wish I could have her as my assistant every day! 

On one Sunday evening this month I got to go with Alex and some of the young men and young women in our ward to the conference center to see a fireside for the youth about the new theme for the year.  It was Alex's first time in the conference center and cool to see.  It did make for a long cold night though! 

Mia got to attend a very posh birthday party this month for one of her good friends, Megan.  It was a Spa, pajama theme.  She loved it! 

We also made it out to the ice castles this year with Brandon's side of the family.  They were very cool! 

It was a beautiful night! 

Mia and Alex have been wanting to build and sleep in a fort for a long time and one night this month we finally made it happen.  It was a pretty epic fort and they loved sleeping in it.  They are crazy! 

I can't say I'm not glad that January is over but it was a good month filled with lots of snow.  Hopefully February will be a little warmer!