Andrea, Hailey, Emi and Joel's Not So Typical Adventures: January, Let the Fun Memories Begin. Frozen. Painting. Playing. Lil Miss.

January has been a crazy and busy month. Christmas and the New Years holidays were filled with work, work, work for Joel. 60+ hours over Christmas and 70+ over New Years. It was a relief when Joel's night job called and said they didn't need him to come in this weekend. A whole weekend off? What ever will we do with ourselves! Well, Joel was excited for the football playoffs with the boys. Before the game though, We and my parents went and saw FROZEN ON ICE. We had originally planned to go down and get tickets and come back in the afternoon... well, that turned into just purchasing morning tickets and going in the morning. My parents met us down there and gratefully, Dad, had brought bean burritos for all of us. It was fun to watch the girls enraptured in the skaters while still taking bites from their burritos. Emi sat on Papa's lap for a good portion of the show, until the burrito was gone. We were worried that Emi would fuss the whole time. She made it through about 1/2 of the show before she got antsy, and 3/4 of the show until she was done for. It was fun to watch. Even though Hailey can't comprehend most of it and probably won't remember it when she's older, she enjoyed it today.

I remember a past Bishop saying that family vacations aren't about the parents, they are about making memories for the kids. It was fun to take Hailey to see Frozen. It was expensive but to see the joy and excitement on that tiny face was worth it. It was worth it to see Papa feeding Hailey cashews during intermission and Emi wanting to sit in Papa's lap. It was worth it to have a weekend where Joel wasn't working but could take time to spend and enjoy a little bit of the money he's been working so hard for.

It works out well, Frozen in the morning and Football in the afternoon--still a balanced husband. :)

The girls are getting old enough that they play together. Hailey loves to paint and so does Emi. Hailey in reality wants you to paint things for her, usually a snowman or a bear of some sort. Emi just likes to play in the water and try to finger paint. It's fun to watch. It's a fun dynamic. I remember Grandpa Clarke saying that his favorite age was when his kids could start talking to each other. It's coming soon. :)