A Mid-Winter Outing

Typical Saturday in Iowa... (the girls thought this wrapped up crossing light was hilarious- a frozen raccoon?!!) 

 but last Saturday looked like this!

We haven't been to the science center in over a year (we haven't been much of anywhere in a year, let's be honest), and everyone was so, so ready to get out of the house. 

We had timed tickets, so the place wasn't crazy and it was quite easy to avoid crowds- my preferred method of public interaction anyway. 

The best part of the visit was definitely the massive three-table Dominoes track that we all built together.  It culminated with a tennis ball that dropped off the last table and rang a bell.  It was awesome! 

Masks for everyone, because that's life now. 

In the planetarium we learned all about Ursa Major and Ursa Minor and some of the other 88 constellations that can be seen in the night sky. 

No matter how old you are, the escalator is always a fun ride!

So no, it wasn't our annual winter trip to warmer climates or exciting amusement parks, but we still had a great time on this one afternoon out!

(with a few small reminders of fun trips we might take in the future along the way!) 

Freezing Cold February

 I think this has been the snowiest winter we've had in Iowa!  The views out our window during the storms aren't always pretty.... 

but the scene after the storm is always beautiful.  

There is a lot to appreciate in all of that blue and white. 

We look forward to "deer time" every evening, and one night we were visited by 12 deer!  Who knows what our grass is going to look like in the spring, but it is too fun to watch them right now to really care.

And inside we're... going a little crazy. 

School takes up the bulk of every day, but there is still plenty of time for dressing up, building forts, 

painting nails, 

and playing games. 

February feels so much like a mind game- it's cold and gray and every day is the same!  Even more so now because there is no school or work excursions to change things up. We go outside when we can, 

but the snow is really deep!  Poor Laney tries so hard to keep up. 

A lot of our time is spent dreaming about warmer days, remembering warmer days, and talking about... warmer days. Winter brings its own beauty but I'm not sure any of us would call it our favorite season. Maybe it's just our favorite for appreciating a nice warm house, favorite for living with people that we love, and favorite for slowing way, way down. 

Laney is Two!

First we did presents- we put a little dab of peanut butter on each one and let Laney sniff it out!

She wasn't quite as thrilled about the new coat. 

The return of the silly hats!  

At one point Adam had six of them on his head.  How did I not get a picture of that? 

There's the shaggy little birthday pup!

What's that I smell??

It's a birthday pup cake!

They were out of cakes, so we opted for a celebration bone and two pup cakes instead. 

Which one.... which one...?

The bone was the winner!

What a fun night to celebrate our best pup. 

When Noah and I picked up Laney's birthday pup-cake we picked up a few treats for some of our dog friends, too.  

M- Let's count our favorite puppy friends.  Of course there's Laney... 

N- Laney is not a puppy friend!  She is a Member of our Family!

True that. 

Laney is absolutely a member of our family.  

She keeps a careful watch over the house 

and the yard at all times. 

Always, always watching.

She gets as close to the food as she possibly can.... 

but is wise enough to not jump up on the chairs or the table. 

We recently revoked an original rule that Laney is not allowed on our bed, and boy is she having fun with it!

She loves to burrow down into the pillows and roll all over them. 

And now we just have one more place to snuggle her sweet little fluffness!

Her current fluff level is just about out of control.

But that just ups the cuteness factor!!

She tolerates the peasants that she rules over, 

and when she turns on the cuteness she is irresistible!!

Laney keeps us moving, keeps us laughing, teaches us responsibility and how to care for others, reminds us to think outside ourselves, is SO incredibly soft, will never give up chasing squirrels (even though she is never going to catch one), loves us when we're sad, and is always so happy when we come home again.  

We all love our little Laney Bear!  She is definitely the best pup ever!!

January Dates

 One of our big 2021 goals is to have more intentional one-on-one dates, both as a couple and with the kids.  Rather than hope that we might actually hit that goal each month, we scheduled out all of the dates for the year- at least who would be going out with who.  First up was Emma and Daddy!

They picked a Hawaiian-themed donut shop and had a delicious time!

They took Cover Your Assets along, everyone's current favorite game.  Emma won twice!

Jason and I have the goal to go on two dates each month, and one of them has to be free.  This month Jason was in charge of the free date and he picked the Des Moines Art Center.  

We've been there once before as a family but it was quite nice to take the adult's perspective on it this time around, rather than the "no you really cannot touch anything" perspective. It was quiet and thought provoking and a perfectly lovely afternoon. 

And I was in charge of our second date, which could have cost money but didn't, somewhat to Jason's disappointment.  We both laughed when he suggested we use these dates to "see a Broadway show".... there are no theater performances happening right now!  Some day.  

Nope, I arranged a virtual game night with some of our favorite friends, which eventually morphed into an in-person game night with delicious treats and lots of laughs.  It was a fun night out, and gathering in person definitely isn't something we're doing very often at all these days. 

So bring on a year of dates!  Being all together all the time is a delight and occasionally a frustration, and taking some time out for dates is going to be a highlight of every month this year!