January

2022 got off to a pretty good start!  We had a nice New Year's Day with a good luck meal (it remains to be seen if it worked or not!).  

Then the kids had a delayed start back to school due to "ice" on Tuesday the 4th.  The rest of that week was spent getting back in the swing of things -school, work, basketball games, piano, ballet, Knights meeting, etc.  We had a fun time on Saturday with Jimmy, Danny, and their parents and a quick visit with Grandma and Grandpa F., too!  We also enjoyed a fun meal out with the McGees on Sunday evening.

The week of the 10th was fairly routine with a half day that Friday to end the second quarter.  We girls had a fun outing on Saturday to Southpoint mall and then to watch their cheerleader friends in a competition in Durham.  StMM got 2nd place!  

We then went to mass that evening ahead of the "snow", which ended up not being much to talk about.  It was a little icy and a little snow, but Anna and friends gave it their best shot with the sled.

The kids were off for MLK Day and were back to school on Tuesday for just 3 days before the third winter weather event of the month hit on Friday evening!  They canceled school on Friday even though the actual snow didn't start until that evening.  This time, we got about 3" of snow, so it was our best one yet this year!  Erin got her covid booster vaccine on Friday evening and wasn't feeling the best on Saturday, so she stayed inside.  Anna, Finley, and I had a blast that morning until it melted!  

Anna volunteered to keep the class pet turtle over the extended weekend, and he was a lot of fun.

The week of the 24th was their first full week of school all month, and it all went smoothly.  We had a fun time in Greensboro on Sunday the 30th for Ansley's birthday - Jason's Deli lunch and some shopping!  From there, we went to the NCSU womens' basketball game at UNC.  It seemed like there were more Wolfpack fans than Tarheels!  After a tough first half, the Wolfpack pulled out the win.

That was basically it for the month - it was nice to settle down after the holiday madness, and we have been thankful for staying healthy.  The big news this month was the "omicron" variant of the covid virus circulating quickly.  Their school has had dozens of cases, but thankfully, kids who are exposed who have been vaccinated do not have to quarantine, which is an improvement on last year.  So, they haven't had to miss any school.  This variant seems to not make people as sick, but is much more contagious, so many more people are getting it.  

Other than that, our porch project continues plugging along.  The addition is framed and the roof is finished, and this week they are adding a load-bearing beam between the existing porch and the addition, and then they'll start the decking.  Progress!

Anna had 2 basketball games each week, with her final two games this week.  Their record hasn't been great, but I think she ended up enjoying it more than she initially thought she would.  And she (and the whole team) has gotten a lot better, more confident, and they're even running plays (actually, just one play, according to Anna).  It's been a lot of fun for us parents too.

We planned a fun spring break trip to Hilton Head, and Erin is looking forward to her class trip to Washington DC at the end of March.  Anna's grade is also doing an overnight field trip to a science research facility at the coast this spring.  We are looking ahead to warmer days ahead (though you'll never hear me complain about the cold)!