2014 ~ On Staying the Course

The last day and evening of winter break are always a bit bittersweet for me.  We have thrived with relaxing, unscheduled days, with a special activity or two thrown in.  But there's a part of me ready to get back into the routine and tackle the last half of the school year.

Here are a few pics:

 The boys wanted to do a special project one day, so we made marshmallow snowman

    

 I took the boys swimming and they spent two hours in the pool!  

 They're turning into fishes and love the water

 Here's Jacoby's finished Lego project.  It was a 700+ piece set for 9 - 14 year olds.  He managed to do about 90% of it on his own.  It came with a half dozen minifigures that he keeps in a "safe place", so they're not in this picture...except for the cave troll.

 Is it just me or is it really snowing in these pics?!  I can't figure out if it's a Google or Blogger thing...and I promise I'm only sipping Sprite Zero right now and not a glass of wine. (:

 We got a bunch of snow last night and today, making for a very wintery landscape.

The boys have spent most of their days building all sorts of Lego creations.  It is definitely their activity of choice right now.

And now we're on to 2014.  I think we accomplished most of what we set out for in 2013.  And as I've spent time this past week planning and thinking ahead into the New Year, I think our theme is going to be "Staying the Course" with a fair bit of K.I.S.S (Keep It Simple Stupid) thrown in.  We're on a really steady, even trajectory right now in most areas--school, family life, work (for me), medical issues, etc.  Justin for sure has the biggest burdens on his shoulders right now, so I hope the boys and I can keep the ship afloat without rocking it too much so we can make it to the other side of what Justin will be wrapping up.  I do have a few hopes for this year--painting the master bedroom, running a race or two individually and as a family, staying home for part of the summer, going camping, starting piano lessons (for the boys)--but nothing drastic.  Just staying the course for right now.