Justifiable January

Justifiable January = MORE SNOW!!!! We've had a lot of snow and a lot of cold days. With 3 snow days where school was canceled this month. It's been CRAZY!
Good for the upcoming drier months in the summer though. Just not so good for the wildlife or our backs!

We kicked off the month by going to Sacrament Mtg. at 9:00am after celebrating New Years the night before. We were even on time!! It was Ethan Hansen's mission report/welcome home (Dale's nephew). He looks great and has grown so much in the gospel. It was great seeing him. Welcome Home Ethan!!

We had Garrett and Zandra and Jorie join up with us and we had the local crew here for another tasty dinner. This time it was Beef Brisket with baked potatoes and all the fixings. We played games and visited and were glad that Nate and Kim got to join us for a bit and spend some time with his brothers and sister.

Nate and Kim hit the slopes at Beaver and did some back-country skiing above Garden City, UT, and then headed back to Bruin, WA with a new addition for their house. They picked up a dog at the Cache Humane Center, where they got her, in Logan, on their way out. A beautiful black lab/healer mix they named Meru. The long drive home went pretty good for all even with the new addition. Maybe the match was made in heaven?

They got home and made time for more snow time skiing in the Snoqualmie Ski Area. Meru even got in on some of the action.

Nate and Kim put a few more miles and went to Bozeman, MT to check out the prospects for possibly starting up/partnering in a practice there. While they were there they got in some ice climbing in Hyalite Canyon.

They were also able to meet up with my sister and brother-in-law,  DeAnn and Steve Sparks. Looking good, aren't they <3

I guess Idaho got hit with the white stuff as well as with strong winds and even an ice storm! They got 5 days off of school because of the storms.  Crazy, crazy!!

Both Amie and Matt are keeping busy coaching basketball. Matt's girls team tied for 1st place, but ended up taking 2nd in their district because they lost on the coin toss to determine who got 1st place. Nice job Oakley Lady Hornets!

Amie's co-coaching Jaxon in an Idaho Prep traveling league. They've been doing different tournaments around the area. His team took home two 1st place trophies in the Gooding, ID  and Mountain Home, ID tournaments. Way to go team Mallory (Matt, Amie & Jaxson)!

Amie got to go with Jaxon's 5th grade class skiing at Pomerelle for their ski day. The kids loved having her around with them on the slopes too. Win, win for both.

Kennlyn's also been hitting the mats doing gymnastics, and the hardwood with her Hot Pink basketball team. She's become quite a scoring machine. (taking after her mom, maybe)

Amie and Lindsay both celebrated their birthdays. Another year older, and wiser too, Happy Birthday to you two!!

Andrew's been working in Oklahoma and has been featured on the front page of two different newspapers. He's turned the publics eyes to the sky with his skills.  Can I get your autograph?

Titan and Eloise have been helping mom hold the fort down amongst all of the snow storms and giving little sister, Nora, lots of love.

Titan and Eloise got to come and spend some time with Grandpa  Dale and Grandma Debbie while Lindsay took Nora to Primary Children's hospital for surgery on her throat and to get tubes put in her ears. They found out that she has Laryngomalacia, so they have to cut away the excess skin blocking her air way. They'll also drain the fluid behind her right ear, and place tubes in her ears. She was in ICU for a bit and then got moved to another room and did so good that she got to come home the next night!

Both Lindsay and Nora were glad to be home in their own beds.

We were glad to be able to help out with Titan and Eloise. They kept us busy and the house alive. We even got out in the snow out back that was up over my knees (about 19 in.). We packed down a "luge run" to sled down and made snow angles. We wanted to make a snowman, but the snow wouldn't pack well enough to do that. Walking in that deep snow wore us out though.

Danica moved to Ogden, UT to live with Stephanie Toomer (a former roommate from Dixie), got her official diploma in the mail, and started her new job at VASA Fitness. She has the 5:00am-10:00am shift so she's adjusting to a new sleep routine. Her first full-time pay check in awhile put a big smile on her face. She's been smiling about how well her new has car done in all this snow we've been getting too. 

Danica got that "sun bug" and headed to San Diego, CA with her friend, Jason Hassell, his cousins, and dad, and went to the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrie Pines. They even ended up being seen in the crowd on TV! (Danica and Jason are in the black) Jason had a friend that he golfed with in high school in the tournament.

Dale took me along with him to the UASBO conference that's held at Little America in Salt Lake City, UT. I got to just relax and pretty much pamper myself. It was a nice change and much needed after the holidays.

I started up DIBELS testing when we got back.

We also stopped in to wish my Aunt Vonda a Happy 97th Birthday. She's still getting around pretty good too. We loved visiting with her and are glad we did, she has now lived longer than anyone in her immediate family. Her mom, Grace Viola Jorgenson Hadfield lived to be 96 years old.

We tended Jorie for Garrett and Zandra so they could get away for a weekend to warmer weather. They caught a flight to Las Vegas and soaked in some fun in the sun. While they were gone Jorie mastered going down the stairs all by herself. We got some good bonding time in because when they got home, Jorie snuggled up to me instead of wanting to go to Garrett. Mission accomplished ;)

They also had some special visitors come and see them. The Singh sisters from India came to Salt Lake to visit friends and see the sights. They were able to stop in and have dinner with Garrett and Zandra. Zandra even cooked up a traditional Indian meal for them to make them feel at home.

Garrett and Zandra talked Dale and I into joining them for some time away from the cold and snow. They flew to Kauai, HI a couple of days earlier than us, that tropical feel and sand in our toes is just what we needed. More on this trip will be coming next month, with  pictures to warm you up.

Finally, America got a new President of the United States sworn in this month. Donald J. Trump, with his wife Melania, and their 10 yr. old son, Barron moved into the White House. Our past Pres. Barack Obama, his wife Michelle Obama, and their two daughters, Malia and Sasha moved out. Both have made history. Trump being the first Pres. voted in with no experience with government affairs, and Obama for being the first President of the U.S. that was black.

If the next two years go like it has this past month, it's going to be quite a ride for the U.S. I sure hope that the American people can make it through this transition and we get some feeling of stability soon. That is that---a Justifiable January.