Mild Winter in the Bluegrass

2017 kicked off with our one and only snow day of the year, and it was not much of a snowfall.  But when you live in Lexington, Kentucky, it doesn't take much to keep the kids out of school.  The girls were excited to get outside because they remembered the big sledding hill we built in our backyard last year.

Unfortunately, this year the hill was only big enough to accommodate much smaller people, namely Julie and Lea, their American girl dolls.  It isn't quite the same sledding experience, but Callie and Reese had fun with it anyway.  Snow days tend to lead to people being silly anyway, so this was no different.

Winter in Lexington also means basketball season and for the Cats, January is conference play.  We always enjoy going to see a game, and this time around we got to see Kentucky play the Razorbacks of Arkansas.  We had to take a picture to send to Sarah's cousins back in the Ozarks to let them know we were there.

This winter also brought a new sport into our world when Callie had the chance to participate in a lacrosse clinic that took place over several weeks. She had been introduced to lacrosse through a summer sports camp, but this was the first time she really got to work on some skills.  Hopefully it catches on with her because it is a fun sport to play and watch.

The early months of the new year have also become the time that Callie and Reese go for their annual check ups.  We are very lucky that this tends to be the only time they see the doctor each year.  It really is kind of impressive how healthy they are overall.  The biggest complaint they have about their annual checkup is the finger prick to check their iron, but as you can see from this picture it is easier when they do it together.

As the school year went on, Reese started getting a little more serious in kindergarten.  It wasn't just about getting the basics, it was time for spelling tests.  She worked well with her word wall and we are proud to report that the test result pictured here was not the only one where she got them all right.

Another major milestone for Reese this year, which happened about a year before it happened for Callie, was that she lost her first tooth.  As with every kid, this is a sure fire sign that your child is getting older.  It cannot be denied, no matter how hard we may try.