Hi friends! I hope you are doing well! It’s been a minute and I’m finally feeling like I’m climbing out of my hibernation. 😉 As usual, I decided to take a little time after the holidays to regroup, clean, organize, plan and get ready for all that this year will bring. I can always tell when I’ve really decided to take a bit of time away from the computer when the camera roll on my phone barely has anything on it. 😉 Then I know I am truly on a break with all my devices! lol! This puppy pretty much sums up how I’ve felt for the last couple of weeks…
Andy didn’t go back to school until the 9th which made the holidays seem even longer this year. When did your kids go back? I know lots of schools started back right after New Year’s Day, but I was surprised by how many took an extended break this year.
If you were following along on Instagram, you know that we spent some time overseas for the holidays this year. This has become somewhat of a tradition for us over the last 5-6 years where we travel for Christmas. John keeps finding it increasingly difficult to get away and the weeks between Christmas and New Years have really become the easiest time for him to leave and not feel like people are going to be looking for him/needing him the whole time.
This was our first family vacation since Andy came home in July and it was SO nice to have some serious quality time all together. Those moments are definitely fleeting as the kids get older and busier with their own lives and school and jobs. I know we won’t get that time forever, so I am extra grateful for every minute we can squeeze in! Traveling at Christmas definitely makes things a bit more stressful and difficult, but I’m willing to do what it takes for time with my people! 😉
I’ll share more about our adventures in the coming weeks. Travel is definitely going to be more of a focus of the blog this year. I have SO many posts to write that I keep putting off. They are usually very time intensive posts, so it’s harder for me to talk myself into getting them done, but I promise I will! I have posted a couple over the last two weeks…did you see them? Be sure to check out the post about Verona, Italy and Dijon, France!
Ash and I spent the first few weeks of January in FREEZING cold and snowy UT. There has been SO much snow this season. It is definitely welcome due to the terrible drought conditions, but man! We returned home to a downed tree and about 18″ of snow to clear off the driveway. Shoveling is the pits and we have had to do it what feels like daily (sometimes more!) since the middle of November! I keep trying to talk John into a heated driveway…so far that has gotten me nowhere. 😉
Ash attended her first high school dance last weekend. Doing online school she doesn’t always get the opportunity to go to events like this, so when she found out winter formal was a girl ask guy dance, she decided to ask her good friend Jack to his Winter Formal. Of course Jack and Sam had to get in on helping her ask him. 😉
Shopping for a dress was definitely a highlight and she had so much fun at the dance.
We decided to renew our annual passes for another year so that this next year, while Ash is finishing high school we can spend some quality time together there before she heads off to new adventures.
She LOVES all things Disney, so it’s fun to spend time with her there watching her in her element.
It’s hard to believe we are about to enter that phase with the kids all grown and out of the house. I’m just trying not to think about it!
January is always a great time for reflection and getting everything in order. I have given up on new year’s resolutions because I don’t want to set myself up for failure. 😉 lol! What do you guys do? Are you big goal setters and resolution makers? I’d love to hear how you get motivated to get things done. I’ve learned that for me, it works better to take time to sit and plan and come up with a list of things that I hope to improve on, and learn and do for the year, rather than short term, harder to reach goals that I am sure to abandon after two weeks (or less! lol!) Often times as the year progresses, my initial list needs to be tweaked and I make adjustments to my path.
It will be fun to see where 2023 will take us. I’m a worrier by nature, so I always feel a little bit of trepidation about the unknown and what’s ahead, but I’m hopeful that it will be a happy, healthy year.
Valentine’s Day will be here before we know it. If you need free valentine printables, fun decor ideas, treats and more, be sure to check out my Valentine Gallery FULL of fun things for this holiday. Here are a few of my favorite things right now:
Have a great week!
Tammy
xoxo
