Really Random Thursday, 1/19/23

 Does the year feel like this to you too? I'm always so happy for January to roll around after the busy and often chaotic holidays. But I'm having a hard time believing that January is nearly 2/3 over already!

Last Friday we went to the awards assembly for 3rd and 4th graders. So fun to see both Ella and Amelia up there on stage.

(photo by Christa)

This week was the assembly for 5th and 6th graders.  We missed it because of a scheduling change, but Jason was there to take photos. Gabe and Ruby are very competitive with each other, and it's keeping them both at the top of their class.

It's unbelievable how much eggs cost these days!

On Sunday night, Mark and I were finally able to get to our local zoo to see illumiNature. Our zoo is amazing and this display was really spectacular.

One of the first things we saw was the peacock. Gabe had said to make sure we stuck around if the peacock's tail feathers were not fully opened. Good advice. We had to wait a few minutes for them to fully expand and then they became a really beautiful changing light show. 

Of course, I loved the flamingoes. When Aaron was little, we took a yearly photo of him standing like a flamingo with all of them in the background. 

These angel wings were fun.

This was my very favorite: a lighted archway--so colorful and intricate.

Every year, Mark's brother, Pete, wife Jane and daughter Rose carve an amazing snow sculpture where they live in Driggs, Idaho. It's fascinating to watch their progress. This block of snow will eventually become a very detailed dragon. I've been following their progress on Facebook and I can hardly wait to see it in all its glory.

The other day when we picked up Gabe and Ella from school, we took them to see Christa, who had spent the entire day on a street corner raising funds for human trafficking awareness. It's a huge problem here in the valley, and Christa is executive director of Central Valley Justice Coalition, working on education and prevention. So proud of the difficult work she does.

And finally, if you are someone who is a creative, does this ever happen to you?