January Recap

 Well, nearly a month of 2012 is in the books and I've had zero posts about what's been happening in our lives this month.  I think that is mostly because there hasn't been much to report.  I also feel like I have changed my blog writing sometime in the past few months, or maybe even few years...I feel like I used to wax poetic about life, instead of just writing about life's events.  I seem to only blog now when something has happened, separating different events into different posts.  I'd rather get into a flow of writing more consistently...but then again, I don't want to write just to write.  I think I am searching for a balance and I haven't found it.

Anyways, January has come and gone pretty quickly.  Here are some of the high (and low) lights...

Annie and Greg came to visit on MLK weekend.  It was a blast!  We went downtown on Saturday and visited the Museum of the Native American, walked around the Capitol, and made a quick trip into the National Arboretum (mostly to stay warm).  We took Metro down and back, and it was a fun day in the Nation's Capital.

We also had some fun at home - we played The Game of Life, charades, Sing It Karaoke, and Hide-n-Seek in the basement.  We went to the Tysons Corner Mall and browsed a bit, some shopping as well.  It really was a fun weekend and I hope they come back again soon!





Quinn's hermit crab, Shelldon, died about a week ago.  Quinn was pretty devastated but has bounced back quickly.  He made a Lego memorial to his beloved crab...a Lego hermit crab atop a plaque of sorts displaying his name.  He had this crab since his trip to Maine in the summer.  He took such good care of it, chopping up fresh fruit and vegetables for it often and buying special water to bathe it.  He really believed it could live for 20 to 30 years, as the books said some were known to have done.  He says he wants to get more crabs, and it's pretty simple now that we have all the supplies.  A lot of people complain about the smell, but it really never bothered us because Quinn kept his cage so clean.  Overall, this was a great pet experience for Quinn and I'm sure he will get another one soon...but we hope that Shelldon is resting in peace!



We have continued on with Cub Scouts.  Quinn got his Bobcat badge, and we prepared for the Pinewood Derby.  It really turned into a family effort.  Keely made one too, as siblings get to race.  Hers is an iPhone and Quinn's is a drag car of sorts.  We'll see how they do in the race tonight!

Quinn participated in his first Spelling Bee with his class.  He barely studied, first saying that he didn't want to participate (he had no choice) but making a last ditch effort to prepare the night before.  He advanced to the school wide event in February!  He must have it in his blood - he does come from a lineage of spelling bee champions (ahem, his mother - yours truly - the 2nd Grade Spelling Bee champion!).  At the school wide event, there will be 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders and he will have to deal with harder words - but I think he's got the bug now so we'll see if it continues enough for him to prepare better this time.

Today is the end of the second quarter at school, meaning they are halfway done.  They have Monday and Tuesday off for Teacher Work Days.  They have barely had any full weeks in January, and that trend continues into February.  I'm sure the end of the school year will be here before we know it!

That's about all I can think of.  See, when I type it out it doesn't seem like enough to separate into multiple writings.  Hopefully February will be more eventful :)