Defeating January

The only defense I have against January?  Escape.  Get out of dodge.  For as long as possible.  In this case, thanks to scamming in on the California beach house my sister rented, it was 10 days of blissful escape.

Escaping the cold:

and the snow:

and the inversion:

Escaping the tendency I have to avoid contact with all other humans and hole up in my house:

and the same old indoor activities:

and the same old food:

and oh yeah, did I mention the cold?

and I want to feel bad that I'm making you jealous right now, I really do.  But I can't.

Because it was amazing.  And I'm pretty sure California was just as big a fan of us, because they did everything in their power not to let us leave, including turning our plane around halfway back to Salt Lake City for another quick stay.  It took it's toll on us, that's for sure.

But by the time we got back, January was practically over!  I'm already saving my pennies to escape again next year (mostly because getting your flight turned around halfway to your destination comes with an apology in the form of a flight credit! Yay!)

Now.  If only I could apply the same game plan to February...Luckily I have Harper's birthday and jelly hearts to help me through.

I'm Feeling 22

22 months that is. Harper is right smack dab in the middle of one of my favorite ages...so far.  And since I haven't been too diligent at updating her little life on the blog, I thought now would be as good a time as any for a Harper update.  Adorable pictures included, of course.  These pictures will lead you to believe that I never do Harper's hair.  This is only partly true.  The real problem is I never do it well enough for it to last all day.  Judge if you must.  

Some things Harper loves: 

Her binkie-- (hands down she loves that binkie more than anything else, most likely including her family members).

Singing--She can pick up a tune like nothing I've ever seen and sings more frequently than she speaks.  Reo is about ready to give up his retirement plans and bank on her making it big.  

Soda ( "oda") and snacks

Elmo

Wearing her tutu

Brushing her teeth

Books 

Some things Harper doesn't love:
Food that's not "oda" or snacks....We're working on it.
Being left in a room alone
Bedtime
Sleeping in
Shopping

Basically she's adorable and she has this whole family wrapped around her little finger.  Every day when she gets dressed she immediately asks to go show Holden how cute she looks.  He lovingly obliges.  Because of this, she forgives him when he shoves her off the couch for messing with his game of Minecraft.  True sibling love between those two.