We’ve been doing our best to get outside as much as we can, but it’s been challenging to find a day that’s warm enough. It seems like if the temperatures cooperate, it’s the howling wind that keeps us indoors.

We kicked off the month with a visit from Kyle’s mom. Kyle took the opportunity to try out a new recipe on the smoker! These are like armadillo eggs, but instead of being stuffed with jalapeno poppers, we had to use sweet peppers because that’s what we had on hand! Crazy delicious either way!

In a real fit of frustration with being cooped up inside the house (Kyle and I both do remote work so groceries are really our only reason to leave the house right now), we went for a drive and ended up in Cadillac to see the ice tree sculpture.

I don’t even own a blowdryer anymore, and my hair was still wet from my shower. I was pretty surprised when it froze stiff in the few minutes I was outside!

Early in the month I wasn’t entirely sure how to keep the baby warm enough when we were outside, so we took a little test run around the yard to see how he felt about it. So far so good!

After a nice big snowstorm, we met up with some friends for a walk in the woods. The kids had a blast! I can’t wait until Atlas is big enough to keep up with them!

The snowy scene was absolutely gorgeous. They do night hikes here, so the trail was lined with lanterns.

We’ve been reminiscing about winters past, it was 8 years ago that we teamed up with friends and family to create this fun prize-winning snow sculpture. We took first place, then promptly spent our prize money at the local taproom!

This kiddo has been so much fun lately. He started to sit up with some assistance, but almost as soon as he gained that freedom he decided he only wants to stand. Honestly, it’s hard to be mad about it because it makes him so dang happy!

NO SIT. ONLY STAND.

We ran out of bread and rather than make a grocery run, I decided to dust off my old bread pans. With fresh basil from my brother’s farm, I made a couple delicious loaves of sandwich bread. You know it’s been a slow month when I include two photos of food. Sorry not sorry?

My side gig really took off in January, I did a lot of freelance writing this month! It actually works out pretty well, because there’s not much else we can do right now. Between covid and the weather, we’re passing the time at home, making some money and planning our next adventure!