melting snow, ice fishing, and spending freeze

Mack has discovered the sketch "ew!" on the Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon. It's freaky/funny/annoying how closely Mack can imitate it. My kids even made their own episode.
Here's Hunter dressed as Sara's stepdad, Gary.

 Another ew is Quinn's creations/experiments in the kitchen. Quesadilla topped with salsa and banana.

 HIP HIP HOORAY for 11 o'clock church! We've been on time every week so far! 9 o'clock church is so 2014.

new church clothes from Warner grandparents

A great time spent ice fishing on Martin Luther King Day.

Mack and Wyatt got along so cute that day! FUN to see them be buddies.

The kids started into 2nd semester of school. Straight A's for Preslie and Hunter. Yay! Mack has scored 100% on EVERY spelling test the entire school year.

My friend Jolona caught the decorating bug after she saw my master bedroom makeover and asked me (or I invited myself) to help her transform her "cave" into a retreat. The number one thing she wants to change is how dark it is. Paint goes up on Monday!

Jo's Master: in progress

I love this delicious weather! Jo and I built frames (outside!) for some paintings she bought in the Dominican Republic 3 years ago. We stretched the paintings around the frames and they will become the inspiration/focal pieces for her bedroom. Aren't they cool? As you can see, the whole vibe of the room will change drastically.

Oh, I also got a haircut this month. Not so cute in this pic but project mode and and cute hair rarely go together. Last happy news..I switched out my dumb phone for a smart phone! It is fun. I am a simple girl and don't really use a ton of the "smart" features, but I do like that I can connect with people easier. Modern conveniences are wonderful.

Dax and I are going to do a February spending freeze. I read about the idea on a blog and I thought it would be the perfect way to get a jump start on saving for a California/Disney trip we've wanted to take for many years. Our kids are at really great ages and this is finally the year. I'm excited.

It will be tough not grocery shop for a whole month. That is why we chose to do it in February; less days. I do think it will be a great experience for our family and a great way to rotate through our food storage a bit. We sat the kids down and got them on board. We talked to them about 'wants' and 'needs' and explained that we will only be spending money on absolute necessities. (Cinnamon lips and Reece's hearts are "wants", I'm told.) We will pay our mortgage, bills, and give to our church. We will also allow ourselves to buy milk, bread, eggs and gas. I won't be stopping by the thrift store once a week and Dax won't be grabbing fast food on his lunch break. It might be hard! But I think we will learn a lot and get creative with meals as well as entertainment. Best of all, we plan to save a bunch of cash! I'll be blogging our progress.