January was a Long Year.

January, as they say, was a long year. We weren't quite sure we would make it. Work was utter mayhem, for all the reasons I get paid not to talk about, and then some. I survived the Norwegian Foot March (18.6 miles of freezing ruck marching fun), and the #worldsbesttrainedservicedog apparently took up drinking.

The snow came and went, although not without another Seth & I win of the Traditional Parent-Kid Snowball Fight.

Wendy visited (and attended the honor roll ceremony like a champ), and we discovered the truly excellent MWR rock wall.

And then we embarked on our annual "glad we're not in liftlines" road trip, with fantastic stops on the Civil Rights Trail,

and beautiful (if chilly) time on the gulf with Ana & Ata. 

We beat the Arctic Blast back in time to hit up the Austin Peay First Pitch Banquet and become forever fans,

and to skip school and make a run for Chicago and Ashley & Laura's courthouse wedding. You know, while that's still a thing they can do.

We closed the world's longest month out with rainy days and terrible kids' movies
and school dances;

and discovering Kentucky State Parks. Which are, honestly, fantastic.

Here's to February and spring around the corner and a month that will hopefully offend us less than communion grape juice offends Handsome Ford.

Holiday (Mostly) at Home and Snow Days.

In what has become our favorite annual tradition, Missy was in town for the holidays for less time than it usually takes me to get a kid to unpack a lunchbox. And it was magical, from start to finish.

 

Because we have Walters blood, we did all the Nashville things there are to do

including the Christmas show at the Opry,

good times at the always-spectacular Gaylord,

death marches per tradition (with the world's best trained service dog), and bourbon tastings.

Missy left for the next leg of her whirlwind tour on Christmas Eve, nobody caught anything on fire at church, and Christmas Day dawned warm and chill.

We had the traditional Belgian waffles, and enjoyed new bats and cowboy hats and stayed in our PJs for most of the day. 

We stayed in our PJs for much of the holiday week, actually, until Grandma and Grandpa took Ford to see the Vikings beat the Packers in Minneapolis (Seth was still recovering from quad surgery and had to miss it.)

Finley and I, at the last minute, came to our senses and decided that nobody in their right mind drives north in December, so we took a quick, Lainey Wilson-inspired road trip to Louisiana. Where I earned yet another parenting gold star for taking a ten year old to Bourbon Street.

NOLA never disappoints. We had a fantastic girls' trip that was chicken soup for the soul, and included yoga in a church and Cafe du Monde beignets.

We were all back in time for New Year's Eve grilled meats and sparklers and game night (a real family tradition)

and we kicked off the new year with a chilly hike

and a cocktail-and-Costco run to the big city.

With the remainder of the break, we discovered the Adventure Science Center

and then, after only a couple days of back to school and normal working hours (and bidding a sad farewell to a Texas-bound Tony & Jayne), spent a lovely day remembering conservationist Jimmy Carter with a visit to public lands

and a random and delightful stop at the National Corvette Museum. If you ever find yourself in the Bowling Green area, it's a must.

Here's hoping everybody had a restful holiday season, and is embarking on 2025's adventure with all the enthusiasm of southern kids on a snow day: