January

January started off very busy.  I hosted a shower on the first weekend, then Bert's big birthday celebration, and then on MLK weekend I went on our annual girls weekend.  We spent 3 relaxing days at Serenity in the Mountains in Blue Ridge.  

I had this room all to myself for 3 glorious nights!

On Saturday we spent 5 hours at the spa which was connected to our suite.  In between each service, we would meet up and relax in the quiet room.  I could get used to this:-)

On Sunday we had brunch, I went for a run, and then we did some shopping in downtown Blue Ridge.  Strolling and window shopping with my favorite girls and a cup of joe in hand... heaven!

We ate dinner at a new restaurant called The Black Sheep.  For a "small" town, Blue Ridge sure does have a lot of shopping and restaurants to enjoy!

Bert sent me this picture of a little get-together he had at our house with our neighbors while I was gone.  I do love this crazy group of people!

He also sent pictures of the girls while I was gone.  They went to get yogurt, played outside, and further wrapped their daddy around their fingers!

Caroline might be a mama's girl, but she gets more and more like her daddy every day!  Even sitting in his chair just like he does.

Caroline makes herself a little too comfy in our bed:-)

Elizabeth has mastered the art of taking a selfie!

Elizabeth loves it when we match each other.  This particular morning she asked her daddy to take a picture of our coordinated outfits.

Both wearing fake fur...

A few weeks ago, Elizabeth started coming home with "Lize" written on her paper.  I didn't say anything at first.  It quickly evolved into "Lizzy."  I asked her if that is what she wanted to go by now, and she said, "Yes, at school."  So I guess her friends and teachers will be calling her Lizzy.  I explained to her that I will ALWAYS call her Elizabeth.  

Elizabeth got her 3rd yellow of the year last week.  The note said that her and her friend kept playing/tickling each other.  They had to be told multiple times to keep their hands to themselves.  Melissa gave me this idea for her punishment and I think it was successful.  She had to write 20 times (it started off as 10 times but she enjoyed that too much) "I will keep my hands to myself."  I told her that this would hopefully help her to remember the next time she gets carried away with a friend.  I think the key is that Caroline and I were doing something fun that she couldn't do while she was writing.  I don't want her to learn to hate writing, but I do want her to learn there are consequences to her actions.  It seemed to work.  She was on blue the rest of the week:-)

I caught Gabriella and Caroline bowing their heads during the dinner prayer at church.

Caroline's new routing is to catch a quick cat nap in the afternoon while picking up her sister from school.

At the end of our Child Development unit in AP Psychology, we invited kids in for a Play Day.  It allowed my students to see the physical, cognitive, and social development that they'd been studying.  We had about 30 kids in and out all day from ages 7 months to 6 years old.  Caroline was so excited to stay all day!

At lunch Caroline and I watched cartoons on the big screen.

Bert and I have set a goal to run one race a month this year.  For January we ran the Polar Bear Run that raised money for Johnson Ferry Baptist's youth mission trip.  Many of my students go on this trip plus it was a pretty flat route so it was a great first race of 2015.

There's a group of us training to run the Nashville half marathon in April.  I never knew I could love this sport so much.  I love that it's something I can do on my own but also enjoy a social aspect too.  

We've been training for 4 weeks now.  According to my app, I will run in in 2 hours and 23 minutes.  While that's a pretty slow pace, I still can't imagine running that long!  We shall see...

On Saturday Elizabeth had a play date/ sleep over with a friend.  So Caroline and I had our own mommy/daughter date.  We ran errands and got our nails done.  This was  her first time getting a spa manicure.  She was a natural!

Camille and Elizabeth have been friends since the nursery at Kids R Kids.  Camille's family moved to Griffin, GA (the country) 2 years ago, but the girls always pick up right where they left off.  I was anxious about letting my girl spend the night away with a friend who lived an hour away.  But I know her parents well, and I knew she was ready.  Camille's mom sent me pictures of them throughout the day and night.  I could just tell how much fun she was having and knew she wouldn't be ready to come home!  

This is what she now wants for her birthday.  Ha!

I think Caroline enjoyed her solo time with us, but every 5 minutes she asked when her sister was coming home.  

When I picked Elizabeth up from Camille's, she passed out almost immediately.  She slept the entire way home and then for the next 2 hours after getting home.  We had to wake her up for a Super Bowl party.  Otherwise, she probably would've slept until the next day.