Our plan was to make the unused corner of the backyard into a practical area.  We started by removing the old kids’ climbing structure.  Then over the many weeks, we removed old rubber mulch, replaced with pea pebbles, leveled the ground and added deck tiles.  I then placed some planters and planted some Blue Agaves.  We decided to use the area for the grill and dining table set.  Stuart and I are quite happy with the outcoming of our DIY project, and we found ourselves using the dining table much more than we did in the previous spot.  With this move, we also have a bigger play area for basketball too.

   I took both Logan and Connor to their 6 month dental cleaning appts yesterday.  Both boys need to do a better job with cleaning, especially Logan with his braces.  Fortunately they don’t have any cavities.  We also learned that Connor finally lost all his baby teeth.  He will be ready to look into an orthodontic evaluation in 6 months.

    Logan was learning about the Lewis and Clark expedition in social studies, and he had chosen to make a prairie dog sculpture as part of his project.  Since this was not an art class, I decided to work together with Logan to make the prairie dog.  It came out decent.

     We used our flight credit to visit the Sandles during the winter recess.  The flight and trip both went smoothly.  We were able to spend time with Dora, Robb, Abby and their new dog Cooper.  Their house was spacious and great for visitors.  The boys were happy to stay in their basement bedroom on their own.  Dora took the days off and was a great driver to us.  We went for a nice long stroll when the weather was nice and sunny.  Then she took us to a nearby park to play with snow when it was snowing one day.  We went to a hip new museum called Meow Wolf where we spent a couple of hours looking at the different colored art works and doing a scavenger hunt inside.  We also had some nice meals together and hung out to relax at home with movies too.  It was very nice to see the beautiful snow in the comfort of home.  We were also very thankful that the entire trip went smoothly and stayed cleared rom COVID.  Thanks to the Sandles for hosting us.  Here are the pictures from our trip.

     We cleaned up the house and had a big meal on CNY eve, and we are ready for the new year!  The boys love their red envelopes as usual.  I found an old picture of them; they have grown a lot.

   Buddy turned 3 on 1/25.  It was a weekday, but I managed to make him some cupcakes and he enjoyed the treats on his birthday.

    Now that he is older, Buddy is definitely better in posing for pictures.  We also noticed that since he turned 3, Buddy is more into playing balls.  In addition, he has learned to turn corners better; when he runs around with us in the house with his ball, he is much harder for us to catch him now.