Halleluia - Last Day of January

Thank goodness it's finally here - the end of the longest month of the year!!! We've had snow, cold, fog, rain, ice...you name it. I think we had one or maybe two days of sunshine in the whole month. Since I don't get to retire somewhere warm, I may be satisfied with an annual trip in January to somewhere that I don't have to wear a parka! February usually zips by with Valentine's Day, Whit and Travis's birthdays and fewer days. By March spring is just around the corner and I am pretty sure I will make it. Summer is the best time of the whole year for me and I enjoy the wonderful colors of fall. Then it starts all over again.....

Next winter I have a trip to Maui to look forward to. We are planning a big celebration with Gail and Roch Biever and Bob and Debbie Schmid. I will be turning 50 and Keith and I will have our 30th anniversary. Gail is turning 40 and they're having their 20th. Bob and Deb will celebrate their 15th. No kids for this trip and we'll go in the middle of whale season (Jan. or Feb.). Is it too early to start a countdown?!

I'm keeping busy with moving my craft room to Whit's former room and moving the last of her stuff to the basement. This is not a one day project, but the millions (okay, maybe that's a slight exaggeration) of trips up and down the stairs should be good for burning a few of those Christmas calories!

One good thing about winter in Spokane is Gonzaga basketball. Everyone watches, everyone talks about it, it's almost like belonging to a giant fan club. Our family enjoys watching the games together, disecting the plays, and poking fun at the referees (Keith generally does not participate in this part). And every year we always have that glimmer of hope that we will finally make it to the Elite Eight again. That won't be happening this year most likely, but it was sure fun when we beat North Carolina - the #3 in the nation!

Well, time to put dinner together for whoever Alex might bring through the door. Brittney often eats with us and assorted guys drop in from time to time. I will miss that next year!