We started out the New Year a little different this year. We went to the posh Southpoint Mall to window shop and of course hit the new releases at the Lego Store. This was only our second time visiting the mall since we moved here and it was just as pleasant. We found a gem in Macy's (where we parked). Apparently they have a Clearance outlet section there. We managed to find a dress shirt Titus needed for the formal dance that weekend for prices nearly as good as Goodwill. He also bought a neat leather jacket for only a few bucks. While the boys went upstairs to look for ties, Amber and I looked for a dress for her to wear to the formal. As you can see the boys were in full attendance for the show (and not too happy about how beautiful she looked, means more protection work for them :-)).
Then we wandered through the rest of the mall, hit the food court for lunch and boys made a dent in the Lego Store inventory. All-in-all a very pleasant day.
Titus joined the colorguard team for the Civil Air Patrol this month. He preformed at a couple different NC State basketball games looking rather dapper of course.
January 3rd was the ECD formal or "Candlelight Ball" this year. Not only did Amber attend for the first time this year, but so did her best friend Kimberly (which of course ment a sleepover as well). The girls managed a couple of those this month.
January 6th was a FIAR trip the Chinese Lantern Festival in Cary. Wow had it expanded since we last went about 10 years ago! The lights were absolutely beautiful and the performers top notch, the group favorite was the hat jugglers. We also learned everyones "animals": Chris and Jared are "Rooster", Lance "Sheep", Titus "Ox" and I was a "Pig".
January 10th was lot of socializing for the boys. Lance met up with his baseball team to hit some baseballs. Then met up with his brothers at two different friend open-houses that day.
January 11th Titus and I met with a flight instructor at FightGuest to get his Student Pilot Certificate. We had a great meeting learned a lot and are seriously considering the school as a path to getting his Commercial License.
January 16th Titus and Lance went to their first Hockey game at NC State and had a great time cheering on their friend in the band and watching the game.
January 17th Lance and Titus (nicknamed "Unicorn") went down to BlackOps near Ft. Bragg to play airsoft with their friend Daniel. Best time I think they've ever had down there.
January 22nd Titus finished up Cyber Patriot Competition for this half of the year, making it to Gold League.
Janruay 22nd was also my birthday. I had a very nice week being queen of the entertainment choices (much to boys chagrin). Chris and I even found a nice new casual Italian restaurant to eat lunch at that day (We'll have to take Jared there for his birthday to try the Calzones).
January 29th we went on a field trip with FIAR to the State Capitol. Our docent shared different stories from our last visit years ago which was very much enjoyed. After we had lunch together, Amber and I did a side trip to replace Lance's broken mug from the History Museum's gift shop.
The month finished out with two weekends of snow where the kids got to finally use the sledding hill Titus has spent a lot of time clearing and preparing during the previous weeks with - Dad (lots of moving and burning of debris), Khan (expert disorganizer) and Lance's help. Titus even carved stairs into side of the hill to make it easier to get back up and Alexander brought his professional tools to take down a couple of the larger trees that required climbing.
Kimberly came for a sleepover to enjoy the snow the second weekend while the boys went to a Square Dance. Most ironic was that the caller backed out the morning of the dance and Ms. Emily called Jared to see if he could call the dance. So Jared cram learned how to call four different square dances and mixed in four ECD dances he knew (no idea how he learns things like that so quick). They also lost the band, so some regulars of the group stepped up to play. Amazingly, according to multiple accounts, it was the best dance ever.
Additionally, throughout the month Amber had a modified riding schedule due to weather and her saddle having to be send in for a fix, but we made the best of it doing lots of ground work and managed to keep them moving forward in their skills.
Last big news was Jared being promoted to Assistant Manager at work. Who knows maybe someday he'll own the store.
