January 2016 Highlights

January 2016 was a fun one for the Brooks family as we continued getting to know our new area!  Here are our highlights:

We started 2016 trying something new with the kids...the drive in!  We saw the new Star Wars movie and gorged ourselves on snacks as we rang in the new year.  It was a really fun experience...though we decided that Andrew is not quite ready for a repeat since he was more interested in climbing all over everyone and stealing snacks!

I enjoyed spending most of my days with Andrew and Seth.  They work hard, play hard...and hardly nap.  When they do, it's pretty great!

We also have LOVED the beautiful scenery that surrounds us.  We are just a few blocks from the temple and love all of the surrounding palm trees and citrus groves.  Some mornings that air is even slightly orange-scented, and I just can't get enough!  Renae also earned Student of the Month in her class, and I was so happy to actually be able to see her receive the award!  Baby boy also started really growing, and I finally started looking pregnant.  Mostly, we just enjoyed spending so much family time together this month!

About an hour away from us is a pretty fun zoo...The Living Desert!  Sure, there aren't as many animals at this zoo as there are at other zoos we've visited, but the desert gardens there are pretty amazing!  I also loved how many interactive exhibits there are to really keep the kids entertained.

We finished up January by visiting the Orange Empire Railway Museum.  I think the biggest kid in the group (ahem, Brandon) was the biggest fan of this museum, but I think we all really enjoyed the day.  It's free, which is pretty great, but the number of different trains that we could learn about was impressive!  You also can't beat sunshine and 70 degrees in January!