OUR JANUARY WEEKS

We did it! We are almost done with January! This is usually my least favorite month - it seems like the darkest and most dreary month, especially after Christmas - but it didn't seem so terrible this past month. I think a lot of it had to do with me changing up my days and most of it had to do with the fact that my parents were here! 

I'll write about this more later, but one of the things I'm trying to work out is how to incorporate regular exercise back to this new rhythm. I usually go work out after dinner, but that means I come home late, and after a shower I'm strangely wired and tired at the same time. I'm experimenting with things here and there, I'll report back! 

I always feel the most like myself when I'm with my parents. On one of the nights they were here, we went out just the three of us and hung out at a cafe to talk and eat dessert.  I love hanging out with them. Also, isn't my mom's beret marvelous!

We went down to Virginia Beach the first weekend my parents were here to visit Ken's mom and grandma and we had really good dim sum! Then we hung out at the bookstore with some friends, and then all went out to go eat Mexican. It was a cold and blistery day, but we filled up with good food and conversation. 

The next weekend we went up to Silver Spring, MD to meet my sisters, their husbands and my cousin Lo.  It was a chance for us to all gather together, do a gift exchange and also celebrate my niece! 

We got to celebrate my niece's first birthday and my sister set up a dohl (Korean tradition of celebrating the baby at one year) which included a table with rice cake and fruit and a game where the baby gets to choose an item to indicate her future aspirations. My niece is not quiet one years old yet, but since my parents won't be here when she turns one, we decided to celebrate it now. 

I have hanbok that my mom had gotten the girls for Logan's first birthday, and they both got to wear it this past weekend. 

The girls wore their hanbok (traditional Korean dress) and 

The next day was a beautiful sunny day. So gorgeous that I celebrated with the girls by going to one of my favorite places, North End Juice Company, after church. I especially love their smoothie bowls and empanadas and avocado toast. We also sampled their amazing ice cream and brought two cartons - one of charcoal lemonade and the other one that we affectionately call "dino" ice cream. They are vegan and the latter one has mango sorbet, spinach, tumeric, wheatgrass, spirulina, chlorella, goji berries, and kale. It is so good! 

This is Sloane saying "I want to be an artist." and Logan saying, "Where is my smoothie bowl?!"