February was a pretty dreary month, but we tried to make the most of it. Most Michiganders say February is the hardest month, but I didn't really think it was that bad.
Dallin was looking particularly older this morning in the drop off line for school, so I snapped a quick picture. He's so very handsome!
Aliza had very exciting news! She passed her driving test to get her learners permit. I loved that no matter the weather, she was still taken out to practice driving, even in the snow! They took her driving in the daylight and the late night hours, and even taught her how to do the drive thru! All such crucial skills to learn. She is a very cautious driver and is an expert driver getting from our house to diving practice down town.
We had a special stake meeting in which a new ward was formed. Parts of the Kalamazoo 1st and 2nd wards combined with the Paw Paw Branch and turned it into the Paw Paw Ward. So we are officially in our 3rd ward in the last 3 months. And I'm personally thrilled about it! I'll admit that when we were looking at buying our house and I looked at the ward boundaries, I felt all along that somehow we were going to end up in the Paw Paw unit. The short time that we were in the K1 ward, it just never felt right to me. But my very first Sunday in the new ward felt so right! And I think I know why...I was called to be the Relief Society President of the ward. It's really been the best way for me to quickly get to know everyone! The Lord had a need for our family here and I already see us being used in ways we can help grow this tiny little ward. Our new church building is so small, it's meant for a branch, but we are making it work.
We made our first visit to St. Joseph in February. I was dying to see Lake Michigan in its frozen state. We first ate at Silver Beach Pizza, which is a pretty popular pizza place here. We just had to order "The Whirlpool" which has everything but the kitchen sink on it. Then we headed down to the snow covered beach. The water and waves were frozen and it was hard to tell where the beach ended and the water began. It was like nothing I've ever seen before, gorgeous in it's own way. And freezing cold!!! I hear in the summer this place is packed. We can't wait to come back and enjoy the waves.
That "Feels like" temperature of -13 is definitely the coldest I've ever felt! And we had several days like that this months.
Poor Koda out in the snow...he kept trying to sniff around, but his face would just freeze with big chunks of snow.
When we first moved here, we saw everyone has these orange sticks along their driveways. At the time there wasn't any snow on the ground yet. But since then as snow just keeps coming, we've learned the value of those little sticks that mark the edges of the driveway or road.
Sometimes all the snow and cold feels like a lot, but it sure can be beautiful too. I love when the snow has just fallen and it sit atop all the tree branches. Also, roads don't really get plowed here, just packed down and we take it slow.
A few weeks later we took another trip to St. Joe to see the Ice Festival. There were incredible ice sculptures who came from around the world to show off their talents. There were some really impressive displays.
