So now it’s January, and feeling a little more like January, so that means spending quality time with the kids indoors until it warms up enough to be called Spring.

On Saturday morning, I made some Crockpot Breakfast Casserole and took the kids to my parents’ house for breakfast with them and Uncle Jonny. I mostly wanted to give Vivian was quiet time as the kids played with toy trains and read stories with grandma for a couple hours in the morning. We also got to try a vintage soda called Moxie, which contained gentian that gave it a flavor not unlike aromatic bitters.

Then in the afternoon, we took the kids to the Mid-America Center for a model train show. Aaron in particular loves model trains, and we got to see several of them ranging from tiny, tiny model trains to ones big enough for your backyard. The most fun part of the visit, however, were the little pump-action train carts that Hannah and Aaron got to noisily ride around in a circle. I’m not entirely sure it was all worth the price of admission, but they both seemed to have fun.

On Sunday night, we took the kids to Movie Night at First Presbyterian Church. We had hot dogs together and then watched The Secret Life of Pets, which was an unexpectedly cute and funny movie. They had a few crafts afterward involving making paper plate characters and Puppy Chow before we packed it in and headed home.

Then no Monday, dad and I had a guys’ night out at Pastor Ryan’s house as we watched the BCS Championship Game. I’m not normally a fan of football, but I’m always up for watching Alabama play in the Championship title game. The game itself was quite a nail biter and exciting to watch even though Alabama lost. It was more dramatic than any football-related activity around here anyway, if you don’t count who Riley is firing before next season.