january getaway

It seems it has become a family tradition to get away for a mini winter holiday as a family in January. Anyone who knows me well knows that enjoying winter can be somewhat of a chore for me, so a holiday that embraces the season by including some snowshoeing in a peaceful forest is a good thing. (And we had one glorious afternoon with soft falling snow that even included a lengthy fox sighting. Very memorable.) While being out in a winter wonderland is great, so is spending a little time indoors somewhere warm and balmy. Somewhere that helps shake the belief that we're stuck in Narnia for the hundred-year winter! A couple of hours at Bird Kingdom in Niagara Falls was, well... not balmy... but green at least. The cacophony of the birds gave a hint of warmer weather too. At the very least, the girls loved it.




















Maia was rather hilarious to watch, as she is capable of both stalking a bird and being freaked out by the thought of it approaching her. But those moments are rare. She seems to have gained her dad's capacity for watching a creature up close or even touching it without having any fear of it -- lots of caution, but usually no fear.



They have a reptile section with snakes, frogs and turtles too. She pet a boa constrictor and a number of turtles. Here she and her dad are carrying on a one-sided conversation with an amphibian while checking out the feel of his skin.


I seem to recall she was very compassionately asking if it was lonely without its friends nearby.



We actually visited Bird Kingdom last year -- almost a full year ago. Here I was then:



I stood in about the same spot and asked Tim to take another photo of me a year later. Can you detect the slight change in the more recent photo? :)


We haven't had a family photo taken in a while, so I set one up with a timer. It's hard to believe how big Eliana is until I see her in a family photo for some perspective.


The laughter of these two girls is still the best sound of my life.