A winter spa break!

Well, maybe not a real spa, but where we were was at least as good. We spent the past week at Aunt Lonnie's house, Cortney's Godmother, in Harbor Springs, and what a relaxing week it was. We shopped with aunt Lonnie for baby things in the quaint shops in Petoskey; were joined by Curtis and Patty the next day and had lunch at our favorite Petoskey sub bar, The Noggin Room; Were joined by Cortney's parents the next day and drove up to Mackinaw City for fantastic fried perch at the Keyhole bar, and picked up fudge and caramel corn while we were there; opened champagne and lots of hilarious gifts on New Year's Eve; rang in the New Year with Dick Clark wannabees; built a snowman (Curtis and Jon); enjoyed burgers at Bar Harbor in Harbor Springs; and drove to Bay Harbor for window shopping and ice cream; and spent plenty of "down time" reading, napping, and playing video games. Speaking of New Year's Eve - they added a leap second this year, did anyone notice? We're still trying to get acclimated... oh wait, maybe that's just the frustration of having to return to work, chores, and other duties after a week in a winter paradise.  Yeah, I guess that's it.

 Thank you again and again to Aunt Lonnie and to Cortney's mom and dad for a wonderful place to stay, for wonderful meals over and over, and for great company.

 Happy New Year to all!

Tip of the Mitt

We have managed to escape to our haven in northern Michigan, Harbor Springs, for a four-day weekend. Arriving on Thursday night, when it was pitch black, made for a refreshing view on Friday morning, when we were greeted by the beautiful bay view. It has been one year since we last were here, and it has been interesting to see the changes. Pirates Cove Adventure Golf added several pirate mannequins and a big lighthouse, which will certainly warrant a nighttime visit. The Roast and Toast coffee shop added delicious scrambled egg wraps to their menu. The Emmett County Medical Center completed its renovations. More multi-million-dollar mansions have sprouted on the waterfront. New fast food joints have appeared. But in spite of all the development, it still remains a beautiful getaway. And it is the simple pleasures, like a walk along the pier, and a nap on the deck covered with the dogs, that make this a wonderful vacation.

Spring showers, May flowers

We didn't have a whole lot of April showers, mostly snow, so I just call them spring showers.  We did get a lot of flowers, though.  This was only our second spring in the house so it was our first try with planting tulips in the fall.  A lot of them came up, and then a lot of them fed a lot of hungry baby bunnies, so only a few made it to adulthood.  Poor tulips.
With the nice weather returning the whole family is enjoying neighborhood walks.  The dogs get really riled up whenever you mention "walk" or "cart" (Diamond's wheelchair) or "OUTside," and then all bets are off.  We should probably know better than to try and take a family photo when the kids are in their walk paraphernalia.  It took about fifty tries to get a decent one, and this is it, thanks to the "attention getting device" that we tossed towards the camera (read: a rock).