Winter is the king of showmen,
Turning tree stumps into snow men
And houses into birthday cakes
And spreading sugar over lakes.
Smooth and clean and frosty white,
The world looks good enough to bite.
That's the season to be young,
Catching snowflakes on your tongue.
Snow is snowy when it's snowing,
I'm sorry it's slushy when it's going.
(Ogden Nash)
winter It's January, where is the snow? They're getting feet upon feet of it in New England, so how come we can't be that lucky? Come on, where's our snow!?!? Today we are posting a picture of Calvin thoroughly enjoying the snow we had two weeks ago as our version of a snow dance, our mouse's clock (as from "Twas the Night Before Christmas"), in hopes of enticing Jack Frost to visit our area once again. There are more snow pictures in the January 5-11 album, just in case you are missing the snow as much as we are.
winter ...no we did not move to Florida, and yes it is still January. So what are powerful thunderstorms doing moving through the state of Michigan in what is arguably supposed to be the coldest month of year? God only knows. Seriously. Sunday was relatively chilly, but Monday brought a spring like thaw, climbing all the way to 63 degrees, and the subsequent thunderstorms and tornado warnings kept us on our toes all night. Tuesday was not much cooler or dryer, and the wee hours of Wednesday morning brought gale force winds upwards of 50mph that blew our 7 foot (now curbside) Christmas tree down the street. We've heard of the January thaw, but this is a little ridiculous.
It has been a whirlwind two weeks, starting with good friends visiting, then visiting good friends, then Christmas, then family visiting from afar, then visiting family afar... basically we have not been on our routine for over 2 weeks now because we either weren't at home or we had guests at home with us. Over the course of those two weeks Calvin went on two 2 hour and one 5 hour car trip (adding 
up to 18 hours of driving), napped in two different cars and four different houses, and spent the night in two houses other than his own (amounting to more nights away than at home), ate in six different restaurants, six different homes, and one car, and attended three different parties packed with strangers, and during all that time nobody lost any of their sleep or sanity. In all actuality it would appear that Calvin was born to travel and party.
So what was the best part of the holidays? Seeing friends and family that we see only once a year is always very special to us, 
and marked our season with a special joy. And Christmas itself was truly magical this year with Calvin being such an active participant, ripping open packages and squealing with delight over every new gift (even the socks). We spent the last week of the holiday season in Harbor Springs, our favorite vacation destination, and in addition to our usual enjoyments (
such as visiting family, a Mackinaw City trip, local restaurants, and putt putt) we were treated to a week of nearly constantly falling snow (starting with the 10 inches that fell during a snow storm our first night there), giving us a vacation that was beautiful, serene, and oh so fun for a toddler who is learning to sled. It was exactly what we needed for a strong end to our 2007-2008 holiday season. Well, that and the fantastic football game we enjoyed from the edges of our seats in our snow encompassed lodgings (think Citrus Bowl goes to Michigan).
Yes, it has been a magical two weeks, and we were ready to return to our routines today, if only that had happened, but is anything ever really that simple? 
What started out as a normal day quickly became muddled by a dead car battery that threw everyone's day for a loop, and an odd evening of mishaps, which included Cortney absent-mindedly mistaking Calvin's soap bottle for lotion and having to start his bath all over again. Fortunately, whether due to the recent weeks of escape or something in the air (perhaps the beauty of the recent 11 inch snowfall here at home), all three of us remained in good spirits in spite of the frustrating disruptions. Maybe tomorrow will be more routine, but nobody's holding their breath.
Pictures from Christmas are in the Dec 22-28 album.
Pictures from New Years are in the Dec 29-Jan 4 album.
