Lake Michigan in the Winter

I actually took these photos over Christmas break which feels like eons ago. I had never been over to the lake during the winter and still want to make it back when there's more ice sometime. I never realized that fences are put up to keep the sand on the beaches. I didn't walk out there, but the ice was covered with sand and it looked really strange.

This was in St. Joseph. We had a fun day at the Children's Museum and just drove by the beach right before we headed back home.

Ground Zero to Heaps & Mounds

Last week, I was a little bit worried that we might not have a white Christmas. But then,

it started snowing!

Yesterday was a snow day for the kids. 2-3 inches overnight and 5-8 more yesterday. We spent a good deal of the day shoveling. Not all driveways and walks, I assure you. Elijah and Sariah created an amazing maze in the front yard.



My camera seems to underexpose or overexpose at night despite all the adjustments I tried. I looked out the window last night and thought the maze looked so cool, like a little world of it's own.

Winter, Spring, Summer

Same fence, different seasons. It's amazing how things change. I wanted to wait until I had the fall picture, but the idea wanted to come out of my head, so here it is!

Changing (Michigan) Attitudes One Person at a Time

The year I entered high school, my family moved to Massachusetts. My mom did not like this move at all and mentioned mostly the negatives to us kids about living in our new state. I couldn't really see much great about it either and I remember sitting in my 7th period study at the end of each day expounding on the many faults of MA to a new friend. One day she became fed up with me and told me in no uncertain terms that I was not to talk to her about this anymore. How would I like it if she moved to Utah and told me how horrible it was there? Point taken.

On to Michigan. I don't hear people saying that they LOVE to live in Michigan. As you may know from my previous posts, I LOVE Michigan! A lot of people I have known come to Michigan to complete some schooling or for their first job and can't wait to "get outta he-ya."

I admit the winters are cold (though not much colder than Utah or Massachusetts) and probably an even bigger factor is the lack of sunshine in the winter. I can see their point to some degree. I have done my share of complaining, but now I am out to convert even the hardest cases!

I was in Meijer (grocery chain) the yesterday and had such a fun experience. I could tell the cashier was a friendly guy and when I got up to the front of the line, I could see his badge. He had been given an award for his friendliness and now it was my turn to have a chat with him. He made some comments here and there about my purchases. We got to the sand toys and I explained that we are planning on hitting the beach this summer. At one point a comment he made (said he had been to the upper peninsula and was amazed to find that Michigan could be pretty), made me wonder if he was originally from MI, so I asked. He told me yes and asked me the same. I told him we were transplants, that we had come for school and loved it. We decided to stay. He told me that I was the first person he had ever heard say that before. So began my sales pitch.

"Where else can you live where you have an east coast and a west coast, where you can visit 'up north,' where you can see lots of pine trees if you want to and if you like snow activities you can do that too? The fall is absolutely beautiful and once spring arrives you are so glad to see it that it looks and feels magnificent."

He was amazed by this new perspective on Michigan. I think I left him considering it a little. He really doesn't need an attitude adjustment with his free smile and friendly ways, but even if he can enjoy our great state a little more, it was certainly worth it!

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Here's something to consider no matter which state you live in and whether you like your surroundings or not. This is from my friend Jeff, who has just arrived back to the Grand 'Ole US of A, from a year in Iraq:

America The Beautiful

When the flight touched down the crowded plane full of uniformed troops under my command erupted into cheers and applauds. “Thank God,” the Staff Sergeant and Miami Beach cop sitting next to me expressed with the deepest sincerity. His voice crackled. It sounded like he would cry.

“Yes, America!” shouted others while the clapping continued.

I was so choked up I could cry and shout all at once. The feelings were contagious.

My gratitude to be back in the land of the free and the home of the brave cannot be adequately described.

Also, it might sound funny but I want to run through all the thick, green bushes and roll around in the tall grass. I’d like to climb a tree and hug a branch, soaking up the scent of the leaves and feel them brush against my skin. Man, America is BEAUTIFUL.

…I can hardly wait to see my family again.

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For more of Jeff's writing, see his blog.

Spring is Here!!

I was feeling bad that I didn't blog to welcome in the Spring yesterday.There's plenty of time for that later, because as it turns out (insert tongue in cheek) Michigan really delivers where Spring is concerned!

Gumby fell in snow up to his armpits!

All of the Michiganders I've encountered today are either a little bewildered or a little sarcastic by this rude dumping from the clouds.

Morning Breaks!

The shadows flee!

This snow melted this week. I wanted to write a post about how amazing it is in Michigan when the temperature soars to 50 degrees. People were out and about yesterday. I think we are all feeling safe to come out of hibernation now!

The Bear Days of Winter

If there are "dog days" of summer, what we have going here must surely be the "bear days" of winter. I just want to curl up and wait for the crocuses to bloom.

February is a hard month for me. It has been this way as long as I can remember. As much as I love Michigan, the long stretches of grey days get to me. I'm feeling surrounded by old man winter and wondering if it's even possible that buds will spring out of the tree branches. When the sun comes out, I try to soak it in. Since we don't really get outside much, this usually means leaving my sun visor up and letting that sun hit my face (never mind the crow's feet I'm developing around my eyes). A few weeks ago, the series of weather events left us with thick ice on the cement in our breezeway. We took turns breaking the ice. Whew! I have a man who is skilled with a sledge hammer!



I did take some fun pictures of Sariah on a sunny day two weeks ago after I made a big mound of snow. She decided that she was queen of the mountain and stayed out there on top of the hill for quite some time. One of those sunny days to enjoy and save inside yourself for a day like today, all grey, brown and white.


She sings a song to the tune of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow:"

I'm the Queen of the mountain,
I'm the Queen of the mountain,
I'm the Queen of the mountian,
Sariah!

Wiggle!

Nathan's Level 4 (city) swim teacher had a nickname for him. Wiggle! He can't swim a straight line, but he loves to swim and he's good at it. We recently switched Nathan over to the YMCA because the city wasn't offering Level 5/6 this winter. It's turned out to be a really good thing because the kids get more one-on-one time with a teacher, Val, that Nathan really likes. We're planning on putting him in a couple of private sessions soon to polish some of his strokes.

It's a nice winter activity, sitting in a 75-80 degree room on a lounge chair, watching your kid swim!

Wildlife Out My Window

My computer desk is right next to my front window where my bird feeders hang. Now that I'm using Joseph's Xacti High Definition Digital Movie/Camera, I can get great close-ups. I don't like squirrels much, but they look cool hanging upside down stealing bird food and it's very fun scaring them and watching them scramble onto the awning for fear of their lives. The woodpeckers are my favorite and the yellow finches are Joseph's favorite. This summer, we're going to go bird watching early in the morning and see what we can see at Fenner Nature Center with our new spotting scope, if we can haul our behinds out of bed in time to do it!

Bye for now!

A Little Sunshine

It's 34 degrees, grey as can be with rain pouring down on top of our ice and snow. Lots of big puddles because the rain has no where to go. I don' t even want to go down and check my basement for signs of leaking! But, here's a little sunshine from last years flower beds!

Potholes

Thanks to lsj.com for the photo

I wish I could show you what some of the roads look like here. It's supposed to be the worst pothole season on record! It is amazing. There are times when I'm afraid my tire is going to go into a hole and not make it out again. Then there are other places where there is rut after rut after rut. I tried to take a picture yesterday, but:

a) I was driving
b) I was using my phone's camera
c) It was really cold outside, so my kids didn't like my window down.

It looks like a war zone in some places. Well, maybe it looks like a war zone to a small rodent, but still.

The other day it had been snowing and the roads were pretty slick. My kids were being kids and it was a tense ride home. Then we hit the potholes. I thought my body was going to shatter. Just terrible. I'm always so happy to see the road crews out working that I want to roll my window down and thank them! There's really not much they can do until warm weather is here to stay. It's the freeze and thaw that causes it. Here's an article that describes it. This website actually has a pothole photo contest! Don't take a photo while driving. Well, duh! Hey, wait a minute...I'm not accountable for what I do with five kids fighting together in the van.

It's funny because I had been thinking about writing a blog about this and now I'm searching the internet for a photo and finding many, many news articles about the problem!

These potholes are an especial problem for a person like me. When I try to miss them, it is most likely that I will actually hit them. BUMP!!

What Packable Snow Can Produce

I cannot believe how exhausted I am from building a snowman. Well, I also started a pile of snow for a snow fort, having been inspired by Heidi's post yesterday.

It's been a while since I helped build a snowman. A few years ago, Joseph and I stole out one night after the kids were all tucked into bed to recreate a scene from Calvin and Hobbes I was secretly hoping to play up Nathan's magical thinking stage at the time and make him believe that there really were Snow Goons--stranger things have happened--when he asked me where the tooth fairy lived I told him that she lived on a mountain of teeth in the Himalayas. I told him I would prove it by doing a Google search. You can prove anything to a 6-7 year old with a Google search. I showed him how many hits we had for the three words: Himalayas, tooth, and fairy. I had him convinced, without visiting the sites listed, which would have surely been my downfall.

Back to Calvin and Hobbes. If you haven't read "Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons, " it's a must. Beyond hilarious, it will make your sides hurt. Joseph and I built lots of mini snowmen. Some were two headed, or "deranged" in other ways. It was a blast!

Comics are considered an o.k. reading source for kids (therefore, adults!), according to "The Read-Aloud Handbook," so plunge on in!

Snowy, Snowy Day

Yippee! I don' t have any boots, but I'm going out to build a snow man today. Sariah says she won't come. I hope she changes her mind!

Feed the Birds

When I was studying in Monterey, California at Stanford's Hopkins Marine Station, I would often walk the two miles to and from the station. On the corners of the streets, they have these interesting traffic lights that are low to the ground. The "stop" light is especially large and has a round, black encasement big enough for a small bird to build it's nest within.

It was due to this that I developed an enormous dislike for birds. The first time "it" happened, I was stunned. I was just walking home, minding my own business, when suddenly I was pecked on the head. It hurt, too! I imagine I looked pretty funny flailing my arms and running away from my bird attacker. The next day, I had learned my lesson and went to the other side of the street. This bird was unswerved from it's plan to annihilate me and got me again. I believe, after that, I chose a new route entirely.

So I officially hated birds. Then a few years later a guest speaker came to speak to the BYU Zoology Department from Minnesota. Her specialty was, you guessed it, ornithology. She talked about how cold it is in MN and that birds roosting at night can burn up to 40 percent of their body fat. Even if it is below zero during the day, they must go out and forage for food or they will die. I could hear the violins playing!

I have relented my hatred for birds. I love to hear the sound of the hundreds of crows that sometimes visit us and sit in our trees. I have vowed to take their picture if they will just come and visit me. The other day I couldn't see the crows, but I could hear them and took this video.



And, I even hang bird feeders in my front yard for the various, finches, chickadees, woodpeckers and other birds to visit on COLD winter days! I also leave all my dead plants in place for the winter so that the birds will have materials for their nests in the Spring.

13 Degrees Below!

Michigan winter has arrived! Yesterday it was 44 degrees, but today huge wind gusts are bringing us 13 below. It's Nathan's fault, really. He tells me that if you wear your p.j.'s inside out and backward (see below), you'll have a snow day. He must have heard wrong though, because it's actually a cold wind day, with only about one inch of snow.
Here's the steam from last night's pasta on Sariah's window.

So, we are chilly this morning!

Snowflake Bentley

The other day I was reading on this blog and came across a children's reading list she had put together. Books about winter. The library around here is so great because all the branches are linked together and what one branch doesn't have, another often will. If that doesn't work, I search Melcat which is a search engine for the participating libraries across the whole state of Michigan. If I'm still coming up empty, I usually give up. We have too many books and movies in our house to buy more.

At any rate, I requested several of the books on the list and held out a little on a book called "Snowflake Bentley." I pictured it as a cutsie little book about a snowflake and his "adventures." Turns out I was wrong. It's about a boy who loved snow and his attempts to draw and photograph snow many, many years ago. And it's a Caldecott. It was very informative and intriguing. Sariah listened to the whole book and kept asking me in amazement how we could read so many pages.

Another reason that I liked the book is that in December when Joseph was making tags for his boxes of toffee, he decided he'd like a picture of a snowflake on them. He went to a website that had pictures of real snowflakes and I spent a while looking at them then. So amazing. Check out this website. The website also has a lot of information that might be interesting including the age-old question, Are any two snowflakes alike? These photos are in color. You have to see them!

Turns out, my Google search last night also pulled up a website featuring the snowflakes of Bentley himself.

http://snowflakebentley.com/snowflakes.htm

Great Wolf Lodge

This year, Joseph and I decided that our house is already too full and we opted to take a small trip over Christmas rather than buying gifts. We did let the kids vote before putting this plan into action and it was unanimous. The bonus for us is that Christmas Eve and Christmas actually had cheaper rates than the other vacation days.

We’ve had a lot of friends go to the Great Wolf Lodge and tell us that we “HAVE” to go there. It seems to be a Michigan thing to do! After so many years of college where a missed day was missed pay, holiday or not, paid vacations are a real blessing!

So, on the evening of December 23^rd, we headed up to Traverse City, Michigan. I love going north in Michigan because you get into pine forests and they are beautiful. Plus, where our snow had melted, northern Michigan had some and so we were in for a white Christmas that we wouldn’t have had at home! About half the trip was through a blizzard on backcountry roads, so we got an extra adventure thrown in for the cost of only a little extra anxiety!

Because we have seven people we had to get a room called “Kid’s Cabin” which was actually very nice because the kids got a separate room (which looked like a log cabin) with their own TV. We had plenty of space to spread out! Part of any vacation for us is TV watching, since at home we don’t watch. It’s mostly movies for us. So, it’s fun to be able to watch Discovery Channel. We watched marathon showings of “Survivor Man” and “Myth Busters.” Both were really fun and informative. The kids also enjoyed hours of hysterical laughter to the spectacle of America’s Funniest Videos.

And, of course, there was in indoor water park. The slides were a blast and the kids had fun in the Lazy River and just playing around in the pool. And, who can resist having 1000 gallons of water dumped on their heads every five minutes? There’s a large barrel that fills with water and dumps when it’s full. I can’t tell you how many times I saw Elijah running to be there when it dumped. All of the kids except Brigham had a great time doing back and front flips in the pool with Joseph’s help. May was scared at first, but discovered after being bribed ($1 per flip) that she actually enjoyed it. The things fathers do. Sigh…

We found that the slides are best with two people riding down together on a double tube. On the last day, I found out that if I leaned back as far as I could, it made for a wilder ride. Funny coming from me as I was terrified to go down the first time and screamed the whole way!

Nathan, May and Elijah enjoyed the lily pads. They were giant lily pads across a pool and the goal is to make it from one side to the other without falling in the water. I have a funny video of Joseph’s version of this game. He wouldn't let me include this video, so see the one below of May. We'll leave it to your imagination!

We still had a lovely reading of the Christmas story including many supporting scriptures. And Santa visited us with one gift per child and some treats. They also got their annual Christmas Eve pajamas. (See below)

We had a really great Christmas. I did miss being home, but it was worth it!