Weather – Page 37 – M. Sullivan Photography

Now that we are through the first week in January, I thought it might be time for a holiday recap.

Christmas Eve

Pack up Christmas presents, suitcases, 2 kids, 2 adults, one dog and a whole lot of gear.
Drive through snow storm to reach Mike’s parents’ house in the Twin Cities.
Avoid backed up traffic and accidents along the way. See a number of cars in the ditch.
Arrive 3 hours after departing Duluth. The trip usually takes 2 hours.
Miss Christmas Eve church service because we knew the kids couldn’t sit still for another 2 hours.
Finally relax and enjoy the snow.

: Posing For Mom

: New Snow Block Maker + Snow = Fort

Open Gifts

Polly Pocket Roller Coaster Resort & A Dog In A Headlock

Enjoy Christmas Eve steak dinner prepared by Tom and Karen.

: Tom Working Hard Grilling Steaks

Wait for Santa to arrive.

: Dreaming Of Tennis Balls And Long Walks

Christmas Day

Wake up and open presents from Santa.
Enjoy hearty breakfast prepared by Karen.
Drive over to Sean & Melissa’s to enjoy more delicious food and open more gifts.

Head back to Tom & Karen’s for some rest.

Kwanzaa/Boxing Day

We don’t actually celebrate either of these holidays, but we did celebrate what would have been Grandma Helen’s 102nd birthday. Tom & Karen hosted the annual family get-together that Grandma Helen once held at her house.

Help shovel the driveway, tidy up the aftermath of two days of present opening, help with food preparation and arrangement of chairs, etc.
Pose for a few family photos before guests arrive

Enjoy all the wonderful food Karen prepared and visit with family that we haven’t seen in months (or a year for some), take part in holiday gift exchange – always a good time!
Pretend to be a reindeer – actually that was just Sophia (see below).

Start packing for departure the next morning.

December 27

Pack up suitcases, 2 kids, 2 adults, one dog and way more stuff than we came with.
Drive 2 hours back to Duluth.
Unload suitcases, 2 kids, 2 adults, one dog and a whole lot of stuff.
Shortly afterwards, Mike packs up and heads for his 3 day fishing trip.
Mary comes to the realization that there is 2 feet of new snow that needs to be shoveled off the sidewalk and decks. Luckily our neighbor took care of the driveway.
The holiday is over!

Okay, so this really isn’t a Halloween costume. Poor Daphne has such a sparse coat that it was recommended that we buy her some “clothes” for winter. I’m not sure that I will be able to talk Mike into taking her out for walks in this. Maybe just the morning walks that he does on weekdays at 5:45am – when it’s still dark outside. For safety purposes, it does have a reflective strip on the back. It’s the best of both worlds – warm and safe.

She looks as though she likes it, right?

We are now officially one of those people who dress up their dogs. At least it’s not a sweater that is pink and frilly like Sophia wanted to buy for her.