Getting Ready

I'm all ready for March. Are you?

Highland Conservatory

For the first time since we have lived here, we went to the conservatory at Highland Park. It is a pretty neat place. Different climates in different rooms.The desert room was pretty dangerous because of all the cacti--some very sharp needles.  

There were some huge palms and many flowering plants. The Spanish moss was pretty neat too.

Winter only comes on Sundays

The winter has certainly been unusual. Last Sunday it was snowy (previous post) but then the rest of the week was fairly warm with a couple days in the mid forties. Then for the weekend the "arctic front" moved in and we got Sunday snow again. Overnight and until about 11am, it was snowing like crazy. When Caleb got home from his morning meetings he said the visibility with the snow falling and blowing was only about 100 feet. We ended up with about a foot of snow. But later this week the weather is once again supposed to be in the 40's. Not the typical Rochester snow that falls and doesn't melt until spring. Sadie and Sylvester loved going out to romp through it all. Sadie had to work a little harder to leap high enough to make it through. Sylvester was so excited to go outside that he was springing around with little leaps.

Cold and Snowy Outside, Warm and Toasty Inside

Last Sunday, we got a surprise when we looked outside. An hour earlier it had been dry with no sign of snow, but then suddenly there were already 2 inches and it was coming down like crazy. We went for a drive to see if we could find any fun pictures. Even in the dark it seemed pretty light because of all the snow reflection.

For dinner we had warm and toasty individual chicken pot pies, kind of a fun change from the usual and just the right size. Sylvester wished that he got one of his own. (sorry Caleb)

Marshmallow World

 Thursday on the weather channel there was an article listing the 5 areas that are the furthest behind their average to date snowfall. The Rochester area was #2. So far the official snowfall had been 1.5 inches and typically by mid January, Rochester has received about 35 inches. There are no complaints about the lack of snow so far. In fact is has been pretty nice.

But Friday the weather decided to help us start to make up that deficit by finally bringing the snow. Time to officially haul out the boots, scarfs, gloves, etc. And the temperatures have dropped to re-enforce that it is actually winter (today in the mid-teens). Hopefully this delayed start doesn't mean it will still snowing in June.

Kansas City New Years

As we headed across Kansas we stopped to visit several grandparents. First stop was to See Grandma Georgie and Bud. This was the first time we had been to their house so we got the grand tour. They took us on a tour of Wamego to see the Christmas lights. We played a bit with Bandit and his toy. It was a good visit. On our way through Topeka we were able to stop and see Grandpa Fisher and Wilma and also Grandma Marcell.

 We went down to the Plaza to see the lights, see the windows at Halls, and stop at the Cheesecake Factory for dessert. It was so nice outside that we were able to eat at the tables outside. Such weird weather for December.

We were also able to stop by and see the Kansas City temple in the process of being built. It was a lot bigger than we expected--definitely seemed bigger than St. Louis or Palmyra. It was such a nice day we didn't even have to wear jackets.

You will see that there are no pictures of Sadie and Sylvester with Zoe (Nellie's dog). Zoe has a lot of energy and Sadie and Sylvester are a little more low key. Generally they just avoided her, although once Sadie had had enough and she put Zoe in her place. By late the last night there, Zoe and Sylvester had warmed up to each other and had a good time chasing each other around the living room. Zoe however never warmed up to Caleb. Every time he walked into the room, she would start barking at him. It drove Caleb crazy, all dogs always love him.

We spent New Years Eve with almost every in the family up at the Kearney church building so we would have plenty of space. There was the traditional shrimp, crab legs and steak dinner, followed by some Christmas games and gift exchanging. Some Wii Just Dance, a basketball game, shooting the new rubber band guns, and lots of snacking on the treats we had made in the afternoon. We celebrated New Years "New York Style" ( at 11pm in KC) so that everyone could head home before all the crazy drivers. It was a whole lot of fun.

We had a great holiday and are so glad we got to spend it with family. Happy New Year!