Christmas 2009

Last Tuesday we left for Michigan to celebrate Christmas with my family. Today we returned home after logging more than 1800 miles. Here are some of the memories from this trip:

• Upon entering Indiana on I-74 we were greeted at the Welcome Center with a sign reading "The water is not safe for drinking or washing your hands." Nothing is as welcoming as deadly, bacteria filled water.
• 101 Dalmations was played on Addie's DVD player 4 times. We listened to the audio recording and accompanying musical tracks to Audrey Wood's The Napping House at least 5 times. Bob & Larry sang to us 3 times.
  
• Hospitality is a wonderful gift. We received a warm welcome from the parents of a good friend with little advanced warning. We were grateful for the opportunity to stay at their house and enjoy their company. Thanks Kathy & Larry!
• Nothing beats spending time with friends and family. No matter how much time has passed it's wonderful to pick up on a relationship where you left off.
• We learned how to play a new game called *Blockus.* It's a fun game that we will be purchasing soon.
• Monica enjoyed watching Addie and her cousins play, taking pictures of them all, and thinking toward the future when they will look back on these times and see how little they were.
• Leaving a snow-less Michigan (for the most part) and arriving in a snowpacked Kansas is a little strange. After a 3 day, 900 mile trip home we were so excited to pull in the driveway only to get stuck. It took me a half hour to get the car unstuck.
• Someday it would be nice to live closer to my family.
• I can't wait for Monica to start using her ice cream maker and bread machine. They may be my favorite Christmas presents I didn't get.
• I'm getting older. Today I noticed more grey hair in my beard. I played basketball in my high school gym while home and felt winded after the first game of lightning. Okay, maybe I felt winded after the first shot but whatever.
• There's no place like home.