New Year's Day

Happy New Year!  

It snowed so heavily that the storm even had a name--Hercules!  Ed shoveled the drive and walks 3 times (the professional snow removal is twice the regular cost on holidays so we declined holiday service this year.  Of course, this is what made it snow.  lol), and our neighbors came by with the snow blower but you couldn't tell, the snow just kept pouring down.

Adela came today and Ed and I walked to the Cantina to watch the Badgers play against S. Carolina in the Capitol One bowl.  Sadly, they lost, and didn’t play as well as Ed thought they could or should. (Michigan State won the Rose Bowl tonight, which wasn’t exactly a cause for celebration in Casa Gustafson)

Later in the afternoon, the big girls played outside in the snow and Daddy went out to play, too.  They were surprised to find an arrow stuck in our garden!  Daddy took it around to the neighbors just to give the parents a head’s up that someone might be putting a little more oomph than intended behind their shots.  We were surprised to discover it came from all the way over at the South West corner of Easton and Hawthorne!  It’s amazing it made it through all those trees--what a fluke!  All that walking and talking to neighbors was interesting for Ed today, he met (re-met?)another family that lives on the southeast corner of Easton and Hawthorne, the house where he and his brother used to attend River Rats swim parties.  He also learned from our neighbors to the south that long ago, our drive used to be plowed for free by the city because, before our neighbors to the west tore them down, there were two houses at the end of the drive and one was occupied by an important doctor who worked at Delnor and the city wanted to be sure he could get out in bad weather if he was needed.

The plows have been out all day today but are having a hard time keeping up with all the snow.  Thank goodness it’s a holiday and traffic has been light.

The girls skyped with grandma this evening, and Adelaide dumped a glass of water on daddy’s laptop.  Fingers crossed it will dry out and work properly.

Between the football, the snow, the laptop and the fact that Cecily has been teething and crying for about a week, Ed worried maybe we weren’t off to a super start to the new year, so he ate oysters tonight for good luck

(1/1/14 Walking to the Cantina, the spray from the plows easily reaches the sidewalk and beyond.  Despite efforts by most neighbors, the sidewalks were quickly recovered in snow and the roads were slick and slushy all day)

(1/1/14 Matilda’s sweet “selfie” with Daddy)

(1/1/14 Matilda’s “selfie”--proof that “duck face” is somehow imprinted upon all young girls in the technological age)

(1/1/14 Matilda’s “snow-tee” playing outside in her new snow pants.  The very snow pants that made her cry, worried that because they were too big everyone would think she was a grown up and laugh at her.  I’ll admit, the fit is kind of funny looking without a coat, but she’s so tall and skinny and snow pants are bulky anyway, they DID keep her warm and dry, which is the point.)

(1/1/14 Evelyn constructed a zoo, making cages in the snow out of celery sticks to house her grape animals)

(1/1/14 Cecily is teething… we think (hope?).  She has basically been crying and/or being held since 12/26.  It’s exhausting.  For us.  But here’s Daddy baby-whispering, getting C-Liz to take a little nap, finally--note Daddy’s smile, it was a relief for all of us to see her calm!)