It's hard to believe that today is Christmas Day. This whole year has gone so fast! We were scheduled to go to Milwaukee on Sunday (12/23/07), but there was a big winter storm coming. It was questionable whether or not we'd go. When we woke up in the morning, we had about 8 inches of snow, and it was NOT done snowing! Our driveway was one big drift and there was no way we were going anywhere until our neighbors plowed us out. We decided that we'd wait and see what the weather would do. We had planned to leave by noon, and at that point, said OK, we'll leave at half-time of the Packer game. NO, it was NOT done snowing yet, but we figured it was now or never!
Here's a couple of pics I took before we left:
This first one is looking out our patio doors:
This is looking out the front door:
And, the saddest pic of all . . .
We watched the radar and it looked like we'd be out of the snow by the time we hit Waupaca (about an hour and 15 minutes south of us). Unfortunately, that was not to be. The snow followed us the entire time. We had near white out conditions quite a bit. Sometimes they were caused by the blowing and drifting snow, and sometimes they were caused by the idiots that were passing cars on the left (unplowed) side of the highway. Actually, the right side wasn't really plowed either, but with all the traffic, there was a "path" for everyone to follow.
There were a LOT of cars on the road during Sunday's storm and quite often, we just followed the vehicle in front of us. Most times, I was only driving about 40-45 mph and drove the entire way in four wheel drive. The kids were quite good, and actually stayed awake the entire drive! Most times, after the first hour or two, they fall asleep. I think they were as nervous as we were. Course, they had some excitement, too, as they were keeping count of the number of vehicles that landed in the ditch! LOL OK, so that's not really funny, but if folks were prudent and cautious, they wouldn't end up in the ditch in the first place! On the 230 mile drive, we counted 20 vehicles in the ditches. One was a semi, and four vehicles had flipped. "Stupid" hardly describes these folks!
While some may consider us foolish for driving in the storm, we took our time and knew it was going to be a very long drive. What normally takes 3-1/2 to 4 hours took us a total of SIX hours. We found out from friends that left the next morning, that the roads weren't much better, and may even have been worse. At least while we were driving, we were in snow, so I had some traction. By the next morning, the roads were covered more with ice than snow (we had rain all day Saturday, so that's understandable). I would MUCH rather drive in snow than ice!
So, we made it to Milwaukee and my dear sister, Linda, had a cocktail waiting for my outstretched hand when we walked through the door! ;)
We had a great time with my family, and this morning, stopped to visit with Greg's sister and her husband and family. Danny makes the BEST Belgian waffles, and the kids always look forward to them, so we had a lovely late breakfast of homemade waffles. We spent some time chatting and opening gifts to each other. While it was a really short visit (just a couple hours), we were happy to at least have the time to stop and see them. Living up here, we don't get to see Greg's sister much anymore, so any chance we have, and especially at Christmas, we try to stop and visit!
We made it home in our usual four hours and the drive was quite uneventful, thank goodness! Our neighbors plowed us out while we were gone and also took care of the chickens, duck, geese and goats. We are very lucky to have such wonderful neighbors! Now, I just have to figure out what I'm going to bake for Jim for plowing us out!
After unpacking everything, we finally had time to open our own gifts. The kids had fun, and of course, the house is a mess, but that's OK. We're all happy and healthy and that's the most important thing!
One thing Abby wanted was a Matchbox-type racetrack. I managed to find a great one on Amazon and got a really good deal. We put the track together, and it turns out it needs FOUR "D" batteries! Who'd have thunk it! Well, no D cells at home, but we have a BUNCH at the store. So, yes indeed, you guessed it, Greg drove to our own store to buy some batteries! When they got back and we put the batteries in, everything worked great! Abby was thrilled! The funniest thing was that the cats went bonkers over it! All three cats were sitting in "pounce" mode watching the cars fly on the racetrack! Mitzi pounced the most (she's our mouser), so that made sense! It was VERY funny to watch all three of them with the heads spinning, watching the cars!
Maddie (our shepherd) is right now sleeping in our bed. She's exhausted. She spent most of the last two days outside running and chasing my sister's dog, Otis. Otis is just a year old, so is full of energy! Poor Maddie had more exercise these last two days than she's had in the last two months!
Aaron's busy on their computer putting music on his phone and playing with the new toys he received from his aunts and nana and papa. Erica's upstairs painting her nails or putting make-up on, or some such thing! She received a bunch of make-up and nail polish and also a lighted make-up mirror and a hand mirror! Yea! That means she's not going to be stealing MY mirror any more!
So, that's pretty much it from the Mik Family for the last couple of days! We hope that all our friends and family had an absolutely wonderful Christmas!
Julie
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