Sunday, January 3, 2010

midwestern christmas

Jesse and I left a pleasantly warm Los Angeles before dawn on December 22nd, and four hours later arrived in the Milwaukee airport to see this scene:
I'd really been looking forward to a white Christmas, so it was exciting to get out into the falling snow. As amused as we were when we walked outside, I'm sure most people around us would not have guessed that we have spent the majority of our winters with snow.

We spent a night at my Grandma Diehn's in Big Bend and even got to participate in the annual cookie-making (and eating). I finally learned how to make the little pink fluffy ones.

Next up was Jesse's parents' home in Lakeside, Wisconsin. On Christmas Eve morning, we walked outside to piles of falling snow, and it didn't stop all day. It was perfect for staying inside with all 18 family members, opening presents and playing games.This was the view from the family room...could look at it all day:Proof that we were there:We drove next across the top of Wisconsin to see my parents in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, stopping in Ashland to see some friends. The truck stop below is a standard stop for us on this drive. It represents the end of a pretty desolate 50-mile stretch of national forest that can be treacherous in the winter (although lovely of course). We've had lunch at the cafe before, but this time just went for some cheese curds. :)

A couple classic northern Wisconsin shots:We don't have any pictures of Michigan (so lazy!), but once again, we mostly stayed inside and relaxed. It was the first time all my brothers and sisters had been together in two years, so it was a lot of fun. Watching the Vikings-Bears game while eating KFC in a smoky bar was probably the most active we were all weekend.

These next pictures are from a beautiful sunset drive to my Grandma Croker's in Eagle River. We had great Friday fish fry (on a Tuesday) at a restaurant where my cousin is one of the cooks, then ice cream drinks at my aunt's beautifully festive and candlelit log home.


At the end of the trip, we had an awesome time seeing friends in Eau Claire and Milwaukee. The day we left, it was 18 degrees below zero when we woke up...insane!! It was a great trip, and we were so glad to have good time with family and friends and a couple weeks of crisp winter days.