Today started early with a walk down to the beach with Harvey, a cup of coffee, and my camera. I wanted to see the sunrise across the patches of ice and water. As I discovered upon arriving (a few hundred yards from our front door), I was an hour late. It was still a nice walk to begin the day, and the air was surprisingly warm.
Church was fun. I watched Harvey make friends in the lobby, which he prefers to staying quite in the sanctuary. I’m told the sermon was nice. :o) And the brass horns are always magnificent. I could hear those.
We had a tasty brunch at the Park Place Hotel with Grandma R, Grandpa R, Aunt Katy, and Great Grandma R. Harvey especially liked the fried potato smiley faces. Afterwards, we drove out to the Farm to eat a little more, but mostly hangout and enjoy the company of Grandma and Grandpa J, Great Grandma L, Aunt Kathy, Uncle Doug, John Boy, Andrea, Tim, Randy, George, Ginger, Kiera, Dwayne, Mary, Mary R, aaaaaand eventually Christy and Brian.
All in all, it was a fun and enjoyable Easter Day. Harvey received many treats, books, and baskets of goodies. We’ll have fun playing with them for the next couple weeks. Thanks to all, and have a good week!
Happy Birthday to our beautiful son, Harvey Alan Rogers. We can’t believe a year passed so quickly. In looking through our pictures, we realized you have already done and seen so much. Each day with you brings new excitement into our lives, and reminds us of the joys of having fun, playing with toys, and laughing as often as possible. Thank you for that, little man.
We had about 25 family members over for your birthday party, and it was a huge success. You had a lot of fun, except while we sang “Happy Birthday.” As you’ll see below, you liked the cake. (I was worried about that. Mom wasn’t.) You are a very lucky boy and in about ten years we’ll have you write thank you notes to each of your relatives for all of the amazing support they have shown you with their time, presence (and presents), and many smiles. You are a lucky boy, and we are fortunate parents.
Uncle Jon and Aunt Barb, Tim, Olivia and Fiona, and Jenni, Zach, and Trygg made the trip down form Ishpeming, MI on Friday for Grandma Rogers’ 96th birthday celebration. Tim, Olivia and Fiona stayed with us at the Double Dogleg and we had fun watching Fiona and Harvey play a little bit – with Trygg joining, too. It’s amazing how quickly the three kids have grown, and they’re just getting started!
We went to Ruby Tuesday’s for lunch on Saturday to celebrate Grandma’s birthday. She opened presents and we had cake, too, before going back to mom and dad’s to visit.
We broke out the VHS tapes in the evening and watched some 1980s family trips and holiday celebrations. We’re about a generation removed from those experiences now, and watching them is a reminder to seek to live each day as freely as our four, seven, and ten year old selves (wearing a blue wig, in shorts, playing the air drums).
This morning, Lindsey and I hosted brunch. We made quiches and I baked my now famous blueberry coffee cake. :o)
It’s always exciting to have the family together. And great that we’re able to see each other as much as we do, considering the six-hour drive and the many busy lives. Happy Birthday, Grandma. You
A dear ol’ friend, Ben Piehl, stopped by on Boxing Day and brought his smoker and marinated beef and buffalo strips. We’ve made jerky three years running, and it’s become a fun holiday-time tradition. This year, the result was our best yet, not that I can take much credit! It’s always fun to catch up and play some ping pong. The highlight for Lindsey and me was seeing Ben hold Harvey.
Just a quick note on how December 2013 is shaping up. The month started out with the Santa Brunch at the TCGCC, where Harvey met Santa for the first time. He found his beard intriguing and was a good sport on a long day. On the 6th, we went to the Downtown Traverse City Christmas tree lighting and then left Harvey with his first non-relative babysitter, so that we could attend It’s A Wonderful Life, a radio play at the OTP. The production was good, and Harvey was sleeping when we arrived home. The next day, Michigan State beat Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship football game. MSU is headed to the Rose Bowl for the first time since dad was in college!
Week two brought more snow – I’ve been snow blowing every other day. It’s beautiful outside and I look forward to having a white Christmas. (Knock on wood.) Every day this month I’ve had, “Go Christmas Shopping” blocked off for my lunch hour and I’ve made it out exactly zero times. Although Lindsey and I did manage to do a little shopping for Harvey last weekend. That was a new and fun experience that I look forward to in future years. Although I will be careful to avoid the massive crowds. Tis the season.
This past Thursday was the Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home Christmas Party at the TCGCC. We were in the corner dining room with windows this year, which was a nice change. Harvey went to his own Christmas party with Grandma and Grandpa Rogers at Great Grandma Rogers’ home.
On Friday, Peg’s book, Perry Hannah’s Gifts, Then and Now was released to the public and thus began her whirlwind book signing tour. (Congratulations, Peg, and I look forward to reading and looking through the beautiful book.)
Since then, we’ve had our traditional Mode’s holiday dinner to celebrate the end of Katy’s penultimate semester in Nursing School and the onset of the Christmas Season.
Sunday brought more snow, a trip to church, an excellent brunch at Apache Trout Grill, and Harvey (and my) first visit to the Festival of Trains at the Traverse City History Center. Seeing and interacting with the model trains exceeded my expectations and it will be fun to see what Harvey thinks of them in future years. In the meantime, we’re going to try to get Grandpa R to get his train out from the closet.
Until the next update, I hope that you find time to enjoy the holiday season – and remember to keep your car radio tuned to Lite 96.3 FM (all Christmas, all the time!), make a snow angel, go sledding, or chase your dog around the powdery snow.
PS – I learned that the 12 Days of Christmas are the 12 days following Christmas, not preceding it. You can read more here, but you probably knew that!
