Temperature Record 2025

 January 

1st- 32F wet and cold.

2nd- 27F cold, a little fresh snow, but dry.

3rd- 26F cold, more snow showers. 

4th- 21F Snow, cold, but a tiny bit of sun! 

5th- 22nd a cold day to go drink coffee with some cats. 

6th- 23F cold. 

7th- 22F cold.

8th- 25F cold. 

9th- 24F overnight snow and it was c-o-l-d this morning, like 3 degrees. The ice on the road felt like grains of sand.

10th- 25F very snowy afternoon.

11th- 32F a fun day celebrating my favorite!

12th- 32F a bit of new snow and more cold.

13th- 21F snowy and slick. 

14th- 14F snowy overnight, but not enough for a snow day 

15th- 24F a little snow, a little sun, but oh so cold.

16th- 31F overnight snow, then a snow shower, but a melty afternoon.

17th- 39F warmest day we've had for a while! And the sun, beautiful sun came out! 

18th- 28F a fun day to explore Grand Rapids.

19th- 17F a pleasant enough drive home. 

20th- 9F so so cold. Some blinding snow. Did I mention that it's cold? 

21st- 5F a snow day! But oh so very cold.

22nd- 14F another snow day, and more shovelling.

23rd- 24F a very slippery morning, ended up shoveling twice: once before school and once after I worked a half day. The sun did peek out for a while though. 

24th- 20F a fun day to visit the museum with the twins! 

25th- 26F a great day to stay cozy and warm. 

26th- 27F cold, but brilliantly sunny!

27th- 34F more sun, but still cold.

28th- 38F not as much sun, but melting snow 

29th- 37F more sun, at least in the afternoon. 

30th- 46F I got gas, did a couple of outside chores, and soaked up the sun. 

31st- 36F a pleasant, if cold, morning, but a super wet snow fell at school release! William had to leave a birthday party early, due to illness.

February 

1st- 23F cold. 

2nd- 35F overnight snow, and not much sun, but warmer than it's been.

3rd- 37F cold, foggy, gray, but above freezing.

4th- 24F cold, again.

5th- 25F bitterly cold.

6th- 33F slippery morning, snow day for EW, a bit of sun in the afternoon.

7th- 28F cold, so cold, but beautiful sunshine melted a bit of the ice.

8th- 27F cold and grey. 

9th- 26F cold, not much sun, but no wind. 

10th- 29F cold, but the sun melted thin patches of ice. 

11th- 25F cold, with some sun, but the storm clouds were moving in! 

12th- 25F cold snow Moon morning, snowy afternoon and evening. Enough for everyone to have a snow day tomorrow!

13th- 26F snow day! 

14th- 26F cold and overcast with another round of snow moving in.

15th- 28F a bit of overnight snow, but a fun day to visit the Rodeo with the Cornishes!

16th- 26F and more snow to shovel. = (

17th- 14F planned no school day, but lots of snow made for some light shoveling.

18th- 14F a c.o.l.d. morning! But sunny and no new snow. 

19th- 17F cold, but only a sprinkling of snow on our Grand Rapids trip. 

20th- 24F the forecast called for a clear morning and snowy afternoon, but we got just the opposite, 

21st- 31F blue skies and sun! But still cold.

22nd- 27F cold, but I spent the day inside prepping for a murder mystery party!

23rd- 35F cold, but the sun melted the snow a bit. 

24th- 48F sunny, and pretty, but a cold wind! 

25th- 51F two beautiful days in a row. I feel so spoiled!

26th- 38F wet and cold again.

27th- 40F but cold and overcast.

28th- 52F sunny, pleasant, but windy

March

1st-- 21F cold, again. 

2nd- 31F cold, but trending in the right direction! 

3rd- 42F the cold is still hanging on tightly. 

4th- 48F but rainy and cold 

5th- 53F rainy morning, but sunny afternoon.

6th- 33F cold and windy.

7th- 36F a cold but pleasant morning, snowy afternoon!

8th- 37F not warm, but a beautiful sunny day for Emily's party!

9th- 54F warm and sunny enough today to crack the windows for an hour or so to help air out winter vibes! 

10th- 64F a pretty day! Happy 18th anniversary to us!

11th- 50F still chilly, but sunny!

12th- 49F sunny, but felt chilly. 

13th- 59F sunny again, and warm enough to walk to collect the twins!

14th- 76F sunny again and warm enough to wear a skirt and break in my reworked sandals!

15th- 71F warm, but the wind blew in rain and cold. 

16th- 47F back to cold, with a rain/snow mix in the afternoon.

17th- 48F cold but no snow, and brilliant snow! 

18th- 67F cold morning, warm afternoon.

19th- 69F one last beautiful 'summer preview' day, then back to cold. 

20th- 40F rainy morning, but a watery sun in the afternoon.

21st- 53F a sunny start to spring break! 

22nd- 37F cold and mostly cloudy. 

23rd- 42F another cold day. 

24th- 35F cold with snow and rain. 

25th- 42F cold and cloudy.

26th- 45F cold, but sunny!

27th- 52F warm enough to collect sticks. 

28th- 69F warm enough to trim the girls' hair! 

29th- 71F a fun game day with the Cornishes.

30th- 70F warm, a bit of sun, and quick evening storm. 

31st- 39F cold and windy with some frozen rain in the morning.

April 

1st- 43F cold, but pretty and sunny.

2nd- 53F thunderstorms and rain all day. 

3rd- 55F sunny and way less rain! 

4th- 51F sunny morning, but still quite chilly, with an overcast afternoon. 

5th- 52F rainy and cold, but a pretty sunset.

6th- 45F deceptively sunny, because it was not very warm. I did plant some flower seeds in milk carton greenhouses today, though! 

7th- 42F sun, snow, wind, cold.

8th- 34F cold, again 

9th- 45F a cold day to celebrate the twins' 11 laps around the sun! 

10th- 40F still cold!

11th- 51F not sunny, but not miserable.

12th- 55F a lovely sunny day for the twins' birthday party.

13th- 58F chilly, but spring is trying.

14th- 62F sunny, but a very cold wind for Emily and William's first track meet. 

15th- 45F on and off rain, and another unpleasant dip into the cold.

16th- 51F cold morning, sunny afternoon, but still cold. 

17th- 73F chilly day, but sunny.

18th- 76F sunny and beautiful, then rainy, then cloudy and muggy.

19th- 59F cloudy and cold day for the beer fest.

20th- 59F a sunny and pleasant Easter!

21st- 64F pretty, but a strong wind blew the cold back in! =(

22nd- 64F a little chilly, but a nice day for an after dentist adventure!

23rd- 67F warm enough to walk everyone this morning! 

24th- 80F no, that's not a typo! Beautiful day today! 

25th- 79F another pretty day, still didn't get the expected rain.

26th- 57F cold and overcast.

27th- 67F sunny and pretty!

28th- 75F a pretty day. 

29th- 80F sunny, but windy!

30th- 61F quite the chill after yesterday! 

May

1st- 71F a very cold morning, a pleasant afternoon, but rain showers off an on; and on during the walk home from the twins' school. 

2nd- 62F another cold morning, but a pleasant afternoon, and less rain than yesterday.

3rd- 55F chilly, but sunny. A perfect day for mother daughter tea!

4th- 56F a cold day, with a wet evening. 

5th- 66F drizzling in the morning, sunny afternoon!

6th- 58F and it rained all day on this talent show/middle school concert day! 

7th- 74F a pretty, mostly warm, day. 

8th- 54F sunny, but too cold, especially for an outdoor Dimondale farewell!

9th- 62F practically freezing in the morning, but comfortable in the shade in the afternoon. 

10th- 75F a beautiful day for the zoo! 

11th- 71F another beautiful day; I felt very celebrated.

12th- 79F a beautiful day. 

13th- 69F a rainy day.

14th- 75F overcast, but no rain here. The track meet got some rain though! 

15th- 81F overcast start to the day, but sunny finish for Alice's final band concert. 

16th- 81F sunny and beautiful for the twins' final field day. 

17th- 57F a cold rainy morning, and back to being cold, again! 

18th- 62F cold, but sunny.

19th- 56F cold, mostly cloudy. 

20th- 51F a cold, overcast day to visit Greenfield village for the first time, but at least the rain held off. 

21st- 50F a light rain all day.

22nd- 55F cold and rainy fifth grade party!

23rd- 53F cold, but a lovely day at the zoo. 

24th- 60F still cold, but sunny for a trip to impressions 5.

25th- 63F cloudy, but not terribly cold. 

26th- 68F a beautiful, sunny, day for two parades and grilling out.

27th- 72F sunny and pretty. 

28th- 63F sunny and fairly warm. 

29th- 66F overcast and rainy, still chilly. 

30th- 72F a warm day, with a sprinkle of rain. 

31st- 62F another chilly May day.

June

1st- 67F chilly, but sunny 

2nd- 77F AEW still in school, but GJ had a summer play date involving water guns and hot chocolate. lol. 

3rd- 86F a beautiful day to visit a couple of state parks before heading to the dentist for Juliet.

4th- 76F warm, but a rainy afternoon and evening.

5th- 72F rainy morning, but a pretty afternoon!

6th- 73F a pretty day to visit impression five, again!

7th- 74F a beautiful day for the magical realm Faire.

8th- 78F a pretty day for William to socialize with his friend!

9th- 75F a pretty day, but stormy evening, cooling things off again 

10th- 70F chilly all day. 

11th- 84F a chilly morning, but a pretty day! 

12th- 75F a warm day all the way through. 

13th- 69F a little cold and rainy for a garage sale and downtown car show!

14th- 78F sunny and mild, a much better day for a yard sale. 

15th- 78F another sunny day! But picked Texas Roadhouse to celebrate Father's Day! = )

16th- 81F finally starting to feel like summer! A good day for the twins to start summer camp!

17th- 87F warm and sunny 

18th- 81F brief showers in the morning, pretty day at camp for the twins, a rainy night for Jacob's sleepover. 

19th- 76F rainy morning, pretty afternoon.

20th- 78F overcast, with a few sprinkles, a pleasant day. 

21st- 89F a warm enough day to feel sticky. 

22nd- 92F a nice warm start to our Jellystone adventure.

23rd- 93F a warm enough day for me to get in the pool!

24th- 89F a lovely morning, but stormy evening. 

25th- 77F a cold day after the nighttime storms. 

26th- 85F always sad to leave Jellystone, but the rain mostly stayed away for our trip home. Billy not l hit his first deer today, after eight winters in Michigan. My car took minimal damage, at least.

27th- 88F lots of laundry! A sunny and warm day, with a short lived thunderstorm.

28th- 78F warm and sunny. Got all the camping supplies put away! 

29th- 86F another sunny day. Had fazolis to support Emily's color guard.

30th- 83F sunny, with a midday storm, and hundreds of lightening bugs at twilight! Emily and William are both staying with friends tonight.

July

1st- 82F a sunny, beautiful day! 

2nd- 85F another warm, sunny day! 

3rd- 84F warm and beautiful, quick thunderstorm, then a fair evening. 

4th- 84F warm and pretty. Finally made the backyard fire for Grace's delayed s'mores!

5th- 90F a lovely day to spend playing D&D with the Cornishes.

6th- 87F pretty day, evening storm brought in cooler temperatures.

7th- 68F much cooler than yesterday, but a fun day visiting four State Parks!

8th- 82F sunny and pleasant. A nice day to get ready for St. Louis.

9th- 88F said a rainy goodbye to my children in Michigan, then reunited with them, Avia, and the Helferbrands in Missouri.

10th- 89F a beautiful day for my dear ones' first trip to six flags!

11th- 95F a hot humid walk to take a group St Louis photo!

12th- 87F rain off and on all the way to Indianapolis. 

13th- 83F a pleasant, if slow, trip home from Indianapolis.

14th- 83F a warm, sunny Monday. 

15th- 85F another lovely summer day. 

16th- 85F a sunny start for our state park adventure with Aunt Janet, but a rainy conclusion. 

17th- 70F A chilly, overcast, day for the dentist, farmer's market, and color guard.

18th- 76F a very chilly day for rummage sales.

19th- 79F  an overcast day, with a rainy ending. 

20th- 76F chilly, and partly sunny.

21st- 78F pleasant and sunny.

22nd- 79F sunny and warm. 

23rd- 80F a sunny day for Grace and I to collect our library prizes! 

24th- 92F sunny and warm day, stormy evening.

25th- 82F a little overcast, but warm day to take my sewing machine in for maintenance 

26th- 80F a muggy day spent at the Cornishes.

27th- 85F a pretty day for Emily's full week of Bandcamp.

28th- 87F a warm sunny day, with midday showers. 

29th- 88F sticky and sunny. 

30th- 86F a sunny, warm day to leave for Poland. 

31st- 71F a pretty enough first day in Poland!

August

1st- 67F a cold day to explore Poznan!

2nd- 75F warm enough to forgo the jeans and leave the sweater.

3rd- 69F a cold rainy morning, never got to shed my corduroys and sweater. 

4th- 68F a cold mix of sun and clouds. 

5th- 68F a rainy enough day to buy umbrellas!

6th- 71F a cold day turned pretty in Berlin! 

7th- 77F a sunny, beautiful day in Berlin, and a smooth return to Poland.

8th- 77F a warm day to travel back to my babies.

9th- 90F a beautiful day for Alice's 16th birthday party!

10th- 86F a pretty Sunday!

11th- 84F a pretty day to bring Bill and Brenda to Max's south seas in Grand rapids. 

12th- 83F pleasant morning, stormy evening.

13th- 82F a temperate day to visit William's new school!

14th- 83F another pleasant day for a visit to the big girls' school 

15th- 86F a lovely Friday for yard sales. 

16th- 90F sunny with severe weather at night.

17th- 80F a nice day for blogging.

18th- 81F a beautiful day for a trip to the zoo and for the twins to visit their new school! 

19th- 77F a wet day to go homecoming dress shopping with Emily! 

20th- 71F a chilly, overcast, first day of school 

21st- 75F a cloudy start, but ultimately sunny day.

22nd- 79F which felt pretty good, but we are in a downward trend. = (

23rd-80F but that awful downward trend.

24th- 72F a chill is in the air for sure! 

25th- 67F I'm not ready for it to be this cold. 

26th- 69F cold day, with a sunny rainstorm at the end. 

27th- 73F cold morning, we got freeze warnings!  But the day turned pretty by the end.

28th- 74F much better than yesterday.

29th- 76F a pleasant day.

30th- 71F the absolute most perfect day to go to the zoo! 

31st- 75F a pretty end to August! 

September 

1st- 75F a pretty Labor Day.

2nd- 78F sunny and warm. A perfect day to dive into the latest CB Strike book 

3rd- 75F sunny morning, but the rain came through and cooled everything off. 

4th- 65F sunny, but felt like fall. 

5th- 65F chilly and windy, a cold first football game for Emily! 

6th- 60F a sprinkle of rain, but too cold to play our murder mystery outside.

7th- 66F a prettier day than yesterday, but still chilly. 

8th- 67F a frigid morning, but it was sunny and warmed up a bit! 

9th- 77F another cold start, but pretty, sunny day! 

10th- 77F warmer start and a pretty day. 

11th- 78F another pleasant day. Found my first fall leaf though. = (

12th- 80F sunny and beautiful for garage sailing!

13th- 85F a beautiful day, with just a few clouds, to visit the country Mill for pictures.

14th- 82F another pretty day, this time we spent some time kayaking on the river.

15th- 82F another beautiful fall day.

16th- 83F feeling spoiled with another beautiful day!

17th- 81F crisp air first thing in the morning, but another clear, sunny day!

18th- 86F sunny and beautiful! 

19th- 87F warm sunny day for the homecoming football game.

20th- 80F beautiful day for friends!

21st- 73F a rainy start and end to the day, with a bit of sun in between. 

22nd- 77F wet morning, but a partially sunny afternoon. 

23rd- 71F chilly day, with a midday thunderstorm, but clear evening for band.

24th- 70F cloudy, super thick morning food, but saw the sun peeping out occasionally.

25th- 74F cloudy morning, but pretty afternoon.

26th- 78F another pretty day!

27th- 84F a nice day to spend time with the Cornishes and make s'mores. 

28th- 78F sunny and warm enough for a skirt!

29th- 82F pretty and sunny!

30th- 80F another beautiful day!

October 

1st- 72F a beautiful day, but a chilly night! 

2nd- 78F another pretty day! 

3rd- 85F a beautiful day for four of my dear ones to march in the light show! 

4th- 87F another gorgeous day!

5th- 84F sunny and pretty any October is just spoiling us! 

6th- 82F cloudier than previous days, but still warm!

7th- 63F rainy and cold. = (

8th- 58F sunny, but oh so cold.

9th- 60F Sunny, so deceptively cold.

10th- 65F sunny, but cold. 

11th- 59F mostly sunny, didn't spend much time outside, because Emily and I were at her all girls robotics event! 

12th- 68F a beautiful day! After the tournament Emily and I went to Lake Erie and then to Ikea.

13th- 71F another pretty day, but chilly morning. 

14th- 68F sunny and fair. 

15th- 63F a pretty day to set up for a rummage sale!

16th- 67F a watery sun, never quite warm. 

17th- 71F warm and sunny.

18th- 73F rain, but after we finished clearing up the rummage sale!

19th- 57F rainy and chilly. 

20th- 60F Sunny, but felt like fall!

21st- 58F chilly, rainy, windy, but a few hours of sun.

22nd- 50F only fifty and cold and rainy. 

23rd- 50F clouds and sun mixed and matched all day. 

24th- 50F mostly sunny, but a very chilly morning! 

25th- 53f a nice day for a bounce house.

26th- 56F a sunny, chilly Sunday, perfect for raking leaves!

27th- 56F cold morning, sunny afternoon.

28th- 57F same as yesterday.

29th- 55F another cold, sunny day.

30th- 53F cloudy and windy and cold. 

31st- 52F cold, but not the worst weather for Halloween.

November

1st- 51F cloudy and cold. 

2nd- 55F sunny, but chilly.

3rd- 56F not too shabby for a November day in Michigan. Windy afternoon.

4th- 57F a chilly day, but good day for thrift shopping!

5th- 56F cloudy and chilly, but a decent day to rake some leaves.

6th- 52F a little overcast, a little sunny, but a frosty morning.

7th- 55F rainy morning, cold afternoon.

8th- 37F cold in Clare, but at least it wasn't windy. 

9th- 32F we had light snow in Clare, but the first sticking snow of the season in Dimondale.

10th- 30F cold, windy day. But had fun thrift shopping with Kristy!

11th- 38F cold, overcast, and windy. 

12th- 46F cold, with a little sun and a few clouds. 

13th- 50F warm for the season. 

14th- 58F a sunny day to walk with Billy after lunch. 

15th- 63F warm, but windy.

16th- 43F back to seasonal temperatures. = (

17th- 43F watery sun, but cold.

18th- 37F a wintery mix of precipitation.

19th- 43F cold, but better than yesterday.

20th- 46F a dark and drizzling trip to Ann Arbor for William's tooth extraction.

21st- 48F felt pretty warm without wind. 

22nd- 43F a few clouds, but another mild day with more sun than wind. 

23rd- 50F sunny and pleasant enough. 

24th- 50F a pretty enough day for getting car maintenance done 

25th- 48F rainy and gross all day for an Ann Arbor trip.

26th- 34F bitterly cold and windy, with some sticking snow midday. 

27th- 32F a cold and snowy thanksgiving.

28th- 32F cold 

29th- 33F snow.

30th- 33F the storm cleared out, but dropped probably 6 inches on us overnight. 

December 

1st- 27F cold, but no new snow. 

2nd- 28F cold, and no temperatures above freezing on the 10-day forecast!

3rd- 28F cold, with evening snow, on the night of Billy's work party.

4th- 18F cold, cold, cold, but sunny!

5th- 26F cold, so very child. 

6th- 27F overnight snow, and it's still really cold! 

7th- 22F cold, but no new snow. 

8th- 35F- snowy morning, soggy afternoon 

10th- 31F snow day for the kids, work day for Billy, sick day for me.

11th- 26F cold, not much in the way of new snow. 

12th- 28F cold, but no new snow. 

13th- 19F cold, with a little bit of morning snow, before our trip to the aquarium!

14th- 17F cold, and with the breeze, miserable.

15th- 17F cold again, but some sun. 

16th- 35F cold, but some sun, and we did get above freezing!

17th- 40F it was sunny and felt so warm! 

18th- 49F rainy and wet all day.

19th- 22F cold, windy, and no snow day! 

20th- 39F I didn't spend much time outside, but it was cold.

21st- 27F sunny and no wind made it feel manageable, but still bitterly cold 

22nd- 40F went out for William's doctors' appointment, and a few errands. 

23rd- 47F a good day to run errands.

24th- 38F a cold Christmas Eve.

25th- 37F a still, mostly cloudy day to take down the Christmas decorations. Merry Christmas!

26th- 36F icy porch, wet day.

27th- 37F cold, but not too bad indoors.

28th- 53F so much rain that we didn't even get to enjoy the warmth.

29th- 26F snowstorm made for a little bit of shoveling, but the wind was brutal.

30th- 22F cold with more wind.

31st- 27F cold and snowy.

New Year's Eve

This year we hosted the Cornishes at our house, since it was far too cold (and has been since November) to go outside and shoot fireworks.

Grace was extra excited to paint some banners, and use some of the leftover confetti from our Christmas crackers to accentuate it!



The food on offer was pretty standard, but we did break out the punch bowl for some lime sherbert and sprite punch!




The kids entertained themselves, while the adults played some Texas Hold'em.   We changed over to Mario party, but Grace and Emily wanted in, and as I was not enjoying it much, I let them take over my control.

 We celebrated the new year really early, maybe 9:30 with the Super Monster's Countdown on Netflix.
 

It was nice to get together and play a few short, simple games with them, as our games are typically far longer, and much more complex.

Here's to a happy, healthy, and fun new year!

later days

edit 1-19-26: backdated for continuity.

Christmas 2025

We did send out Christmas cards this year!  When I went to pull 2024's card to add to the reverse side of this year, I found that I hadn't sent them out since 2022! = 0   It is expensive to send out cards, but I will still try to send one out every other year!

I had to get input from my dear ones this year, to make sure that their Christmas Pajamas were not one-time wears, as they had been the past couple of years.  I don't want to add to the pollution of the world by buying new, matching, nightgowns for my children, that are only worn once.  They have been wearing them regularly since Christmas, with the exception of Alice, but I got hers in a style that William could wear in a year or so.

Emily, Grace, and Juliet also got doll nightgowns, so we welcomed them into the picture too!  I don't frequently shop at Kohl's, but I had the gift card that the color guard gave me, which I was anxious to use before I forgot about it, so it was a win all around.

After Avia brought home Emily, Grace, and Juliet from Christmas Eve service, we opened this year's Christmas pajamas!  Just look at how adorable my children are in their matching pajamas!!! <3



William was up wildly early on Christmas morning, sorting the gifts, but Grace really wanted to help with that step, so I got up to rein him in, and since I was up, start on lunch.


 

The gifts were smaller than year's past, but more expensive for sure! lol.  I do love that my children are at an age to intentionally shop for one another, many of the clothes that were exchanged were kept and worn by the recipient!  




Some gifts were questioned while we were shopping, like the shoelaces that Alice gifted Juliet, but Juliet was excited to relace her shoes in a star pattern!


I found another round of Christmas crackers this year, so we had just enough for everyone to pop one open at Christmas lunch!  We were able to save much of the trash for reuse at our new year's party!

Avia joined us for our feast of ham and all the regular sides!

After lunch, Juliet offered to put away the Nativity scene, so, while I had willing helpers, we put away our Christmas decor on Christmas day!  It felt really nice to have the chore done and over!

We enjoyed celebrating the birth of Jesus, and spending a nice day at home, with tasty food, and each other.

later days

edit 1-19-26: backdated for continuity.

Impressions 5

In the few short days leading up to Christmas, William had a doctor's appointment, and we had a few chores to knock out, including some last minute Christmas shopping!  One of the items on our list was to empty the polystyrene container.  Since Billy is no longer with Dart, I had to find a new recycling solution.  Thankfully, Impressions 5 has two large bins in their entry for recycling!

Our first stop was to go have lunch with Billy, but before we went to eat, he gave us a tour of his facility and showed us some of the machines he talks about at home!  After our tour, we at lunch at a slider's place not far from his office.  

After dropping him off, we headed for Impressions 5. Since I had the kids with me, I knew that it couldn't be just a recycling trip, and we discussed and agreed on a 40-minute visit, so that we would still have time to shop in Charlotte.  William declined to come with us, as he had completed his shopping the previous day, following his doctor's appointment.

After checking in, they headed straight for the first-floor favorites!


On the ground floor they had a set of exhibits where the dinosaurs had been, as kind of an interim, before their next big display opens in January.


My kids were a little big for the exhibits, but found joy where they could.




It think the drawing table was Alice's primary destination, but each of the girls enjoyed the step-by-step art.

They had rings of these cool bugs preserved in Perspex? silicone?  But no information to explain or name any of them, which was not helpful!



There were enough things to see and do, that we spent the entirety of our time exploring downstairs, and never even made it to the second floor.

Shopping went well, I think most everyone found at least a couple of things for their siblings.  I gave everyone a budget of $2 per sibling that I would spring for, but they could always throw in their own money.

I enjoy using our membership for a few minutes of  'free' entertainment, and think I'll be renewing at least one more year.

later days

edit 1-19-26: backdated for continuity. 

Christmas Concerts & Date Night

In the final week leading up to the Christmas break, we attended 3 concerts!

The first was William's, which had been delayed a week due to a snow day on the originally scheduled date. I'm glad that it wasn't pushed back into the new year!

At our second concert, we got to hear what Grace and Juliet were working on this semester in their first band concert!!

Grace surprised by playing on the snare drum in one of the songs.  We couldn't see her once the rest of the band took the stage, but we did hear her!

Juliet, on the other hand, was front and center on her clarinet!!

The final concert was one that we paid to attend, right by the capitol in Lansing!  It was a cold, snowy night, but our uber dropped us off close to the door, so it wasn't an awful walk.





We sat in the second row, which was pleasant, as we had a row in front of us, but an unobstructed view, as we were in the middle.

No photography was allowed during the concert, until the final song, which did allow for immersion and relaxation!  The songs were all Christmasy, and they forced the musicians to share interesting tidbits a few times during the concert.  They were all so talented, but you could tell the introduction of songs was their least favorite part.


After the concert, we went to get some dinner, but wanted to try somewhere new, so we went to Moriarty's Pub.  It was small, and the dart boards were really busy!  After we finished our food, we went to check out a bar that Billy' had found nearby called Stober's Bar, which touts the distinction of being Lansing's oldest bar. It was way more my speed.

The bar itself is beautiful, and they had etched glass windows, and shuffleboard!


Billy had to go get us some quarters from the bar to play, so we only played one round, then we went home.



I won this one, though my strategy was a little different, since the sand/salt was a little on the thin side, and I kept sliding mine off the far end!


We agreed that we could easily spend another evening there!  By the end of that night, I was all Christmas concerted out, and was glad that we wouldn't be attending another concert for another few months!

later days

edit 1-19-26: backdated for continuity.

Snow

The snow from Thanksgiving hasn't yet had a chance to fully recede, because it's been so cold, and we keep getting more and more snow! 

11-30-25:


12-07-25:


12-10-25:

This was actually enough of an event that they cancelled school, because they were expecting worsening conditions.  I spent the day in bed, fighting off something or rather, but the kids did a good job with the shovelling, with very little complaining, since they did have the day off! It didn't actually get too bad, though Billy did say that he slipped around a bit on the highway/interstate interchange on his way to work. We still ended up at Alice's robotics meeting that night, though the band concert was rescheduled.  


It has been a snowy December!  We are expecting some above freezing temperatures this weekend, which will be a nice change, because I feel like we haven't seen 32F in a few weeks! = (  Only seven more days until we start gaining light, and that can't come soon enough!

later days

Other Fun

Our ground garden got the least amount of love this summer, and was overgrown with weeds most of the season.  I had contacted my lawn guy to see if he could come out and do some leaf/fall cleanup, including returning this area to yard, instead of garden, but the snow came before he could come out.  I'm really glad it worked out that way, because the weeds have been feeding the birds!

We saw a small family of Northern Juncos out the window!




The administration at Dimondale has quite the sense of humor, they celebrated the sixty-seventh day of the school year with some 'art.'

On our way back from some evening activity, the moon was so bright on the snow it didn't quite feel like night!  I snapped a picture of it at home, and it looked like a starburst!


Billy's company party was at High Caliber this year.  They fed us, and we raced some go carts, and finished off by throwing some axes.  It was a nice evening, and since Billy has worked there for a year now, I actually knew some people this year!


Grace and Juliet got some pink/blue duck earrings for Nikolausstiefel, and one day Juliet decided to coordinate her earrings with her hair elastics!


The banner from my years in MOPS was too heavy and kept falling.  I had some mismatched plastic pushpins that I finally used to pin it in place, but when my mom had some fancy pins in her get rid of pile, I upgraded my look. = )

I've seen both a male and female Eastern Bluebird in the bush outside of our kitchen window.  

Today, Billy and I took care of some chores and went on some adventures!  First we went to have breakfast in downtown Lansing.  Sadly, their specialty was breakfast sandwiches, and they were out of biscuits for their biscuits and gravy. = (  I made due with a very tasty iced latte, and we played Pokémon Go, from our warm seats, because it was only 10 degrees Fahrenheit outside!  From there we went to get gas in Billy's car, stopped to buy some wiper fluid, went through the carwash, and finished up at the thrift store for some last-minute Christmas gifts.  This is the most exciting of my pictures from our adventure.

Our days have been busy, filled with concerts, family, and fun!  Every present that I have in the house is wrapped and under the tree, and I feel pretty on top of all the snacks, gifts, and outfits that we need for the week ahead. This week is spirit week for all five of my dear ones, and we have plans four nights in a row, but next Saturday, we finally get to rest!!!  I am looking forward to that!

later days