Thursday, January 22, 2009

I Have Returned To My Home Sweet Home

Hi Everyone! I'm back! :) That's my house up there. :) The leaves aren't that pretty right now, in fact most of them are gone. That pic is from last autumn.

Michigan was AMAZING, but home is where my heart is. :) It was so neat walking into my log home and smelling the scent of the logs... a delicious piney-woodsy smell, faint but lovely. Since my family and I breathe in the house all the time, we can't smell the logs unless we've just arrived home from a long time being away and breathing other air. Our visitors can all smell the logs, but we don't, usually.
Here I am... in Michigan!


Well, to give you a short summary of my wonderful trip, here are some pictures and videos. (I won't be upset if you laugh at the sledding... I was cackling my head off watching them back at my Aunt and Uncle's house.) :D
Here I am with Kate in her barn. (I'm the one in the huge coat) :) It was about -5 the morning we were there.
We had such a wonderful time at Kate's house! They served us delicious milky chocolate-hazelnut tea, blueberry muffins, and coffee, and sent us home with homemade goats' milk soap in Candy Apple and Lavender-Sage flavors, and homemade lotion in Grapefruit and Cappucino flavors. All I have to say is WOW. :)

On the way into Michigan we stopped at a rest area with drink machines outside... and there was about a foot of snow on the ground, with a temperature well below freezing...


Cold Drinks? I'll say! :) I'm almost certain they had to be frozen solid!

At one point it was snowing so thickly that it was quite difficult to see where we were going... a veritable 'white-out' (yikes!) .


Here's a picture off my Aunt and Uncle's back porch... it was beautiful with the sun coming up behind the ice-covered trees...
I also discovered that during the night our car got well covered with snow..


Mark and Steven, in their snow fort... ready for battle!
I was so glad for my warm coat and "Eskimo Hood" while up there... it really kept me from getting too cold!I absolutely love this picture...


And here is my brother Mark, having the time of his life sledding...



My family and I at the pier in Grand Haven... you can see the lighthouse in the background, just to the left of Mark's shoulder... It was extremely cold while we were there with a freezing-cold wind, so we didn't walk out onto the pier.
Here we are tubing at "Pando's", on a HUGE hill... that was fun! And all you have to do to get back up the hill is hook your tube to a line that pulls you up the hill while you ride. Very nice. :)

Here's another sledding video... This is how kids from Georgia sled...Yeehaw!


I was so thrilled to be able to meet Miss Jocelyn Dixon and her family in person! We stopped by their house on the way back from Michigan.
We ended up helping push their grandma's car out of a ditch, but I don't think I'll post pictures of that... they ended up not being very...ah, dignified. :) :P

But I had a wonderful, amazing time in Michigan! I may post more pictures later... this seemed enough for now.

Blessings!
Julia
I'm currently: Tired, but Happy. :)

19 comments:

  1. LOL! not very dignified, huh? :P uh oh! hahahaha!
    We were soo happy to have you and meet you! :) I remembered after y'all left that I wasn't in any of the pictures since I was taking them all... oh well! maybe next time!
    loved having you!
    HUGS! and LOVES!
    Amanda
    The Daily Planet

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  2. Hahahahahahahahahahahaha...*loved* the sledding videos.......hahahahaha. ;o)
    Welcome home!! :o) ~hugs~
    Joanna

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  3. Hi Julia! I am so glad you all had a nice trip and got home safely! Ooo, I love the smell of pine! LOL! I loved the videos! Thanks for the laughs! Sledding is always so much fun!

    Blessings!
    Rachel

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  4. That is ALOT of snow! Sounds like you had a really fun time on your trip! I'm glad you made it back safely.

    ~Bethany
    www.polishedcornerstone.blogspot.com

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  5. sound like a ton of fun! When I sled, me and my two little sisters (11, and 6 years old) do this:

    When one of use is walking up (the 6 year old does not do this but she is a victom of it) we line up our sled to them, so we will plow them over! It is really fun, but our backs get covered in snow, and we get all wet. A terrible feeling! and when we made a fort at our driveway (there was a ton of snow)we made a 2 room one, and a hallway connecting together. It was really cool! then we had a snow ball fight, but a lot of them were ice, and I got hit in the face with one, and it really hut!

    Sorry for that long story, but your pictures reminded me of that time. That was cool you met her, that would be really fun!

    And for making a blog button, I really don't understand where to put the html so that it appears under the picture. If you could comment on my blog, I would love that!

    Sorry for the long comment!
    Tootles,
    Lauren Ann

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  6. Wow it looked like you've been having a fun time! Wow -5 degrees. Cold!

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  7. Oh my word Julia! :D That looks like SO much fun! :D Take me with you the next time you go to Michigan in the winter. :P -5 below? I would have frozen to death! :P Milky... chocolate... hazelnut... tea? Give me some! :D Hehe! I must have some! Sounds amazing!
    Wow, that snow fort is amazing! I'm not good with building things out of snow. :P
    Hahaha! Yes, I must admit, I laughed when I watched all of you. :P I would probably do the exact same thing!
    You got to meet Mrs. Jocelyn? How cool! Wow... either she must be rather short, or you must be rather tall. :P
    Hmmm... pulling a car out of the ditch. Sounds like fun. :P lol
    Glad you're back! :D

    ~Madison

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  8. Amanda,
    LOL! Um yeah... I wasn't sure if I should post them without your consent... :) I'll have to email them to your sister so you can see them. I have MJ's email. :) It was wonderful being at ya'lls house! :) I'm looking forward to getting to know you all better through the blogworld. :)
    HUGS!

    Joanna Dearest,
    Hahaha indeed! :D That was SO fun but afterwards we were rather stiff. :P Thanks! It's good to be home. :)

    Rachel,
    Thanks! Me too... it's delightful! You're welcome... Laughter doeth good like a medicine, after all. :D It sure is! :)

    Bethany,
    Hi! That really was a lot of snow... more than I was expecting! :) We had so much fun... one of our best vacations ever! :)

    Lauren Ann,
    Sounds like fun! (though not for the people being knocked over...) :D The 2-room fort sounds awesome!
    Aha... for the HTML I put it in a "rich text" gadget in the sidebar. I'll go comment on your blog and make sure you get the message. :)

    Abigail,
    It was fun! And yes, very very cold!

    Hey Madison!
    Be glad to take you next time we go up... you can stow away in my suitcase! :D I felt like I was freezing, and let me tell you - Georgia weather is way easier to cope with! :D Oh that tea! It was absoulutely HEAVENLY! I'll have to ask Kate where she got it. :) The snow forts were built entirely by my brothers, who are amazingly skilled at such things. I didn't do any of it. :D But I photographed it! :) I did get to meet Miss Jocelyn! She's very sweet! :) Well... I think it's both! I'm rather tall at 5'9", and I'm not sure how tall Jocelyn is but she's rather petite. (And even prettier in person, I might add)
    Thanks for the delightful long comment! :D

    Blessings,
    Julia

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  9. Wow! It sounds like you had a REALLY great time! I wish it would snow that much here in Georgia! :) Even for just a few days.....Tomorrow it's supposed to be 60 degrees! But maybe the weather man is wrong, and it will snow tomorrow! Nah, I doubt it:) Thanks for posting pictures and videos! (I have never been sledding before, but it looks like TONS of fun!)

    Laney

    P.S I TOTALLY agree with Madison! The tea sounds simply AMAZING!! :D

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  10. Glad you had a nice time!!

    So, did you have to buy a winter caot? Or did you for some reason have one in your wardrobe already?

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  11. I didn't know what rich text one, is it one of the basics, the screen that first shows up? And doesn't it show up as the picture?

    Lauren Ann

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  12. Just a quick note for Lauren Ann,

    Yes, the "RICH TEXT GADGET" is one of the basic gadgets, on the screen that first pops up.

    You'll have to go to my post that has the button instructions on it and copy the code in the little box and put that in your rich text gadget, then put the text from your picture's URL into the place it says "YOUR TEXT HERE".

    It should work just fine if you used photobucket. :)

    Hope that helped.
    Julia

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  13. I'm so glad you got to stop by - though short - and we did have a little bit of fun with the car. LOL

    Was lovely to meet you IRL and to formally make your acquaintance. :)

    HUGS

    Miss Jocelyn
    aponderingheart.com

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  14. It looks like you had a wonderful trip!

    Yes, their soap smells so good!

    There is nothing like the sight of a new morning sun reflecting on the snow . . . simply breathtaking (it is also a great photo op)!

    I had thought of a making a badge too! But I must agree with you, it does sound rather silly. :) Yes, a meeting place would probably be a good idea, but as I have never been there before, I don't know where a good place would be. :) I know of a few friends that will be going to Crossroads, but not too many who have blogs that will be going to the Father & Daughter Retreat. Looking forward to meeting you (twice!)!

    Miss Emily Rose
    www.SimplyVintagegirl.com

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  15. Haha! yeah... you can send the pics to me at missamanda@kconline.com too! :P Did you get one of me when I fell in the snow? :P LOL!
    Hopefully we will be able to meet up again soon and get to spend more than an hour together!
    HUGS and LOVES!
    Amanda
    The Daily Planet

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  16. Hi Miss Julia!
    I have had this entry open for 3 days. I suppose I ought to take time to write you a comment! :P
    It was so wonderful meeting you all! One thing you can count on here is an eventful time! (Thanks Mom!) lol

    Yes, send Jocelyn the photos... just for posterity's sake. It was wonderful, and I *had* to let your brothers push instead of myself! So gentlemanly (though I'm sure it was too much fun for them too!) hahaa.

    It would have been great to have you all stay longer. Glad you got to meet our chickens though.
    Glad you all had such a wonderful time in all the COOOLD MI and IN snow! Looks awfully fun. Are you all rested yet!

    We have friends down Atlanta way and in AL (and even family in LA we'd LOVE to see again!), so we may just take your Dad and Mom up on their offer sometime! It would be awesome to see your home -and the new chicken pens!

    Anyway, we so appreciate the time you all took to stop by and meet us! It was short, but sweet!
    And, if Steven gets himself a blog, I am sure Eric would like to know the url!

    Many blessings,
    Mrs. Dixon

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  17. I loved Michigan. (We used to live there)

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  18. Hello Julia!

    I'm glad you're back safe and sound! I'm also glad you got to visit with Kate and her lambies. They are so sweet!

    So there aren't any leaves on the trees in GA right now? How sad. When do they usually return? I was silly enough to hope everything would be green and in full bloom by the weekend after next. This snow is getting to me. Ha ha!

    Warmly,
    -Breezy
    www.abowlofmossandpebbles.com

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  19. wow look at the ice, care to pass me some. :)

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~ Julia ~