Santa Train 2010

Santa Train 2010! In the above picture, Mark is standing with Henry and Irene. You can hardly see them! Right now we are getting a ton of snow. It started about 45 minutes before the train made it into town. The weather channel was calling for a blizzard warning from 7pm tonight until 7 Monday. The crowd this year was smaller but I'm sure the snow is what kept a lot of people away. We went with the kids bundled in snow pants and coats. Poor Gavin could not move in all his gear!

The snow was very wet and kept covering the lens of the camera, hence the crazy marks on the pictures. You can barely make out the Marquette name on the train. This company is one of the last train companies that is still majority held by the workers. Each year they do the Santa train. It starts off around 9am and makes it way up from the Grand Rapids area and arrives in our town around 7:45pm. They stop at quite a few towns along the way.

In the car after the engine is a Christmas tree. This picture didn't come out very well because of the snow.

Santa makes sure to talk to each child. Henry asked for a remote controlled monster truck. Irene asked for a flashlight. Santa said he'd try. Mommy would like to get the remote controlled monster truck but doesn't have the money to spend that much on one gift. It is one item he asks for frequently. Santa and I are trying to find an alternative.

Mrs. Claus posed for a picture too. Unfortunately, only Henry's head is in the picture. I didn't take these...Mark did ;-)

In this picture the shiny thing is the flash of the camera shining off a reflector on the caboose. The conductor was reading off names of three families that were being given free Christmas trees. Unfortunately, none of the families were there. They offered them up to anyone that was in need of a tree in the crowd.

The caboose and its shiny reflectors. The train is decorated beautifully.

Poor Gavin! He is wearing several layers and cannot move. Kinda like the kid in The Christmas Story. By the time we left the top of the stroller was covered in snow.

Henry and Irene got free hot chocolate and a chocolate chip cookie. An insurance agency is right by the tracks and they provide free beverages and cookies.

Elves handed out candy canes. We ended up with six. I think they had planned on having a larger crowd. Even Mark and I got one.

The caboose, an elf, snow, and cold people! As for me, I am going to cover up and try to warm up. I keep getting text messages from the weather channel to inform me of the blizzard warning.

I have lots of knitting to catch up on tomorrow. You can check out my latest finished projects at my knitting blog. Hardly anyone ever takes a look, so I think you should!! Click HERE!!!

Victorian Sleighbell Weekend

Gavin and me at the parade.

This weekend, December 3, 4 & 5, was the Victorian Sleighbell Weekend in our town. Our town started off as a huge logging town with a happy little Victorian history. We have many activities through out the weekend including a Victorian parade. Along the sidewalks of downtown people in Victorian dress roast chestnuts and give out warmed cider. Each entry into the parade is pulled by horses or manpower. Pere Marquette and his Indian guide, Victorian ladies and gentlemen. Children and adults, from our kids' school, dressed as angels and shepards. The parade ends with a huge tree pulled by horses, then Santa, and finally another tree, this one much larger than the first. At the end of the street the trees are displayed for the rest of the holiday season. Unfortunately, the batteries in my camera died just as the parade started. Now that I've replaced them I will get a picture of the trees.

Henry and Irene. It was very cold and they were not happy to be sitting for so long.

Mark's mom came up Saturday morning. She brought Mark's nephew, Shelby with her. Once they got here we went to the craft show that was going on at the high school. There were a lot of entries and a lot of very nice things. Some of the crafts made me laugh though. There were several things that I can and have made, like knit shawls, felted bags, etc. Overall, it was a nice craft show. After the show we had lunch and let the kids play. We decided to leave for the parade over an hour early but it was so busy that we ended up parking quite a long way away. We had to sit for so long that the kids got cold and cranky. Once the parade started Henry cheered up but ended up having to potty really badly. We left just as the last tree was coming towards us.

Mark and Gavin

After the parade we had a quick dinner and then went to the hotel. We went swimming which helped to warm us all up. Henry and Irene stayed the night with Grandma and Shelby. Sunday morning brought us snow so Grandma and Shelby left early. We had planned to go to the Festival of Trees which is a lot of trees decorated by area businesses and groups. I had a few other things for us to do but with Michigan snow you never know how much you'll get.

Dog Sled team that went racing down the street. They were fast! In the background you can see some of the crowd.

This is a not very good picture of the crowd.

My dad told me that he saw an advertisement for the Sleighbell Weekend in the Chicago Tribune. I think there were more people for this parade than for the 4th of July parade! I'm suddenly drawing a blank about what else I was going to write. Hmm...If I remember I'll add it later.

These two pictures I just wanted to share because Irene is such a darn cutie!

Road Trip

For Thanksgiving we drove to my older brother's house. We had lunch on the road and got there around 3pm. We had a later then planned start because I woke up not feeling well again. Other than my illness we had an uneventful trip.

On Thanksgiving Day we had around 25 people over. It was a little crowded but the food was good and the company great. We stayed until 3:30 and then we drove to Grand Rapids to Mark's parents' house. They were having a lot of people over for Thanksgiving as well. Still, even with all those people, it was a relaxing time. I was still not feeling that great and was very tired but I enjoyed it. Of course, Henry and Irene ran around with their cousins, Zach and Shelby. Once everyone left and things calmed down a bit Mark and I went to Meijer. We walked around for a while. No kids complaining and asking for things. Instead we marvelled at the lower food prices and grumped about how much more we pay in Northern Michigan. I was thrilled to find PG Tips tea in the international food aisle. I really enjoy that tea and usually if I want it I have to order it online.

That night we didn't sleep very well. The air mattress Gavin and I were sleeping on had a slow leak and we woke up in the middle of the night on the floor. After that it was difficult to get back to sleep since I was sitting upright in the chair holding Gav. Breakfast helped cheer us all up though. Mark's mom made Belgium waffles in her waffle maker.

After lunch, Mark and I went to the Grand Rapids Art Museum. We went to the Princess Diana exhibit. I wish my mother had been with us. She would have loved to be able to go through the exhibit. I enjoyed getting some of the history of the ladies of the Spencer family. Some things I had some mixed feelings about. Seeing the wedding dress was a treat. It was much less puffy on the mannequin than on the wedding day. Overall I enjoyed the exhibit. It was very busy and at times difficult to get through the crowd but I recommend it. You can find out more about the exhibition by clicking here.

We came home Friday night. Saturday and Sunday Irene and I were sick with the stomach bug again but we had a very good Thanksgiving with family we like and love.