winter

Icy Waterfall

Visiting the Missouri Botanical Garden is always fun, even in the winter. You might think it’s not the best time of year to wander around a garden, but you get to see all kinds of cool things that just aren’t possible in the warmer months, like this waterfall fringed by ice in the Japanese Garden. I love that even though the waterfall was running freely, that didn’t stop the ice from building up around the edges!

Mani Monday

This week’s Mani Monday is inspired by the winter weather so much of the country has been experiencing. This is one of my more complicated manicures…I used Holo Taco “Blue Freezie” topped with “Frost Light” on my thumbnail, “Circuit Breaker” on my index finger, “Sparkling Water” topped with “Frost Light” on my middle finger, “Blue Freezie” on my ring finger, and “Sparkling Water” on my pinkie. I also did my best to add a snowflake in “Circuit Breaker” to my ring finger…like most of my attempts at nail art, it isn’t too neat, but I did my best!

Quote of the Day

It’s not quite that cold here…yet. Maybe later this week!

“And closer to home, we can expect a warming trend. Our midday temperatures reaching puberty levels, 13 to 16 degrees.” Alan Alda as Hawkeye Pierce on M*A*S*H

Snow Day, Animal Crossing Style

This has been the most disappointing winter I can remember. While we have had a dusting of snow once or twice, we haven’t enough snow to shovel or play in so far, and I’m beginning to think we just won’t this year. Luckily for me I’ve had quite a few snowstorms on my Animal Crossing island, and I’ve even been able to make snowmen and dress for the weather (I’m really liking my new ski suit!). While I’d really like to have an actual snowstorm, an Animal Crossing snow day is better than no snow day at all!

A Markel Family Snow Day

Today we had a snow day! This was a special snow day, because not only did Moose’s school close for the day, the homeschool event we were supposed to attend at the Missouri History Museum was cancelled, so we were all truly home for the day!

Of course we had to play in the snow:

When a snow day happens the week before Christmas, you bake Christmas cookies. And while we baked, we watched not only the unbelievably fluffy flakes fall outside the kitchen window, but also the Nutcracker, something we do every year around Christmas. We watched three different productions today: The Dutch National Ballet, the Bolshoi Ballet, and my personal favorite, the San Fransisco Ballet. Three Nutcrackers and 13 dozen cookies later, and all of our “fancy” baking is done!

We also made “stained glass” Christmas ornaments while we watched White Christmas. I love how they turned out!

We found time for a nice walk in the snow:

And had our standard Markel Family snow day dinner!

The Fab Five had time to build two bags of their Lego Hogwarts Castle set today. Here’s a look at some of the detail:

After shoveling (something that I really enjoy doing!), we watched National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. The older I get, the more I relate to Clark Griswold, which is a little bit scary!

This was one of the nicest days I’ve had, and I really enjoyed the chance to both slow down and get a lot of work done!

Quote of the Day

I think after this winter, I have a new appreciation for this quote!

“The Vulcans say that the desert teaches men the meaning of endurance. But it’s the ice that forges real strength.” Jeffrey Combs as Commander Shran on Star Trek: Enterprise

Brookfield Zoo

Here’s a closer look at our winter visit to Brookfield Zoo!

There was a bit of snow on the ground when we walked around (there would have been a lot more if we had waited two days!), and it was just beautiful:

The best part of the trip, though, was our experience seeing the animals. I was really worried about this aspect, because I thought they might all be hiding indoors due to the cold. In reality, though, this was the best chance we’ve ever had at any zoo to observe the animals…they were unbelievably active! The big cats were probably our favorite (we especially enjoyed hearing the lion roar…he was LOUD!), but we also saw so many other animals in greater detail than we ever have before! (Not pictured: The sea lions we watched fight over position on a rock for at least 20 minutes…they were hilarious!)

In the end, we spent around five hours at the zoo…but we had so much fun, I really thought we had only been there for about two!

I’d like to go back and see everything in warmer weather at some point, but I have to admit, this special trip, where we pretty much had the place to ourselves, will be almost impossible to top!

Markel Family Winter Weekend Getaway–Day Three

Last Saturday we woke up to the winter storm that had been forecasted…in the early part of the day, even the highways were covered, and from what we could see from our eighth floor hotel room, it was rough going out there. I was a little concerned that we would have to spend the entire day in our room…

We did have fun watching even more Food Network, and I went out to clear off the car at one point, but eventually I got kind of restless, so we walked over to the Oak Brook Home Show, which was being held next door at the Drury Lane Theatre. The show was kind of a bust (I hate high pressure environments), but I did enjoy seeing the inside of Drury Lane for the first time since I was a child. We were especially impressed by the beautiful chandeliers and ornate ceiling:

Back in our room, we noticed a bit of winter drama down below. One of the hotel snowplows had managed to get stuck in a snowbank, and we rather enjoyed watching as first they attempted to plow it out, then tried with shovels, and finally gave up and towed the thing out.

The snow did finally stop, and at some point I realized that the cars in the parking lot down below were no longer spinning their tires and the highways looked pretty clear. So we decided to venture out. First we stopped at Mariano’s, which is a new grocery store chain from when I lived in the Chicago area. We were very impressed with it, and decided we’ll probably need to go back in May, if only to sample the offerings from their “mochi bar.”

Then we went to church at St. John, Wheaton:

We even managed to stop back in at Frosty Faustings one more time, where we caught a bit of the cosplay contest and took a few more pictures.

Once we were back at the hotel, we dug into the treat we picked up at Mariano’s…an Eli’s Cheesecake sampler! We really enjoyed the specialty from “Mama’s Little Bakery, Chicago, Illinois!”

More Food Network, plus some Friends on Nick at Nite before bed on our last night in the hotel. We went to sleep wondering if there was going to be more snow overnight, but at least I parked in the theatre’s parking garage this time!