Winter in Michigan

After returning from our whirlwind holiday tour, both Marie and Joey came down with colds. So, we laid low for at least a week. We've been hanging out in our basement much more lately. The kids could spend hours down there with the sand table, basketball hoop, golf game, and now bikes. Marie's big Christmas gift (and Epiphany surprise when we got home) was a bike. She caught on really quickly and loves her "McQueen" bike. Sure glad we didn't go the Princess route. She even generously said that since she got the new bike Joey could use her old trike.


Since we've been home, we've had a couple of good snows. Actually, just until this weekend, at least most of our hill has been covered. You know what that means....sledding! We've gotten out quite a bit and have had friends over a couple of times. The spot lights on the back of our house even allow for nighttime sledding, which is super nice since Jon doesn't get home from work until after dark.

Marie and Joey both really enjoy it. Marie is definitely better about climbing back up this year, but there is still some progress that could be made in that area. Joey hasn't quite grasped that it takes a little time to get back to the top before you can go down again. He's always ready to GO!

Since the snow has been around for a while it has gotten a little packed down. This makes for fast runs. We've had a couple of (minor) collisions with the trees at the bottom of the hill, but no injuries...yet. We eventually just had to say that there could be no kids riding down without being accompanied by an adult, which should make things at least a little more safe.

Jon and Joey.

Marie going solo.

The ride down is well worth the trek back up!

Marie's point of rest after a glancing blow to the tree on the right. She was excited and ready to go again afterward!

Sledding with our buddy, Max!

The kids have also found that sliding down the hill sled-less is quite fun. They both enjoyed sliding down backwards on their tummies. Marie finally decided she had had enough when she couldn't keep her snow pants tucked in her boots and was scraping her knees on the snow.

The weather has been warmer lately and this weekend it rained. So...we'll have to wait a while before getting back on the sleds. But, this is Michigan after all, so we're sure the hill will be open again soon. Everyone is invited to come join in on the fun!

We'll leave you with a few kids stories we've been storing up and "Deep Thoughts...by Marie Shibata."


At supper, Jon is describing his day at work when he had to drive to Pontiac for a meeting.
Jon: I decided to see if going a different way would be quicker. I was on the highway and there was a lot of traffic. I knew I was getting close so I just jumped on a side road.
Marie: Daddy. Why didn’t you drive your car?


While driving to Ohio for Christmas break...
Marie: I called Joey, "Joe" because that’s his name.
Mom: What else do you call Joey?
Marie: Umm…I think "Abraham Joseph".
Mom: You mean "Joseph Abraham".
Marie: Yeah. Sometimes "Buddy".
Mom: How about "Little Brother"?
Marie: Yeah.
Mom: And do we sometimes call you "Big Sister"?
Dad: What else do we call you?
Marie: "Marie", "Marie Anna". Sometimes you call me…"HEY"!


Marie is learning to ride the new bike she got for Christmas in the basement. She is not used to braking when she reverses the pedals (her tricycle didn’t have brakes). She starts to yell and kick her feet in frustration.

Jon: Marie don’t freak out.
Jon shows her again how to pedal and how to brake. She starts riding again. She pedals slowly forward.
Marie: DAD! I’m trying not to freak out!


Before bed we are praying and talking about a mystery of the Rosary. Since it is still Christmas season, we are talking about the nativity. We ask Marie what she knows about the Nativity.
Marie: Jesus was born.
Dad: Who else was there?
Marie: Mary and Joseph... they kept Jesus company until the others got there.


After talking about the mystery of the Rosary before bed, we say things that make us thankful. Marie is usually the first to go. Here is her list…

Marie: I’m thankful for rosaries that are SO special, that Jesus loves us SO much, that God made the world, and for my Sandwich Game.


The family is sitting down to eat supper...
Marie states to Mom: So... you’re my Daddy’s wife.

Joey's First (Real) Haircut

As promised, I have to mention that during our visit to see Cousin Ang, Joey got his first "real" haircut. You might remember that just prior to Mark and Sarah's wedding, we attempted to trim his hair a bit. Needless to say, he did not like this one bit and we gave up. Well, he just continued to get more shaggy and Jon was especially ready to do something about it.


Ang is quite the pro and had his hair cut in no time flat. There were only a few tears at the end and he didn't even hold a grudge! Thanks, Ang!!




We are all much happier with his new "do" though I'm not sure what we're going to do next time. Not sure we can justify driving 425 miles one way to get Joey a haircut!

More Christmas

After the wonderful few days in Ohio with the rest of the Shibata clan, we made our way to Illinois on Saturday (the 26th). The drive was thankfully uneventful, and we arrived in time to have supper with Grandma and Grandpa Meinhart, Uncle Mark and Aunt Sarah, and Uncle Matt and then open a few presents. The kids got quite a few kicks out of their gifts and Uncle Matt even got Marie (and Grandma!) on video shaking her tail feathers to the BNL.




Sunday morning came around fairly quickly and the rest of the day similarly flew by. After going to church, we rushed home to change and get ready to host the "big" Meinhart Christmas. There were around 75 that attended and true to Meinhart gatherings, there was WAY to much good food to go around and not nearly enough time to visit with everyone. Though the competition came down to the wire, the annual "Meinhart Mishap" award was given to Allison for her memorable finish to Mark and Sarah's wedding. We did notice that this year there seemed to be more of a "throwing up" theme than in years past.

There was also the gift exchange, which was supposed to be related to the number 10. Gifts ranged from $10 gift cards, to Ten High and Cap-"ten" Morgan, to hot dogs and any thing else that came in a package of 10...or a package of 12 with two removed (Bud Light)! One thing's for sure, there were well over 10 laughs for anyone who participated.



The rest of our week was spent relaxing and catching up with family. Marie and Joey enjoyed playing in the garage in the sand and in the walker (respectively). We also made it to watch Cousin Marty play BBall on Tuesday.


Our trip to St. Louis on Wednesday fell through when Great-Grandpa Boedeker wasn't feeling well and went to the hospital. So instead, we visited Cousin Ang and her kids and got to see her brand new barn. (See a follow-up post for other excitement that went on during that visit.) Grandma Meinhart and I did go see Great-Grandpa on Thursday. It was a long day, but he was feeling better and we were very glad that we went.

Friday was spent getting ready for our trip back to Michigan. Jon also found out how hard it is to buy tires on New Year's Day and ended up having to patch a hole in one of our tires. I'm so grateful that I married a car guy!

Our drive back to Michigan on Saturday took us through Valpo to see Great-Grandma and Grandpa Speckhard. We made it there in time to spend a few hours visiting while eating dinner and sampling some of Grandma's homemade cookies. We were so glad to have been able to see them!


We did run into a bit of lake effect snow on the drive back, which put us home later than expected. However, the kids did WONDERFULLY in the car. We really couldn't have asked for much more. I can only think of one time during the whole trip that Joey got a little tired and cranky. But, a few renditions of "The Wheels on the Bus" put him right to sleep.

All in all, it was a great trip and we are so thankful to have been able to pack in so much family time. I think I speak for all of us when we say we'd do it all over again! Happy 2010 everyone!!