Last night was a blast, just as I knew it would be! Today I had the pleasure of going to see my Grandma and all of my aunts and uncles on my mom's side. The weather traveling there was awful. It normally takes an hour and I'd say we took about an hour and a half or so. Freezing rain, which turned to ice as it hit your windshield and the road, then lots of snow on top of that. We made it safely, as did everyone else. We enjoyed a good old Minnesota potluck! Ham, potatoes and gravy, 7 layer salad, hot dish, fruit salad....it goes on and on. Absolutely delicious, every dish! My mom and uncle were reminiscing, telling all sorts of old stories about growing up on the farm and many crazy things they did! My grandma hollered out "You RASCALS!" a couple times, learning NOW, at the age of 80, some of the things that they had done. Some great examples; my aunt and uncle once caught a bunch of bees and let them loose in the house. My aunt once caught a bee, removed the stinger and stuck it under my uncles shirt as he was sleeping, so when he woke up he thought he was going to get stung. My uncle ALMOST convinced his cousin that he could fly from the second floor of the barn. My dad pulled my uncle and his cousin behind his car....holding onto the bumper of the car, and also on a toboggan! There were many more fun stories.

Whenever I chew super strong gum, like Eclipse, for example, it makes me sneeze as soon as I start chewing it. I found out today that my Grandpa was the same way! So cool to learn that I share that strange characteristic with my SUPER AWESOME Grandpa, who passed away several years ago. He was so wonderful.

Tonight we read There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly along with other books at bedtime. It's been a long time since we pulled this one out and my kids were laughing so hard, though Hals kept saying, "Oh my GOSH! That's so morbid!" We all chorused "Perhaps she'll die!" Something folks don't usually say???