Snow Day!

Do you ever have one of those days where all you want to do is crawl up into a little ball and lie on your doggy bed all day eating chicken liver treats? A day when you can't get motivated to do anything other than go outside to relieve yourself a couple times to avoid a bladder infection? Well, around here we call that day "everyday", which might explain the gaps of time between blog postings. Plus, I've got Momma breathing down my neck to finish up our annual Christmas newsletter, The Stewart Family Barker. And by "finish up" I mean "start writing". So, you see, there's a lot of pressure on me. At least I've got Stew around to help watch Claire while I attempt to complete my duties as the family registrar and resident archivist. And at this very moment, Stew is having a debate with Claire as to why - for the 432nd consecutive morning - she requested oatmeal for breakfast yet has refused to take even a single bite of it.

For those who pay attention to such things as weather reports, you'll likely know we are in the midst of a winter storm. Not only is it very cold outside, but the wind is blowing quite hard. So hard, in fact, that our neighbor's trash receptacles have blown over, and nasty looking paper products and wilted vegetables are swirling around the neighborhood. If I knew our neighbor's name, then I could phone them and tell them of this predicament. But since we don't know their name, we call them "The Griswolds" because of the inordinate amount of Christmas lights and lighted decorations they have adorning their house (although Momma is secretly jealous and would love having such a display at our address). Speaking of The Griswolds, I'm pretty sure most holidays we spend with family or friends could be made into a National Lampoon hit movie. In fact, rumor has it my Aunt Susan and Uncle Kermit might stop over Christmas Eve for some "holiday cheer" (aka "Budweiser" in Stewville). I fully anticipate hearing the following conversation taking place between Kermit and Stew:

Kermit: I don't know why they call that stuff "Hamburger Helper". It does just fine by itself, huh? I like it better than Tuna Helper myself, don't you, Stew?

Stew: Yea... sure. So can I refill your eggnog, Kermit? Get you something to eat? Drive you out to the middle of nowhere and leave you for dead?

Kermit: Nah... I'm fine.

Anyway, I need to get crackin' on enjoying Claire's Snow Day. Normally, she and Stew would be at school right now, so she's a little antsy for some physical activity. She REALLY wants to go outside and play in the snow, but I don't think she has a complete grasp of minus 10 degrees wind chill. So in an attempt to warm the cockles of your heart, I'm going to post a few pics from Claire's recent Florida trip. Incidentally, Grandma Stewart reports 84 degree temps in her neck of the woods this week... talk about miserable weather! How can they take all that heat? Yuck!

Preparing to take her first airplane ride...

It was a tad bit windy at the ocean... and nobody has figured out yet what possessed Momma to buy Paris Hilton style sunglasses.

Claire finally got to meet her Great Grandma, and here's a pic taken after a trip to the local IHOP for breakfast. Please note I do not have permission to post Great Grandma's picture on the internet, but since I don't think she's a huge user of the interweb thingamagig, I'm not too worried that she'll find out... but that doesn't mean you should tell her about it!
Silver Springs - site of one of the largest artesian spring formations in the world, producing nearly 550 million gallons of crystal-clear water daily... or so I'm told.

You can't tell, but this tree is shaped like a horseshoe... thus it's called "The Wishing Tree". You're supposed to sit on the tree and make a wish. So here's Claire sitting on the tree wishing her Papa would stop making her pose for silly pictures if he can't figure out how to adjust his camera settings so photos don't turn out blurry!
Is anyone else even slightly disturbed by this sign? I mean what are people doing to the manatees that makes this sign necessary? "Hey, Bubba! Whaddaya say we go out and molest us some of them there manatees?" I don't even want to think about it, and I think I need to go lie down.