I've decided that "a dark and stormy night" has nothing on "an icy and foggy morning." I had to fill a prescription early this morning and about lost my way in all the murky blackness. I drove achingly slow and smiled to myself imaging the drivers behind me cursing their luck when they saw my license plate, "Sheesh, you'd think they'd never seen fog in Arizona." Well, actually I haven't.

For those of you wondering if we're still in Joplin, we made it Michigan right on schedule and have been Christmasing ever since.

My kids remembered the joys of snow, but not the cold. I think the last time we went sledding in Flagstaff we all shucked our coats half-way through the day and ended up sunburned. It's been a bit of an adjustment. The first day here there were a few tears about how "freezing" it was, but eventually they figured out the science of layers and the necessity (and brilliance) of gloves. Boots are also helpful. We had to go buy a couple pairs when we got here and had to go to four stores before we finally found some. I asked David, "What do you have to do to find boots in this town?" Apparently the locals have long since bought what they needed for winter and the stores are about to start stocking flip-flops in anticipation of summer.