New Zealand Adventure: Christmas Vacation MI: Part IV

OK, so for those of you who haven't lost complete interest since this is taking me so long to complete, coming back from the farm and then one way back from my sister's house (long story, don't ask), we add another 2.5 HTV, for a total of 11.5 THTV.

Fortunately, the 26th was a day of rest and regrouping as far as I can remember. As was most of the 27th, when it finally had a good snow for me.

On the night of the 27th, Leif and I headed back to Newport to visit with Corey and ended up playing a lot of Super Mario Brother Wii. This brought back memories of playing the original Super Mario Brothers together so many years ago.

Me and my seester!

Aww, I like this one too.

On Monday, I headed out to the casino with my mom. We decided to try our luck at the Motor City Casino instead of the MGM Grand where we usually go. We had fun, but no luck, and also had a very odd dining experience with ordering by computer and then waiting forever and getting shouted at by the food counter staff because the computer had made our order confusing. I did get carded though, which I now find flattering.

Tuesday, I first figured out that I had to renew my driver's license or risk it expiring while I am in New Zealand, so I headed over to the Secretary of State. I didn't have to wait very long at all and had no trouble with the renewal at all surprisingly! In fact, I received the best compliment that I have ever gotten in my life from the clerk. After taking my picture he said, "You look like a million bucks that hasn't ever been spent!" :D Then, I was off the B's (my friends Becky and BJ) in Fenton, and added another 2.5ish HTV for a new THTV of 14. I showed up with BW3's chicken wings and had a lovely time despite the fact that Becky had to work the next day. We ended up toasting with my recently acquired cherry bounce, and I spent the night in their newly renovated spare bedroom.

Bo the traveling gnome got a girlfriend (wife?) for Christmas!

Aww! The whole family.

Less cute with Meryl's demon eyes.

"Kannot reeseest teh fehthur..."

This is a joke. I'm not explaining it, so don't ask.

Wednesday brought College Hockey at the Joe with Kim Rock. We first drove downtown to Nemo's for lunch and took their shuttle to the Joe. We saw the third place and championship games of the Great Lakes Invitational. Michigan won the third place game against the Michigan Tech Huskies, and then Michigan State won the championship against...um...Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. We had an excellent time despite a little scary driving by the shuttle bus driver and a little scary navigation and snowy driving by me to get out of downtown and over to Novi to meet Becky, Carolyn, and Courtney for drinks. Unfortunately, the weather turned bad quickly and we had no sooner got to the Lucky Strike in Fountain Walk and had a coke that they said that they were shutting down for the night because of the weather. Courtney hadn't felt well and had already headed home, which was probably better with the snowy roads. Fortunately, everyone made it to their respective destinations (i.e. Lansing, Fenton, and Grosse Ile) unscathed. Add another 3ish HTV for 17 THTV.

Lunch and shuttle tickets were so cheap at Nemo's!

Vernor's! Yuuuuuummmm! Seems to be less fizzy now to me. Did they change the recipe?

U of M vs. Michigan Tech.

Three UoM penalties at once!

A different 3 players in the box!

The Mich Tech mascot.

Despite penalties, U of M wins.

Boy don't they look excited?

Final Scoreboard.

Crazy East Lansing band that played between games.

Kim and me!

Spartan band and Sparty!

Couldn't get a non-blurry Sparty picture. :(

MSU vs RPI face-off!

Trying to get Kim and the hockey action.

Again, trying for hockey in the background.

MSU wins!

Final Scoreboard.

Where's the trophy?

Finally! The trophy!

Kim and Carolyn at Lucky Strike.

Becky and me!

Deep in conversation.

New Year's Eve brought with it an unexpected detour downriver to visit with friends from high school that I hadn't seen...pretty much since high school. Lisa and Greg have one daughter, Charlotte, one son, Connor, and one dog, Sam, and a cute house and a lovely family! It was a delightful surprise to get a chance to catch up with them! I wish that I could've stayed longer (pasta lunch was nummy and I'm sure dinner would've been tasty too!), but it was off to the Emerson's to continue our tradition of going to their New Year's Eve party. 0.5 HTV for 17.5 THTV.