Fog!

The Michigan weather roller coaster continues. Last week at this time, we were having the coldest stretch of weather we've had in years. Highs struggled into the teens, and salt wouldn't do diddly squat on the snowy, icy roads.

Today, it's 40 degrees on its way into the upper 50's. But don't get used to it: by Thursday, it will be way below freezing and snowy again.

Last night we woke up to lightning and thunder. More rain's supposed to come in later on today. Right now it's super foggy, and the remaining snow is a sloppy white-gray layer of slush. Our backyard's looking a bit like the Forbidden Forest outside of Hogwarts at the moment, but soon it will probably look more like a swamp. Good thing we don't live near any bodies of water, or we could really be in trouble.

Oh wait, I guess we sort-of do if you broaden your perspective. Lake Michigan is a big culprit when it comes to explaining our wacky weather patterns. Thanks for keeping things interesting, big guy.

Lake effect

It's too bad we are home schooled and therefore don't get days off of school due to weather. Mom's sister has already had 2 days off and a 2-hr delay day in the past 2 weeks. But I'm not bitter or anything.

All the Pretty Little Horses

Part of what makes horses so cool is that they come in such a huge range of coat colors, patterns, and white markings. We found a highly entertaining horse coat color generator where you can not only learn about horse coat color genetics but also fiddle around with the alleles to see what they do. 

We started out by making our own horses:

Allegro - wild bay

Dune - pearl 
(she's really a chestnut, but this looks more like her than the generator's one shade of chestnut)

Talia - seal brown spotted blanket appaloosa

Sunlight - palomino

And then we each came up with our own fancy pinto:

Julie's creation:
silver dapple pearl minimal splash white

Bethany's creation:
dunskin overo

Felicity's creation:
strawberry roan sabino

my (Lily's) creation:
sooty gold champagne tobiano

Pretty cool, huh?

Click here to go to the site to check it out for yourself. You really should! It's super fun. 

New Threads

We were not disappointed this Christmas. Many of the gifts under the tree for our mom were in fact doll clothes! It's funny: Mom got more clothes for us than she got for herself. She assured us she doesn't mind a bit. Without further ado, here are the promised photos and some commentary on each new item:
 

 

Riding Outfit

Lily needed a riding jacket, but it was too hard to find one by itself on eBay. So, now we have an extra hat, an extra pair of breeches, and some dark brown cowboy boots. They might come in handy if any of our cousins want to go riding. Note: the boots in the picture are actually Felicity's black ones, not the cowboy boots that came with the oufit. The cowboy boots looked silly paired with an English riding ensemble.

 

 

Polar Bear Sweater from AG

This is super cute and super cozy, plus it goes great with our off white skirt. It also came with a fuzzy headband not shown. (I didn't feel like screwing up my hair putting it on.)

 

 

Tee and Capris Outfit from AG

These capris are awesome, and the plain white tee will come in handy. The outfit also included a fun, stretchy, Hawaiian-looking bracelet, cute pink floral print flip-flops, and lilac shades. Oh yeah.

 

 

Raspbery Hoodie from AG

We'd call it more "rose" than "raspberry." It goes great with our gray sweat pants. Lily reports that it's super comfortable.

 

 

 

 

Mix & Match Set for Julie

This set includes 2 skirts, a pair of brown pants, and a plain white t-shirt with a boat-style neckline. The striped cuffs on the pants can be tucked out of sight if Julie's wearing shirt that would clash with them. Only Julie is slim enough to wear the pants and tee. But beware, Julie, us AGs may be able to fit into the skirts!

 

 

Scottie Dress for Julie

This is like the perfect dress for Julie. It fits her perfectly and looks fabulous on her. It even came with a matching ribbon that works great in her hair. Mom found it on eBay, and Grandma bought it on the sly. No other doll anywhere will ever have a dress just like it because it's homemade.

 

 

Petal Pink Gown and Slippers from Carpatina

This elegant pink gown looks striking on Julie. It is made out of a light, flowy fabric and has 2 pretty rose decorations at the waist. It was intended for Carpatina dolls, which are quite similar in size to Julie but are shockingly expensive. Don't worry, Grandma didn't pay anywhere near full price for this outfit.

 

Thanks, Grandma, Mom, and Great Aunt R.! We love all of our new outfits! <3

Happy New Year!

Oh yeah, it's 2013! I'm the first to post. Mwaah haa haa! We had quite the New Year's Eve bash last night with our cousins. You wouldn't believe how much sparkling juice we managed to put away!

I find the end of the year/start of the new year bittersweet every time it rolls around. This song expresses my mood today pretty well.

"Take it all down
Christmas is over
Do not despair but rather be glad
We had a good year. Now let's have another
Remembering all the good times that we had
Oh no more lights glistening
No more carols to sing
But Christmas it makes way for spring"

-lyrics from "Boxing Day", a song on Relient K's Let It Snow, Baby... Let It Reindeer CD

It's a major let down that the holiday season will be over after today, I won't lie. I'm not particularly looking forward to the 3 long months of Michigan winter still ahead, nor am I excited to go back to school. But, there is something refreshing about starting a new calendar year, and I am determined not to mope. Okay, got to go. We're going to start a 4-player eventing competition on Mom's PS2 game, Lucinda Green's Equestrian Challenge. Go Team USA!