Oceans, Mountains, & Leaky Waders: March 2014

Winter is still here and shows no signs of departing anytime soon. Winter was cute and fun in December, it was just fine in January, in February Winter was getting old but we went on a trip to New Hampshire and got to go snowmobiling which made it bearable. It is now March, Snow and Negative degree temperatures are unacceptable. Our family is going stir crazy due to it being to cold to go outside and play. I am having serious spring fever and yet there is no spring in sight. I'm sure Spring will fly by and Summer will be too hot which will give me something else to complain about.

The Michigan Croteau family had a great trip to New Hampshire. We all had so much fun. Its great so see and spend time with family. Sometimes we forget how great it is to have family around, we really wish we could raid your refrigerators more often! It was great to see the Durant side of my family and the Whites, Suni we will see you again one day. There were way to many highlights during our trip to name them all but being able to ride snowmobiles with my dad meant a lot to me. It is something that I won't ever forget. On a side note, if dad never forgot anything our trips would be much less exciting.

Allison and Norah stayed in New Hampshire while I had to head back to Michigan for work. My flights were packed with excitement. First off my flight from Baltimore to Grand Rapids was delayed by an hour. Then we boarded the plane only to sit there for a while before the pilot came over the intercom to inform us that our plane was broken and we should deplane. I left the plane and waited in the terminal for an additional hour. We finally took off for GR only to circle the city a few times before the pilot came over the intercom yet again to inform us that our plane was broken again and we are getting diverted to Chicago. We sat in Chicago for an hour or so before they found us a new plane and finally got us home. Southwest is easily my favorite airline and its because of things like this; The day after my flight I received and email from SW apologizing about the delay in my flight and gave me a $200 travel voucher. It was a long trip but Southwest's customer service will keep me flying with them.

This lead to two long weeks alone for me. Now that I am married and have a little girl I find being alone to be much less fun then I remember. Coming home to an empty house is not something I enjoy these days. I also had to chisel and shovel the ice and snow from our driveway before I even was able to get the car in. I did however manage to have a little fun while they were gone. The first weekend included an outdoor fire, a nice snowshoe through a local state park with Stella and some garage organization. The second weekend I went to the Grand Rapids boat show and filled my head with thoughts of open water and summer only to be disappointed by walking outside and into the freezing temperatures. I had lunch and drinks at the Grand Rapids Brewing Company, one of the finest restaurants I've had the pleasure of eating at here in Michigan.

After two long weeks my girls are home with me again. I picked them up at the airport and it was enough to melt my heart seeing my daughter run into my open arms. I missed her so much and I was happy to see that she remembered me. It was also nice to see my loving wife. This is their first weekend back and we are again bored as ever trying to come up with something to do in these frigid temperatures. Spring can't come fast enough for this family.

Quickly What's New With Us:
Allison:
She is teaching Norah new things everyday so it is always interesting when I get home from work. Allison is also signing up for her very first photography class this Spring so everyone so look forward to seeing some awesome new pictures on here.

Cameron:
I have started studying for my upcoming May advancement test. I have a good feeling about this one. I have decided to start looking into making better sauces in the kitchen, hopefully they will make some of our more mundane meals a little bit more exciting.

Norah:
Norah is growing at a rapid pace and now has quite the mouthful of teeth. She is very able to climb her way onto my chair and our couch now. She is much more vocal and getting very good with her sign language.

Stella:
Stella is now tormented by birds and squirrels eating from our families new bird feeder. I was letting her chase the squirrels out of the yard until today. Today she surprised Allison and I and actually got one, she bit it playfully and flung it into the air. The squirrel ran off without injury but we decided that the game wasn't fun any longer.