We drove North.
On Tuesday we drove north. Our friends (Josh & Jill) grandparent's home is about 2 hours north of where we live, and our friends have a tradition of going up to search for the perfect Christmas tree with their Grandpa. This year we were luckily enough to be invited along, despite the fact we were too impatient and bought our tree last week. Their Grandparents have a cozy little home right on a beautiful lake. When we arrived, we took advantage of the little light that was left in the day and went out to see the lake. The ice just barely covered the entire lake, with the thinest places being around the dock and out in the middle. We were in awe of the noise that came from "skipping" ice chunks on the lake- it was a hauntingly beautiful sound that changed depending on how thick the ice was.
While looking at the beautiful ice, we saw a crazy huge bug swimming around. None of us were able to figure out what it was, and Josh's Grandpa wanted to get a closer look at it, so he grabbed his axe and net to fish it out. After getting a better look at it, we speculated and debated as to what it might be, but resolved to consult the internet as soon as we were back inside. Bugs don't bother me that much, and I was urging Eric to pick it up. (Luckily) Others with gloved hands came to his rescue. Once we got inside, we found out how silly I am insisting that people pick up foreign bugs. Turns out this thing was a "giant water bug". Yeah, kind of what we were calling it, sounds pretty harmless right? I'll spare you the details unless you want to learn more, but I'll tell you that it's the largest bug found in America, and they're also know as 'toe biters'. So yeah, you see how that could have turned out pretty badly. Thankfully everyone was fine and the only one to suffer any consequences was Ruby who apparently had a dream a giant water bug killed Eric. It turned out okay though, Eric came back to life.
The afternoon & evening were wonderful. After being by the lake we went in, and warmed up next to the wood burning fireplace. The kids got hopped up on sugar, (because that's what Grandparents do, right?), we talked about how awful of a creature the giant water bug is, ate dinner followed by dessert, and enjoyed a couple "shows" put on by little Miss Ruby Star. It was such an enjoyable time, I'm grateful for friends who are used to me toting my camera everywhere to capture days like this.