At Long Last

Life at Possibility Manor has not been nearly as dormant as "Life at Possibility Manor". We embarked on and returned from our annual Christmas Odyssey, a description of which will constitute the bulk of this particular post. In addition, we've gotten started with the 2009 portion of the 2008-2009 school year, and Violet has continued to grow up at breakneck speed. Therefore, we owe you an update (full disclosure: I am not the regular blog author. Charissa is drawing with Violet, and so I--Ben Talsma--am filling in).

We rearranged our Christmas voyage slightly this year, beginning in Muskegon so that Alex could make it back to California in time for the wild and crazy New Year's parties. We continued our tradition of pitching twenty bucks into a pool from which we could shop for each other's presents--this year, we opted to shop at Target. I got a very nice wicking shirt. Charissa got wild and crazy socks. We played a host of board games, most of which I won, and then struck off for Miracle Camp and the Extended Talsma Christmas.

If you're not a Miracle Camp regular, it would be instructive to know that there is a gym and a volleyball net, and many tables conducive to the play of card games of all varieties. There is also an adequate kitchen, and so the various family chefs all nicely contribute contributions that contribute nicely to our waistlines. As usual, a good time was had by most, although the brothers and I were soundly bested at Snerts, and Violet had a tendency to roll off the bed.

We went from Miracle Camp Christmas to Beach House Christmas. When we left Miracle Camp, the powdery snow had blown over some of the two-tracky backroads, so we had an adventurous time billowing through the drifts as we plowed our way back to the highway. Violet received several books aimed at postgraduate students, but returned the favor by drawing all over the wall. She certainly has a nose for trouble.

Yes, her nose is like a magnet for trouble.

In fact, you could call her old, Magnet Nose*.

Violet, Grandpa T, Grandma Jeannee, and Uncle Alex also made a trek to see the frozen lake and beach, and while there, built quite the snowman. Charissa, Uncle Nick and I decided to forgo the chilly walk, and instead entertained ourselves with some Wii golf, bowling, and tennis. Upon the return of the beach-goers, we again packed up the fan and made the trek to Iowa. Considering the plethora of snow and ice storms that pounded the Midwest, our trip was remarkably uneventful, however; on the night before Christmas, cars and mice stir alike.

We had an excellent time in Iowa, enjoying both the traditional Immediate Fynnaardt Christmas celebration and the Extended Fynaardt Christmas celebration at the local Comfort Inn, where we tested the capacity of the indoor pool. Charissa received a bike to replace the one that is still on the lamb, and I got a visual encyclopedia for students that is still the hottest item in class. Sully CRC does a nice job with their Christmas service and concludes with "The Hallelujah Chorus", as every Christmas service ought.

We took off on our return trip to Michigan looking forward to the Sikkenga Christmas, but on our way back we received word that Grandma Marilyn had passed away. She had been very ill for quite some time, but it was still something of a shock, and we were very disappointed that we had not been able to see her recently. After attending the visitation, we were struck by some terrible sort of bug, and were not able to attend the funeral, or the Sikkenga Christmas. All in all, it was a rather unfortunate end to the vacation.

However, we recovered in time to go back to school. Violet is, in general, enjoying her baby sitter's, although she has recently gone through a spell of very two-ish behavior both there and at home. Charissa continues to enjoy her new job, and I continue to have a very remarkable class. In response to student curiosity, we recently conducted an experiment on whether your stomach would explode if you drank Diet Coke and ate Mentos. Only one of the student's stomachs exploded**.

Violet's newest gig is going around and offering her hand and saying, "I'm Violet Dawn Talsmo. Pleased to meet you. Shake hands please." She is also really enjoying her new whiteboard, a gift from Grandma and Grandpa Fynaardt, and can write her name quite well, as long as you don't worry about whether the letters go from left to right.

We are nicely settled back in, just finished a fairly thorough cleaning of the house today, and should be able to post more frequently now.

*This is an inside joke, obviously. And you really should buy "The New Yorker" board game.

**Actually, we used a dummy stomach. And no matter the combination of saliva, stomach acid, and the chewing of the Mento means that your stomach is quite safe.