Dateline: Boyne Valley, Mich.- October 13

Yes, folks. That's snow. Six inches of the stuff. This was taken last Friday at the lodge we stayed at for the Fellowship retreat.

As we were driving up to Boyne Valley from A2, IEM commented: "Mommy, I don't think it's fall anymore. I think it's winter."

That would be because we drove through a snowstorm. Did I mention that this was last Friday? That's it's still OCTOBER???

Of course, the locals all said that while it was common to get a "dusting" before Halloween, this was nuts. El Nino, I guess.

But the kids all had a blast in the snow (much of it had melted by Saturday afternoon) and running around the lodge (we had the entire place for the Fellowship). I think the weekend away served its purpose; we all came away much closer and it was a great way for all of the kids (there are 11 in this year's class, ranging in age from 15 months to 10 years) to get to know one another. It was like Christmas each morning: Waking up, heading to the huge communal living room with the fireplace and playing with toys. And running around.

The adults all had a great time too. The party one evening lasted until 2 a.m.; the next night it went on to 5 or 6...needless to say, the McMillins were not up that late but Zack did stay up one night until 1:30. I made it to midnight. When you don't have the luxury of sleeping until 11, staying up late loses it's allure.

More photos to come..we spent Saturday at the Eisendrath farm. Sunday we went to my aunt and uncle's farm at Torch Lake and toured Traverse City. It is a beautiful, beautiful part of this country. We'd love to come back.

Thanks for stopping by.