Nancy and I spent this past week or so taking down, packing up, and putting away the decorations that we had used to transform our home into a winter wonderland in anticipation of the arrival of our children and grandchildren. While my climbing up a ladder on the top step of our front porch to take down a string of lights might look funny to some people (She still hasn't apologized!), it doesn't make for much of a picture. On another front, I haven't been to the gym in 10 days because of a cold that wants to hang around a lot longer than usual. I did play bridge on Thursday. I thought I was no longer contagious.

In all, not a good week for pictures, so here are a couple more from the day after Christmas in Mark's home. On the left, is Melissa's family: husband Treacey, daughter Savannah (11), and son Ian (9 in 13 days). On the right is Mark's family: wife Jenny and sons Jackson (5) and John Michael (2½).