We went to the mitten for Thanksgiving. Carter got to see some grandparents, meet a host of other relatives, and walk around Michigan State's campus. He was a champ all the way through, hitting the 'will this drive ever end?' wall about the same time we did Monday afternoon.

The week before we left I covered second shift for somebody on vacation and learned a ton about what 24x7 really means. This week was back to regular schedule, Parks and Rec, and Christmas First Friday in Bethlehem. I don't know if it's the economy, calendar, or weather, but somehow the frantic Thanksgiving-to-Christmas switch has been less frantic this year; even I was wishing for a little more red and green sparkle Friday.