Max's 5th Birthday and Groundhog Day...

Today is the 2nd of February and it is my beautiful boy's 5th Birthday. We woke early this morning, all of us in our bed and Max opened his presents from us and Grandma! Max was particularly taken with his talking Scooby Doo card and his Lego. It was all a bit of a rush since it is a school day but celebrations will continue later in the day...

Today is also Groundhog Day. This U.S. and Canadian tradition comes every year on Feb. 2. It has its roots in astronomy, in the sense that it’s a seasonal festival, tied to the movement of Earth around the sun. In the U.S. and Canada, they call it Groundhog Day – a great excuse to go outside and enjoy some revelry during the winter months.

By far the most famous of the February 2 shadow-seeking groundhogs is still Punxsutawney Phil. He’s in Punxsutawney, in western Pennsylvania, which calls itself the “original home of the great weather prognosticator, His Majesty, the Punxsutawney Groundhog.” Since 1887, members of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club have held public celebrations of Groundhog Day. Punxsutawney is where Bill Murray was in the movie Groundhog Day. From the looks of things … a good time is had by all.

And the verdict from Punxsutawney Phil after seeing his shadow this morning during the 126th annual Groundhog Day festivities is: six more weeks of winter! This is the news we were hoping for - hopefully more snow! The forecast for tonight is a foot of snow in the Denver area with snow falling until Saturday afternoon. We are all hoping for a massive dump so that it will be dangerous to travel and school will be cancelled tomorrow!

The crowd wait for Punxsutawney Phil to come out from his den during the 126th annual Groundhog Day festivities on Feb. 2, 2012, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. (Top Photo: Groundhog handler Ron Ploucha holds Punxsutawney Phil after he saw his shadow predicting 6 more weeks of winter. Photos: Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

Phil saw his shadow....See for yourself........

 

We are loving all the quirky American culture.....

Max had a great day at school, and celebrated with his class by eating cookies. Max loved opening his Birthday cards - the Sheriff card from Grandma was a huge hit! A big thank you to Lachlan for the beautiful artwork included. Your spider man colouring is now posted on the wall next to where max sleeps, so he can, "look at it all the time because he misses his Lachie sooooo much"!

Lachlan's fantastic colouring