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I think I really got happy to be here again when I came to school on Monday and saw all the kids. I realized I missed them, and I was glad to see them again. Maureen and Donna were both thinking about coming back here for the next school year, but after being home and seeing what they were missing, plus the freezing conditions of Montana, they flat out said no way. I was crying on the road to Billings because I went in the ditch twice. I'm used to driving in snowy conditions, but I'm not used to having all the snow and the ice actually on the road. So I was dumb and braked on the ice. But the ditch was shallow and I got out of it okay.

I went to Niagara Falls with Matthew. I had never seen it in the winter before. Its funny, I've only been there a few times, and its less than two hours from my house. Since living in Montana, that seems awfully close. The perpetual mist from the falls had encased all the trees around it in ice. It was quite beautiful, and much less crowded than in the summer.

I got to see my friend Gretchen over break. She's expecting a baby! Matthew said I seemed very formal with my friends. I guess I am. But I doubt most women are as informal as men are in their relationships.

Emerald loved "Maffew" a bunch, and he enjoyed playing with her. His voice gets more Southern when he talks to her. I think he enjoyed her a bit too much. I don't plan on having kids anytime soon, and he sounds very excited about it.

I decided to stay up all night on New Year's Eve, since I had to leave the house at five to catch my flight. And also it would be the last time I'd get to spend with Matthew until June, maybe. I slept on the plane, but I woke up in time to see us flying over Montana. Wow. There really is nothing in Eastern Montana, just hills and snow. Every now and then I'd see one house or one car on the road.

So now I'm in Hays for the duration of the winter, probably. It's so cold here right now that my nose hairs freeze together when I walk to school, which is a one-minute walk from my house.