Can you say light?...horse?...dog?...dance?...cold?

Under any normal circumstances, I would never head out in such cold weather (it's in the teens here...) to go on a stroll after dark. However, this evening was the annual luminary walk here in Muncie. This means that there are candles in plastic containers lining the walkways in and around Minnetrista, our local cultural center.

Because of this, we all put on two layers of pants, shirts, and socks, along with hats, mittens, and coats to brave the cold. We even took the dog out for the occasion. There were horse-drawn carriages carting people in coats and a dance team performing to Christmas songs. Israel was amused by the horses, but not as much as Sophie was. He also liked the dance troop, but declined to pretend he could clap for them from inside his mittens. We used the opportunity to practice some of Israel's newer words and gestures (listed in the title), but I don't think his mouth worked any better than mine did due to the cold and it's rather difficult to sign while wearing mittens.

I wish I could honestly say the evening was as happy as this picture, but unfortunately, Israel likes the cold as much as his mom. He could be heard screaming as his dad and I took turns carrying his stiff, contorting body back to the car from the furthest point on our trek. We have since all calmed down and thawed out from the experience and, though it's not representative of our time in some ways, I couldn't wait to use my re-functioning fingers to share this token of our time. The chance at the mood conveyed in this picture will send us into the cold again about a year from now, I'm sure.