A "get out an play" kinda day!

It's been fun playing in all the snow we've gotten here in Juneau. Yesterday I replaced my old snowshoes which broke last season. I was a little sad - they were the first pair of snowshoes I'd ever owned and I bought them off e-bay from an old man who purchased them so he could go snowshoeing with his daughter in Colorado. They weren't the most high-tech but they introduced me to my love of snowshoeing and we had many great adventures together ;-)

Turkey Day: new traditions and things to be thankful about!!!

One of my favorite holidays is Thanksgiving...I like it because it's fairly simple in terms of holidays-no gifts or week long preparations- and yet it brings everyone together to eat, relax and enjoy one another's company.

At our house we keep it simple. In college Adam and I were too poor to buy a turkey and go all out on the other dishes so we'd make a huge pot of fettuccine alfredo and breadsticks and invite our friends over to help us eat. It was simple, fun and it brought us all together for the day.

This year there is a turkey roast breast in the oven, pumpkin pie ingredients waiting to be thrown together, potatoes and sweet potatoes sitting on the counter and cranberries in the fridge. We will enjoy the meal, one another's company and have a day to celebrate all the things we have to be thankful for.

Today (and EVERYDAY as Adam politely reminds me....) we are thankful for:

Our family

Our friends

Our health

Our jobs

Our pets

Our home

and many many many other things!!!

Last night our Wine Wednesday group took a field trip to the ice rink for Turkey Bowl Disco Skate...Here's a little clip of my attempt. Before you watch it I have to say...I'm not a good skater, I haven't skated in years, I was the FIRST one to go and the guy knocked me down when he was trying to give me the turkey!!! Enjoy ;-)

 

a few things to celebrate!

This month has been full of things to celebrate....especially birthdays! Stephenie's birthday was on Thursday and our Wine Wednesday group managed to pull off a suprise-birthday-craft-party for her. Each of us brought  homemade items and we exchanged them with each other. At the end of the night we all left with 12 fun goodies. We all had such a good time we're thinking of making it a yearly event.

Thursday night was Stephenie's real birthday party and all her friends gathered at her place for a night of fun! We enjoyed good food, an amazing banana cake, lots of games and conversation!

Friday was Veteran's Day and Adam and I took some time to just RELAX and enjoy ourselves. We caught up over coffee, took the dog for a walk and spent some time organizing things in our classrooms.

On Saturday our friend Zack came through Juneau on his way up North for work. It was fun seeing him again. The boys had "boy night" that evening as I headed out for ANOTHER suprise party!

Paula's husband managed to pull off quite the suprise party for her. She thought she was going out for a drink and dinner with the hubby when she got the "come home quick" phone call from the babysitter. She came home to a house full of friends, food and birthday wishes....I don't think she had a clue!

Today we woke up to close to a foot of snow and a SNOW day! The first snow day of the year is definitely something to celebrate! Thanks to Stephie's class for doing their snow dance! It worked!!!!

And finally, we are still celebrating the newest addition to my brother's family. Baby Natalee is doing great and Chance is an excellent big brother. I can't wait to meet her in real life but until then I've been enjoying this sweet little picture of them.

Welcome to the world, baby girl!

  

Congratulations Josh and Erin! Natalee Lynn was born on 11/1/11 and we are so excited to welcome her into our family. I wish I could've met her while I was in Anchorage but she wasn't quite ready to join us. I think I'll just need to take another trip up north sometime soon ;-)