Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow . . .



 And I'm only agreeing to the snow, because it could be 45 degrees and raining or -25 and impossible to do anything other than hole up inside.  If it has to be winter, this kind of winter is the best:  5 - 15 degree temperature range and a daily light snow to keep everything pretty and white. 

A Very Merry Christmas Weekend!

   On Friday, Gus, Autumn and I made our way to Alyeska Ski Resort in Girdwood.  We all found Santa hats and red jackets so we could ski and snowboard for free.  I have a hard time passing up a free lift ticket, and it wasn't too hard to convince Gus and Autumn to come along.  We arrived home that evening to learn that Jonathon and Jess were joining us for the weekend.  On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we had a flurry of activities around the house, which included snowmachine rides, outdoor fire, friends stopping by, board games, eating lots of good food and sweets, and just some plain old visiting time with the family all together. 

    After passing gifts, we got everyone together for a picture. Unfortunately, the camera wasn't liking the lighting situation, so the quality of the photos are pretty bad, but it does document the weekend. Jess's mom caught the crocheting bug and sent Jess a bunch of hats to pass out to people. We each found one that suited us best and I couldn't resist taking a picture.

Maybe we should have stood by
the "Hippies Use Backdoor" sign
that hangs by our front door?

And we couldn't resist silly . . .

Merry Christmas!

Back in the Blogging Business

Or at least I'll try to be a little bit better . . . . And I will start by writing about something exciting like the weather!

Looking west at Pioneer Peak from our house.

 So far this winter we've had a little of everything again.  The first snow that stuck was just before Halloween and for the next month a couple inches at a time snow started to accumulate. Right after Thanksgiving, a low pressure system moved through and we got our usual wind, rain, and inevitable ice.  For a couple of weeks the temperatures were quite warm 30 - 40's. Today I woke up to about an inch of snow so maybe we are back to the other weather pattern, snow and cold. 

This fall I took a Spanish class.  I figured it would take paying for 4 credits at the university, attending class two evenings a week, and homework to keep me properly motivated. While it kept me extremely busy, it did work. I am not so good at speaking Spanish or understanding what people say when they talk too fast.  However, I did learn the structure of the language and how to write and read some Spanish. Obviously my vocabulary is limited at this stage. My goal is to spend the next year working through Spanish tutorial audio books and then take another class a year from now. Bryant has done very well at learning the language through different audio programs while driving to work, so I'm hoping that between a few trips to the Baja visiting the boat and Bryant speaking it around the house here and there that I remain interested.  I can also use the university credits toward my teaching recertification and to move up on the pay scale, so that also helps. 


Wyatt's new pet

 Gus's Christmas concert

The boys are doing well. Wyatt celebrated his 16th birthday in November.  His friends gave him a tarantula and in his usual nature he's busy learning the in's and out's of a tarantula anatomy and physiology.  Gus decided he wanted to join the Valley Ski and Snowboard club that charter's buses to Alyeska Ski Resort every other Saturday.  I gladly said, "Happy Birthday" early and signed him up.

Now they are just plain happy not waking up at 5:50 for the daily grind and for that matter, so am I!