Highlights - Winter 2013

Winter started out fantastically for us!  After the exciting week in Vegas, we had the big three-oh birthday for Andyman, complete with some scrumptious turtle cheesecake.

Then, we got to host Margaret & Greg for an enjoyable and relaxing Thanksgiving weekend complete with a pie for everyone, games, sushi-making, and my first cut-down-your-own-Christmas-tree experience!

 

 

 

 

We were looking for a tree over 10' tall because the tree farm was looking to thin out their big ones and save the small ones for future years.  Andyman eyed it perfectly - when cut, it measured 10'-1"!  Then, we had to take it home and lop off 4' so it would actually fit in the house :)

 And, fit it did!  Quite beautifully.

 The most anticipated gift under the tree had to be this one:

 We had lots of time to wonder at what was inside, and it even stumped the master gift-guesser (aka Andyman)!  It was a rocket stove!  I'm thinking it just might fit in the back of the hot rod for our next "car camping" adventure...

Shortly after Margaret & Greg had left, we got hit with a good snow storm.  And, then bitterly cold days one after another.  Andy was running short on days left to hunt for his elk, so we tried our luck on a snowy hike to find a large clearing he'd been eyeing on Google Earth.  

 The snow was super-duper crunchy, so the elk could hear us a mile away I'm sure!  We did get to see some squirrels and deer and even a young moose on our long uphill walk.

 About the time my feet went numb, we reached the clearing.  The view over the peaks and valleys was stunning, and we even found some "dots" of elk in a field a mile or more away...outside the legal unit's boundaries.  The time out in the crisp air with my favorite fellow was still worth it, and my hiking shoes have never been cleaner!

 The next weekend, Marie and Dave came for a visit.  It was great to see them and catch up.  Marie and I relaxed with the pups...

 

...and Dave and Andy decided to sight-in the pellet gun...without going out in the cold of course.

Oh, and I passed my first exam before the end of the year!  Woot woot!  Seriously never been so ecstatic to see the right 4-letter word.

The lack of blogging may have been deceiving, but 2013 was an incredible year.  I'd take another just like it!

Here's to the New Year!