Happy Thanksgiving!!

There is nothing like waking up to the smell of fresh bran muffins and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with your family. The only thing that could make this day better would be to have Andy here by my side. It has been nice spending the last few days catching up with friends and family here in Michigan. I had the pleasure of having breakfast with a few friends on Monday morning, enjoyed a night out on the town on Tuesday with my sister and Scott, and attended the Community Harvest Fest potluck dinner Wednesday night at church. Now we are eagerly anticipating the arrival of the noon hour when we will gather with family to share a wonderful Thanksgiving Day meal. Just in, my cousins were just on the radio sharing everything that they are thankful for! Way to go Amanda and Nicole!! I am so proud of you and thankful for the joy you bring to my life! I am thankful for so many of you today and the way you have and continue to touch my life. There is so much to be thankful for today! Happy Thanksgiving to all!! :)

One more day...

until I come to Michigan!! I am so excited!! Hooray for Thanksgiving and spending a week with the Michiganders I love so dearly!! See you all soon!! :) Countdown until take off: 24 hours and 10 minutes!! Now 9 minutes until I can check in...

Last ride of the season?

After watching the weather report on Saturday night, Andy and I made the decision to wake up early, attend first service at church, then drive down to our storage unit to take the motorcycle out for one final ride. Before leaving for church we gathered a few extra layers just in case. It looked like we were ready to hit the slopes as we left the hotel with our gloves, snow pants, and winter coats. (I also grabbed the scarf my sister knitted for me a couple of years ago just in case.) It was a beautiful day-sunny, blue skies, and temps in the 50's and 60's (depending on whether you were in the shade in the middle of a canyon or in the sun at a red light). We decided to head west toward Glenwood Springs. While there we stopped at a little 50's style diner for lunch then took in a movie for the fun of it. Before heading home we decided to take a "little" detour up and down a pass that Andy had traveled over a couple of weeks ago at the beginning of his camping trip. The detour took a little longer than either of us figured it would and we were quite chilly when we returned to the lower, warmer elevation in town. It's amazing what a couple thousand feet will do to the temperature!! All in all we had a great, memorable day and after 150 miles we were more than ready to head home. Here are a couple of pictures from our final trip of the season:

A cute little waterfall on the side of the road.


Taking a break

Pumpkin Carving Time

On Saturday night Ana (a friend from church) and I decided to carve pumpkins. Since we waited until the last minute to take part in this traditional activity the pumpkins and carving tools were on clearance. After finding the best pumpkins in the crate at the grocery store we took them back to our apartment and prepared to dig in. We had so much fun! In addition to carving the coolest pumpkins around we made some mighty tasty pumpkin seeds in the oven. Once our pumpkins were finished we brought them downstairs and proudly presented them to the restaurant manager and hostess. They were quite excited about having more decorations for their costume party. Talk about fun times had by all.

My pumpkin!! :)

Ana and I proudly displaying our works of art.

Ana's had feet for the fun of it!

Ana posing next to her pumpkin after placing it in the restaurant.




Last pictures before saying goodbye to our pumpkins.