Now I'm preparing for Christmas!

Well, I seem to do this every year and then promise myself that I will not do it again next year.  I am a little late getting started on my Christmas preparations.  Not too late, really, but if you want to buy something and have it shipped on time it is getting a bit late.  I always tell myself I will buy next year's Christmas gifts after this year's Christmas when stores are having huge sales, and then I never do.  Anyway, I feel like I am actually getting an earlier start than normal on my shopping because I usually leave it till the week before...or a few days before Christmas!  This is the first year we are spending Christmas at home on our own as a little family.  I am relieved in a way that we will not have the stress of traveling with the kids and all that comes with that.  On the other hand I am a bit sad because I am used to spending Christmas with lots of other family and extended family members. 

How are you all planning to spend Christmas? 

Why are Uncle Larry and I the only ones who write on here?

guess what Holly and I just did

It was a beautiful sunny day, about 45 degrees fahrenheit (but we've had a cold snap and a lot of below freezing nights) and we skated on our pond. It's a nice-sized pond, and even though it's a bit of a distance from our house, I decided that it's better than trying to build my own rink.

But it was very evident that we hadn't skated for a long time and that both of us need better-fitting skates. Still, it was fun.

Here is Holly on our pond, to give you an idea what size it is...

Trouble commenting

I've made several attempts to comment on your Nutcracker post, Emily, but I haven't succeeded. First the font is so microscopic that I can't see what I just typed. Then it refuses to post. Anybody else having that trouble?

How was The Nutcracker?

When we were in Columbus, Ohio many years ago, our family went to see The Nutcracker. If I remember correctly, it was also on Black Friday. Still, we really enjoyed it.

Today we are going to see The Nutcracker. I'm not sure what compelled us that it was a good idea to buy our tickets for black Friday. Just the thought of driving into Anchorage today is scary. We had a really nice Thanksgiving! I hope everyone else did as well.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

How To Carve a Turkey

How to Properly Carve a Turkey

breakfast

We used to have this posted on our refrigerator, because it made us think of Garrett...

Emily asked how far the mountains are from where we live. This picture was taken at Lake Louise, which is about a 2 hour drive from where we live.

If you've ever been to Denver, that gives you an idea what the terrain at Calgary is like. Calgary is on the flat prairie just east of (and in sight of) the Rocky Mountains.

Winter's coming to Alberta too

Hi everybody,

Here is where we live in Alberta.

This, however, is a summer shot.

It looks like winter is coming.

We don't have snow yet, like Emily, but it's been below freezing for a while and the ponds are frozen.

So pretty soon, I'll need to get a winter shot of our little farm on the prairie.

bad year for college football

Why Penn State abuse is (and isn’t) like the Catholic Church

Looking forward to Thanksgiving!

It's so nice to see some more posts on here!  I love hearing from you all! 

We are preparing for Thanksgiving.  We have some really nice neighbors with whom we have become friends and we are all going to spend a big Thanksgiving together.  The one family has two kids about the same ages as ours and the other family just had their first child 2 months after Ayla was born.  It's nice to have other families with kids around.  Anyway, I love to cook big meals and have lots of people around (probably a product of growing up with 5 siblings).  It should be lots of fun!  We have a lot to give thanks for, too! 

Garrett, you are so right about winter.  That becomes especially essential up here since winter lasts 6-7 months of the year and it gets very DARK up here.  We don't have it quite as bad as the RCMP that Uncle Larry was talking about had it, but it will get to the point around the solstice where the sun will not rise until 10:30 AM and will set at about 3:15 PM.  It can be pretty gloomy!  If you are into winter sports, this is the place to be, though!  Snow machines everywhere, ski resorts, ice fishing, hunting, ice skating, cross country skiing, sledding, snow shoeing, dog sledding...pretty much everything to do with ice and snow!  People up here are very active and the culture is very different from most places I've lived before.  It seems to be more part of the lifestyle rather than something they try to schedule into their lives.  I think a lot of western states tend to be more like that, though.  I really want to try my hand at skiing before I leave this place. 

We already have about a foot and a half of snow on the ground.  It is very pretty!  We are working on getting Nathan some boots so he can go out and play in it.  We are all doing well.  Ayla and Nathan are both growing very quickly.  What is everyone planning for Thanksgiving?  

Preparing for winter.

As the weather cools off and it gets harder and harder to do stuff outdoors, I am faced with my yearly challenge. What am I going to do in my spare time to keep me sane? Often times in my past, I have filled that time with videos games. This was very unhealthy mentally, and socially. In recent years, I have had to get a little more creative. I have often wanted to get a rock gym membership, but never wanted to cough up the money for it. This year, I have come to the conclusion that it is worth the extra money to keep physically active in the winter, considering it's only 4-5 months. I will not be doing the rock gym however. I wanted a cross trainer that will help improve my skills in longboarding. My hope is to get out to some competitions this next summer. I have signed up for yoga and pilates classes for the winter. Both of which really focus on core strength and muscular endurance. At the moment, I am only doing 2-3 classes a week, to get my body used to it. In full fledged winter, I will be going every day. I have done yoga before, and it has really helped me stay focused in life and keep positive as well as adding some structure to my day. I will also be returning to full-time classes, close to the final stretch.

Something I have learned in life, you have to take advantage of winter, and not let it take advantage of you. Don't let it keep you from living, almost half your year is in winter. You have to live it!

Stopping by to say Hi!

Hi everyone! I'm back in Willow Grove after being in Florida for a few days. It was nice there, but you can't beat this beautiful fall weather in PA this week! The leaves are changing, the sun is shining, the air is almost crisp, but not quite. It is beautiful!

Last weekend, we had the joy of having Mom and Dad (aka, Gammer and Gaffer) visit us. What a wonderful family time we had. While they were there, Jack got on to the ancestry.com website and we found some family on the Wilson/Burdette side, and the Nelson/Minnich side. It was interesting. It got the stories rolling also. I wish I had the sense to grab my digital recorder. Pappy was on a roll. I am sure some of it was not accurate, but it was all interesting and entertaining. We have relatives such as "short legs", and "Swoosh". Did you know we had a major league ball player in the fam? A pitcher named "Lew" Burdette. And "Swoosh" marched in the Batan death March. He also did the plumbing in the Manorville house.

We are healthy and well. I have on my mind some who are not well. A dear friend of mine from college times is literally on her deathbed right now. Her name is Barbara Porter. I hate death. I am very sad for Barb's husband and her two children, as well as her extended family and friends.

Dear family, it is nice to connect like this. It is wonderful to have family. Enjoy each other!!!!

Monday

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all are doing well. :)

RCMP

The other evening, we went to a banquet for a Christian school that some of our members use. I sat beside a fellow who is an RCMP commander. (By the way, he said the RCMP is recruiting -- in case anyone is interested.) Anyway, he's been stationed all over Canada. He told me that a couple of his posts were so far north that the sun stayed below the horizon from around the beginning of November till around the end of February. That's about 4 months of darkness! Yikey!

baseball

Former major league baseball player, Matty Alou, died today at age 72. During his career, he played with the Pittsburgh Pirates along with Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, and Al Oliver. That was the Pittsburgh Pirate team I grew up loving, back in the days when a great game called baseball still existed and was "America's national pastime." I remember watching ball games on our old TV, or listening to them on my transistor radio. I did get down to Three Rivers Stadium to see Clemente play, but not till after Alou had been traded.

Hi, everyone!

Well, it appears this blog was a hit in the first few days of its life, but it seems it must no longer hold its novelty. I know we are all busy, but it would be nice to see a post on here every once in a while ;)
I hope you are all doing great!