How was your Thanksgiving? I hope it was filled with family, friends, and turkey. Our’s was!

We got a late start out of Unalakleet Friday the 17th… random FAA checks delayed our flight by two hours, and we finally arrived at the Holts around midnight. It was a cold, cold night, and wonderful to be greeted by the warmth of their new home. The beautiful wood stove flickered through the night… I took the prime side of the bed so I could watch the flames as I drifted off to dreamland.

Our time with Tiff, Rick, Keegan, and Rohnan was so much fun and went so quickly! Bill and Rick stayed busy with construction stuff, while Tiff and I tackled the important tasks… catching up over coffee and crafting. 🙂 We played lots of pinnochle and had plenty of laughs… many at the expense of my horrible hair doos growing up!

I even got to go out mushing a bit… the first time for me! There wasn’t much snow on the ground, so the solution is to have the dogs pull the 4-wheeler. It was a beautiful ride and so neat to see the way the dogs know what to do and how much work it must take for a musher to get a team together. It was a very unique, special experience.

The boys humored me and let me play pirates, read with them, and even play a little Farkle. It was such fun to be able to spend time with good friends. We’re looking forward to the next time!

Tuesday night we headed into Anchorage, saw Stranger Than Fiction, and then headed to the airport to pick Katie up. She was in good spirits for having just gotten off the plane from Seattle. We gabbed a bit before falling asleep sometime after midnight. The next morning we were on the road by 9:00 in order to get to Valdez mid-afternoon.

There was lots of yummy food for Thanksgiving. We gabbed through dinner and watched a few episodes of The Office to end the evening. The rest of the time in Valdez was pretty low-key. All the ladies worked on knitting purses… I still have to put a handle and a liner in mine. They’re pretty cute – a neat technique. Our time in Valdez was short. Bill’s looking forward to heading back there during the Christmas season in just a few weeks.

When we got back to Anchorage yesterday Katie, Bill, and I met up with Stacie, Josh, and the kids at the Glacier Brew House for a yummy dinner. It was fun to do something outside of Unalakleet with the Johnsons. After dinner Bill took Kate and I out to see Happy Feet. It wasn’t quite what I expected…

Prior to dropping Katie back off at the airport we stopped by Fred Meyers. Bill and I worked on finding the latest winter fashions… here’s what we came up with –

pretty much sexy.

The week was too fast, and quality time with family and friends always seems to go too quickly. Thanks to you all who made us feel so welcomed this week. We’re safe and sound in Unalakleet now for another week. It seems impossible that I’ll be heading to Minnesota so soon. Look out, folks…!