Winter Wonderland

Well, well, well. Thanksgiving is almost upon us!

In the past, I have always been adamant that Christmas is not to be celebrated until AFTER Thanksgiving. There is still a part of me that feels that way, but it's been "looking a lot like Christmas" (at least to me) for nearly two months now! Now that we have snow to top it all, and I can no longer resist the urge to listen to Christmas carols and enjoying the happy glow of Christmas lights.

Home, sweet home!

27 weeks!

We've really been enjoying our "new" house. I suppose it makes us feel more like a "real" family to have a real house. We love curling up on our couch in the evenings to watch a movie or just talk. It's such a luxury to have the washer and dryer in the house and to have a mirror and a sink in the same place, not to mention that we finally have room to store all our groceries! We have space to dedicate to getting ready for baby now, as well as a guest bedroom! *hint hint*

October

Fall has always seemed like the shortest season of them all. In Alaska, it feels even shorter…or maybe it's longer. I haven't quite figured it out yet.

 Back in Georgia, I always knew when fall began by the turning of the leaves, and I defined the commencement of winter by the bare silhouettes of the treetops. Temperature had little to do with anything (much less the dates on the calendar!). But here, the leaves hardly had a chance to turn before they fell and we have since spent weeks in 40ish-degree weather; there is no way I can dub this an "Alaskan winter".

In other news (because I'm sure you're already wondering where I was with paved roads!), Jonathan and I took our monthly trip into Anchorage for grocery shopping/doctor's appointment and made a day-trip up to Fairbanks. It makes me chuckle at how much fun I think it is to sit in a car and drive on a paved road. 

We witnessed a spectacular sunrise!

We also drove through a spot in the mountains where bad weather likes to hang out. It certainly was beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! :)

I was determined to see a bear on the way back and kept my eyes well-peeled. At one point I was sure I'd seen one and Jonathan turned the car around for me. When we found the spot again, we couldn't quite tell what we were looking at so I zoomed in with my camera and snapped a picture. Can you spot my "bear"?

Even after we saw the picture, we couldn't figure out what that lump was, until I zoomed it in even closer on my camera's playback. Do you see it now?

My "bear" was the barely visible head of a moose! I suppose I will have to brush up on my "identifying Alaskan wildlife at a glance" skills. ;)

Oh, and one more little piece of news.

It's a boy!

*BIG, HUGE SMILE*