2nd big snow storm of the year came this weekend and we decided to try out snow shoeing...it involved putting our special snow outfits on, piling 8 people + 2 dogs into a vw van and heading out up the mountain. it was great fun tromping through the deep deep snow. addy's ears got cold, but luckily she had her sweet fleece to keep the rest of her warm.

new years long weekend - my long lost best friend from 7th & 8th grade came to visit. we went on a freezing walk in sedona and played 32,000 hands of rummy 500. it was a good time.

River Farm Weekend:
~ lots of good walking and finding trees to climb over and under
~ exploring the barn and finding a deer left over from a viking party
~ Frankie took us to a sink hole where a creek pops up in the middle of nowhere (it goes underground a couple of miles away
and goes under a ridge and a river before it comes back to the surface)
~ Casper found another tree to climb into
~ more walking along the river and searching for treasures
~ we found a treasure of an old car in the woods and the boys had to pose by it
Our weekend at the farm also included lots of sitting by the woodstove and making and eating delicious food with good friends - I can't wait to go back....

our weekend started with a friday evening neighborhood gathering at the our house - complete with the paper bag game and a stellar dance party and progressed into a cozy weekend of snow (it's still snowing now) with lots of fires in the woodstove and cuddling on the couch with addy and her bff sugaree.

i must say, this north carolina girl is currently loving wintertime. we'll see how i feel about it come march....

nc time:
got to meet casper - my parents' new dog
flew into bright bright leaves
granddaddy sweet talked us into planting 2000 onion plants in the snow
moose stew at the family reunion
hikes in the woods
visiting with wonderful friends
overall a fabulous thanksgiving....

back tracking a bit: november 7th
meg turned 25
presents were opened
chocolate pudding pie was eaten
apples to apples was played
and way too much fun was had with the camera....

November weather in Flagstaff has been lovely lately...warm days with blue skies that are perfect for tossing the nerf with julia in the street. and evenings cool enough for a fire in the wood stove...

to celebrate getting the staples out - addy's had a sweet weekend. yesterday she and her friend fly went to a halloween party at the bark park.



and today she got to go swimming at the pond....

Laceration repair = $85.00
IV Catheter fluids with surgery = $40.12
Lampshade collar = $11.40
A whole lot of other medications and procedures = $315.00

Getting a dirty look from one wrinkled dog = priceless

it's the time of year when you want to just curl up in all of the puddles of sun that you can find, especially with your best friend on your favorite red blanket.

Tour de fat 2006:
8,000 folks in Wheeler Park, drinking
187 kegs of fat tire beer in 6 hours....

2007 looked like it was going to beat all of 2006's records.
the bike ride around town with costumes and music was the best part.

Fall has come to Flagstaff and we are trying to take advantage of the warm days that our left. The following pictures are: One of Meg, Ada Mae and my favorite walks up on the mesa (where on another day Addy decided to chase a deer for 45 minutes...) And then a couple of pics from a hike that Liz, Gen and I did a couple of weekends ago. We hiked up to 9600 ft. and apparently the higher altitudes gave me a lazy/sleepy eye....

Monsoon season was officially over on the 13th, but that didn't stop the amazing rains we've been getting this afternoon. As I was driving home from working at La Joya Festival this afternoon, I saw a rainbow that went over all of downtown - pretty amazing. The rain slacked off for a bit right before it got dark and I went on a walk around the block and took some photos of the beginning of fall. Only a few of the trees in our neighborhood are starting to change to yellow - but they look amazing in that gold thunderstorm light. As I write this, it's pouring again, big thunder booms and all. I am soaking it up, hoping I will remember what puddles smell like during the dry months...