An Alaskan Adventure

After Christmas I headed up to Alaska for a quick adventure and to visit my very good friend Daron.  I was lucky to find a ticket on airline miles, always a bonus when booking a last minute flight.

 On my first day there we headed to Tulkeetna, which is the gateway to Denali and were lucky to see the mountain!  Apparently it is usually masked in clouds.

 Then it was time to hit the trails for some snow shoeing!

 We were always surrounded by great mountain views....

 Sadly we didn't get to go downhill skiing due to some very warm weather (over 40 degrees) that was passing through Anchorage.  So, I guess I'll just have to go back to hit the slopes another time :-)

Thanks for a great trip Daron!

A Very Merry Christmas

Since there was no snow up north, we went with plan B of Christmas in the city.  We started off our Christmas Eve with our tradition of a church service at 4th Presbyterian Church on the Mag Mile.  

 Following the service it was off to tradition number two....dinner at Shaw's.  Delicious as always!  Kel got to open one gift early....

 ...the "Mercedes" of shower caps...she was pretty pumped about it!

 Then back to my place to open presents!

 This year we had a little monster helping us...Benny's first Christmas!

 Dan got snowmobile bibs...fingers crossed that the snow starts falling.

 Mom made Kel and Dan a tree skirt with notations of the big events of the year (wedding, honeymoon, and Benny's arrival).

 Christmas morning we headed over to Kel and Dan's where they hosted our family and the Kloaks for a delicious brunch.

 Benny got a new jacket to help keep him warm in the dropping temperatures.

 We later headed to Dan's uncle's house for a family dinner...so nice to be able to celebrate with such wonderful people!

 Merry Christmas to all!

 

Bear Down!

On Sunday Brian and I went to the Bears/Packers game.  Despite the Packers win, we had a great time in fantastic seats.

Announcing the players....

An F-15 flyover....

Kickoff!

Ringing in Christmas

Last Thursday I hosted my annual Christmas Drop In, and as always it was great to see so many friends.  We took a few pictures at the beginning so I didn't get everyone I wanted, but here are a few!

Family shot!

Roomies!

Girlfriends!

Running buddy!

Former Roomies!

Shannon and Kevin

Lynne and Shannon

Benny!

A new member of our family arrived in September when Kelly and Dan got a Viszla puppy and named him Benny after the Bulls' mascot.

 He was so little when they first got him...

 Now he is going on 5 months old and has decided his favorite place is up at Lake Geneva...good thing his parents love it there too and take him often. 

 Some of his favorite activities include digging....

 Checking out the lake (he hasn't been brave enough to swim yet)

 And playing with the tarp!

Portland, Maine

I'm a little late with this post, but the memories are still fresh from when my mom and I went to Portland, Maine a few months ago.  I had a conference for work so we flew out on the weekend to be able to enjoy some of the sites together before I had to get to work.

From the airport we headed south along the coast to a town called Ogunquit where apparently they take life one claw at a time. 

My mom had read about a place called The Lobster Pound where they have fresh Maine lobsters. 

We had them steamed and walked down the coastal path until we found a bench to enjoy our feast....delicious!







 After lunch we headed down the coastal path and ran across a lot of people surfing.

Then it was off to Kennebunkport to walk around the quaint seaside town... 

...and enjoy a drink overlooking the harbor!

The following day we checked out some of the lighthouses around Portland, because really, no trip to Maine is complete without touring a few lighthouses!

 

A gorgeous part of the country that I'm glad I got to share with my mom!